Sticky Toffee Pudding has got to be my favorite dessert from my last trip to Walt Disney World. It is very much like a Bread Pudding but has a little British twist. I enjoyed this dessert from the Rose and Crown Pub while dining at the United Kingdom in Epcot. I’m not sure how I managed to fit all of the food I ate in and still enjoy this pudding but somehow I did and then I went back to my room and passed out in a food coma LOL. I was so happy to find this recipe on Deb’s website AllEarsNet.com because it was so tasty that I would like to try and make it at home. The recipe doesn’t look too complicated other than the long list of ingredients. I’ll have to give it a try at home over the Christmas holidays when I have a few days off from work. If you haven’t experienced this before I highly recommend eating at the Rose and Crown Pub on your next vacation or making this one at home!
Sticky Toffee Pudding
“Pudding” Ingredients
12 oz. dates, chopped and blanched
8 oz. hot water
2 tsp. vanilla bean
2 tsp. baking soda
1 lbs. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
4 oz. unsalted butter
12 oz. sugar
2 whole eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
Method
1. Chop dates and add to hot water.
2. Stir in vanilla and baking soda.
3. Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time.
4. On low speed add half flour and baking powder and all of the liquid; mix until combined.
5. Fold in rest of flour to mixture.
6. Fill greased molds halfway and bake 15 minutes at 325 degrees F.
Butter Rum Toffee Sauce
Ingredients
1 oz. butter
4 oz. heavy cream
3 oz. dark brown sugar
1/2 oz. dark rum
Method
1. Combine butter, sugar, and cream; bring to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and add rum. Stir until all is incorporated. Serve hot.
Custard Sauce
Ingredients
8 egg yolks
3 oz. castor sugar
1 vanilla bean
½ pint milk
½ pint heavy cream
Method
1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well blended.
2. Scrape the insides of the vanilla pod, if using, into the milk and cream, add the pod too, and bring to the boil.
3. Sit the bowl over a pan of hot water and whisk the cream into the egg yolks and sugar. As the egg yolks cook, the custard will thicken.
4. Keep stirring until it starts to coat the back of a spoon, then remove the bowl from the heat and the pod from the custard.
Serve warm or cold. Stir the sauce occasionally until cool, to prevent a skin forming, or cover with greaseproof paper while it cools.
Posted under Disney, Entertainment by The Blonde Diaries on November 25th, 2008 3:19 pm
I am so excited. Mike and I get to shop for baby/toddler toys this holiday season. Christopher, our godson/nephew, is turning 1 in a few weeks and is quite into toys and moving around. His mother is planning a trip to Disney World in a few years so Mike and I are trying to find Disney related things so that he can start learning the characters and movies that he will see in the theme parks.
We hit up Toys R Us Sunday morning since we were out and about but I was so disappointed in their toy selection. The selection and layout of the store just isn’t what I remember it to be growing up. A good quarter of the store is video games! Where are the toys? I went searching online and found some disney figurines/toys on MegaToys.com that are just perfect. Christopher likes cars and trucks so I thought maybe a Lightening McQueen or Mater car toy would be perfect. Both are available for $6.99 each so I’m thinking about getting both at that rate because it is so much cheaper than in the stores around here. MegaToys.com ships worldwide so you don’t have to live in the US to purchase from them and the prices and shipping fees for both US orders and overseas orders are great. If you have young ones on your list this year visit MegaToys.com to do your shopping.
One of the newer rides to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This ride is back in fantasy land and replaced Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Mr. Toad’s was a favorite ride of mine since I always enjoyed the books growing up so I was a teeny bit disappointed to hear it was replaced by Pooh bear and friends. But I agree we need new rides to keep the place fresh so disappointment didn’t last too long.
Overall, Winnie the Pooh is a fairly calm ride. It is dark at times and a bit bouncy at times so if you cannot tolerate either you might want to skip this ride. I wouldn’t call this a favorite ride of mine but I can see how children could enjoy it and would not want to encourage anyone to skip it. If you aren’t sure about the ride and want to scope it out before your trip just watch the youtube video below. I found it useful when planning my last trip.
Posted under Disney, Recipes, Travel by The Blonde Diaries on November 10th, 2008 12:41 pm
One of my favorite drinks this time at Disney was the famous Blue “Glow-tini”. I like fruity tasting martinis and the idea that it “glowed” was intriguing to me. So I decided to try and find a menu that it was on so that I could try it. I had a list of beer and frozen drinks I wanted to try at Epcot and alcohol is not sold at the Magic Kingdom so my best bets were either at meals on resort property or at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I lucked out and both 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian and the Sci-Fi Drive-in Diner at Hollywood Studios both had it. The drink was really good and I loved the flashing glow cubes so I made sure to keep them so I can recreate the drink at home. Lucky for me, Deb at AllEarsNet.com had the recipe so I see a few blue “glow-tinis” in my future. Enjoy!
Disney’s Blue “Glow-Tini”
1 ounce Skyy Citrus Vodka
0.5 ounce Bols Blue Curacao
0.5 ounce Bols Peach Schnapps
1 ounce Sweet & Sour
0.5 ounce Pineapple Juice
1 each Blue Glow Cube (optional)
Prep:
Build in martini shaker with ice, shake, strain, and pour into glass with sugared rim. Add cube.
Sounds odd to mention Disney, Deal, and Budget all in the same headline but that is correct. Today, Disney released a new special right around 4pm CST for people who are considering a trip between January and June of 2009. Based on when you travel and what you are planning on doing you can possibly get 3 free hotel nights, 3 free park admission days, and $200 in gift cards. The deal is good through December 20, 2008 and the only blackout week is the week of Easter. Not too shabby. Of course before you book make sure to calculate to see if this will be a deal for you. With the state of the economy we may be needing to cut back a little more and vacation less. Luckily, Disney should not be going anywhere anytime soon! For more details see the information below:
Free Nights Package Offer for January-June 2009
Disney is offering a fantastic “free nights” vacation package offer. It is valid for stays January 4 through June 27, 2009 (with April 5-18 blacked out).
Here are the details:
Buy a 4-night/4 day vacation package, get a 7-night/7-day package. That’s 3 FREE hotel nights and 3 extra days on your theme park admission tickets!
Travel between January 4 and March 29 and you will also get a $200 Disney Gift Card, redeemable for dining, souvenirs and more at Walt Disney World! (Travel after March 29 does not include the Gift Card.)
To calculate your approximate savings:
Multiply the room rate times 3 (savings of 3 nights’ room rate).
Add $9 per person (approx ticket savings for the 3 extra days).
Add the $200 gift card if you will be traveling by 3/29.
The total is your savings.
You must buy a package that includes at least 4 nights’ accommodations at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel plus minimum 4-day Magic Your Way Base Tickets to qualify for the FREE nights and the extra days on your tickets.
You can stay longer than 7 nights (up to 10 nights) with this package, but there is a maximum of 3 free nights and 3 extra days per ticket, per stay. You can stay less than 7 nights, but you still must purchase 4 nights, so you’ll end up with less than 3 free nights/extra days: stay 5 nights, get 1 free; stay 6 nights, get 3 free. Obviously a 7-night stay is the best deal!
You can add the Quick Service Dining Plan, the regular Dining Plan, or the Deluxe Dining Plan, but you will pay full price for your dining plan (no free days of dining). This offer cannot be applied to the Premium or Platinum packages or to “split stays” (for example, 4 nights at one hotel, 3 nights at another).
You must book this special package by 12/20/08.
* RWZ for package with 7 nights/7 days for price of 4 nights/4 days (+ $200 Gift Card if traveling 1/4/08-3/29/08)
* WTY for same package with Quick Service Dining Plan
* RXA for same package with regular Dining Plan
* MPL for same package with Deluxe Dining Plan
