Chef Lou'S Burnt Sugar Dumplings - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water
For dumplings
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup milk
To Serve
whipped cream, if desired (or Ice Cream)

Preparation

Heat 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large pan, until it melts to a golden brown syrup.
Add butter, salt, and remaining sugar.
Gradually add the hot water, stirring constantly.
Heat to boiling and cook until sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes.
Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Drizzle in butter and mix well.
Add walnuts; stir in milk and only mix until flour is moistened.
Drop by 1/4 cup spoonfuls into gently boiling caramel sauce.
Cover tightly and simmer about 12 minutes without removing cover.
To serve, invert a serving platter over the top of the pan and flip the pan over quickly. (If you don't feel comfortable doing this, you can use a spatula to remove the dumplings from the pan and transfer to a serving platter).
Serve at once with whipped cream or ice cream.