Favourite Winter Recipes

Spice of Life

As we prepare to say goodbye to the cold winter months, we wanted to share a few of our favourite winter recipes with all of you. Curated by Stratus Restaurant's Chef Martha and Food & Beverage Manager Gaurav Ashwani, these recipes celebrate some classic winter flavours! Enjoy our amazing recipes for Blood & Sand cocktails and Sticky Toffee Pudding.

The Blood & Sand Cocktail

Created for the 1920s movie of the same name, the Blood & Sand may well be one of the best Scotch whiskey cocktails. The fruit-whiskey, with tones of caramel and orange, is held in check by vermouth.

Ingredients:

• 1oz blended Scotch whiskey
• 1oz sweet vermouth
• 1oz cherry brandy liqueur
• 1oz freshly squeezed orange juice

Instructions:

• Shake with ice and double-strain into a chilled martini-cocktail glass.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Who doesn’t love sticky toffee pudding? Especially at this time of year (but we love it all year round!)! Chef Martha’s sharing her recipe for this classic dessert which has recently been added to Stratus’ dessert rotation! Recipe should yield 9 portions, depending on who’s enjoying it!

Ingredients:

For the pudding:

• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 tbsp butter; cold, unsalted, cubed (plus more for greasing)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/3 cup Demerara sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the sauce:

• 140 gram (5oz) butter
• 2 cup cream
• 125 gram (4.5oz) dark brown sugar
• Pinch fine sea salt

Instructions:

• Heat the oven to 350F and grease a deep 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
• Put the dates in a bowl and cover with the 1 cup boiling water to soften, at least 5 minutes.
• Combine the 3 tablespoons butter, baking soda, a pinch of salt, Demerara sugar, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, eggs, flour, and vanilla extract in a food processor and pulse until just combined. Add the dates and 1/2 cup of the water to the mixture; pulse until nearly smooth (specks of dates should remain visible).
• Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes, until just firm to the touch. (When the pudding has finished baking, remove from the oven and heat the broiler. Put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source.) when the pudding comes out of the oven, I always poke holes all over the top for the sauce to permeate it.
• While the pudding is in the oven make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then slowly add the 35% cream, dark brown sugar, and pinch salt, whisking continuously until the mixture bubbles gently and comes together to form a smooth mixture; turn off heat.
• While the pudding is still hot, pour half the sauce (be sure to leave half for serving) over the cooked pudding and place the whole thing in the broiler until it bubbles and looks sticky, 1 or 2 minutes (watch it closely).
• To serve, spoon into bowls and cover with the extra sauce. I always recommend serving slightly warm with some whipped cream on top.