Mystery Bay

Having spent the last several Christmasses with my side of the family, this year it was my husband's family's turn. And what a celebration! We headed up the coast with T's parents, aunty and uncle, a cousin as well as sister, brother in law, niece and nephew - all of us congregating at a farm stay near the beach, with amazing views all around.  T and I were even lucky enough to score our own lovely cabin - look what I woke up to Christmas morning:

Christmas Day turned out to be a low key but fresh and delicious occasion, made all the more special by spending quality time with my in laws, going on walks, fishing, sailing, barbecuing, or just hanging about chatting.  The entire stay was very relaxing with lots of great activities available nearby, most of the focus being on the beach and lakes - all within walking distance from our accommodation - and the weather was also quite kind to us.  I even managed to book in an amazing (and very reasonably priced) massage from the lovely J, one of the managers of the property.  It was wonderful observing T's family interactions too:  they all live quite some distance from each other, either interstate or overseas; but they are a close family nonetheless.

Before I set off for Mystery Bay, my mum gave me two of her homemade puddings as a Christmas contribution. They were devoured by us all, along with my father in law's home made custard, mum in law's many cakes and slices, and a bottle of ice-magic.  My sister in law (who lives in Sweden and is generally very healthy and a sensible eater) is totally obsessed with the stuff; whenever she visits Australia she indulges her sweet tooth as it cannot be bought in Europe.  Note the excessive amount of chocolate and token slice of pudding accompanying the huge bowl of vanilla ice cream.  Impressive!

Sticky Date Pud with Salted Toffee Sauce

When asked what their favourite comfort food is, people will give a variety of answers.  Chocolate features high up on the most common responses, as do roast dinners.  Inmates on death row, similarly, have wishlists which span from the mundane (a big mac and fries) to magnificent (foie gras).  Personally, nothing says "curl up under a warm doona and forget about the world outside" quite like a good pud.

Ingredients (serves 4):

100g pitted and roughly chopped dried dates
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp bi carb soda
50g unsalted butter
80g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup SR flour (sifted)

Sauce:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cream
50g salted butter
1 tsp sea salt flakes

Method:

Preheat oven to 180deg, lightly grease 4 ramekins.

Combine dates and water in saucepan, bring to boil and remove from heat, add bi carb and let cool to room temp.  Beat butter and sugar with electric beaters in small bowl until creamy, slowly add egg and vanilla while beating.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl and fold in flour and dates plus water mix until just combined (don't over do it!).  Spoon mix into ramekins, place ramekins on a baking tray and bake for approx 30 mins until golden brown and cooked through.

For the sauce, put sugar, cream, butter and salt into a pan and bring to boil.  Simmer for a few mins, stirring, until butter and cream dissolve and combine.  Reduce heat, simmer for another minute.  Pour hot sauce over inidividual puds and serve immediately - either on its own (classic) or with some cream and seasonal fruits (posh).