What is the Lobster of Pudding?

[MissKittyFantastico84]

Ok, weird thread title but...

I asked this question the other day and no one really cared to answer but - what would you say is the lobster/steak of pudding?

The always high end option? The one you choose when pushing the boat out? Am I right in thinking that there.... might not be one?

I would say starter would be oysters/cavier etc... but pudding?

You have you chocolate melty bomb thing but that's a bit M&S/microwave pud now....

Thoughts?

This!

Affogato is that ice cream with coffee? Coincidentally a friend had this recently it was the first time I had seen it, put me in mind of an ice cream float when we were kids.

Meringue roulade - a passion fruit one.

Creme brûlée
or
Lemon tart with raspberry couli

Sussex Pond pudding - not that I’ve ever seen it on a restaurant menu.

ditto to crepes Suzette - bananas flambés are also v nice - I do them at home now and then.

Vienetta was the absolute pinnacle of classy desserts back in the day. And a black Forrest gateaux.

Now I would say a crème brûlée maybe or a tiramisu.

I used to love the sort of restaurants back in the day where there was an actual dessert trolley that would be wheeled to your table, absolutely laden with wonderful puddings!

I like tiramisu but it's very 'local Italian restaurant on the high street called Bella Italia'.

When Romantica appeared in the frozen food aisle I thought it was the height of sophistication.

The greatest most delicious most “this feels decadent” pudding I ever had was a very simple panna cotta paired with a dessert wine. I think for the equivalent of oyster/caviar/lobster/steak, which are all single-ingredient things reliant on being high quality to be delicious, the pudding equivalent has to be something simple that stands on its quality.

So panna cotta, posset, crème brûlée, chocolate mousse. Possibly also cheese, though I hate cheese.

Pavlova.

@Mortifive the Thai restaurant in our town has a dessert trolley which they wheel over to you. The desserts are late 70's/ early 80's ish, but we always have dessert just for choosing from the trolley and having a portion hoisted into a bowl with no thought to presentation. And yes, VW fans, we have a good 10 minutes of doing the trolley sketch

I'd go for baked Alaska. Not a restaurant dish though for obvious reasons

Crepe Suzette made at the table, also things like a good tarte tatin.

If you include cold puddings then patisserie like opera cake is a favourite of mine

I second this!

Home made Soufflé or pavlova with fancy fruit?

Not high end, but I love a good clafoutis!

I was pondering suggesting Sussex Pond Pudding, but decided against it because I can make it, and I'm not an amazing cook at all.

But, as pp, lobster, caviar and steak are all simple ingredients which are expensive/fancy because they are difficult to obtain at good quality. So maybe some kind of exotic fruit? When I was a child/teen (1970s/80s) strawberries in winter were very fancy!

Just had one of these tonight, it was lush and only £1.59 😂

You're all wrong. It's the cheese board!

I originally said Affogato but in fact I had it twice this week, once in a neighbourhood Italian and once in a big not very gastro pub. So I think it's now too accessible to be the lobster.

I do love it though - it's my go to pudding if entertaining, mainly because it requires zero skill.

Chocolate sphere with pouring sauce to melt it revealing a torte underneath.

Feel like soufflé is in the running here - don't think I've ever seen it on a menu tho!

As a child of the 90s, I would have once agreed wholeheartedly that a slice of Vienetta followed by a cafetière of coffee and an After Eight mint was the HEIGHT of luxury.

This is my choice of pudding in a restaurant.

Who does pudding?

The cheese board is your friend.