Return of the Nando’s-Carrot-Cake, Owls and Pie In the Garden

 

May time was a good month for pudding, my loyal pudding followers. I have made practically no pudding as of late. Laziness is probably the most likely excuse for this. *Hangs head*

BUT, I have eaten some pretty snazzy pudding related items this month! For example, Return of the Nando’s Carrot Cake, Tea-for-two-which-could-actually-feed-about-four-people and Pie in the Garden!

Some of the Midwives made another trip to our Portugese Hunting Ground that is Nando’s in the sort of start of May. For some nice food, bevvys (non-alcoholic for the drivers) and CAKE. With the usual very courteous and friendly service from our Nando’s waitress (seen posing with my carrot cake right here) Hint: Charlotte is not the waitress. Plus she had Toffee Cheesecake, apparently that was pretty fit as well… Maybe next time I will gather the courage to try a different pudding from the Chicken-Experts, BUT CARROT CAKE IS TOO AMAZING. You will have noticed this theme through out my blog this past year. It is probably the cinnamon and spicy flavours combined with the textures of soft cake with nutty nuts within, and soft smooth cream cheese frosting. Either way, WINNING. And I still think that this Nando’s Carrot Cake deserves the 4 1/2 Waffles I bestowed upon it last time

 

An exciting discovery made this month was that of LUNCHBOX SIZED MALT LOAVES! Personally it took me some time, but in the past year or so, Malt loaf has become a very important and influential part of my life. One of the nicest snacks in the whole world is sliced malt loaf, sandwiched together with smooth creamy butter. It is chewy and rich, fruity and yet densely flavourful. So when  one of the midwives at work brought in these bad boys, the excitement within the room was palpable. The problem I found with them however, was that they do not come with butter. So if you want butter with them then you have to take some to work with you… Which kind of takes away the whole point. But I still find them very joyful and tasty. Becase A) they are malt loaves, and B) they are mini, and mini things are amazing.

 

I took my Mum to Dobbie’s Garden Centre one Saturday this month. This is the benefit of having a car!! Oh how I have missed it! Not because I love Garden Centres, but they are definately renowned for good tasty cake and pudding! They had an offer on that day, £9.95 for Afternoon-Tea-For-Two. A selection of sandwiches, cake and tea/coffee. Sounded good to me!! But trust me, we were not expecting THIS!!!! 3 tiers comprising of sandwiches, Millionaires Shortbread, Meringues, Vanilla Slices and if that was not enough, a Cherry/Sultana scone each complete with Jam and Cream!!!! OM NOM FRICKIN NOM! We thought we wouldn’t be able to manage it between us. But needless-to-say we certainly coped quite well! Each component was delicious! Freshly made and very tasty. And it all looked so so pretty! The scone for me was the highlight. They were obviously freshly baked as they were crunchy on the outside but light, warm and soft on the inside, and combined with the strawberry jam and whipped cream, truly was the icing on the cake (LITERALLY! ) So for those that love afternoon teas, and want to try one that is simply spectacular, and very reasonably priced. You must try Dobbie’s Garden Centre!! 5 Waffles!!

To continue with the Scone theme. In the lovely sunny May weekend weather, my parents, grandparents and I went to Lamport Hall Country Show. It was a nice day out that we have attended for many many years. Consisting of shops and stalls selling allsorts of crafts, food, plants, antiques etc, and also a fair and tractor/vintage car show. When there is nice weather, the natural reaction is to picnic. My grandma being the star she is, fully arranged this, complete with pear cider out of plastic champagne glasses! But there was no shop bought pudding for us!! Grandma made her signature scones. Freshly baked, soft, fruity sultana scones filled with butter and jam for us to enjoy. I will try and snaffle the recipe off her so that I can attempt to recreate them as an adult. Because as a child you see this was one of the first confections my Grandma taught me to make . With my Gradma’s effort, skill and the fact is was very sunshiny, she definately deserves another 5 waffles. OH, AND THERE WERE OWLS! I don’t think they would have tasted as nice…

The final pudding of note in the month of May that I have not covered was a delicious Apple and Blackberry Pie in the garden . But this was not just any old pie. This was a succulently fruity, warm and satisfying Mark’s and Spencer Lattice pie. Crispy pastry, juicy and tart fruit, baked till hot and served with cold vanilla ice cream. I honestly don’t remember the last time I had a fruit pie that was this nice! I certainly don’t think I have ever blogged about one anyway! I would definitely recommend this pudding supreme to you lovely people! The fruit was not soggy, and kept its shape and flavour, whilst giving a wonderful summery colour to the dessert, and Mary Berry would certainly approve of the lack of soggy bottom! So play some Fleetwood Mac, and pretend you are in the M & S adverts whilst nomming this beauty!

I Vote United Kingdom!

 

Date: 14/10/12

Background: For my World Pudding theme of late in my blog, and simply because I love a cake lunch, I went to Marks and Spencer’s in ROYAL Leamington Spa. That statement itself is very British. I mean, Marks and Spencer (for those of you that do not know) is a major British retailer with 703 stores in the United Kingdom and 361 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It is a beacon of pure Britishness in all it’s glory, and the cafe does sell some rather tasty goodies. And as for Royal Leamington Spa, for those of my readers who have not had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful town, with it’s elegant stunning white townhouses, spacious parks, and well known for it’s often upmarket shops, you must add Leamington to your list of places you need to visit-if anything, for it’s culture!

What: Ginger and Treacle Loaf Cake

How Much?: £2.95

What was Good: Its dense rich amber colour was enticing enough. I am a sucker for a good loaf cake, especially if it has the words ‘ginger’ and ‘treacle’ in it’s name. My mouth started to water at the thought of it! I absolutely love the sticky and chewy qualities that treacle tends to give cakes, and with the Autumn arriving as if from nowhere, with turning leaves and a cold chill in the air, the idea of a warming ginger spice was a very welcome one. The topping of the cake was an interesting choice, but more on that later. The loaf cake certainly delivered on the texture front. It was moist, dense but not cloy-y, very flavoursome confection, and I enjoyed it very much. I will definitely be trying to make/bake and review this cake, so watch this space!

What was Bad: Unfortunately, I was not entirely sold on the topping. It was drizzled with a little white chocolate icing, however it could have been yoghurt , and sprinkled with crystalized ginger. I can see why the crystallized ginger is appropriate, I did not like the texture, and the icing, although not unpleasant, I do not believe ‘went’ with the gingery cake. When making it myself I will also ensure that more ginger is added to the actual cake batter itself, because although it had a lovely flavour, I believe it could have benefitted from being more robust!

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