Friday, November 13, 2009

The World's Best Sticky Toffee Pudding...

When my daughter and I were visiting friends in Aberdeen, Scotland, we were on an outing one day and stopped for lunch at a wonderful little hotel called "The Udny Arms".
The Udny Arms overlooks the the Ythan River and Sands of Forvie. The dunes there are a natural preserve, and of course, Donald Trump took one look at this beautiful area and decided it needed developing into a golf course, 500 houses, 950 timeshare flats and a hotel. And what will it be called? Naturally, Trump International Golf Links. *sigh* But that’s a story for another day.

It was a cold, blustery day when we were there, and it was the day I first discovered one of the most wonderful delights I had ever tasted -- Sticky Toffee Pudding. It was an experience I will never forget, sitting in that beautiful room, looking out at the dunes and the water, and eating enjoying savoring that wonderful pudding. Today is a cold, blustery day in Vancouver, a perfect day for Sticky Toffee Pudding. So, I thought I would share it with you. Here it is, hand written by the chef at the Udny Arms Hotel, Aberdeen, Scotland. (Click to enlarge it...)

22 comments:

Shaista said...

Dear Jo, I don't think I will look at sticky toffee puddings with the usual roll of the eyes again :) Sticky toffee pudding is everywhere in England but now I can think of you coming all the way to Aberdeen and truly enjoying it for the first time. It sounds like the chef must have been charmed by you to handwrite his recipe :)

PurestGreen said...

Sticky Toffee Pudding is the best thing ever. There was a place in Fort William in the Highlands that made great Sticky Toffee Pudding but I believe it has closed. It was called Number 4. Oh, I could go for some right now, with a glass of cold milk. Sigh...

TheChicGeek said...

Oh, Jo, not only did you entice me here with visions of sticky toffee pudding you share the recipe :)))) I'm in heaven! Thank you!

And oh, Donald Trump should be shot turning that beautiful land into a golf course! Grrrrrrrr

The clouds in that photo are absolutely magical :)

Love to You, Jo!
Have a Wonderful Weekend :) I know what I'm doing...making sticky toffee pudding...LOL
xxO
Kelly

DUTA said...

I like the handwriting of the chef; can't tell why, I just do.

Leilani Tresise said...

Donal trump uckkk.. Thank you for the sticky pudding reciepe Jo! I bet yah its way better than poi!=0)

Leilani Tresise said...

JO what is CASTER sugar?

Marguerite said...

Love the photos of Scotland. The Udny arms sounds like such a quaint place. And this Sticky Toffee Pudding looks divine! Now, I'm over here gaining weight on your blog! Thanks for the great recipe! Have a fun weekend, cher!

Russell said...

Wow! Scotland! That would have been a great trip!

When I talk about having gone "over the pond" it does not have quite the same meaning! Heh!! Suffice it to say that I can see cows and maybe some geese along side or in the pond I am referring to!!

To have the chef write out this out for you in his own hand, well...! Pretty special! Sure there is not a bit more to this story??!!

I hope you do a post about Balmoral Castle one of these days, too....

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I suspect that just being in Scotland would make everything taste wonderful. I also wonder what caster sugar is.

Donald Trump is one of the people in the world whom I most despise. He really seems to think he has the right to own everything without regard for preserving the natural beauty of a place that isn't even in his country. The guy is evil on a very grand scale.

Belizegial said...

Josie,

Believe it or not, today was (by our standards) quite a cold and blustery day considering we're in the tropics.

So thanks for the toffee pudding recipe and the George Carlin You Tube video (football vs baseball).

Can you provide advice on how to place a you tube video on my blog.

Much appreciated and have a great cosy weekend.

Enid

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Hmmmmm.... I need a dessert for Thanksgiving and I bet no-one else will bring this!

Amy said...

Because I totally adore Scotland, I can imagine the sticky toffee pudding being just how you described. Great post - thank you!

Alicia said...

I'm glad you had a happy day with your daughter and that you found this great recipe...handwritten by the Chef no less! Good job, thanks for sharing.

Jo said...

Shaista, I had never heard of sticky toffee pudding before that day, and I thought it was wonnnnnnderful. :-)

PurestGreen, isn't it just the best? I think I'm going to make some this weekend.

Kelly, I am going to make some sticky toffee pudding too. *heh* And yes, Donald Trump should be ashamed of himself. And Trump is such an unfortunate name. Imagine having "Trump" on everything. *gag*

Duta, isn't the handwriting lovely? It's almost like caligraphy.

Leilani, caster sugar is just regular sugar, only more finely ground. I guess the equivalent would be berry sugar.

Marguerite, I loved the Udney Arms. It was so -- Scottish. *heh*

Michelle, yes, yummy! :-)

Russell, I think the chef gave that recipe to anyone who asked for it. :-) And yes, Scotland was a wonderful trip. It actually reminded me a lot of British Columbia, oddly enough.

Hearts, I cannot understand why or how the Scottish folks gave Trump permission to deface that beautiful countryside. $$$$$$$$$, I guess. It's very sad.

Caster sugar is just finely granulated sugar, like berry sugar.

Enid, I will e-mail you with how to put a video on your blog. It's really very easy. There are several ways, but I find embedding the HTML code is the easiet.

Kathy...! This is a perfect Thanksgiving desert. You will be the star of the show...! *heh*

Amy, somehow it tasted so much better, in that wonderful dining room, overlooking the water, on a chilly day.

Lorenzo, hmmm... I will check out your blog. Thanks.

Alicia, yes our trip to Scotland was much too short, but it was lovely all the same.

TomCat said...

Dang it Josie! That sounds delicious and I'm hungry!! :-)

Jo said...

Tom, did you know -- Häagen-Dazs makes Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream? Yes...! It's wonderful...!

Paula Slade said...

Jo, that recipe is to die for - I'm going to forgo the pumpkin pie at our Thanksgiving and give that center stage instead! Wonderful fond remembrance in your post- thanks for sharing! As far as the "Donald" - argh - I have been following that tale on Scotsman.com since he wheedled his way (by way of his mother's heritage) onto the Scottish real estate scene. IMHO rather shameful how the whole thing was handled by his reps.

Jeannette StG said...

I wonder how the pudding will be without the dates? How nice to get this recipe! Thought restaurant chefs usually keep their kitchen secrets:)

Land of shimp said...

Leilani, I don't know if you'll see this or not, but as luck would have it, my family is Scottish (mother and brother both from there) and my brother is a chef so this has come up before!

Castor sugar - you can use Baker's Ultra Fine sugar (available right by the regular sugar in the grocery).

TooDarnHot N AZ said...

Dear Jo, thank you for sharing the original recipe. I found an Udny Arms sticky toffe pudding recipe online a couple of years ago and have made 5 or 6 times. It was delicious, but the recipe I found called for flour, not self rising flour, and everything was measured in cups. For Christmas I'm going to try the real original recipe. I can't wait, it's so delicious! No one in my group of family and friends wants pumpkin pie for the holidays, they all want sticky toffee pudding! Thank you again!

Unknown said...

I live in Aberdeenshire and about 20 years ago my boss, at the time, gave me this recipe. Even then the Udny Arms sticky toffee pudding was known as the best! Anyway over the years I lost the recipe and wanted to make it as our Christmas dessert this year. I was delighted to come across your blog with original hand written recipe. Christmas dinner winner for our family this year. Thank you.

Unknown said...

Hi Shaista, I know it is 9 years in bug I've only just seen this. I too have eaten sticky toffee pudding at the udny arms and can tell you it's the best I've had. I am a chef of 25 years and can honestly tell you I was blown away. It is rumoured to be the original sticky toffee pudding recipe but there is no proof of this. I highly recommend that if you ever are near Aberdeen that you go in to the udny arms just for this pudding alone.