The Best Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe Ever

A good old British classic dessert that I often crave is Sticky Toffee Pudding.

The Aussie equivalent Sticky Date Pudding...it's alright...but it does not have that rich dark treacle-y goodness from "oor gud old pudding" { say it with a Scottish accent please! }

So I scoured the interwebs for a recipe that I could make and after a couple of trials, I have come up with a winning recipe.

Award winning.

Best Sticky Toffee Pudding Ever awarded by my mother!!

So without further ado (not adieu!!), here it is...

The Best Sticky Toffee Pudding Ever

A modified version of Ultimate Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients

[ For the pudding ]
240g pitted dates
175ml boiling hot water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g butter - softened
2tbsp brown sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp treacle
175g self-raising flour
100ml milk (I used almond milk)

[ For the toffee sauce ]
100g brown sugar
50g butter
300ml thickened cream
2 tbsp treacle
A pinch of salt

1.  Soak the dates in the hot water and add the bicarbonate of soda.

2.  Use butter to grease a cupcake tin of 12.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan forced.

3.  Blend or process the date mixture until it is all blended up.

4.  Cream the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes.  Then add the eggs one at a time and beat well.  Then beat in the treacle.  It might look curdled at this stage but don't worry about it.  It will all come together in the end.

5.  Sift a third of the self-raising flour into the bowl and fold the flour in gently.  Then fold in a third of the milk, then more flour.  Repeat until all flour and milk is used.  Be careful not to overmix!

7.  Gently fold in the processed dates.

8.  Divide the mixture into the 12 cupcake moulds of the tin.  Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees and then turn the temperature down to 160 degrees and bake for another 5 minutes.  Check with a skewer and there may be some sticky crumbs but the majority of the skewer should be clean.  Otherwise, bake for another 2-3 minutes.

9.  To make the toffee sauce, place the sugars, butter, salt and half the cream in a pot.  Bring to the boil whilst stirring all the time until all the sugars have melted.  Add the treacle and let it bubble away for 2-3 minutes until it is a rich dark toffee colour, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn.  Take the pot off the heat and stir in the rest of the cream.

10.  Serve pudding warm with a gooey puddle of sauce with a side of cream / custard / ice cream.  Whatever you like!

P.S.  There will be a considerable amount of washing up to do!  Best left for the better half to do, of course, since you did all the hard work!

Originally posted on 23/2/2015 (almost 5 years ago!!!  what the...??!!) but posting it up now so that it looks like I have updated my blog when I haven't.  LOL!!!

The Birth Story Of Dainty

I simply cannot believe my little Dainty will be turning 3 in December?

Nowadays, I may have baby brain forever but I can still remember the day she was born!

Here is her birth story...and it's a lonnnngggg one so please feel free to get a cuppa tea if you need one :P

My Birth Plan

Immediately after I had given birth to Bunty, I said I NEVER wanted to endure the same traumatic experience again.  My birth plan for Bunty was to go with the flow but I was so traumatised that she was thisclose to being an only child...but it's true what they say - you DO forget!!!

Enter baby number 2 - Dainty.

Except I did not want her to "enter" the world the same way as her sister did and I requested to have an elective C-section this time round.

But it wasn't that easy to get a C-section { not when you're a public patient anyway! }

At my first hospital appointment, the female doctor was not sympathetic. She said, "All births are traumatic!" and proceeded to ignore my request.

At my second visit, I saw her again { which is unusual being a public patient because based on my previous experience, I never saw the same doctor twice } and again, I voiced my anxiety and fears of giving birth.

This time, she said she would refer me to the Perineal Clinic so they could assess whether I could give birth vaginally.  If I could physically not give birth vaginally, then I could have my C-section.  If I could, then I would not be allowed to have a pre-planned C-section.

I was slightly disappointed but at the same time, I was very thankful to fall pregnant again { I have suspected endometriosis } and I was extremely thankful to have a healthy baby { we have a genetic blood disorder where every baby we carry has a 1 in 4 chance of death } so I was happy to go with the flow.

However, on my third visit, I saw a male French doctor.

He introduced himself and then turned and said to me, "I've read through your medical notes and have you thought about your birth plan?" { I am paraphrasing because I obviously cannot remember his exact words.  And FYI, yes, he had that sexy French accent! *ahem* }

I told him I was rather anxious and I really wanted a C-section but the previous doctor wouldn't 'allow' it but I was willing to go with the flow.

He said, "I think a C-section is a good idea considering what you went through.  Let's book it in now and if you change your mind, you can."

He went through the C-section consent forms with me, discussed the risks involved and got me to sign a few documents but stated that I could change my mind whenever I wanted.

WOW!!!  A round of applause for THE BEST DOCTOR EVER!!!!

Sadly, I never got to see him again in all my other future visits.

Instead, I saw this young female Irish doctor who really did not listen to me.  I asked her whether I still needed to go to my Perineal Clinic appointment as I had already got a date for my C-section.  She said yes.

So, at 33 weeks pregnant, I was the size of a whale and I rocked up at my appointment.  A pelvic physio and a specialist doctor poked their fingers up my bumhole to assess my muscle tone.  Gross right?

And then, as I was about to undergo an anal ultrasound, I piped up, "Ummm...I'm booked in for a C-section so do I REALLY have to do this?" No, I did not.  The specialist doctor let me leave immediately.

She said it was unnecessary to go through this torturous examination for no good reason as I had already decided on my birth plan.

I know birth plans can turn into "not exactly what I had planned" so I decided that my birth plan for Dainty would be : If she comes early, i.e. before my planned C-section date, I will try and give birth vaginally.  And if not, I will just have my planned C-section.   

The Birth Day

My C-section was booked in for 1st December 2016; when I was 39 (+1) weeks.

At around midnight, a few hours before our hospital visit, I had a bloody show - "a mucusy discharge tinged pink or brown with blood. It means the blood vessels in the cervix are rupturing as it begins to efface and dilate—a good, normal pre-labor sign if you're close to your due date"

I told myself not to worry and that "the baby is coming out in a few hours anyway so mehhhh...whatever...just sleep before the baby comes otherwise you will never sleep again!"

Cue the toddler...

I'm telling ya, they know EVERYTHING!

Instead of sleeping through the night as usual, she decided to wake around 1am and SCREECH AND HOWL till 3am.

How did she know that she was no longer going to be an only child in a few hours time??!!!

Finally, when all was calm, we had a couple of hours of sleep.

I remember tossing and turning a lot as I started getting lower back pain...the signs of early labour?

 Just before my alarm went off at 6am, I jolted awake.

I turned to my husband and woke him up - "Um...I'm getting contractions...OWWWW!!!"

We got to the hospital at 6.20am and at this point, the contractions were really strong and pretty close together.

The Day Surgery reception was not open till 6.30am so I headed to the Emergency Department.

"Hi, I'm booked in for a C-section..."
"Okay, you have to wait till Day Surgery opens at 6.30am..."
"OWWW...I'm having contractions though..."
"Oh, give me your details and we'll see you now..."

 A nurse took me to a room, told me to strip off into a hospital gown, checked my vitals and gave me paracetamol to help ease the pain.

Paracetamol??!!!  Did not do anything!!!

The nurse said I was second in line for the C-section and enquired if I was wanting to have a vaginal birth instead... "Well, if I have to...OWWW....OWWWW..."

But then another nurse popped in and said that the pregnant patient who was first in line for the C-section had NOT turned up!!  They could not get in touch with her nor her partner.  Apparently, it was her fourth child so you would think she would remember to turn up for her scheduled surgery, right??!!

 "You're 6cm dilated.  You can wait and choose to give birth vaginally or go for the C-section now.  It's up to you!"
"Wellll...I don't mind...I don't know..."

Seriously, I am the worst decision maker in the world!!!!

I turned to my husband to ask him what I should do.

He didn't want to take responsibility in case he picked the "wrong" choice.

Seeing our struggle with decision-making at a critical time, the nurse said -
"Can you remember why you and the doctor decided that a C-section was best for you?"
 "Yes!"
"Well, go for it!"

And there you go.  I was wheeled to the theatre room.

They helped me put on highly attractive compression stockings and a hair net thing.

Everyone involved introduced themselves to me and explained what they were going to do which was lovely but I REALLY needed to NOT feel pain because my contractions were really strong.

{ There was a midwife/nurse who made a passing comment that I could have pushed in an hour's time which I chose to ignore and not let it spoil my birth experience.  Yes, I was 6cm dilated but there is no 100% guarantee that I would fully dilate to 10cm...and maybe the baby would get distressed / stuck / etc...so STFU please!!! }

Once the anaesthetic kicked in and I could no longer feel the contractions, I relaxed...there was a burning flesh smell...and then, a few minutes later, Dainty was born.

SO QUICK!!!!

When they handed her to me, my first thought was that she had so much hair.  Beautiful thick black hair.

She was quite a big baby at 3.73kg.

She was perfect.

We had already chosen a name for her months and months ago and it suited her perfectly.

Tears of joy followed.

None from my husband - I HAVE YET TO SEE HIM CRY!!!

We had skin-to-skin.  And she naturally made her way to my nipple and fed!!!!  Unbelievable! I felt on top of the world! { Such a contrast to her big sister's birth where immediately after I pushed her out, I lost so much blood which splashed on the floor and I vomited everywhere and I was in and out of consciousness and was so weak that I couldn't even lift her to feed her! }

I was so thankful that Dainty's birth went so smoothly and I was able to be 'all there' for the whole procedure.

I had such a lovely and positive birth experience.

I loved having all the drugs because I did not feel any pain whatsoever.

In fact, I feel that I recovered a lot quicker physically and mentally with a C-section even though I had a horrendous cough and cold which made it REALLY painful during my coughing fits.

I was just so grateful to not have people examining and poking their fingers in all my orifices all the freaking time.

Anyway, I was so sure that I was done with having kids...but immediately after giving birth to Dainty, I turned to my Husband and said, "I'm ready for another one!"  Haha!!!!

And here we are today...almost 3 years later...and oooh...first time mentioning it on the blog...but we do have a 3rd child...boy...Simba...3 months plus...who is currently crying and refusing to sleep as I type this!!!

A Walk To The Park To Remember

So this happened...

It had been dark, cold and lazy winter days for too long in Melbourne so when there was that one sunny day a few weeks ago, I peeled my lazy ass off the couch and spontaneously decided to take the kids to our local park... ...without driving there.

As in, walking there pushing the baby in the pram and preschooler in the skateboard.

"Are you sure you don't want to drive there?" - asked my husband.  He didn't join us as he was busy with some home DIY project.

"Yes, I can do this!  Pfft, it's only up the road!" - said I, with steely determination in my voice.

I quickly buckled the kids up and headed off...before I could change my mind...

15 minutes later, we reached the park.

There was a toddler there on the swings with her dad.

My 3yo hopped off her skateboard and ran towards the slide, giggling along the way.

I was severely slightly out of breath but I was beaming with pride at myself because I did it!  I walked to the park!!!!

Obviously, I made sure to take plenty of photos and videos on my phone because if it's not on social media, did it really happen?!

"Baby!  That's a baby!" yelled the toddler as she pointed to my 9 month old.  Her father and I exchanged a friendly parent-to-parent nod and smile.

For 5 minutes, everything was going exceedingly well.

The sun was shining, I was on a swing holding onto my koala baby while my 3yo was running up the stairs and going down the slide and it just felt so good to be alive... .

..until my 3yo piped up, "Mum, I need the toilet!  NOW!"

I told myself to stay calm and collected.  I can handle this.  No biggie, I thought to myself.

I plonked the baby onto the pram, grabbed my 3yo's hand and headed to the nearest tree.

I squatted and held onto my 3yo's legs and helped her squat for her to pee.

"Are you finished peeing yet?"
"Yes.  But I need to poo now."
"Whaaa... okay, quickly, come on!"

I quickly glanced around to see if anybody was watching.

Oh great, the toddler was pointing her finger at us.  I gave the dad a weak smile...

"I'm finished mum!"
"Okay, wait here while I get some tissue..."

I ran back to the pram, peered into the basket and found two tissues...which were probably used to wipe a snotty nose or two...oops!

TMI but usually my 3yo does poos where there's nothing left behind and one quick wipe is enough.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.  I quickly realised that this wet sloppy pile of poo was not a two tissue affair.

 nd I also realised that I had nothing, NOTHING!!! packed in the pram basket.  No nappies, no baby wipes, no food wrapper that could be used as an emergency tissue or poo bag....NOTHING!!!

I had to call for emergency back up.

The five minutes it took for my husband to drive to the park felt like FOREVER.

We stood next to the tree, guarding the hot steaming pile of stinky poo.  My 3yo was embarrassed and didn't want to talk.  My 9mo was getting antsy sitting in the pram.  And I was avoiding the toddler and her dad who were extremely curious at what we were doing.

My husband pulled up the car and strolled towards us with a big massive grin on his face; one hand carrying toilet roll and the other hand carrying a plastic bag.

"Do I HAVE to pick up the poo?  Why can't I just sprinkle some twigs and leaves on top of it?"
"It is not singular.  Think plural.  Have you seen the pile of poo??!!"
"Oh my gosh!!"

All parents will nod their head and agree when I say that it is amazing how much and how often a little mini person can poo.

Feeling left out, the little one decided to do a big massive poo in her nappy while we were doing the clean-up!!!

But it somehow broke the ice because after I wiped her bum, my 3yo started singing, "I poo-poo-ed and then little sister poo-poo-ed too!  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We poo-poo together!!"

We now call our local park, The Poo Poo Park!

Apply, Dry & Peel

I was hoping to kick off my beauty blogging comeback with an awesome never-been-blogged-before-brand-spanking-new-hot-off-the-press beauty product but it's not going to happen because I have dropped off most of the PR call-put lists now { sob, sob } so I don't have a Scooby Doo what is new in the beauty world these days.

Instead, the product I am going to blog about today was purchased after I read two raving reviews of it { and the fact that it was half price helped too! }.

Without further ado, I am going to review...

*drum roll*

...Maybelline Tattoo Brow 3 Day Gel Tint  { Aussie gals - you can buy this at Priceline! }

It's basically a DIY paint-on gel tint for brows which lasts up to 3 days; perfect for those who would love daily brow definition but don't have time to draw in brows every morning but also, who don't go to the beauty salon to get their brows tinted.  That me!

So it's super easy to use in 3 simple steps :-

1.  Apply a thick even layer over brows in the shape you desire
2.  Wait for at least 20 minutes for it to dry { browse through Insta-stories to kill time }
3.  Peel it off and brush brows gently with a spoolie

I like it!

It's convenient without breaking the bank and doesn't require too much effort from lazy old me.

Added bonus :  the peeling bit is fun and reminds me of primary school when I used to enjoy picking off dried PVA glue on my hands.  Tell me I am not alone!!!

And evidently, I have given birth to another aspiring baby beauty blogger!  Thank you my dear little Dainty for kindly modelling my tube of Maybelline Tattoo Brow 3 Day Gel Tint with your cute ickle hands and flashing us your wee piggy toes too! Disclosure : Product was purchased by moi!

He Said, She Said : The One About 4 Different Perfumes

There are 10 days till Christmas!

Has the panic kicked in yet?  Have you bought all your Christmas shopping?

If not, are you thinking of buying perfume for anyone?  Or are you wanting a new perfume for Christmas?

If yes, then you might find this perfume review somewhat useful...

I was lucky enough to receive 4 different perfumes in the mail throughout the year, but it's only been now that I have been able to handle perfumes as I was averse to a lot of scents earlier in the pregnancy.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to enlist the help of my husband to help me review these perfumes as everyone has different taste in scents...

Vera Wang Princess Revolution

They said :  This is for the confident, edgy and rebellious who has found the perfect balance of rock and romance.
He said :  Oh it's Vera Wang - isn't she a designer who makes wedding clothes?  { wedding dresses, duhhh! }  This is nice.  It's not overpowering.
She said :  Look, you can wear the crown as a ring as well as the band ring!!  The bottle design is also funky and edgy; very appealing to young girls.  It smells like watermelon and very fresh.  I do like it a lot!

CK One Gold

They said : The new aroma for her and for him, coming out mid-2016, is a modern interpretation of the iconic fragrance conveying the message: "Be brave. Stand out from the crowd. Everything you touch exudes gold. "
He said :  I liked the original CK One when I was younger...but this one is a maybe.  Maybe I would wear it?  Maybe not.
She said :  This is my favourite bottle design out of the 4.  Oh, it smells quite woody and sweet.  I think this would smell good on you.  Wear it!

Beyonce Heat Seduction

They said :  A sensual, intoxicating and irresistible fragrance of exotic fruits, hypnotic flowers and carnal amber and resins.
He said :  Beyonce has a perfume?!  This smells...oh...I don't like it.  It smells like...talcum powder.  It DOES smell like talcum powder.  Just no.
She said :  It smells like vanilla to me.  And I guess I won't be wearing it if I want to turn on the heat and seduce you since you don't like it at all!!

Chloe My Little Roses De Chloe

They said : Gentle and graceful, the fragrance tries to capture a walk down the Parisian rose gardens.
He said :  This smells like lychee!  This is my second favourite after Vera.
She said :  I LOVE THIS!!!  The bottle is super cuuuute!!!  It smells like roses, very feminine and classic - but not like a granny or overpoweringly floral.  This is my favourite.  I'm gonna wear this every day!!!

It was super fun doing this perfume review together and interesting to see how my husband reacted to different scents.

Have you tried any of these perfumes?  What do you think of them?  And what is your current fave scent?
Disclosure :  Thanks to Coty PR for sending these perfumes for review.