Best pairings with sticky toffee pudding

One of the all-time favourite British desserts sticky toffee pudding is super-sweet so will overwhelm most wines you might think of pairing with it so what should you choose?

Your best bet is a sweet fortified wine like tawny port, sherry or Madeira, a beer (believe it or not!) or a whisky liqueur.

* An Australian liqueur muscat has similar toffeed flavours but you might find it just a bit too much of a good thing.

* The same goes for a sweet oloroso or cream sherry. Yummy though. One producer, Barbadillo, even produced a Sticky Pudding Wine.

* You could try a 10 year old tawny port which will be slightly nuttier. Some are sweeter than others.

* I have had (well-chilled) Canadian ice wine with STP. Amazing.

* And great suggestion from The Lemon Tree in Bishop's Stortford: Vin Santo. Haven't tried it but am sure it would work.

* For those who don’t have such a sweet tooth a ginger flavoured beer like Blandford’s Ginger Fly can be a delicious match.

* Or try a ginger wine or liqueur - either on its own or served as a Whisky Mac

* Or, if you fancy something a bit stronger, a nip of Drambuie or other whisky liqueur, a cognac or an armagnac.

Image copyright: HLphoto - Fotolia.com

Food pairings for wheat beer I: witbiers (bières blanches) and lighter wheat beers

Wheat beers are fabulously flexible when it comes to food matching - the beer world’s equivalent of a crisp white wine.

There are two main styles - the cloudy, citrussy, aromatic Belgian-style witbier (aka bière blanche) and the richer banana-and-clove flavours of German hefeweizen which you can read about here.

In between are a range of wheat beers from different sources which fall somewhere between the two but are basically suited, like witbier, to salads, seafood and dishes flavoured with citrus and herbs

Matches for Northern French and Belgian style witbiers:

Seafood such as crab, mussels, oysters and clams - witbier is great for a beery version of moules marinières

Simply prepared fish like fried or grilled sole or plaice

Fish cakes

Smoked salmon or trout

Dim sum and other light Chinese dishes such as stir fries

Sushi

Raw fish such as ceviche and tartares

Fried fish like fish and chips, calamari or whitebait

Seafood pastas and noodles like crab linguine with chilli and coriander or pad thai

Seafood and light vegetable risottos

White pizza or seafood-topped pizza

Spring vegetables such as peas, beans and asparagus - as you can see from this article

Light fresh cheeses such as young goat cheese, sheep cheese and feta. Beer and food matching guru Garret Oliver recommends an omelette with sharp apple and goats cheese

Salads, especially mozzarella basil and tomato salad, Greek salad and caesar salad

Brunch dishes

Potjevleesch - a chunky jellied terrine of pork, chicken and rabbit you find in north-east France

Lighter Thai and Mexican dishes flavoured with citrus and herbs

Thai green curries

Photo ©zavgsg at fotolia.com

What to pair with Coronation chicken?

Coronation chicken is an obvious choice for any Royal occasion but what wine - or beer - should you pair with it?

First, for those who haven’t the faintest clue what it is, it was invented by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume of Le Cordon Bleu to celebrate the Queen’s coronation in 1953. It’s basically cold poached chicken folded into a lightly curried mayonnaise to which a touch of apricot purée or jam has been added. So very retro indeed.

There are quite a few contemporary versions knocking around such as this one from the Hairy Bikers but in essence it remains chicken in a creamy, spicy mayo. On those grounds I’d be more inclined to go for a white or rosé than a red:

* Viognier would probably be my top choice. It has just that bit more of an aromatic lift than Chardonnay although I think a medium bodied, lightly oaked Chardonnay would work perfectly well.

* old vine Chenin Blanc would also be good. It often has a touch of sweetness which would work well with the dressing, particularly if it contains apricot purée like the original. South Africa is the place to go for reasonably priced versions - Ken Forrester is a reliable name to look out for.

* a strong fruity rosé - again, not completely dry would work well. Like a shiraz rosé

* or, if you wanted a red, a lightly chilled Beaujolais would hit the spot

* a golden ale like a Duvel would be lovely. You don’t want too much bitterness with this dish so I’d go for this style in preference to a classic English bitter/pale ale.

* and a medium-dry or sparkling cider would also be a great match. And would cope with the sausage rolls and pork pies you’re probably serving up alongside.

Image copyright Brent Hofhacker at fotolia.com

What wine to pair with a custard tart

My assertion that custard tarts are the new cupcakes provoked such a heated exchange that I thought I’d stoke the fire by suggesting what you drink with ‘em.

By custard tarts of course I’m not referring to the traditional British version known up north as a ‘custard’ with which it would be wrong to drink anything but a strong cup of tea (with at least one sugar) but the much sexier Portuguese version now seen all over London and bakeries throughout the UK.

I reckon there are two ways to go depending on your mood and the time of day.

For a morning tart (there is something slightly risqué about that phrase) I reckon it should be coffee, preferably black

For an afternoon or evening tart, a small glass of strong, sweet wine. Port would be the obvious option, given the origins of the tart (tawny rather than ruby, I’d suggest) but other sweet wines such as oloroso or cream sherry, similar styles of montilla, malaga, madeira and orangey moscatels would be great too. (Whatever you have to hand - and if you don’t, you should. Sweet sherry is an incredible bargain.)

Posh creamy custard tarts of the kind admirably crafted by St John (and, happily nearer to home, Sam Leach of Birch in Bristol) could take a dessert wine such as a Sauternes or a lighter moscatel.