Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

A delicious and easy recipe. Easy to adapt, try replacing dates with prunes or ginger with lemon rind.


Serves 8


Ingredients:
100 ml boiling water
200 g dates, chopped
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (measure carefully, too much will leave a taste)
50 g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
50 g crystallised ginger, chopped


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Grease a non-stick 24 cm square or rectangular baking tin.
3. Place dates and baking soda in a bowl, pour over the boiling water, leave to cool.
4. In a separate bowl beat the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup until creamy.
5. Add the eggs, vanilla essence and dates to creamed mixture. 
6. Fold in flour, baking powder and ginger. The mixture will be very wet.
7. Pour into tin and bake for about 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile prepare the sauce.
9. Check the pudding is cooked by inserting a skewer into the middle, it should come out clean. 
10. Turn out and cut into squares.
11. Serve with hot butterscotch sauce and a dollop of creme fraiche.

Note:

The cooked pudding can be frozen. Thaw before reheating briefly in the microwave.

Butterscotch sauce:


Excellent dessert sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week. It thickens as it cools, so warm it up in a microwave or over a low heat in a pot to just soften before serving. Try serving with baked or grilled bananas and ice cream.


3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup boiling water
50 g unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup cream

1. Heat sugar in a pot over low heat until it turns deep gold.
2. Carefully pour over boiling water and stir until smooth.
3. Mix in butter and brown sugar, stirring until mixture is smooth and sugar has dissolved.
4. Stir in vanilla and cream.
5. Remove from heat. 

Tip:

If you don't get a nice smooth mixture at step two of the sauce, strain through a sieve and discard any lumps of crystallised sugar. Continue steps 3 - 5.

Excellent Carrot Cake

Moist yet light and super easy to make. Keeps well (if you can resist).
Serves 10 - 12

Ingredients:
1 cup oil
2 cups raw or white sugar
4 small eggs
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon ginger
3 cups grated carrot (2-3 medium size carrots)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon orange juice

Method:
Preheat oven to 160°C.
Grease a 23-25 cm round cake tin.
Put oil, sugar and eggs in food processor. Blitz to combine.
Add to the food processor wholemeal and plain flour, salt, cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and carrot. Blitz just to combine.
Dissolve baking soda in orange juice then fold in to the mixture.
Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave cake to cool before icing.

Cream cheese icing:
40 g soft butter
125 g cream cheese (not spreadable)
juice and finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
2 cups icing sugar

Mix icing ingredients in food processor until smooth.

Note: original recipe suggested double the icing ingredients (or double the calories)!

Feeling creative? Combine a mixture of chopped nuts, seeds and dried fruit to sprinkle over the icing e.g. dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, pecans

Pickled Pork Slow Cooker

Serves 4 - 6 people


Ingredients:
approx 1.5 kg pickled pork
6 to 8 baby potatoes (or 3 - 4 large potatoes cut in half)
3 carrots cut into large chunks
pepper to taste (No salt)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon all purpose seasoning
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
250ml chicken stock liquid 


Method:Place all ingredients into slow cooker.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
Sauce can be thickened with a bit of corn flour if desired.
Serve with green vegetables.


TIPS:Other vegetables can be included in the slow cooker e.g. pumpkin, kumara, onions