I bought a slow cooker a long time ago and until recently it spent most of its time at the back of a cupboard. It is only recently I have come to get full use of this wonderful piece of kitchen equipment. I must confess however, I know that my slow cooker will inevitably be constrained to the winter and colder months as I find it best suited to braised dishes and that is usually not the sort of food I want to eat in the warmer months. But whilst the weather is cold, I am getting full use of my slow cooker I nearly always cook in large batches when using it when time and energy are in short supply. When I know I’m going to be busy and not have the opportunity to eat I go ahead and stick something in so I know when I get home, I will have a hot comforting meal ready. Most of the time it is only two of us eating so I like to come up with recipes such as my slow cooker ham that do provide several dinners but, the several other new dinners over the next few days come from these. From the leftovers of my slow cooked ham I make ham & Pea potato cake, my egg fried rice with ham or even just some simple stir-fried greens with a hefty slice of ham that is topped with a fried egg, runny yolk a must.
I have recently been adapting some of my dessert recipes for the slow cooker, which I will explain. The reason this idea came to meet was recently when at a friend’s house for dinner there was a little bit of a crisis due to the oven being in use with dinner itself and temperatures, which inevitably shouldn’t have been a concern, I would just pop pudding into the oven after take out dinner as I enjoy a little break between courses. This, however, got me thinking of ways of cooking hot pudding or desserts without having to use the oven. What other pieces of equipment are found in most kitchens I thought. Then it hit the ‘slow cooker’, I knew as soon as I had decided on the cooking appliance that it had to be a pudding and I came up with a few but my top favourites were easy and delicious. One my slow cooker STP (Sticky Toffee Pudd) and the other my chocolate pudding. What makes these both great is that they are super easy to make combine wet and dry ingredients and cook it in its own sauce in the slow cooker giving your pudding an incredible sponge much like that of a steamed sponge pudding. I share below my recipe for slow cooker STP.
Check back over the coming weeks for many more slow cooker recipes.
AuthordanieldiverThis sticky date pudding is cooked in quite a radical way. It does require a leap of faith but you rewarded with a tender sponge, much like a steamed sponge and a molasses rich sauce with very little work.
Place the chopped dates in a bowl, add bicarbonate of soda and pour over boiling water. Set aside to allow the dates to soften.
Prepare the cake batter by creaming the butter and sugar together until smooth and pale. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until all incorporated.
In another bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Give a quick whisk to distribute the ingredients. The pour into the wet then whisk together until a smooth batter.
Remove the dates from the bowl of hot water with a slotted spoon or sieve. (Don't throw away the liquid this will be the base for the pudding sauce) Squidge the dates with a fork to break them down a little further, before folding into the cake batter with a spatula.
Grease the bowl of your slow cooker with butter. Add the cake and spread as flat as possible with a spatula.
To make the sauce part, sprinkle the cake with the remaining dark brown sugar and cut the butter into small cubes and scatter over the cake. Gently pour the water reserved from the steeping dates on top of the butter and sugar on top of the cake and cook on a high setting of the slow cooker for 3 hours. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the chopped dates in a bowl, add bicarbonate of soda and pour over boiling water. Set aside to allow the dates to soften.
Prepare the cake batter by creaming the butter and sugar together until smooth and pale. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until all incorporated.
In another bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Give a quick whisk to distribute the ingredients. The pour into the wet then whisk together until a smooth batter.
Remove the dates from the bowl of hot water with a slotted spoon or sieve. (Don't throw away the liquid this will be the base for the pudding sauce) Squidge the dates with a fork to break them down a little further, before folding into the cake batter with a spatula.
Grease the bowl of your slow cooker with butter. Add the cake and spread as flat as possible with a spatula.
To make the sauce part, sprinkle the cake with the remaining dark brown sugar and cut the butter into small cubes and scatter over the cake. Gently pour the water reserved from the steeping dates on top of the butter and sugar on top of the cake and cook on a high setting of the slow cooker for 3 hours. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.
I will have to try this.
Oh please do. Let me know your thoughts
I shouldn’t as hubby is diabetic, and I would have to eat it all.
We all need to treat ourselves now and again 😉
I do, but wouldn’t bake anything he couldn’t eat.
understandable
🙂