Nottingham's sweetest nutty bakes and treats
Commercial hazelnut spread has quietly become the default shortcut in too many Nottingham bakes, and it's costing us flavour. An argument for whole nuts, homemade praline and small-batch pastes — plus a friendly challenge for the year ahead.
A wind-bitten tour of seven Nottingham independents doing hot chocolate with a proper nutty backbone — praline stirrers, almond-milk mochas and peanut butter marshmallows included. Each cup scored on flavour, value and how long you want to stay put.
Nottingham's Christmas market is full of sweet stalls, but only some treat nuts as the main event. This festive crawl hunts down praline brownies, hazelnut stollen and pistachio shortbread that are worth the queue in December 2026.
Pistachio is no longer a niche nut in Nottingham. From croissants to ice cream, this taste test ranks the city's best pistachio bakes on nuttiness, texture and value.
A £5 note does not have to mean a sad desk biscuit. We tested nutty bakes and sweet treats across Nottingham, scoring flavour, texture, nut content and value, to find the best budget indulgence for 2026.
Marzipan has been filed under Christmas cake duty for too long. This opinion-led Bake Trail argues for a proper almond paste revival, with Nottingham bakers, chocolatiers and a practical guide to buying and enjoying better marzipan in 2026.
We bought four jars of nut butter available on UK shelves — hazelnut, pistachio, walnut and almond — ate them off a spoon and then baked them into brownies and shortbread. The results are a guide to what actually works in a home oven, and an argument that Nottingham's bakery counters could stand to loosen up a bit.
Four independent stops, one flat two-and-a-half-mile walk and an unreasonable amount of chestnut purée: our winter route through Sneinton Market, Hockley and Sherwood, with the bakes and hot drinks worth ordering at each. Plus how to plan your own nutty crawl without collapsing in a sugar heap by stop three.