Wow! Can you believe it?! Winter is here! Half the year has just passed us by without us realising it! Man! Talk about time flying! I’ve now officially been in Sydney for 6 months. Winter here is so different from Hobart! Iy’s probably averaging about 15C here and people are wrapped up in scarves and thick winter coats! On top of that, we actually get clear, blue skies with sunshine in winter!Sydney siders sure get a watm winter in comparison to the rain and snow in Hobart! People who know me will know that my favourite season of the year is in fact spring, but people who don’t know me that well think it’s winter! This is because I abolutely LOVE the cold! Trust me, when I say I love it, I really literally love the cold! I love the thought of laying in bed with a hottie, snuggled between my doona, hot cup of tea in my hands, a good book or movie – man the luxuries of winter! And above it all, SNOW – my favourite part of winter! Every year in Hobart, whenever the mountain snows, I switch into a 5 year old kid all over again! I get all excited, and people around me are dragged up the mountains with me cos I NEVER get bored of the snow! 
People often say that winter months don’t favour the females especially since we eat and can’t stop eating! Well, in my case, I just wanna cook. I don’t particular enjoy or savour my own cooking, but I love cooking up a storm! It’s really sad that now I don’t have the luxury of time to cook whenever I want to. Who knows what I mean when I say that you aer just too drained – emotionally, mentally and physically – when you get home from work that the most decent meal you can whip up is something instant? Well, that’s my life in short now.
Well, I finally reached the brink of my cooking/baking deprivation so on my day off last week, I whipped up a storm in the kitchen! This here was one of my creations of the day – sticky date pudding! Alan and I often visit Badde Manor in Glebe – whether it’s for lunch, dinner, tea or dessert. (Yeah, we are quite boring people! ) They’ve got this simply divine sticky date pudding there, of which I can never resist! Well, when I saw this recipe in the Donna Hay winter pullout from the Sunday Telegraph, I knew that I HAD to make it! Boy! It was so simple it was unbelievable! Yum! Sweet, warm, gooey and melt in your mouth – simply irresistible!
Sticky Date Pudding
adapted from Donna Hay – June/July 09 Winter Magazine
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 100g butter, chopped
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup self raising flour
Toffee Sauce:
- 150g butter, chopped
- 1 cup single cream
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a square cake tin and line with baking paper.
- Place dates, water and bocarbonate of soda in a bowl and stand for 5 minutes.
- Place date mixture, butter and sugar in a blender and process till well combined.
- Add eggs and flour and process till just combined.
- Pour into tin and bake for 30-35 minutes, or till cooked.
- Cool in the tin for 10-15minutes then cut into square.
Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and melt over medium heat. Stir till butter is melted. Bring to the boil and cook till thicken slightly.
- Serve pudding with sauce and ice cream or double cream.
Notes:
- Recipe processes ingredients for pudding in a food processor. I don’t have one so into the blender it went!
- Pudding can be cut into squares and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Heat it up briefly before serving.
