Happy Sticky Toffee Ooey Gooey Times

 

When: 18/9/12

Background: Stacey being the darling she is, was a wonderful human being and bought me dinner After much deliberation, we decided on The Red Lion pub in Kings Heath, part of the Ember Inn’s chain. Can I just say, what a BEAUTIFUL pub it is! Built in 1904 it is a stunning building with a lot of character!

What: Sticky Toffee, Date and Walnut Pudding with Custard

How Much?: £2 when you ordered with any main meal! *£3.75 when bought separately

What was Good: The price! If I see a bargain, particularly a pudding related bargain I am all over it-as you well know by now. There was a choice of puddings to choose from as well which was nice, but as I seem to have reviewed a lot of chocolatey puds as of late, it was nice to have a change. It was warm, stodgy, stick to the roof of your mouth kind of sticky (or as my Black Count-ray companion says, “Its a bit cloying”…. Don’t ask..) As it approaches Autumn/Winter I hope to indulge in more hot puddings, because nothing really which beats them! Warm Custard with a warm pudding has a way of giving your tummy a hug, a kind of reassurance that everything is well with the world- if I have said this before I apologise, but it is true! Because you will always feel satisfied and satiated after a hot pudding. Regardless of what it is. Ok that is enough fanatic drivel.. On a less soppy obsessive note, the walnuts added a nice bite to the sponge, and the dates had almost melted into it, so texture-wise everything came together really well!

What was Bad: I can’t lie and say it was the most prettily put together dessert I have ever seen. There was something very home style, post Sunday dinner about it. Which is nice, but not what you expect at a pub really when the main meal was put together so nicely, and if I am honest, wasn’t incredibly appetising like most of the other puddings I have reviewed. Because they had already put the custard on, it meant that for people like our Stace-a bit on an-anti custardee- this was a bit disappointing. However I love lots of custard so it didn’t really bother me. Regarding flavour, I can’t say it really was overwhelming, in fact it hadn’t really got a distinct flavour! I think a nice cinnamon edge could have worked wonders here, to lift everything together, and if it was served with a sweet yet almost bitter tangy treacle toffee sauce this could also have gone down well!

Waffleometer

Stacey:

Amy:

See… Hardly a culinary visual masterpiece!