Pear and Chocolate Sticky Date Pudding

Preparation 25 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour
Serves 6

Melted butter for greasing
250g pitted dried dates
1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 firm ripe pears
90g unsalted butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup brown sugar
300ml cream
Extra 100g unsalted butter
Cream to serve, (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C. Brush a 20 cm springform tin with melted butter and line the base and sides with baking paper. Chop dates with scissors dipped in hot water. Put dates and water in a medium heavy based saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in bicarb and stand until lukewarm.

Peel each pear , then cut into quarters and remove core. Cut each quarter into 3 slices. Arrange pear slices in the base of prepared tin. Using electric beaters, beat the butter, caster sugar and vanilla bean paste and eggs in a small bowl until light and creamy. Transfer the creamed butter mixture to a large bowl.

Sift flour and cocoa onto the creamed butter mixture. Add the cooled date mixture, then mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Spoon the date mixture over the pears in the prepared tin. Smooth the top of the pudding and bake 40 - 45 minutes.

Put brown sugar, cream and extra butter in a small heavy based pan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer the sauce, uncovered for 3 - 4 minutes. Remove the pudding from the oven and pour over 1/2 cup of the hot sauce. Return pudding to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Serve the pudding hot, in wedges, with remaining sauce and cream if desired.

From Better Homes and Gardens.

I did things slightly differently as I was making this pudding after our guests had arrived and I was a bit distracted! I added the bicarb before boiling the dates, I also creamed the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon. I used vanilla essence instead of paste and thought the mixture was a bit dry after adding the dry ingredients at which point I remembered to add the eggs. Despite all this it worked out well and was delicious!

Spicy Casserole

A yummy recipe from my mum. I make it in the slow cooker, mix meat and dry ingredients the night before, then add liquids in the morning and get it going.

2lbs chuck steak, or similar

1tsp dry mustard

1tsp mixed spice

1 tsp salt

½ tsp curry powder

½ tsp ground ginger

3 dsp brown sugar

3 tbs flour

1 dsp lemon juice

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ cup tomato sauce

¼ cup vinegar

1 beef stock cube

2 ½ cups water

Combine dry ingredients. Trim fat from meat, cut into 2” cubes. Toss meat in dry ingredients. Refrigerate 2 hours. Combine remaining ingredients. Put meat into casserole dish, pour liquids over. Cover and cook in a moderate over 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender.

Possibly The Best Apple Crumble

I have made and eaten quite a lot of apple crumble in my time and this is one of the better ones. Sometimes I have made crumble without flour, using rolled oats and coconut instead, but flour is the best for giving a great smooth texture. I also had a glut of red delicious apples, which I would not have normally used in apple crumble. I think I found this recipe by searching for red delicious recipes. I was a bit heavy handed with the slivered almonds, but it turned out great.



A Woolworths Recipe

Serves: 6
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbs cornflour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup sultanas
4 large Red Delicious apples
2 tbs water
1 tbs lemon juice
¾ cup plain flour
60g cold butter, chopped
1/3 cup slivered almonds

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 4-cup ovenproof dish and place on a baking tray.

2. Combine 2 tbs of the brown sugar with cornflour, cinnamon and sultanas in a bowl. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and toss in flour mixture to coat. Layer into prepared dish and sprinkle over combined water and lemon juice.

3. Mix flour and remaining sugar together in a bowl. Add butter and rub into flour with fingertips until crumbly. Mix in almonds. Scatter over apple, cover with foil and bake for 30 mins. Remove foil and cook for 30 mins more until golden. Serve with cream or ice cream.




Nutritional Information
Per Serve:
4.5g protein
13g fat (5.5g saturated fat)
63g carbohydrates
5g dietary fibre
1600 kJ

More Lunchbox Biscuits

Apricot Choc Chip Biscuits

Very yummy chocolate chip bikkies with the goodness and texture of dried apricots.

Recipe provided by:

Allrecipes

Ingredients

* 125g (1 cup) plain flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 125g butter, softened
* 125g (1/2 cup) raw sugar
* 90g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 150g (1 cup) chocolate chips
* 125g (1 cup) chopped dried apricots

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 190 C. Grease a biscuit tray.
2. Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl. Beat together the butter, raw sugar and brown sugar in a bowl until fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg, vanilla and salt. Stir the flour and baking soda into the butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips and apricots.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the biscuit tray.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow biscuits to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

I have one son who found these a bit too sweet, but the other 2 loved them. The second time I made them I used 20g less sugar, and might try reducing it further. I might also try using some wholemeal flour.