For 2 days the sun came out, the air turned warm, the birds sang, and we all peeped outside, ripped off our woollies and ran down the street in our T shirts.
"Summer's coming! Summer's coming!" people cried, and began swigging cold beers in the outdoor cafes.
Whereupon the skies promptly turned black and bucketed iced water all over them. And now it's back to Even Colder Weather Than Before. And every man and his dog has a terrible cold from being caught in the rain without a coat.
Melbourne pulls this stunt every Spring, without fail. I'm not sure why, but I suspect it's because She has a black sense of humour, to match Her dress code.
So we're all back indoors in our slippers, cooking hot puddings, and feeling very sooky indeed.
And I do believe I've just set up a somewhat laboured segue into an old family favourite sooky pudding recipe.
Now fancy that.
Golden Syrup Dumplings
serves 4
Dumplings
1 tb butter
1 cup self raising flour
1 beaten egg
2 - 3 tb milk
Syrup
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tb butter
2/3 cups (approx) golden syrup
juice of 1 lemon
Rub butter into flour until it resembles breadcrumbs
Add beaten egg and sufficient milk to mix into a soft dough. Place dough in greased casserole or deep pie dish in spoonfuls
Place syrup ingredients in saucepan, stir over heat until sugar has dissolved. Bring to boil.
Pour syrup over dumplings.
Bake at 180 celsius (350 farenheit) for 20-30 minutes, or until dumplings are swollen and golden on top. You'll know by the smell. It will send you crazy. I usually cover mine until cooked, and then take the lid off for the last 5 -10 minutes to brown them. Stops too much of the sauce from evaporating.
Serve with cream or ice cream, or bugger it, both.
Not for the faint-hearted, but guaranteed to warm your soul on a miserably cold night. A big hit with the kids and the elderly.
Take it from me.
