Baking at the Brewery

This most recent summer weekend came to a delicious close in Portsmouth, NH. After spending the day sunning ourselves at local beaches, we decided that few things could be better than eating pub food and drinking local beer - so, I recommended the Portsmouth Brewery's restaurant, long a family favorite for its hearty sandwiches and relaxed, airy dining space. Even I was pleasantly surprised with the excellence of the establishment's appetizers and dinners - the menu has grown more varied, and the food's quality has increased, over the years - as well as the desserts! The following desserts found their way to our table.

• Chocolate Stout Cake - this monstrous two-layer cake was made with the brewery's own "Black Cat" stout, frosted with milk chocolate icing, and drizzled in chocolate sauce. A hearty dollop of freshly-whipped cream accompanied the dessert, and its purpose became apparent after the first bite. The cake was extremely dense thanks to the stout, and any cool attempt (in cream form) at lightening it was welcomed. Even glasses of beer and water couldn't help the entire cake down. The beer taste was noticeable, but not too distracting. Overall, I found the cake to be too dense, and slightly too dry and bitter - probably nothing that a little extra oil in the recipe couldn't fix!
• Fruit Cobbler - imagine a large ramekin filled with mixed fruit (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries), topped with an inch-thick layer of hearty crumble topping and a finishing dollop of vanilla cream. Such was the glory that I ordered and enjoyed. The berries were fresh, and the crumble topping was well-spiced, with plenty of oaty chunks to crunch. My only objection was to the walnuts strewn throughout the topping. Otherwise, consider this repeat-order-worthy and an inspiration to my own kitchen.
• Vanilla Saffron Pound Cake - this unusual offering was from the "Brewer's Table No. 22" menu, a rotating list of specials with custom beer pairings. The pound cake had a pleasant vanilla flavor with only a hint (fortunately) of saffron, and the clear vanilla glaze drizzled over the confection had the faintest hint of lemon. A cassis-moscado sorbet accompanied the cake, and I thoroughly enjoyed this unconventional medium for black currant flavor.

Impressive for a local pub, eh? We were all stuffed after dining so heartily, so we had no room for Annabelle's Ice Cream, another Portsmouth food favorite. Maybe next time?