Just in time for the Royal Wedding, our dessert tour took us to Againn, a Bristish-inspired contemporary gastropub. Pastry Chef Maris Justusson’s menu is a combination of stapples, like the Guinness Beer Float or the Sticky Toffee Pudding, and seasonal items. Leading up to April 29th, these included a two decadent British desserts inspired by the upcoming wedding of England’s Prince William of Wales to Catherine Middleton: a Chocolate Biscuit Cake for the groom and fruit cake for the bride.
My favourite dessert of the evening was by far the Strawberry Eton Mess, a treat created at Eton College, the school that Prince William and Prince Harry attended. Againn‘s version is a light and refreshing dessert that combines local strawberries with almond pastry cream, crunchy meringues and fluffy crème fraîche in a mason jar. Another favourite also came in a jar, the Banoffee Pie. The name of the dessert comes from the two main ingredients in the dish: Banana and Toffee. Washingtonian’s The Recipe Sleuth actually has the lowdown on how to make your own at home. They make it seem pretty easy… I might have to try it soon! Finally, I just loved the (seasonal) Huckleberry Pie, topped with a light scoop of greek yogurt ice cream and the decadent sticky toffee pudding, drenched in toffee sauce and coiffed with stout ice cream. It wasn’t a hit with everyone but I’m going to eat at a gastropub, stout ice cream and guiness beer float are just the kind of the desserts that I want to eat. Now the fact that I can also, if I chose, order some delicious modern updates on traditional Brit Sweets… well, that’s just the cherry on top of the cake. Wait. Do Americans use that expression too?
Looks like a delicious Saturday! Yum!! Must check out Againn.