Hi, My Name is Mum, What's Your Name? // Plus Chocolate Sticky Date Pudding

Hi, My Name is Mum, What’s Your Name? // Plus Chocolate Sticky Date Pudding
29 June 2016

For those of us who are lucky enough to have a job which allows us to juggle hanging with our kids and working, we’re currently in school holiday juggle town.

Recently, I was told to just surrender to it. But I find surrendering really bloody tough. I like to think I’m laid back and easy going, but in reality I’m a control freak and chill is not my middle name (it’s actually WAY worse than that).

But these school holidays I’m throwing myself into it. Instead of the usual packing our bags and heading on some un-thought-through adventure, the girls have asked for a home holiday. I’m surprised I actually love it.

The home holiday is a different kind of adventure. I’m learning about my kids, instead of some remote, one horse town. We’ve walked the dogs, Pep has spent entire days in her pyjamas, we’ve discovered geocaching (still terrible at it, but a fun thing to do), baked, ate chocolate, drank lots of tea, collected firewood, the girls introduced me to Cupcake Wars on Netflix (which we are now addicted to), we sailed the seas on cruise ships made of sheets and pillows and we cuddled and talked and just hung out.

I put my computer down. In another room.

Pep gave me a 60km radius allowance so I could get supplies.

Funnily enough, on one of our walks, we did just happen upon a new adventure mobile. Even though we love our down time together, the spirit of the open road is ingrained and I couldn’t help but offer our landlord some money for the VW camper rusting away in the driveway.

This is a happy purchase. A project for the girls and I, and one day hit the road together. I explained to our landlord how special having an adventure mobile was to us. I told her the story of our old adventure mobile and how sad we were to have to let it go. She told us the VW was pretty special to them also, and that her name was … Crystal.

If you know our story of our adventure mobile, you’d know be aware that name blew my mind. For those of you who don’t, you can read our adventure story in issue one and a bit of it here.

Enough reminiscing, let’s get to the recipe.

I made a gluten free sticky date pudding on the weekend. It was OK. The girls confided to me on our walk in the bush, it wasn’t my finest work. So I hit the drawing board and came up with a real winner.

CHOC BUCKWHEAT STICKY DATE PUDDING

WHAT YOU NEED

For the pudding:

• 1 cup dates
• 1 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150gm dark chocolate, in little pieces

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C / 350˚F / Gas Mark 4.
2. Grease a small loaf or cake tin.
3. For the pudding, in a bowl, soak dates in boiling water for 5 minutes.
4. Place soaked dates and water into a food processor and whizz until the dates have been processed.
5. Add the maple syrup, eggs, bicarbonate soda, baking powder and coconut oil. Whizz until smooth and combined.
6. Pop into to a mixing bowl and add the buckwheat flour and chocolate bits. Mix until combined.
7. Pour into cake tin and bake for 30 minutes, until the pudding has risen and springs back when touched in the centre.
8. For the sauce, put the butter and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar is dissolved.
9. Add the milk and heat until bubbling, stirring continually.
10. Serve your pudding warm with the yummy sauce with a tonne of cream. Eat and repeat.