SuzieC, I'm afraid making him something called a Wedding Cake spooked the silly fellow.

Correct After Eight etiquette is NOT to put the empty envelopes back in the box, then offer the empty box around (my brothers think this is hilarious).

BTW, I was beside myself with joy at also coming across some mini After Eights in a sort of long pack (a bit like Mintola) whilst shopping last night.

Waring, you are correct, an empenada is what the English would call a pasty - we Americans, however, call them meat pies. The only thing we call pasty is something that is like glue.

In my part of the States we differentiate between pasty (long a) and pasty (short a)

Long "a" pasty is "glue-like" (adjective) or a stripper's piece of clothing (noun) :)

Short "a" pasty is just like what you'd get in Cornwall (noun) - a savory filled pastry.

Pastie is a type of pie or tart. Pasties (plural, because the parts of the body they adorn come in twos!) are worn by tarts. But then, tarts are what make life savoury, aren't they?

The area where I live in don't have pasties (short a) at all. They have gun racks and confederate flags. They definitely know what pasties (long a) are, as they see them on their dancers, their girlfriends, etc. :)

"Spotted Dick" - we could hardly stop laughing long enough to order it. (It was a rather boring pudding with raisins.)

Spotted Dick is a very dull pudding indeed.

Treacle sponge is much better!

Might be better but I'd prefer an Eton Mess.

My oh my, you learn something new every day. Not that I'm likely to want to go into a shop in the US and ask for a pasty, but it's nice to know what I'd get if I did.

And in a spirit of fair returns, here's a piece that appeared on British daytime TV recently about how to make (American) muffins. You should be aware that the two presenters are notorious for getting the giggles at anything vaguely like a double entendre. And the cook is the female presenter's husband:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8BS8uSLYqE

SuzieC - Wedding cake, like Christmas cake, is generally a rich fruit cake, soaked in booze, covered in marzipan and Royal icing. It is only the decorations and the multiple tiers that mmake it a wedding cake (plus the occasion on which it is served of course).
If you make one now it will be ready to eat for Christmas.

PatrickLondon

Thanks for that - it's been sooooo long since I saw This Morning.

So long in fact that it was way back when Fern and Phil were 'guest presenters'.

Phil looks super sexy with grey hair but I enjoyed him most in the 'broom cupboard' with Gordon the gopher - my kids liked him too :-)

I would do a chapter on the merits of 3 beverages: Pimm's Cup, Lemonade, and Elderflower Press.

I can write with authority on wine gums versus pastilles, and Rowan's versus Maynards.

Custard tarts warrant an entire chapter. Branson Pickle and Horseradish Crisps can be in a chapter titled, Weird But Good.