The "Sesame Seed Treat"

Has the Carleton Snack Bar managed to top the doughnuts with the sausages on them?

Perhaps. The photo on the right simply does not do their latest creation justice. Earlier in the week these cups appeared on the Snack Bar shelves, enigmatically labeled "gluten free" and nothing more. Curious (and expecting a pudding), I bought one.

They are sesame seeds suspended in honey.

To be fair, they are sesame seeds suspended in honey, with chocolate sauce and whipped cream on top. But ... sesame seeds in honey? Why? Does it have a reputation for health-giving powers? Is it some culture's traditional dish?

To be fair, nothing about this, er, slurry is gross. It's tasty, like a spoonful of apricot jam is tasty. Like apricot jam, it would be quite good on toast. But I wouldn't want to eat a whole cupful of it.

As a matter of fact, after a little Google searching I've discovered that the Greeks have a candy called pasteli that is made almost exclusively of sesame seeds and honey. But pasteli is dry and chewy, kind of like a nut roll. Not like a, um ... oh, I don't even know what to call this stuff.

Darn Those Vegans

Pineapple Spice Pudding Cake

Adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Tasty, but not all that exciting. I think the problem was that I overbaked it, so the pudding on the bottom all dried up and it was just a spice cake. The ingredients are so dirt cheap that I might try it again. This recipe uses less sugar than the Allrecipes version, which was definitely a good idea, and if I was to do it again I think I'd up the butter content and add vanilla.

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 can pineapple rings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9" square baking dish. Bring brown sugar, water, and butter to a boil in a saucepan.

Meanwhile, combine flour, white sugar, baking powder, spices and salt, then stir in milk. Once it's well-mixed, stir in walnuts. Pour into baking dish. Pour the hot sugar mixture over that. It'll look gross, but don't worry.

Top with pineapple rings in a pretty pattern. Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. You definitely want to use secondary containment here – look how that sugary mess bubbled all over the pan.

Enjoy!

Witches

Eh-heh-heh!

Second Law of Metafictional Thermodynamics

Oh, my gosh, so true. I love blowing stuff up in my stories.

Jack of Kinrowan

Meh. "Fairies in Ottawa" is all you need to know. That was the book's schtick, and that's about all there was to the plot, too.

Keeps Me Awake at Night