Frankfurt Christmas Market. Waffles. I’M THERE!

 

Date: 15th November-22nd December 2012. We visited on 16/11/12

Background: Basically, when the Frankfurt Christmas Market comes to Birmingham, Me and Stacey NEED to be there! So be there we most certainly were!

What: Hot Nutella Waffle

Where: Broad Street, Victoria Square, Chamberlain Square and New Street, Birmingham

How Much?: £4.00

What was Good: It was hot, fresh and cooked right in front of me! I actually physically watched the stall holders pouring the gloopy batter right onto the piping hot waffle iron! WITH MY OWN EYES! Aaaaaaand, there was a wide selection of toppings to choose from, sprinkles, chocolate, Nutella, sugar, the list goes on! So when they handed me my fluffy soft prize smothered in my choice of topping, Nutella, I knew that I was in for a very festive treat! So stood in the Frankfurt Christmas Market with a festive pint in one hand, and my lovely pudding in a another, I sank my teeth into the piping hot waffle, and I felt instantly Christmassy. The texture and reminded me of a soft and squishy Yorkshire pudding, which was beautiful, and the hot melted Nutella in the waffley grooves was simply divine!

What was Bad: I cannot honestly think of anything to  improve this pudding, especially when combined with the atmosphere of the market, the music, the smells, the cold air with hats and gloves, and general happiness. I suppose it was just a little bit expensive.. Even still, honestly, you MUST GO to the Frankfurt Christmas Market and indulge in the wonderfulness that sits within the stalls there!

Would I Go There Again: YES, YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES!

Waffle-O-Meter (LOL):

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!

Waffle-O-Meter:

I Vote Germany!–Guest Blog by Stacey Downton

 

My lovely Stacey went to Germany in August (I have been bad and not got her to do a guest blog until now ) and she had this beautiful pudding. So for my “where in the WORLD can you get the best pudding!?” theme she has kindly offered to guest-blogify for me! So here it is!

Date: 30/8/12

Background:

As a Samsung Mob!ler (kind of like a brand ambassador) I’m really lucky in the fact that I get to travel to lots of weird and wonderful places with my friends and colleagues at Samsung. This time round we were all in Berlin for IFA 2012 which is a very large consumer technology fair in which Samsung had a HUUUUGE exhibition!

There were 100 mobilers from all around the world and as a treat for us (because we all work REAAAAALLLY hard…) Samsung kindly hired out the Restaurant Nolle for us, so that we could say goodbye to our new found friends from all over .

The Restaurant Nolle was an exquisite venue for our party. It is full of 1920’s elegance and lives under a railway bridge….every so often there would be a rumble as the train went over. Also it served a wide range of alcoholic drinks and plenty of German beer!

What: Warm chocolate and walnut cake with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

How Much?: Who knows? Ask Samsung

What was Good: The texture of the cake was very fudge-like. It was chewy and gooey like a chocolate brownie. I loved it. Plus there was nuggets of walnutty goodness which added a crunch that was simply delightful! The fact that the cake was served warm and the contrasting coldness of the ice cream made me even more excited. I love this combo.

Also the presentation was fantastic. It looked very pretty!

What was Bad: Call me picky but I think they could have left the whipped cream out and it would still have been an amazing pudding (Amy: Finally somebody who agrees with me!). Also it came with a little plant thingy…I call them syphilis…but that’s not their real name (Amy: I hope she means Physilis ), either way I’m just not a fan…please decorate my pudding with extra walnuts or chocolatey bits!

Waffle-O-Meter:

Link to Stacey-pops and her amazeballs Samsung techno-blog {I am a link- Click Me}

Where in the WORLD can you get the best pudding?!

 

I have been thinking about this a lot recently. After my somewhat disappointing trip to Majorca, I began to wonder, where in the WORLD can you get the best pudding??? I mean the ones which spring to mind to me are;

America- decadent deep baked cheesecakes, gooey soft rich chocolate brownies, millions of varieties of cookies, and of course the age old saying “As American as Apple Pie!”.

Italy- Gelato in a vast array of flavours, meringues (assuming the Italian meringue was originated in Italy), Panna Cotta and the infamous Tiramisù

The United Kingdom- OF COURSE we are in the running for best pudding! We have so many regional specialities I think it would be criminal for the UK to not get some kind of recognition! Bakewell Tarts, Cornish Cream Teas, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Lardy Cake, Eton Mess, Bara Brith, The Queen of Puddings.. the list is simply endless

France- I don’t know about you, but when I think of French cuisine, one of the first pictures I get in my mind is that off those spectacular, picture-perfect, stupendously detailed tarts, filled with fruit and crème patissiere (as seen on The Great British Bake Off), as well as Gateaux's, elegant pastries, light-as-air Soufflé's, Crepes oozing with fillings, but also delicate petit fours, which you may remember my experience of from a previous blog- Posh Puds. Yes French Puddings are show stopping in themselves, and add a real class and elegance I believe.

BUT THEN, you also have the elegant fruited Pavlova from Australia/New Zealand, sweet, sticky and nutty Baklava from Turkey, fried golden cinnamony Churros from Spain,  Gulub Jaman from India and of course how can I possibly leave out Belgian waffles from Belgium!?

This is of course a non extensive list, but this is where YOU my lovely reader comes in (whoever and wherever you may be) I want YOUR contribution! I want you to vote on the best Country that is the birth place in your opinion to the best pudding! Please vote in my poll to the right of this post, and if you are feeling particularly wonderful (which I am sure you are) Please go to my facebook page at Did Somebody Say Pudding? and write some comments as to why that country makes the best pudding, and what pudding that is, if you can be that specific.

I will make a pudding from the winning country and hopefully get to try some delicious dessertables that I haven't tried before. I am excited!

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