British Bites: Sweets & Snacks
It will come as no surprise to anyone that I ate a lot of sweets while I was in the UK. That's just what I do, at home or abroad. I started off my first morning in Tynemouth with warm, buttery crumpets and jam. Not a dessert of course, but still sweet anyway.
One of my special requests while in England was to try sticky toffee pudding. I'd only had it once before, when my mom convinced me to make it several summers ago. This one from Marks & Spencer was similar, though a bit more cakey, but very sweet and caramelly.
There were several stalls selling scrumptious baked goods at the weekend market in Tynemouth Railway Station. I couldn't resist all the temptation, so I bought a cupcake from one of them. The owner recommended her 'ice cream soda' flavor, which was rich vanilla with sprinkles and part of a Cadbury flake bar stuck in the buttercream frosting.
At what I later learned was a chain restaurant called Patisserie Valerie in Edinburgh, I ate a light lunch of tasty minestrone soup and bread, just so I could have one of their many beautiful cakes for dessert. I got a mille-feuille layered with cream and strawberries. Not my typical chocolate choice, but it was amazing!
We went to a 'living museum' about life in 1913 called Beamish, where I tried some old-fashioned goodies. First a type of candy called Edinburgh rock, which is hard but also kind of powdery or chalk-like. Then we got some gingerbread from the bakery, which tasted more like fresh ginger and was much chewier than gingerbread cookies of today.
In York, we had an afternoon snack at the famous tearoom called Bettys, strangely with no possessive apostrophe. I ordered a jumbo scone called a 'fat rascal', partly because of its amazing name. Of course, it was delicious as well, with currants inside and glacier cherries and almonds on top.
Comments
Post a Comment