Sticky Toffee Pudding

 

Oh Sticky Toffee Pudding ! How I love thee... This is hands down one of my favourite desserts. Not only me but everyone whom I have ever served it to goes all crazy when they take their first bite. Sticky Toffee pudding is a British dessert made up of a date cake with a simple toffee sauce. This recipe is from David Lebovitz and is absolutely perfect for entertaining as it is very easy to make requiring minimal no fuss ingredients.

 

 

Though he recommends baking the pudding with the sauce at the bottom I always bake it without the sauce as on most occasions I have to travel with it and cannot serve it straight from the oven. My preferred method is to bake the cake, poke some holes all over it and  then pour the sauce. A quick reheat just before serving ensures a moist and decadent treat.

 

Recipe Source - David Lebovitz with very few changes.

 

Ingredients

For the Pudding

180 Grams Pitted Dates (Roughly Chopped)

1 Cup Water

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 1/4 Cups (175 Grams) All Purpose Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt

4 Tbsp (55 Grams) Unsalted Butter

3/4 Cup (150 Grams) Granulated Sugar

2 Large Eggs (Room temperature)

1 Tsp Vanilla Essence

1 Cup Chopped Walnuts

 

For The Sauce

1 1/2 Cups (375 ml) Heavy cream

6 Tbsp (67.5 Grams) Demerara Or Muscovado Sugar

28 ml Golden Syrup (Approx two tablespoons)

A Pinch of Salt

 

Make the Pudding

1. Grease a 8x8 Cake pan. Pre-heat the oven to 190 Degree C (350 Degree F).

2. Place the dates and water in a small saucepan and bring to boil. As soon as the water starts boiling turn off the flame and stir in the baking soda. Keep aside to cool.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. In the bowl of a mixer cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.

5. Mix in half the flour, then the date mixture and then the remaining flour. Stir gently and do not overbeat.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

 

Make the Sauce

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan on a medium flame. Stir till the sugar is melted.

2. Lower the heat to a simmer and stir every 5 minutes till the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

 

To Serve the Cake

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 Degree C (350 Degree F).

2. Poke holes all over with a skewer and pour 1 Cup of the prepared sauce all over. Scatter the chopped walnuts all over. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

3. Serve hot drizzled with extra sauce and Vanilla ice cream.

 

Happy Eating!!

Chicken Kheema Pakora

These Chicken kheema pakoras are deep fried crunchy bits of goodness. The ingredients for these are pretty simple and the mixture comes together in a pinch. I made these for an iftaar party last year and they make a good quantity to feed a crowd. One thing to keep in mind is to fry them low and slow. If you fry them on high they will brown too quickly and remain raw in the middle. A medium flame is best to get the crunch on the outside.

Recipe Source - Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's Kheema Pakora

Ingredients

500 Gms Chicken Mince
1 Cup Finely Sliced Onion
4 Green Chillies (Finely Chopped)
2 Tbsp Besan (Chickpea Flour)
2 Tbsp Rice Flour
1 Egg
1 Inch Piece Ginger (Finely Chopped)
1 Tsp Red Chili Powder
1 Tsp Cumin Powder
1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 Cup Finely chopped Coriander leaves
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Mint Leaves
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
Salt to Taste
Oil for Deep frying

1. Pour oil for deep frying in a wok and heat till ready.

2. Mix all the remaining ingredients in a bowl. The mixture should hold its shape when pinched. If its too wet add more besan; if its too crumbly or dry add an additional egg or a splash of milk.

3. Take small portions of the mixture and place gently in hot oil.

4. Fry the pakoras on medium heat till golden brown. Do not fry on high as they will remain raw from inside.

5. Remove on a paper towel and serve hot with green chutney and tamarind chutney.

Happy Eating!!