Sticky date pudding

Do you believe in the saying” Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” , well if you don’t then please start believing it otherwise you might not try this delicious recipe .

      I just adore this pudding but I have never been able to do justice to its looks. 

    Infact I made it a couple of times for putting it in the blog but each time I felt that the looks can be made better.

    Then I said to myself , why not just put it up on the blog and ask my viewers , who trust me that the pudding tastes great, to send me an email with the photograph of their own pudding. So are you game for this. Well I already am and am looking forward to some real great pictures of this absolutely amazing and simple dessert which tastes best if served warm or at room temperature.

      

Ingredients:

a)  For the cake

1.          200 grams seedless dates

2.         250 ml boiling hot water

3.        1 teaspoon baking soda

4.    150 grams all purpose flour

5.    ¼ teaspoon baking powder

6.    100 grams brown sugar / demerrara sugar

7.      50 grams butter at room temperature

8.    2 large eggs

9.       Glass baking dish about 10 inches x 6 inches, or an eight inch square or round one

b)  For the sauce

10.        400 ml condensed milk ( I used nestle)

11.       2 tablespoon golden syrup ( I have used Lyles golden  syrup)

12.      5 tablespoons  butter

13.      8 -10  tablespoons water

  

Method:

1.      Place the dates in a bowl and pour one cup of boiling water over them and mix in a teaspoon of baking soda.

2.      Leave side till it comes to room temperature.

3.            Meanwhile measure the rest of the ingredients and  place them  into a food processor and top with the date mixture.

4.         Blend for about a 45 to 60 seconds till well blended but let the tiny pieces of dates remain if not pureed completely as they taste good.

5.       Pour into the greased baking dish and bake at 180° for 30 minutes.

6.  Let cool and then scrape of the tip a bit with a knife and make holes onto the cake with a fork. Well you could skip this part but then the sauce would just go and rest on the sides of your pudding.

        

At this stage the pudding can be covered and put aside.Incase you are having guests over , you could prepare the sauce just before serving the pudding so that the pudding becomes warm .

7.   For the sticky sauce:

     Pour all the ingredients into a pan and stir on medium flame till the syrup begins to boil from the sides and all the ingredients are well mixed.

8.  Pour the sauce over the pudding , loosen the edges of the cake from the sides so that the sauce can drench the cake from all the corners.

  

baked dishes· condensed milk· dates· desserts

Sticky date pudding

Do you believe in the saying” Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” , well if you don’t then please start believing it otherwise you might not try this delicious recipe .

      I just adore this pudding but I have never been able to do justice to its looks. 

    Infact I made it a couple of times for putting it in the blog but each time I felt that the looks can be made better.

    Then I said to myself , why not just put it up on the blog and ask my viewers , who trust me that the pudding tastes great, to send me an email with the photograph of their own pudding. So are you game for this. Well I already am and am looking forward to some real great pictures of this absolutely amazing and simple dessert which tastes best if served warm or at room temperature.

      

Ingredients:

a)  For the cake

1.          200 grams seedless dates

2.         250 ml boiling hot water

3.        1 teaspoon baking soda

4.    150 grams all purpose flour

5.    ¼ teaspoon baking powder

6.    100 grams brown sugar / demerrara sugar

7.      50 grams butter at room temperature

8.    2 large eggs

9.       Glass baking dish about 10 inches x 6 inches, or an eight inch square or round one

b)  For the sauce

10.        400 ml condensed milk ( I used nestle)

11.       2 tablespoon golden syrup ( I have used Lyles golden  syrup)

12.      5 tablespoons  butter

13.      8 -10  tablespoons water

  

Method:

1.      Place the dates in a bowl and pour one cup of boiling water over them and mix in a teaspoon of baking soda.

2.      Leave side till it comes to room temperature.

3.            Meanwhile measure the rest of the ingredients and  place them  into a food processor and top with the date mixture.

4.         Blend for about a 45 to 60 seconds till well blended but let the tiny pieces of dates remain if not pureed completely as they taste good.

5.       Pour into the greased baking dish and bake at 180° for 30 minutes.

6.  Let cool and then scrape of the tip a bit with a knife and make holes onto the cake with a fork. Well you could skip this part but then the sauce would just go and rest on the sides of your pudding.

        

At this stage the pudding can be covered and put aside.Incase you are having guests over , you could prepare the sauce just before serving the pudding so that the pudding becomes warm .

7.   For the sticky sauce:

     Pour all the ingredients into a pan and stir on medium flame till the syrup begins to boil from the sides and all the ingredients are well mixed.

8.  Pour the sauce over the pudding , loosen the edges of the cake from the sides so that the sauce can drench the cake from all the corners.

  

Date muffins

There is a unique connection between  this season of festivity and baking. I am sure there are delicious christmas cakes being baked in many many homes.I too want to join in , so what if its with just simple date muffins.
Wishing you warm winter moments and a very happy new year

Ingredients:

1.      100 grams butter at room temperature

2.       ½ cup powder sugar

3.       ½ cup chopped dates ( deseeded)

4.      1 cup flour

5.   1 teaspoon baking powder

6.    ¼  teaspoon  soda

7.    1 teaspoon vanilla essence

8.      2 eggs

9.    12 to 14 small muffin cups

Method:

1.   Beat the butter and sugar till creamy.

2.    Add the eggs one at a time and beat gently with a egg beater or a whisk.
    The reason I use the whisk in the photographs is that I know of many people who are following my blog , some of them had even attended the baking classes that I have held, now they have not yet invested in an egg beater and I don't want them to hurry and buy it. A lot many cakes can be prepared with a simple whisk or even a wooden spoon. So don't cramp your style, use anything thing to blend the ingredients, but make sure its in one direction only.

3.   Sift the flour with the baking powder and the soda and add one tablespoon at a time into the egg mixture, but reserve one tablespoon to dust the dates.

4.  I found the dates too sticky and lumpy after chopping them so I rolled them in the reserved flour and made about 14  small balls .

5.   Beat the mixture and fold in the dates very gently and do not beat the batter now.
    Now I  must add here that the muffin batter does not have the flowing consistency like the cake batter, its a  lot thicker than that.
    The reason why we dust the chopped dates in the flour is that if we don't the the dates will settle down to the bottom of your muffins or the cakes.

6.   Spoon into the muffin cups lined with the paper cases ( you don't have to grease them, I used 14 small cups here and the batter was sufficient for that number. I placed the cups on an aluminium tray and placed the tray in the oven.

7.   Preheat the oven at 180° and place the muffin tray and bake for 18- 20 minutes. ( I baked for exactly 18 minutes and took out the tray immediately). after the muffins cooled I gently lifted them out of the aluminium cups.

8.   Enjoy the muffins with a hot cup of masala chai.

cakes and bakes· cup cakes· dates· egg.

Date muffins

There is a unique connection between  this season of festivity and baking. I am sure there are delicious christmas cakes being baked in many many homes.I too want to join in , so what if its with just simple date muffins.
Wishing you warm winter moments and a very happy new year

Ingredients:

1.      100 grams butter at room temperature

2.       ½ cup powder sugar

3.       ½ cup chopped dates ( deseeded)

4.      1 cup flour

5.   1 teaspoon baking powder

6.    ¼  teaspoon  soda

7.    1 teaspoon vanilla essence

8.      2 eggs

9.    12 to 14 small muffin cups

Method:

1.   Beat the butter and sugar till creamy.

2.    Add the eggs one at a time and beat gently with a egg beater or a whisk.
    The reason I use the whisk in the photographs is that I know of many people who are following my blog , some of them had even attended the baking classes that I have held, now they have not yet invested in an egg beater and I don't want them to hurry and buy it. A lot many cakes can be prepared with a simple whisk or even a wooden spoon. So don't cramp your style, use anything thing to blend the ingredients, but make sure its in one direction only.

3.   Sift the flour with the baking powder and the soda and add one tablespoon at a time into the egg mixture, but reserve one tablespoon to dust the dates.

4.  I found the dates too sticky and lumpy after chopping them so I rolled them in the reserved flour and made about 14  small balls .

5.   Beat the mixture and fold in the dates very gently and do not beat the batter now.
    Now I  must add here that the muffin batter does not have the flowing consistency like the cake batter, its a  lot thicker than that.
    The reason why we dust the chopped dates in the flour is that if we don't the the dates will settle down to the bottom of your muffins or the cakes.

6.   Spoon into the muffin cups lined with the paper cases ( you don't have to grease them, I used 14 small cups here and the batter was sufficient for that number. I placed the cups on an aluminium tray and placed the tray in the oven.

7.   Preheat the oven at 180° and place the muffin tray and bake for 18- 20 minutes. ( I baked for exactly 18 minutes and took out the tray immediately). after the muffins cooled I gently lifted them out of the aluminium cups.

8.   Enjoy the muffins with a hot cup of masala chai.