Dessert crawl

Of all the things England had to offer, dessert was probably one of my personal favorites. From our first night in Cambridge, I knew my sweet tooth would be plenty satisfied.

This Chocolate Melt was the most delicious lava cake I have ever had, hands down.  Evidently this counts as a Chocolate Pudding by UK standards, but trust me when I say it was better than what we consider chocolate pudding by leaps and bounds.  This tasty little cake and that yummy scoop of gelato lying next to it were the perfect way to end a day full of jet lag and coach rides.

Our lovely hotel in Cambridge certainly did not disappoint with breakfast, especially with the wide selection of fresh pastries. I am not ashamed to admit that I probably ate 10 of these pain au chocolat the two mornings we were there - not counting theoretical pastries wrapped in theoretical napkins to eat on theoretical bus rides - and the croissants, Danish pastries, and muffins were also top notch.

As well as Cambridge dessert satisfied, true dessert loveliness was to be found in Oxford.  The story of the dessert crawl, however, started in The Cross Keys, the pub we ate lunch in across the street from the Roald Dahl Museum.  Now this pub had some mean cuisine, including a fabulous spaghetti bolognese. 

The really memorable part of the experience was the dessert course, which it seemed like my table was the only one to partake in.  Unfortunately, I have zero photographic evidence of this event, but here are the key facts: 3 desserts, 4 girls seated at the table, 1 bus eagerly waiting to leave.  Dessert consisted of delicious ice cream and my first look at the infamous sticky toffee pudding, but with the bus anticipating our departure, we had to eat fast. Luckily, several of our wonderful classmates were on hand to help with that, and I have never seen three desserts elicit such widespread joy.

I can't remember anymore who came up with the idea, but there, in that pub, with 3 empty dessert plates on a table, it was decided that we would partake in a dessert crawl of Oxford, the perfect way to enjoy our next to last night in town. 

After eating a wonderful group meal at my new favorite restaurant, which we sadly found out later was a chain, we headed out in search of dessert.

We stumbled upon a random sandwich/dessert/frozen yogurt store on our way from Giraffe and decided to order Round 1. I shared this lovely dessert with Caitlyn. From what I remember, it tasted like biscotti dipped in chocolate with some kind of jam in the middle.

I also stole a bite (or two) of this lovely dessert which looks like a square Reese's cup. Also delicious. 

Sadly, Oxford does not really contain that many places that are:

A) open past dinnertime

B) serve yummy desserts

and C) fit a group of 12 easily

So we had to settle for Round 2 at our intended final destination, the Turf Tavern, aka my favorite place in Oxford.  Apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding, chocolate torte, they have it all. They were even kind enough to serve us dessert even though technically the kitchen was nearly closed. 

Look at these smiling faces! From the bites I stole of everyone's desserts, they all tasted lovely.

The chocolate torte - which I remember shamefully stealing bites of from Courtney's plate - was especially delicious, but I think the crowd favorite was the sticky toffee pudding. Luckily, Eesha's date cake recipe tastes just as good and is available here. 

What a way to enjoy Oxford!