Homemade

It was the homemade cake that first caught my eye at Tierra Kitchen in Lyme Regis.

Homemade cakes Lyme Regis Dorset the South Coast

But that was just the beginning of a long slippery slope. Their puddings and cakes taste as good as they look.

Best puddings in Lyme Regis Dorest on the South Coast

How do you choose between passion fruit poached pear with Turkish delight ice cream and the outrageously tempting vegan and gluten free chocolate and raspberry delice?

Best dessets in the south of England

Offering some of the best desserts in Dorset and southern England, Tierra Kitchen can be found in Lyme Regis in the cultural quarter.

Delicious dessert puddings and cakes Lyme Regis Dorset southern England

The Curious Eatery

[Edit] Closed. Reverted to the original Albion Inn but think it has closed as well.

I never for one moment believed that I would find the perfect Malva pudding in a small village in Kent which lies between the North Downs and the Weald of Kent.

Best desserts in Kent the Home Counties

But if you are lucky enough, you could find it on the menu at The Curious Eatery in Boughton Monchelsea.  After growing up in Botswana and training in Cape Town,  two sisters Lesley & Nicole set up their eatery in the disused Albion Inn.

Good restaurants near Sittingbourne Kent

Rustic, informal and tasteful furnished creating a setting that complements an exciting, vibrant menu.

Home baked cakes in Kent the south of England

Homemade, home baked cakes, tarts and chocolatey treats. As well as ever difficult to find traditional bread and butter pudding.

Bread and butter pudding in Kent

Kheer

Many years ago I had a favourite Indian restaurant on Corlett Drive in Johannesburg. They served an Indian rice pudding as a speciality on their dessert menu.

Kheer Indian rice pudding in the UK

A rare treat I have searched high and low for ever since. I assume it was Kheer and infused with saffron. But I have yet to find anything that compares.

Authentic Kheer Indian rice pudding South Coast

Although it is also the dessert menu that has me going back to Darbar in Emsworth. For both their rice pudding and a very sweet doughnut type dessert which I think is Gulab Jamun.

Gulab Jamun Indian doughnut in syrup

Bread & Butter fingers

One of my regular stops in town is the Chantry in Chichester

Bread & butter pudding on the south coast

It’s a Stonegate Pub so expect some faceless executive, lost in a back office somewhere, no one quite knows where, to change the menu in the near future.

But for now my order is for their bread & butter pudding dipping fingers.

Local pubs in Chichester West Sussex

Tt is typical of the local pubs in Chichester. Their prices are competitive and affordable. But the menu is sufficiently different to be worth a second look.

Value for money breakfast in Chichester West Sussex

For the late risers and brunch crowd they offer the best value for money breakfast in Chichester. With two of everything. And their burgers do what burgers are supposed to do.

 

Traditional Christmas pudding

One of my enduring memories of Christmas, is finding the sixpence inside the brandy drenched Christmas pudding.

Flaming traditional Christmas pudding the south of England

Patiently waiting for the adults after switching off the lights. All the oohing and aahing, as the flaming pudding was brought to the table. I wasn’t particularly interested in the brandy butter either. It was the shiny new sixpence and a years good luck which I was after.

Traditional English Christmas pudding in Devon the south of England

Whereas now that I am a lot older and a lot wiser, it is what makes the difference between one pudding and another that is important. Like the handmade traditional puddings from a tiny artisan bakery in Devon. Figgy’s puddings that are steamed and matured in the traditional way that allows the flavours to mature and develop.

I wonder if they have ever considered popping a shiny new sixpence into the mix?

Sticky toffee pudding

Sticky toffee pudding is a warm sponge cake made with dates and black treacle, served with toffee sauce. A contemporary classic English dessert.

Created in the 1970s by Francis Coulson and Robert Lee at the Sharrow Bay Hotel on Ullswater near Pooley Bridge, in the Lake District, from a recipe given to them by Patricia Martin.

Country puddings

A traditional English steamed sponge pudding on a cold winter’s day.

Traditional Enlish winter steamed sponge puddings in the south of England

A rare treat that is not as easy to find as it should be. Unless you already know about Quantock Steamers. Situated at the base of the Quantock Hills they specialise in making artisan steamed sponge and meat suet puddings.

Steamed sponge puddings in Somerset the south of England

The Quantock Hills in Somerset, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and are the perfect setting for this family-run business.

Somerset steamed puddings the south of England

If you have never had the pleasure of sitting down to a steamed syrup sponge pudding you have something to look forward to.

Sussex Pond Pudding

After being told that it is the quintessentially traditional English dessert, I went in search of the Sussex Pond Pudding.

Traditional English puddings Sussex Pond Pudding

But no luck.

I scoured Google for any telltale signs of the deliciously rich sauce, which oozes out onto the plate when the pudding is cut open to serve. Nothing.  Not one restaurant,  I could find, that included it on their dessert menus.

Best British traditional puddings Sussex Pond Pudding

Plenty of recipes though. All extolling the merits of this elusive sticky treat.

Whilst it is not the most attractive of puddings, the rich suet pastry encases a delicious filling of brown sugar and butter, with a whole lemon placed in the centre. As the pudding steams, the lemon softens flavouring the butter and brown sugar which when cut open, pools around the plate giving it, it’s name and the sticky goodness which keeps one coming back for more.

Favourite English puddings Sussex Pond Pudding with apples

But it is not as traditional as it would first appear.

The addition of the lemon  is a relatively new innovation. The original recipe was a suet crust flavoured with currants and sugar that’s rolled around a ball of sweetened butter.