Love is........

To celebrate the run up to Valentines day I have teamed up with the lovely people over at Blue Mountain Emporium who carry the most divine, prestiges coffee on earth! Grown on the blue mountain in Jamaica, with a portion of the profits going towards the setting up of a scholarship fund, to allow disadvantaged children to access an education!  They have kindly decided to let you into some of their most jealously guarded, delicous coffee receipes!!They felt that valentines day should be as much about loving yourself as perhaps a person you love!So which ever way you feel, if you adore your coffee, you have the perfect excuse to bake yourself a beautiful coffee treat! Each day in the lead up to valentines day, there will be a brand new recipe to try, unique to Blue Mountain Emporium!!!  

  

Love is remembering what first brought you together, never wanting to hang up, loosing yourself in a kiss, each moment spent together feels as sweet as the last. S xx

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients:

For the pudding;

125g / 4 ½ oz Ready to eat Dates, chopped.

125ml / 4 ½ fl oz water, just off the boil.

1tsp Jamaica Blue Mountain Instant Coffee.

¼ tsp vanilla extract.

½ heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda.

37g / 1 ½ oz butter, at room temperature.

75g / 2 ½ oz Demerara raw cane sugar.

1 large fresh egg, beaten.

87g / 3oz self-raising flour, sifted.

For the sauce;

87g / 3oz Demerara raw cane sugar.

55g / 2oz butter.

60ml / 2floz double cream

Method

• Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 4, 350 F, 180 C.

• Grease and flour a 2lb loaf tin.

• Place chopped dates, Blue Mountain Instant Coffee, vanilla extract and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Add the nearly boiling water, stir and leave on one side. This will turn into an almost pureed mass.

• In a large bowl mix the butter and sugar, beating well. Add small quantities of egg, beating well after each addition.

• Fold in the sifted flour with a metal spoon. Add all of the date mixture and fold in.

• Pour into prepared tins and bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 mins, depending on size of container, or until done when tested with a skewer. [NB This mixture will also make 6 individual muffin sized puddings, bake for 20 mins.]

• Make the sauce by melting all the ingredients in a pan over a gentle heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.

• Place pudding on a serving dish and pour over the hot sauce. Serve with a good quality vanilla ice cream and enjoy!