But in the last ten years we have witnessed a real revolution brought by Anglo-Saxon celebrity chefs that have travelled the whole world, with the consequent recovery of a culinary heritage of great respect.
Regarding desserts, however, no one has ever had any doubts: the British know how to make them.
In addition to being able to count on exquisite traditional recipes, they are the ones who invented the wedding cake as we know it today too, with all the tiers.
It seems they started with Queen Victoria's wedding which was a trailblazer for decorated cakes with white icing.
A real luxury at the time, because refined sugar was still the exclusive prerogative of the richest families.
One of the oldest English desserts is bread & butter pudding made with old bread, milk, sugar and eggs.
For Brits, the bread & butter pudding reminds them of their nursery days, when mum used leftover sandwich bread to make this sweet treat.
It is simple and not so difficult to make and it is comfort food for sure.
Another interesting dessert I have recently discovered myself is the Eton mess.
Tradition has it that this messy dessert is served in June, during the annual cricket match in which the most exclusive English private schools, Eton and Harrow, compete – hence the name.
It is a cup of crushed meringues, whipped cream and pureed and chopped strawberries.
It has become a classic served not only in June and it can be found both in starred restaurants and in pubs, with small variations on fresh fruit or with the addition of elderberry or ginger cordial.
One of the most distinctive English desserts, an integral part of British culture, is the Battenberg cake.
The story goes that this cake was invented to celebrate the wedding between the Prince of Batternberg, and Princess Victoria, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
The cake is a chequered pink and yellow sponge cake and to obtain this effect, you need to prepare two different doughs and only after cooking, cut them and put them back together in the shape of a rectangular cake.
The various parts are ‘glued’ together by apricot jam and the cake is then covered with marzipan.
It is both a delight for the eyes and the palate but it is hard and long to make it so it is not so easy to find it.
Sticky toffee pudding with hot whiskey sauce has caramel and dates.
It is served with a warm, toffee-flavoured cream topped with whiskey.
As you may have noticed, pudding is king in the United Kingdom, or better, Queen.
Speaking of Queen, another popular and delicious dessert is the Queen of puddings made from breadcrumbs flavoured with lemon zest, a layer of jam inside and a cloud of fresh meringue on top.
Queen of puddings
Scones are a real English treat and snack which usually accompanies tea next to cucumber sandwiches (sandwiches with butter and cucumber).
They are a cross between a sandwich and a cake because they are not as sweet as cake, but they have its texture.
They are topped with strawberry or raspberry jam and clotted cream (solid cream).
Last, but not least, Banoffee pie is the perfect marriage between banana and toffee.
It is a classic pastry eaten in all English-speaking countries, but it is often produced with two shortcuts: instead of the shortcrust pastry a base of crumbled Digestive biscuits and melted butter (as in cheesecake, so to speak) and canned cream.
Many people make this dessert for potlucks or business events because most people like it.
