I adore these. They remind me of my childhood in the best possible way. We also made them at the cafe during winter and they were a bit of a hit; some people coming in especially on the days they were on. Which I think is a bit odd, because they are super easy to make and really best freshly cooked (although I do like them cold for breakfast, another childhood memory). G on the other hand, thinks they are horrid and a perfect illustration of bad anglo/australian cooking. Maybe it's the lemon. For me they have to be lemony.
It's really a boiled scone recipe and like with scones, it's important not to overhandle them. Quick and light is the way to do it.
Ingredients
For the dumplings
I cup white self-raising flour
pinch of salt
about 50 g butter
about 1/4 cup of half milk, half water
For the syrup
1/2 a cup of sugar
3/4 cup of golden syrup
juice of one reasonable sized lemon
2 cups of water
To make the dumplings
- Chop the butter into small pieces and rub into flour and salt, lifting to aerate. Don't worry if tt's not compltely even.
- Make a well in the centre of the mix and add in the milk/water mixing with a knife as you go, until you have a medium consistency scone like dough.
- Knead very lightly and briefly in the bowl. Just enough to make the mixture cohere.
- Roll into balls the size of a twenty cent piece (but round). The balls need to be reasonably smooth and well stuck together. Sit on a plate while you make the syrup.
- Bring the syrup ingredients to a slow boil in a medium size saucepan.
- Drop balls into boiling syrup one at a time. They will puff up and double in size quite quickly.
- Don't overcrowd them, I usually cook the dumplings in two batches, adding a little extra water to the second batch.
- Move gently with a spoon to make sure they don't stick together.
- Cook for three to four minutes or until they are done in the middle.
- If you are not serving them straight away, store the dumplings on a tray and the remaining syrup in a separate container. They reheat pretty well in the microwave.
- Serve 2 or 3 per person with a little extra syrup, warm and with cream or icecream. I like either and it's hard to pick which one, but unlike some in my family, I think cream and icecream together is an abomination. I tend to go with the icecream here. Hot, cold. Very sweet.
