Applewood Farm, Astley

Prepare to die. No, that's not a threat. That's how you will feel when you leave Applewood Farm. Lots of people have recommended it over the years, and last week I finally got my act together and made a trip over there. They are famed for their huge range of homemade desserts and ice creams, all of which come in gargantuan portions. 

I had been to the Trafford Centre with my mum and dad, and was hungry like the wolf after a morning of perusing the Cath Kidston shop in Selfridges. Applewood Farm popped into my head, and thirteen minutes later we were there.

I need to get one thing straight before I go on. The food is standard pub grub. We're not talking fancy gastro pub, and there isn't a black pudding scotch egg in sight. The menu here consists of 1980s favourites, a four roast carvery, and the standard modern dishes you would expect to see in your local pub. It's family orientated, but they cleverly have separate areas for families, so we didn't hear a peep from any children and we are well into the summer holidays.

My mum was giddy as a little kipper when she saw scampi on the menu. I really do not know how we are related... However, she enjoyed it, and that's all that matters!

I'm not a huge fan of carveries after a bad experience at a pub on the A6. They conjure images of dry meat, soggy veg and frozen spuds. On further inspection I decided I liked the look of this one! There was a huge piece of glistening ham and a large choice of inviting sides, including cheesy mash and spicy roasties. I'm not entirely sure how they do it for £6.95, but it tasted fresh and nothing was sat around for too long because it was so busy. It is what it is. Not bad at all!

Now then. The main reason we went was for dessert. I urge you to click on the pictures below to enlarge them. You need the full effect. As you walk through the door, you are greeted by mountains of ice cream and a cake cabinet packed with the most delicious looking desserts ever. They are all home made, on site, by hand. This is pretty impressive stuff!

Look at the depth of those cakes! One slice is probably enough to feed two people. They also have a 'cakeaway' service for those who have already gorged on savoury staff. Ever the sweet toothed warrior, I soldiered on.

Strawberry sweetheart: Delicate layers of sponge filled with fresh strawberries and thick whipped cream, served with strawberry ice cream. Pretty as a picture and tasty to boot.

Summer berries Swiss roll: Again, this consisted of very light layers of sponge with lashings of cream and berries, served with vanilla ice cream.

Milkybar ice cream: luxuriously thick white chocolate flavoured ice cream with big chunks of white chocolate throughout. This tub had about three scoops in it, which would have killed me off had I eaten the lot.

So it looks a a bit like a Harvester from outside. So what? The normal food menu is exactly what you would expect from a family pub, but those desserts descended directly from heaven. If you're ever in need of an emergency pudding, nip in for a cakeaway. I believe the Malteaser cheesecake is a bit of a winner too...

Join me on Facebook
Tweet me @dollybakes
Have a nosy at my pics on Pinterest