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!

Nando’s do pudding?!

 

When: 28/8/12

Background: Me (Amy), my housemate Amy and our good friend Sarah-Jayne, made an impromptu visit to Nando’s in the Bullring, Birmingham, to celebrate my return to my fluffy-residence (I have 3 foster cats… not just shag pile carpet), and the fact we are now all qualified! 3 LONG YEARS HAVE PAST! WOO HOO! Naturally, in the pursuit of science(/my blog) we had to have pudding. I chose the main focus of this blog, and Amy chose Choc-a-lot cake, and Sarah Jayne chose White Chocolate and Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake. More on those later…

What: Carrot Cake served with Frozen Yoghurt

How much?:

What was Good: O.M.G. This carrot cake in my mind was the PERFECT carrot cake. I have never tasted a more finer carrot cake in my days! Not even my Grandma’s (don’t tell her please). The cake was so light it practically melted in my mouth, and the mixed spice was evident in a fine perfume that hit my taste buds in a sweet/scented/aromatic after note. There were chopped walnuts within that added a slight, hidden, treasure hunted crunch every now and again, and the texture of the entire confection was simply divine. There was also the PERFECT amount of cream cheese frosting. Normally when I have had carrot cake before, there has been so much cream cheese frosting that I have had to leave some scraped of disappointedly in my plate at the end. This cake was not one of those disappointments. I chose a relatively light main course to allow sufficient pudding room, and although I felt full and satiated after, I was not stodgily full or feeling sick. I would happily chose this cake again! It was an absolutely wonderful end to a wonderful meal! Thank you very much Aaron our polite and friendly waiter for light-heartedly accepting our indecisiveness(+ tipsiness I hasten to add)!

What was Bad:

The only thing I can find wrong with this dessert was the frozen yoghurt! I do not think,. sadly, that it complimented the dessert well, if anything it just made it a bit soggy, and was so cold it caught my sensitive teeth! Not good! Other than that I would happily give this dessert a 5 waffles!

Waffleometer:

My Bosom Buddies also deserve a contribution. Amy, not me, obviously, chose Choc-o-lot Cake, also with frozen yoghurt. It was similar to that experienced in Portmeirion. It was very very pretty. So pretty that Sarah Jayne actually “HAD” to taste before Amy had even returned to the table. It was rich and creamy, but the cake was moist and dense. She VERY much struggled to finish it, yes her and Stacey appear to be made of the same constitution! So me and Sarah Jayne were required to finish consuming the sweet sickly beast. She also found the frozen yoghurt an odd and unimpressive addition to the cake, and it would have benefitted from pouring cream/ice-cream much more. However, a positive of the cake was that it was rich in cocoa flavour, with the added depth and intensity that milk chocolate would have lacked. Overall she would give the over-indulgent pudding:

  

Sarah Jayne chose a White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake. Being incredibly anti-fruit this was a risky move for her, but she was reassured by the very friendly Aaron that it is in fact Raspberry sauce, not actual Raspberries. On arrival, I was a beautiful slice of cheesecake, with the contrasting colours of the burgundy raspberry sauce and creamy white of the cheesecake itself. However, sadly, for Sarah Jayne this turned out to be another disappointment. On tasting it myself I found the actual cheesecake mixture to have very little white chocolate flavour, and mainly was overrun with the taste of cream cheese. It was too rich after a deliciously comforting and filling main meal, and so sadly, will not be on my list of must have “Waffle-y Studendous” puddings. The base also was not up to standard, being slightly soggy almost in texture and consistency. Sarah Jayne was also saddened by the Raspberriness of the sauce, and so also failed to finish consuming her dessert. All in all, Sarah Jayne would give the dessert a sad: