Oozingly Gooey Sticky Toffee Pudding

I was only recently introduced to the joy of sticky toffee pudding. As a child chocolate was a prerequisite for any dessert I would consume, and therefore it never even got a look in.

But even after this introduction I still treated it as a naughty top shelfer, only to be eaten when I thought no one else was looking, or pined after on a restaurant menu.

Too long has this gooey indulgence been forced to hide.

Book Club dinner got penned in the diaries and I decided tonight was the night for a guilt free outing of this classic British dessert.

Who better to trust with this mighty task, but the one and only Delia Smith. A firm favourite of mine, she really does do her recipes justice. I've slightly adapted it to fit my taste buds (omitted the pecans, increased the sauce ratio!), but Delia's recipe in all it's glory can be found here.

Before you begin make sure you have the following ingredients:

175g dates

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 tsps coffee essence

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

75g butter

150g caster sugar

2 large eggs

175g self-raising flour

for the sauce

260g soft brown sugar

165g butter

9 tbsps double cream

Firstly, you will need to pit your dates, unless you are lucky enough to find some already prepared...

Pop the kettle and let it boil as you Chop the dates into rough pieces..

Next, add 175ml boiling water, 2tsps of coffee essence and 3/4 tsp of bicarb to the chopped dates. If there's any water going spare I suggest making a nice cuppa to help you on your way...

Move the date mixture to the side to stew so you have room for next step - creaming the butter and sugar.  Delia suggests using an electric whisk here, but I found that with a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease I got the same results...

Once creamed -  it will become lighter in colour and consistency- add the eggs

Now gently fold in flour, preferably with a metal spoon

and finally combine this with the date mixture...

Depending on what dishes you have handy either separate into 8 separate ramekins or slop it all in one big oven dish :)

Now whack her in a preheated oven (180C) for approx 25 minutes and let the magic happen...while you clean up...whoops

Take your masterpiece out of the oven when it looks something like this...

Now time for the best bit...the sticky toffee sauce.

Simply heat the butter, brown sugar and cream in a pan at a medium heat, until a smooth sauce forms

Pour the sauce liberally (this is why I made extra) on to your pudding portions and put under the grill for 5-8 minutes.  Don't be scared to leave it there for those extra few minutes...it is supposed to bubble and will provide you with the scrummy chewy top layer!  Serve with ice cream or cream and ENJOY!

Going

Going

Gone

It's fair to say that it went down a treat so get sticky and get involved!

Five...Four...Three...Two...Marathon

5 days to go before I attempt to run for 26.2 miles continuously!

I'm running the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday and the pressure is starting to build! I feel like I've been waiting for this week to be over for 6 months and now it's finally arrived I feel very under-prepared!!

Don't get me wrong I've done the mileage and trained up to 20 miles so my legs should be ready but when it comes to running, so much hangs in the balance. Get one thing wrong and it can skew everything.

So I have been searching the inter web and PASTA seems to be the winner!

Hmmmmm.  I have finally got an excuse to eat as many carbs as I can humanly get on board and pasta is all I am being offered. It's not that I don't like pasta it's just that I tend to avoid it considering it was the only dish I ate for the first two years of my university career...

what to have?? what to have??

this looks more like it.....surely I can't go wrong if I stick to one pancake per mile right?!

K

Stick to the LIST...

Another month rolls on, and another birthday rears its ugly head...not my birthday you understand... the birthday of a friend/flatmate/family member where I spend the best part of four weeks trying to find the perfect present only to end up spending $$$$ and finding it up on ebay the next week!

This may make me sound like a tight(I am Scottish after all...), uncaring friend, but in reality I think I care too much about what said present will evoke on the receiver. If it doesn't produce yelps of glee and excitement, or even tears of happiness( this may be a tad optimistic on my present giving ability) then I feel I have failed!

What makes things worse is that I am a PLANNER, but frequently forget, or more often than not -put off- the DOING, which means this dreadful task hangs over me weeks before I even pause to think about present possibilities...

Now at Christmas, things are different. Everyone is in the same sinking boat together.  In the struggle not to drown, we all throw each other the proverbial life ring in the form of a LIST. Oh how I love a good list! 

Long gone are the days where all I want is a 'SURPRISE'. One electric violin, one golf caddy and one pair of judy garland-esque red sequin shoes later and this 'new found' list formation quickly won me over. 

red sequin shoes only work standing next to tin man

I miss the days where if in doubt you get the old fail safe in the form of a book or a CD.  

Every Christmas Eve, my brother and I would head to the high street to start and very quickly finish our Christmas shopping- in one go and by visiting three shops- HMV, Waterstones and WHSmith. So YES- every year my mother either got a CD, a book or a 'fancy' - i.e not bic- pen, but she loved it...didn't she!?!

So either I no longer live up to the highs of my perfect gift giving youth or my mother is way too polite, leaving me in a false reality of ultimate present satisfaction!

As I grow older and slightly wiser I have established that it is most certainly the latter. Ballllllss.

So any ideas folks??

I am in need of;
1x male, 30th (already a month overdue!!)
1x female 27th and
1x female 63rd...

uh ohhhh I'm in trouble - it looks like i'm going to have to go into an actual shop....my online window is closing quickly...

one pen, one CD and one book coming up....

K

Ahoy there...

Ahoy there...

This week, Bestival announced it's Friday Night Headliner...on a boat. As a massive Bestival fan, and with my 2013 ticket already purchased I jumped at the chance to attend this rum fueled shindig!

With Elton John and Snoop Dog(or is it 'Lion' roarrrr) already announced I must admit I had high expectations! ...maybe too high..

After free rum punch and numerous free shots of sailor jerry (note to self not a good idea on a Wednesday night)we waited with baited breath..

And the final headliner is......

Rob Da Bank and Fatboy

Fatboy Slim!!! W.O.Wsers .....yeah OK not quite the Daft Punk we were all hoping for....sorry Norm..

But in the end who can complain -we had an ace night and come September I will be sure to be dancing my wee socks of to Mr Cook!

HMS President on the Thames

Sam with the crew

Sailor Jerry

Limbo time

chilling enjoying a corona

the usual suspects - sam and donna

boat with a view

deck lounging with rum punch

the sun is out!!

me hanging out back

party time

donna and the captain

sooo if the captain is hanging out with donna i think it's time to disembark! Catch you all later

xx

Lesson Learned...

I have come to the conclusion that I am not good at being unwell.

Yes yes you say- who is? Who is happy to be ill?

Who in their right mind intentionally tries to catch that odious lurgy sneaking its way round the office taking down its prey one by one, just in order to have a bored day at home feeling sorry for yourself.

Who sniffs the suspicious looking chicken in the fridge and thinks sod it - worst comes to worst I'll be hugging the toilet for a few hours...

No one... What I mean is when I am ill I don't just sit back and accept the sad truth and try and recover like a normal person- oh no, I try to plough on with my days activities regardless. As a lifelong hater of flaky friends, I feel the inane need never to bail on a days plan until I have tried my best to carry it through. I now know this is not me being clever and committed, but just plain stupid. This stupidity has left me in many a bad situation, where I may be in attendance but am lacking chat, brain power and sometimes even the ability to speak...

Today was one of those days. I wake up, I am sick into the nearest receptacle I find, but no I am fine I tell myself, this is just a minor blip in my morning routine. Off I go, I jump on the tube, and then it hits me- I am not fine... and now I am stuck in a hot metal can underground battling the urge not to vomit on the lap of an unsuspecting commuter.

I make it to the outside of my office but no further, and after a quick visit to the nearest Maccy-Ds toilet I am finally resigned to my failure of a day and head home, having spent not only an hour of my time but also a fiver. 

This is not an unusual occurrence for me. But do I ever learn...Instead of calling it a day I steam on and then end up miles from my bed looking for a quiet spot in a busy London street to lie down.

Right next time I even so much as hiccup I am prescribing myself bed rest. Happy stomach now...hopefully fully recovered tomorrow.

Lesson learned...

x 

Let the Blogging Begin...

Let the Blogging Begin...

Hi I'm Kirsty, I've been living in London for three years now and there's just so much to share that I've decided to start my first blog. I am forever getting inspired by other peoples recommendations, tips, photographs and stories that I hope to inspire, or at least entertain in return!

All very well to start with such enthusiasm on my first blog, but hopefully I will keep it up and post anything and everything that inspires me to blog!

keep you posted

x