Retro Butterscotch Dumplings

It's no secret that I love the classics.

There’s nothing quite like flicking through the pages of a retro Women’s Weekly cookbook or CWA recipe book; I mean who doesn’t want a few tips on maintaining a tidy household alongside a recipe for chutney?!

All jokes aside, and for me at the moment trying to maintain a tidy household is a joke, I love taking those recipes and giving them a little revamp where I deem necessary.

Don’t get me wrong, messing with a recipe isn’t always the best idea. It’s usually when I have to substitute ingredients according to my pantry stock that things get altered, or because I think it needs a bit of preening.

Which brings me to butterscotch dumplings, a favourite from many a childhood no-doubt and perfect comfort food on a chilly winter’s evening.

While it’s a recipe great in its retro form, my version just adds a touch more texture, a little less sugar and I’d like to think, an even more delicious flavour.

I would like to say that my lads loved it, but between Mr Everyday Baker and I, they just didn’t get a look in: dumplings demolished before they even knew they existed.

Maple Syrup Dumplings

Ingredients

¾ cup self-raising flour

½ cup almond meal

½ teaspoon baking powder

30g butter, chopped

1/3 cup buttermilk

¼ cup maple syrup

Sauce

30g butter

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup maple syrup

1 ½ cups water

Method

Place the flour, almond meal and baking powder in a bowl and rub the butter through using your fingertips until you reach breadcrumb consistency (use a food processor if you’re short on time or patience).

Add the milk and maple syrup, cutting with a butter knife until the mixture comes together.

Make your sauce by combining all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted.

Roll your dumpling mixture into balls and drop into the sauce, simmering for 25 minutes or until the dumplings are puffy and golden.

Serve with cream, ice cream or natural yoghurt.

Enjoy!

Weetbix Slice

Well, it's easy and yummy and I'm all about keeping it simple at the moment. 
Having something on hand for the big lad's kindy lunchbox isn't always that easy when I realise the night before that they have already eaten all of whatever it was I made the previous day... and although I'm all about easy, I'm still stubborn about making things myself and not resorting to evil packaged stuff full of numbers.
So this slice was better than packing off a kindy kid with a couple of dry Weetbix, right? He was happy, got to help me make it and even bragged about it to his friends. Which basically makes me a superhero!
This recipe is an oldie, but a goodie and I have no doubt it's going to save me on many more occasions.

Weetbix Slice 

Ingredients
5 Weetbix bars/blocks/or a few handfulls of the broken bits at the bottom that no-one will eat
1 1/4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cocoa
3/4 cup coconut
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
200g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Chocolate Icing
1 cup icing sugar
40g butter
2 tablespoons cocoa, or half a cup of melted dark chocolate
splash of milk

Method
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 
Crush Weetbix and mix in a bowl with flour, baking powder, cocoa and coconut.
Melt sugar, maple syrup and butter in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved, add vanilla.
Combine the wet mix to the dry and mix well.
Push into a slice tin, about 20cm x 30cm lined with baking paper.
Bake for 15 minutes.
To make icing, mix softened butter with icing sugar and add cocoa or melted chocolate. Whisk well and add milk, whisking until smooth.
Ice slice while still warm and allow to set.

Enjoy!