In search of sweet things!

(Photo: The Fox Inn, Eastgate St, a keen supporter of local food)

Now being a girl with a sweet tooth, I was on a mission today to hunt out some Suffolk-made treats and knowing how many calories were at stake - somewhere in the area of 700,000 trillion - I thought I'd walk into town from Moreton Hall.  I know it was downhill but even that small amount of exercise would be of benefit for what I had in store.

You see I was searching for locally made cake, fudge and wine to add to the delights that arrived yesterday and I hoped that Bury St Edmunds would have some supplies.   So with my camera in hand, I thought I'd treat you to a little guide around town as well as point you in the direction of some of my favourite finds.

As per my usual ritual, my approach into town is always down Eastgate St and through the Abbey Gardens, where the magnificent Abbey Gate never fails to offer a grand entrance into the beautifully named Angel Hill, which I consider to be one of the prettiest squares I've ever had the pleasure to visit. 

This route always has a holiday feel, even after almost seven years of living here. To the left of the photo is the Angel Hotel, where Charles Dickens once visited and even gave it a mention in the Pickwick Papers.  These days one of my favourite reads is its eaterie menu, which regularly features seasonal produce from Suffolk and in the past has included Blythburgh pork, Elmswell lamb and salmon from Pinney's of Orford.

Tempting as it was to pop in, I was on a mission to buy a cake.  With a busy week ahead, I'm not sure if I'll have the chance to bake, so I chose the easy option, which was to treat the family to one from the experts.  Well it is Mother's Day tomorrow, so I thought I'd head to one of my favourite market stalls: the one that promises to "make life sweet" and which can be found on the Buttermarket, just outside Holland & Barrett.

The Vanilla Bakery has been a recent and most welcome addition to Bury St Edmunds market, tempting passers-by with home baked goodies, including muffins, lemon cake, flapjacks, chocolate brownies and rocky roads, as well as its stunning range of cupcakes.

As I was busy choosing - which was a very hard job indeed - I got chatting to super dooper baker Gemma and discovered the cakes are made using Suffolk free-range eggs that they buy from another stall, which is where I used to get mine before we acquired our own hens last year.  After much pondering,  I finally decided on a very large Lemon Drizzle cake similar to the one which you can see on the middle of the table.

It really was a good job I'd walked into town this morning, especially when you consider the next stop on my tour of Bury's gems...

FUDGE!

And not just any old fudge, but the delicious selection of contemporary temptations from Thurston based company Yum Yum Tree Fudge, which is sold at Butterworths on the Traverse.

By now my self-control was rapidly diminishing and finding it hard to choose between Lavender or Mint Chocolate Chip, I decided to bag them both, committing myself to walking back home to shed some more calories so I can eat them guilt-free.

And I'm pleased to say I walked much further than the two miles home.

I had hoped to pick up some Suffolk wine from Thos Peatling on Westgate Street, but they were sold out  so my adventurous morning was topped off by a family stroll around nearby Ickworth Park, a gorgeous National Trust property, which also hosts the Ickworth Vineyard.

While our kids kept my husband busy with a game of hide and seek in the gardens, I sloped off to the National Trust shop to seek out a few bottles.

With a nose for Suffolk wine they were pretty easy to find and I came away with a bottle of sparkling bubbly, which is fermented in the same way as Champagne.  I also picked up a bottle of Lady Geraldine's Blush to go with the oysters I'm planning to serve this week, more for the connotations I hasten to add, not for any benefits of the bouquet. Although I reckon they'll be a perfect match, all the same.

Like a kid in a candy shop I couldn't quite leave without picking up a bottle of Aspall's Cyder and a jar of red pepper chutney from Stonham Hedgerow, before taking another stroll through the grounds and enjoying the scenery.

I've got a funny feeling with this week's line up, if I'm not careful we'll be eating so well, I'll probably need to do quite a few laps around the park to keep the weight off.

Perhaps a few journeys up and down Mount Road should do it too!

It's a killer of a hill, you know, and should be used as training terrain for anyone venturing on a mountain climb outside of Suffolk....

....as you can probably tell from this morning's yomp home with the cake!

Onwards and upwards eh...as long as it's not outwards. At least it's good to know that The Suffolk Diet comes with its own exercise regime too.