Brie en Crute, Sticky Date Cake, Sideroads od Halton Hills Magazine

Merry Christmas!

Hello my fine followers! Well, the holidays are upon us and we all know what that means... Culinary indulgences! And in my family, we go all out! Not only do we enjoy a typical English Christmas brunch and dinner, but we follow it up the next day with a Boxing Day party laden with cocktails and snacks, finishing it all off with a great New Year's party at my Auntie's house! It's a great time of year to get into the kitchen and make some fantastic food. With us, it's all about tradition and today's recipes are classics for this time of year. These recipes are from my winter submission to the 'Sideroads of Halton Hills' magazine. Brie en crute is an appetizer that I absolutely adore. Creamy brie cheese wrapped in puff pastry and baked to perfection... Can it get any better? Sticky date pudding is a favourite Australian dessert. I first became familiar with it when I lived in Melbourne and have made it ever since. Rich, moist pudding topped with a warm caramel sauce. Yum! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Brie en Crute

Now, the brie en croute recipe is just a base for you to embellish! Caramelizing some onions, allowing them to cool and placing them on top of the brie before you wrap it in pastry is a delicious addition. Heck, once I even added some chopped and fried bacon to my brie en crute! Talk about pure indulgence!
As for the dessert, I've taken the traditional sticky date pudding recipe and converted into a cake. Doing this means that a bain marie (water bath), isn't needed to bake the cake. Also, using a cake tin instead of a pudding basin makes it easier to feed a holiday crowd. And let me tell you, your holiday crowd will love this sticky cake served with warm caramel sauce! Delicious! Alrighty my fave followers, enjoy the holidays and make sure to share some fabulous food with your loved ones (I know I will!)! Until next year, when the culinary adventures continue! All the best!

Sticky Date Cake