#AD / MilkJam Cookie Party pudding club [CLOSED]

If you’ve been following me for a while, you will know how much I love desserts and one of my favourite places to go to in Manchester is MilkJam on Oxford Street. I blogged about their first pudding club in conjunction with Deliveroo a while back. This time myself and my guest, John, will be telling you about their Cookie Party pudding club.*

MilkJam interior

MilkJam spans two floors with bar stools occupying the ground floor and comfier seating downstairs. Given the fact that MilkJam is only in this location until July 2017, the interior is quite quirky and decorated with an odd mix of furniture styles and artwork by local graffiti artist, Eject.

The Drink

Cheeky Vimto: port and blue WKD sorbet with white rum and sprinkles

Elsa: We start off with a Cheeky Vimto consisting of port and blue WKD sorbet with white rum and sprinkles. This was very easy to drink and the sprinkles added an element of fun.

John: I was sat opposite a tooth paste poster, and then this came out. I really didn’t know what to expect. The bubbles and sparkles were almost mesmerising, the flavour was mostly sugar and rum, but the crunchy sprinkles gave me a smile.

The Food

Course 1: Taiyaki 

Taiyaki with coconut cookie butter and warm raspberry sauce

Elsa: We start off with an unfilled taiyaki, a Japanese fish-shaped cake usually filled with red bean paste. This was served with coconut cookie butter and a warm raspberry sauce. The taiyaki tasted similar to a fluffy pancake, whilst the cookie butter and sauce provided plenty of sweetness to dip the taiyaki in. This was a very good start!

John: Oh wow, what a great pudding. I was a little unsure how to dig in, but once I’d grabbed the taiyaki by the tail I could bite into the fluffy pancake and dip into the tasty cookie butter and tangy raspberry. This would be a great snack to pick up on the way down Oxford Street.

Course 2: Deep dish red velvet cookie pie

Deep dish red velvet cookie pie with cheesecake cream

Elsa: The red velvet cookie pie was still warm when served and had a good bite to the outer layer with a softer sponge in the middle. The cheesecake cream served with it was good on its own, very light. However, I wasn’t completely sold on the combination of the two. It wasn’t unpleasant, just unusual. The “crust” of the pie was also very hard and I found it difficult to finish because of this.

John: I always appreciate the rich flavours of red velvet cake, and this cake met my expectations. There was a slightly smokey taste from the crispy top layer, balanced with softness underneath. I really needed the cheesecake cream to balance the flavour, but thankfully the cream was provided in abundance. The crust was explosively tough, but tasty all the same.

Course 3: Apple sorbet with pear

Apple sorbet with pear, blue cheese biscuit and rosemary caramel sauce

Elsa: This was my favourite dessert of the evening. The apple sorbet was a delight and I love the pear underneath it. The bottom was a blue cheese biscuit, which was savoury and contrasted against the sorbet and pear. I loved the rosemary caramel sauce served with everything. In my conversation with Claire from Ginger’s Comfort Emporium fame, she said that she decided to put this dish third as she felt by that stage everyone would feel like having something more savoury. She was correct, the timing was good. Having said that, I’m not sure if I liked the biscuit itself with everything else.

John: After all the rich flavours of the previous courses, I really appreciated the lightness and tang of the sorbet. There was a bed of pears which I dug straight into while savouring the sorbet. I found the caramel sauce a bit too rich, but as a dish on its own I’d say it was well balanced. The blue cheese biscuit surprised me a little, but the taste didn’t overwhelm the sauce or the sorbet.

Course 4: Cookie shot glass

Cookie shot glass, strawberry shake, cream and topped with an Oreo brownie

Elsa: By this stage, I was feeling full already, but that did not stop me from eating the Oreo brownie that’s on top of this cookie shot glass. This was served with a miniature white chocolate spoon and fresh cream on top of a strawberry milkshake. The shot glass was made of a hard cookie and lined with white chocolate in the middle to stop everything seeping through. I managed to make my way through the cream and had a bit of the shake whilst nibbling on the edges of the shot glass. It was good but there was an awful lot of cookie and not enough stomach space. I gave up! You win you delicious dessert!

John: This was my least favourite of the evening. The cookie crucible was a formidable construction, lined with white chocolate, filled with strawberry shake, topped with the Oreo brownie. The brownie was super tasty, much lighter and fluffier than I anticipated. There was a little chocolate spoon, which didn’t last long in my warm sticky fingers, but was fun to dig around with. Unfortunately once I’d eaten the toppings it was difficult to sip the strawberry shake, and I found the cookie crucible too difficult to bite into.

Overall rating and comments

Elsa: 8/10.  0.5 for the experimental bits I was uncertain on. This is by no means a fault of MilkJam, they love experimentation and that’s what I like them for, just my personal experience of the event. -1 for the tough cookie parts in the red velvet pie and the cookie shot glass. -0.5 for toilet not being in service, you would have to go to St James main building to use the facilities. Having said all that, I most definitely enjoyed the evening.

I recommend you get yourself down to MilkJam soon as they will only be there until July 2017!

John: Go pick up the taiyaki dessert, so much fun!

Information

Website: https://www.facebook.com/MilkJamMCR/
Address: 85 Oxford St, Manchester M1 6EQ

Do you like desserts? Which one would you be most interested in trying?

* I was invited to attend the pudding club but this does not influence me or my guest’s opinions of the evening.