Book 10 : Decadent Desserts - Beverley Sutherland Smith

A few years ago (I'm lying I still do it!) you couldn't let me near a cookbook without me spilling something on it.  Mum has numerous books that you can't open all the pages because my old (current) style of cooking involved me splattering myself and everything around me with food.  I would like to pretend that I have got much better as I've gotten older, but the truth is I now rely on a cookbook holder which keeps my books out of harms way.  The problem with this holder is that it has trouble with heavy, hard covered books, so quite often my precious cookbooks get splattered.  This is often accompanied by softly spoken swear words (the softly depends on how far away the kids are), various items being thrown out of the kitchen and a frantic search for the elusive dish cloth (usually hiding somewhere stupid, like the sink!).  But no matter how quickly I get to the pages, they always stain, sometimes they stick together (I'm still hoping Mum doesn't notice a chapter of one of her books doesn't open any more :) ) and no matter how hard I try, I always look down at these books.  Its not their fault, quiet obviously its mine.  But if they really wanted to remain clean, they would a: not be too heavy to fit in the holder and b: be made of pages that can stand up to a bit of splatter!  For God's sake, (well not really I'm pretty sure he/she has bigger issues) recipes involve all sorts of liquid, wouldn't you think they would be washable? or at least wipeable?  So, with my logic all askew and the blame/your attention  diverted from my messiness, I introduce Decadent Desserts.  This is one of the few books I've been able to swap with Mum, new for old (Mum selfishly wants the clean ones).  My copy sadly has pages that stick together and are smeared with chocolate, so naturally I look down upon it and am kind of reluctant to cook from it, I never said I was rational......

Recipe:   Orange and Date Sticky Pudding

Pudding
185g Dates, pitted and cut into small pieces
1 tsp bicarb soda
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp grated orange rind
1/4 cup orange juice
45g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup SR flour

Sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
45g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp orange rind
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cream

Butter a 20cm square cake tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper.
Put the dates into a bowl with the bicarb and pour boiling water over the top.  Leave to stand for 10 minutes, then add the orange rind and juice.
Preheat the oven to moderate, 180c
Cream the butter until soft and then mix in the sugar until light.  One at a time, beat in the eggs and then sift the flour over the top.  Stir through and add the dates and their liquid.  Pour into the cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 mins or until cooked through.  While the pudding is cooking make up the sauce.
Sauce
Mix the sugar with the butter and heat until the butter has melted.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes or until lightly thickened.  Leave to stand a minute, it will thicken a little more.
To serve, cut the pudding into squares and spoon the sauce over the top.

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I have had this book for a long time, actually that's not true, Mum has had this book for a long time, I have merely cooked out of it :).  Its been a while since I've glanced at Decadent Deserts, mainly because of the volume of books I have, but also because (if you have read above you might understand) I've cooked out of it a few times and there are quite a few stains on the pages.  Its a great book, although the recipes are getting a bit old fashioned now, with the best lemon cake recipe I've ever made/had! 

I'm not a huge fan of sticky date pudding, but the orange in this cuts through some of the richness.  Its also very easy to make and really tasty.  One tip for this recipe, double the sauce, its not dry by any means but you can never have enough sauce.  You may notice in my photo the white blob next to the pudding?  That's fresh ice cream from my new ice cream machine, not a very good representation as I pulled it out 20 minutes before it was suppose to finish, but very delicious with the pudding :)

Thanks
Kate
xx