Hot Dates...

Another brilliant naming scheme from the Brits, Sticky Toffee Pudding is really Steamed Date Cake (pudding or pud being what they call dessert). Anyway, it's a nice little moist cake drizzled with toffee sauce and (preferably) Bird's brand custard (you can make in your microwave). After realizing that the recipe I was going to try this weekend used three sticks of butter and 2 cups of heavy cream, I tracked down a new one through Cooking Light that only used 2/3 a stick and 3/4 c of cream. It got rave reviews from everyone:

Sticky Toffee Pudding

1 c. chopped pitted organic dates (I buy them whole in the produce section)
1 t. baking soda
2 T. butter, at room temperature
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter and flour six 8-ounce ramekins (or use muffin tin for smaller servings - we divided ours anyway). In a small bowl, pour 1 cup boiling water over dates and baking soda and stir.

In Kitchenaid set on medium-high speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and eggs until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Slowly blend in flour, baking powder, salt, and date mixture just until combined. Pour mixture evenly into ramekins and set on a baking sheet or into muffin tins.

Bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed in the center, about 20 minutes. Serve warm with toffee sauce and Bird's custard (from your local British foods store, or QFC sometimes carries it).

Super Quick & Easy Toffee Sauce

In a 2-quart pan over medium-high heat, bring 3/4 cup whipping cream, 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

A Spot of Tea...

Used up the rest of my veggies (aubergine, red pepper and courgettes), pork and pie dough to make pasties for tea today. Also, made some wee "Fairy Cakes," cherry fillo cups, Kagome juice gelatin hearts, mango-banana-coconut smoothie flowers, and of course the requisite cucumber tea sammies (with salmon cream cheese on wheat), oh, and tea pot-shaped cheddar slices (an excellent cookie cutter shape to add to your tea-party accoutrements). All the yummies were a HUGE hit with all the kids (and they ended up eating a good amount of veggies and fruit, and very little sugar... although who'd know it when it's all so pretty and fun?)

Fairy Cakes

In the UK (and other places with such an influence, like South Africa) cupcakes are lovingly referred to as "fairy cakes". A much better name than calling cookies "biscuits". Anyway, for Madeline's 2nd birthday I was inspired to find an "official" fairy cake recipe. This gloriously simple, but delicious one lives up to the name—light, delicious and magical. I, of course, messed with the recipe a little adding coconut extract and lime zest. And of course orange icing and blueberries for M. Happy 2nd to our little Wood pixie!

Brickles Fairy Cakes

1 cube butter (at room temp)
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs (at room temp)
1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
pinch salt
lime zest from one lime
1/4 t coconut extract

Icing
1 c sifted Powdered
Juice of a lime
orange food coloring

Blueberries to decorate

Preheat oven to 375F. Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy in Kitchenaid. Add eggs one at a time, then extract and zest, and beat on high until blended. Gently fold the flour into the butter mixture until combined. Scoop batter into 7 or 8 standard-sized fairy cakes. Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack while preparing the icing. Add drops of coloring to the lime juice, then slowly add juice to sugar until spreadable but still fairly stiff. Drop on each cake and let spread out. Top with berries, and enjoy with a wee person...or at least someone with a twinkle in their eye...