Mrs Freshley's Frosted Strawberry Mini Donuts (A Taste Of The States)

Isn't it odd that I've reviewed more Mrs Freshley's products on the blog than Mr Kipling? I'm not sure it's because they're that much more innovative, but probably just because they're American and I haven't had them before. Actually, I've changed my mind. Frosted strawberry doughnuts are infinitely more exciting than Viennese Whirls. IMO. 



Anyway, I've already tried the crunch and Cinnabon Mrs F's mini ring donuts with relative success so couldn't help ordering this variety from A Taste Of The States too. Strawberry doughnuts of course aren't a new thing, but I'm used to them being plain donuts topped with pink icing (Bert's favourite), strawberry jam filled, or a combination of both. Never have I tried a strawberry flavoured doughnut. 

The pack contained 6 "confectionary coating" covered rings, which were all evenly coated with a chocolate-esque coating. Of course it's not real chocolate, it's made from sugar, palm oil, cocoa, soy, salt and artificial flavouring -just a handful of ingredients on the epic list.  I can't tell you that it tasted all that great either. Fake chocolate just isn't my bag I'm afraid. Unfortunately, the doughnuts were a bit of a let down too. The dough was extremely dry and cloying, but there was -at least- a sweet strawberry flavour to it.  

Meh, sorry Mrs F but you haven't quite scored a mini doughnut hat-trick here. However, if you fancy trying these unusual creations, or perhaps the nicer Cinnabon or crunchy doughnuts, or even some Hostess Donettes then please head over to A Taste Of The States where you can benefit from 20% off with the code AMYSEEKS20.

5/10

Thanks to A Taste of The States for providing me with a gift card to order these with!

NEW! Cadbury Crunchy Melt Chocolate Centre Chocolate Chip Cookies (ASDA)

Christ that's some title! Is it awful that it bugs me that it would be perfectly alliterated if it wasn't for that damn melt? They'd better be melty.

I was actually on a mission to pick up (yet another) pack of the new banoffee caramel digestives (our fifth packet so far) when I spotted these new cookies. I haven't given in to the new wafer based 'Roundies' yet, but filled cookies? Count me in.

At £1 per pack they didn't seem to bad value either, and I was torn between the trio of options: chocolate centre, soft cookie centre and double chocolate with a chocolate centre. I was tempted to buy all three, but then the rational side of my brain kicked in (there's a first time for everything) and I thought I'd try one first - I could always go back for the others after all. 

"Crunchy chocolate chip cookies with a soft melting centre."

The pack contained 6 cookies, and the inner plastic tray successfully kept them intact. Some of the cookies were more adorned than the others. I spotted the serving suggestion that they were 'even better warm' so tried one warm and one ambient. You know, for review purposes, because I'm good like that! 

The ambient cookie was far crisper than I imagined it to be. Crunchy is certainly right, although I must admit that I much prefer a soft, chewy cookie. I can't really complain about the texture though, seeing as they're marketed as 'crunchy melts'. It had an oily aftertaste to it too, and I can't say it was particularly enjoyable. As for those chocolatey chips, they were minute, and I can't even admit to tasting them.

But what about that chocolatey filling? I hear you ask. Well, the product description reads: "Biscuits with milk chocolate chips (15.4%)* and a filling (25.9%) with milk chocolate (4.5%)."

A filling with milk chocolate. Oh dear. That doesn't sound like a milk chocolate filling does it? 

It didn't taste much like one either. In fact it tasted hazelnutty to me, which is odd seeing as the ingredients list doesn't include any nuts. It wasn't particularly an issue as I love both hazelnuts and Nutella, but it didn't taste even remotely of Cadbury's chocolate. Hmm. 

Would they be better warm? 

The packet suggested microwaving it for between 10-12 seconds but warns not to heat for any longer. I don't have a digital timer on my microwave, so I obligingly counted to eleven elephants before retrieving my cookie and waiting the designated minute before munching. 

The centre was slightly better warm, but it didn't really improve the cookie at all. Meh. 

I shan't bother with the other cookies in this range. I feel like the Cadbury packaging is a clever ploy from Mondelez to lure us chocoholics to buy another one of their very mediocre products. These 'Crunchy Melts' are clearly made with cheap ingredients, and without the nostalgia factor that other mass-marketed biscuits have, they're nothing shy of a disappointment.

5/10

*My arse. 1.54% more like. 

NEW! Neo Ice Cream Cones (LIDL)

It's 'Taste of America' week at Lidl, which means that there's all kind of peanut butter treats on offer, as well as foot long microwaveable hotdogs (complete with bun and sauce) and some Oreo themed treats. Oreos aren't Oreos in Lidl though, they're Neos. At least they're a little more subtle than Aldi with their cheeky rip offs, ahem, anyone for a Domio yogurt or Hike bar? Anyway, I was intrigued by their Neo ice creams, as both Bert and I are fans of all the Oreo ice creams (sandwiches, sticks and cones).

"67.5% vanilla flavoured ice cream with 6% biscuit pieces in 16% wafer cone coated in 5% chocolate flavour glaze, coated with 3% chocolate flavoured biscuit pieces."

They certainly looked the part! 

They just didn't taste the part. Unfortunately the ice cream tasted of reconstituted skimmed milk, lacking the creaminess that I'd hoped for. The cone wasn't great either. The dark shade insinuated that it would taste bourbon-y like the Oreo cones, but instead it had a mild cocoa flavour. My cone was also soft towards the bottom, although Bert tells me that his was completely crispy. There wasn't enough Oreo/Neo in them either, as the ice cream itself was plain throughout, and the 3% biscuit crumbs didn't make much of an impact.

At £1.49 for four they're no cheaper than the real deal (which are part of a 2 for £3 deal in Asda, £1.50 in Sainsbury's and £1.33 on Ocado) and so I'd give Neo a miss if I were you. I picked up a tub of LIDL's 'Taste of America' peanut butter ice cream at the same time, so let's hope that's less disappointing... 

5/10 

NEW! McVities Penguin Cake Crunchers (Tesco)

How has it already been a week since I reviewed the Trio cake crunchers? Scrap that, how was yesterday the summer Equinox? Christmas doesn't seem five minutes ago, and yet Sunday will mark six months until the best day of the year. Yep, I'm counting down already and will be celebrating in my own way on Sunday, keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram if you want to see what I mean. Anyway, where were we? Cake crunchers. Yes, well of you remember I wasn't impressed by the lack of crunch in the Trio cake 'crunchers', but could the Penguin bars fare better? 

"Sponge cakes with a creamy layer and crunchy biscuit pieces, covered in milk chocolate."

The cakes were aesthetically pleasing to cut into with their respective layers, I'll give them that. Penguin cake bars have, of course, been around for donkeys but it was the cookies and cream flavour that first drew me to the bars (even a hint of Oreo anything and I'm there). The trouble is, 'cookies and cream' has become synonymous with 'unflavoured' in the same way that 'vanilla' has, and that was certainly the case with these bars. The original penguin cakes have a chocolate layer above the sponge, but this was just a plain mousse. I mean it wasn't unpleasant, but it was far from spectacular either.

 To make matters worse, the biscuit pieces were again more-or-less inexistent. At only 4% of the bars they were never really going to make an impact though we're they? Why bother Mcvities? Ah yes, because then you can label it as new and draw us suckers in. 

On a brighter note, the chocolate covering and cake were fair, in a cheap, long-life cake sort of way. They were also individually wrapped which makes them good for lunch boxes, but they're also high in sugar (10g per 24g bar) so be warned if you're giving them to children! These bars have got me thinking, why don't McVities make a Hershey's cookies n creme style penguin biscuit? White chocolate studded with biscuit crumbs and a milk chocolate filling? Now that sounds good to me... 

5/10 

NEW! Sicilian Lemon & Ricotta Cheesecake Slices (M&S)

Occasionally I find myself craving cheesecake that's not chocolate based. I know. Shocker. In fact I'm quite partial to the odd lemony pud -be it a drizzle cake, meringue pie, tarte au citron or cheesecake- but only if it offers a balanced juxtaposition of sweet and tart. It's for this reason that I'm fond of Gü's citrus cheesecake and steer clear of Aldi's version. The former is delightfully light and zingy whilst the latter is acidic and barely enjoyable. Given my recent experiences with M&S' Spirit Of Summer desserts I believed I could depend upon them to deliver a refreshing, summery cheesecake. 

"Sicilian lemon and ricotta baked cheesecake on a digestive biscuit base topped with a Sicilian lemon glaze and candies lemon peel."

At 110g each they were larger than your usual cheesecake slice, which especially pleased me as I'd only paid 95p for the pack because I'd been lucky enough to pop in at reducing time (I believe they're normally £2.75). 

The consistency of the cheesecake was surprisingly fluffy. It wasn't moussey like M&S' sunken Chocolate & Valencian Orange cheesecake, but it wasn't gelatinous like most other mass produced cheesecakes either. In fact, texturally the cheesecake was pretty damn perfect. It was just the flavour that ruined it. Instead of the sweet tang that I'd hoped for, all I could taste was the bitter lemon pith that you'll find if you ever zest a lemon too far. The resulting flavour wasn't great. I mean it was edible, but I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. 

Against the acidic cheesecake the flavour of the glaze was lost. I tried a little on its own, and it seemed fairly tasty, but it offered little in the way of redemption. Come on biscuit base! Please be better... 

But it wasn't. It was of decent thickness, I'll give M&S that, but what's the point when it was utterly soggy? I can't help but think that an amaretti biscuit would've worked well here, both in terms of flavour and texture. 

Oh dear M&S. 

5/10

NEW! Haribo Starmix Summer Frenzy: Berry Flavours (Tesco)

Is it just me or is Haribo slacking recently on the innovation front recently? With the exception of the little cupcakes and fairly-dull-fairyland, we just seem to have had variations on the Tangfastics and Starmix of late - this season it's ice cream Tangfastics and these berry Starmix. 

"NEW limited edition HARIBO Summer Frenzy Starmix, a mix of favourite iconic Starmix pieces in new juicy berry flavours!"

To be honest, the Tangfastics sound the more interesting of the two, but neither Bert or I are particularly fond of sour sweets and so bought the Berry Starmix instead. 

Flavours from top left-bottom right: strawberry, pomegranate & cranberry, mixed berries, Blueberry, blackberry, raspberry & cherry.

To be honest, none of the flavours were particularly imaginative, and none tasted that great either. I was most looking forward to trying the blueberry bear, and hoped that it would remind me of blue Panda Pops (yes I'm showing my age here) but instead it was wishy washy. As for the pomegranate & cranberry 'cola bottles' they were pretty grim and I actually couldn't eat them. Bert and I  normally fight over the foam backed 'eggs' but the strawberry in these were neither Nesquik milkshake-esque or fresh and fruity. Even the cherry heart was lacklustre, which was surprising considering that Haribo's cherry shaped cherries are normally pretty good!

To be honest, I'd rather have a normal bag of Starmix.... Well actually I'd much rather go to Wilkinsons and faceplate their enormous Candy King stand instead, but that's quite a bit more expensive and I am a student after all! 

5/10

NEW! McVities Jaffa cakes Chocolate & Orange Blondies (Morrisons)

I'm not sure that we can be friends if you don't like Jaffa cakes. In my books they must be eaten in one of two ways: 

1. Nibble off the chocolate, dunk the sponge in coffee and savour the orange jelly.

Or

2. Proclaim "full moon"... "half moon"..."total eclipse" in a silly accent whilst devouring the Jaffa cake in two bites. N.B. If you don't remember the iconic advert please google it so you don't make me feel old! 

I'm not sure either ritual can be applied to these new blondies though. McVities have also released chocolate jaminger* (sorry, Jamaican Ginger) cakes and chocolate brownies in the same range, but it was the Jaffas that took my fancy.

"Moist Sponge Cake with Orange Flavour Fruit Pieces, Dark Chocolate and an Orange Flavour Topping."

I love the combination of warm brownie/blondie with ice cream so jumped on the opportunity to try these with Tesco's Jaffa Cake ice cream; which incidentally I've fallen more and more in love with. Oh, silly me. Given the topping I'm not sure the squares would microwave all that well. Ambient blondies and ice cream it was then. 

The chocolate was very thin, there's no way I could even attempt to peel it off even if I wanted to. I'm glad I had the chocolatey ice cream to fulfil my fix. 

The blondie was an odd one. Surely for a blondie has to contain white chocolate to earn its name, or is that just my wrong presumption? I certainly didn't think it meant a dense, doughy, un-risen sponge cake devoid of flavour. The 'blondie' was so stodgy that it stuck itself to the roof of my mouth. Not pleasant. 

Don't even get me started on the 'orange flavoured fruit pieces'. Why not use an orange sauce, jelly or *real* orange pieces McVities? Why can't companies use the real deal in products? Argh, I can feel another peanut butter rant coming on. Anyway, the 'orange'  pieces are made from an unbelievable amount of ingredients: Concentrated Apple Juice, Concentrated Orange Juice, Sugar, Dried Apple Powder, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Glucose Syrup, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Natural Flavouring, Acidity Regulator (Potassium Citrate)].

It pretty much had the texture of a sauce anyway, but I think you can make out from the photo below that it had sunk down to the bottom of the squares, which made the base all sticky. Taste-wise it was ok, but seeing as it only constituted 6% of the blondie it didn't make much of an impact.

I've made a lot of complaints in this review, but that's because I love my jaffas and I felt these missed the mark. At £1 for four they're cheap and cheerful, just don't expect too much from them.

5/10

*explanation of Jaminger here!

NEW! Rhubarb & Custard Ice Cream Cones

Last year I found sheer joy with Iceland's Nostalgic Rhubarb & Custard Cone Sensations. Only ASDA's Rhubarb Jumbles yielded similar happiness with my favourite sweet shop classic combination and both the Greggs Rhubarb & Custard donut, & M&S' Rhubarb, Strawberry & Custard Muffins paled in comparison. Seeing as the Iceland Cones were discontinued in the Autumn, I hoped that Tesco had provided us with an ample replacement. 

"Rhubarb and custard flavour ice creams in a wafer cone coated with chocolate flavoured coating, rippled and topped with rhubarb sauce, finished with biscuit pieces."

At £1 for a box of four ice creams, they were the same price as Iceland's versions. There was a subtle difference between the two descriptions though - Iceland's were adorned with sugar crystals whereas Tesco's are coated in biscuit pieces. 

Well I say covered, but I don't mean it. There was a measly smattering of crumbs, which I didn't even acknowledge until I looked back at the photos. Iceland's sweetie-esque topping was much better. 

Luckily the sauce was tasty, bearing a welcome combination of sweet with a slightly tanginess. I can't comment on whether it was an improvement on Iceland's as my memory doesn't serve me that well, but it was scrummy nonetheless. Unfortunately the sauce wasn't very well distributed. The top half of the cone didn't contain much, and neither did the bottom, but there was a huge pocket of pink stickiness in the middle. 

As for the ice cream, it had that soft, almost whipped-ness of most cheap supermarket ice creams. Flavour-wise it was every bit the let down. Both the rhubarb and custard elements were weak. Rhubarb is such a punchy flavour so there's no excuse for it to not come to the fore, but it was very much lacking in these cones. 

If I was looking for the silver lining, I'd tell you that the wafer cone was crunchy with a decently sized chocolate nib at the bottom, but surely that's the least you expect, isn't it? 

5/10

NEW! Krispy Kreme Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme Filled & Ring Doughnuts (Welcome Break)

I'm not going to lie. Despite still being narked at Krispy Kreme for their ridiculous pre-April Fools stunt I was excited by the release of their new Hershey's doughnuts. As a lover of Hershey's Cookies'n'Creme bar I just hoped that they'd be more successful than the last Cookies & Cream inspired doughnut I tried; remember that disappointing Oreo ring? 

Of course I had to wait until I was in Cardiff to get hold of the Krispy Kremes, and indeed I sent my poor Dad on a goose chase on the way home from visiting my sister's new home, purely in pursuit of these new doughnuts. In the end I ended up paying an extortionate £5.45 for three doughnuts (I bought the Nutty Chocolatta too) from a Welcome Break -they'd better be worth it! 

Ring Doughnut
I don't usually buy KK's ring doughnuts as I figure that the filled versions represent much better value for money, but I wanted to compare the two (for reviewing purposes, obviously! 😉)

"Filled with Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme Kreme, topped with white chocolate flavoured coating and Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme pieces."

It wasn't the prettiest ring doughnut I'd ever seen, but at least it did have a plentiful supply of Hershey's cookies 'n' creme chocolate atop! Biting into the ring I tasted Krispy Kreme's classic glaze, which of course works gloriously well with the sweet dough. I did find that the white chocolate coating became somewhat lost in all the sugariness though. The pieces too didn't stand out, and I ended up feeling very underwhelmed by this doughnut. Lets hope the filled version would impress!

7/10

Filled Doughnut

"Our signature ring, topped with white chocolate flavoured coating and Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme pieces".

Well that's not much of a topping in comparison is it Krispy Kreme? The doughnut also felt much staler than I'm used to (I usually buy their doughnuts from their shop in the St David's centre). Humf. I kept my fingers crossed that it was adequately filled.

Whilst the filling was off centre, I was just pleased that there was a decent amount to be found. Whilst I was worried that the doughnut felt stale, the innards had remained light and fluffy, with plenty of big air pockets. Taste wise the dough was just as delicious as always, but it was the filling I forked out my pennies for!

Oh. It just tasted of fondant. As a disliker of Creme Eggs, and fondant filled chocolate in general, this simply wasn't my cup of tea. How Krispy Kreme can call this Cookies 'n' Creme I'll never know. It was just flavourless sugar. As with the ring the chocolate coating was a let down too. White chocolate? If you say so. 

5/10

The new Krispy Kreme don't deliver. Greggs' new caramel cookie doughnut is far better and cheaper. I shan't bother with either again. 

NEW! Majestics Butterscotch Ice Cream Lollies (Iceland)

Last year and the year before Iceland came up trumps on the innovative ice cream flavour front. There was the peanut & banana cones, the rhubarb & custard cones, toffee apple cones, banoffee Majestics, and bubblegum ice creams to name just a few. This year they've fallen back on the staple flavour that most supermarkets seem to be relying on nowadays: salted caramel or versions thereof. There's 'new' Salted Caramel cones, Salted Caramel Majestics and these Butterscotch Majestics. If you don't like toffee you better stay clear of Iceland this summer. Admittedly @productsinstore found other -more exciting- lines in her store yesterday but they've yet to hit Hereford's branch. 

"Butterscotch flavour ice cream swirled with caramel sauce, coated in white chocolate with caramelised sugar pieces."

Oh, and whilst I complain, I should probably remember that I bleeding love caramel! In actual fact, these Butterscotch Majestics sounded rather marvellous, especially with the coating, and at £1.50 for four they're good value too. 

The lollies looked good, although it was instantly obvious that the white chocolate wasn't very thick because I could see the ice cream through it. 

It wasn't particularly good quality white chocolate either and certainly not up to Iceland's previous standards. I hope you'll that white chocolate is plenty sweet enough already, so although the caramelised sugar gave it a lovely crunch, it also made it very sickly. 

The ice cream was meant to be butterscotch flavoured, but I don't think it was. All I could taste was a plain vanilla in the non-saucy areas, which was ok, but not as indulgently creamy as Magnum's ice cream. 

Luckily the sauce was rich and full of flavour, and the closer I got to the bottom of the lolly, the more caramel I could taste. The combination of the sugar studded white chocolate and super saucy bottom was overwhelmingly sweet though, making you want to brush your teeth once finished. 

I shan't bother with the Butterscotch Majestics again, they pale in comparison to Magnums, and indeed many of the supermarket Magnum rip-offs. 

5/10

NEW! Milkybar Milk Slices (ASDA)

White chocolate. Its adored by most dark chocolate dodgers, yet is still vastly under-utilised in the U.K. The only white chocolate bar currently available in most newsagents is Milkybar, and that's marketed at children. Still, there's something quite comforting about eating children's food. I don't trust anyone who doesn't enjoy a plate of McCain's smiles with Birds Eye fish fingers. I did feel a little silly buying these Milkybar cake slices, but realised soon after posting my Instagram post last night that I'm not the only adult with an affinity towards kiddie junk food.

I used to regularly buy the Nesquik chocolate milk slices, but haven't had them in a while, opting for chocolate cake/ muffins instead. To be honest, I'd all but forgotten about them until these Milkybar versions were released. At £1 for four from ASDA they weren't too badly priced though, and they're good to eat up to 6 hours from the fridge.

"Sponge Cake with White Chocolate Filling"

Oh, well they're not the most appetising looking snacks are they? The thin squares of cake were only a couple of millimetres thick and disconcertingly smooth. Perhaps cutting it in two would make it look prettier. What do you think?

The cake itself was solid and reminded me of rusk as opposed to the sponge it promised of. It didn't have any noticeable flavour either - no butteriness or even egg to it. Hmm.

The situation improved slightly with the filling, which was whipped and moussey in texture. Like white chocolate it was very sweet, but that's where the similarities ended. The filling had a generic vanilla ice cream flavour, with the merest hint of white chocolate, but it was certainly no MilkyBar.

I don't think I'll bother with these again.

5/10

NEW! Red Velvet, S'mores, Salted Caramel & Cookie Dough Cheesecakes (ASDA)

I walked into ASDA the other night to pick up some bread rolls and came away with four cheesecakes. How did that happen?! Please tell me I'm not the only one. Believe it or not, that was me holding back, there were many more new ones (take a look at the bottom of this post for photos of just some of the others I spotted). Anyway, I bought 4 of the 5 new individual ones for £1 each -key lime pie didn't appeal I'm afraid, even enough to take a photo. 

Cookie Dough
I really hoped this would be better than the last ASDA cookie dough cheesecake I reviewed just over a year ago. It certainly looked appealing, with a more substantial base this time around.

"Chocolate biscuit base with chocolate chip and chocolate cheesecake batters, with cookie dough, topped with chocolate sauce, milk chocolate chips and white chocolate buttons."

The cheesecake itself was pretty pants. It had that wobbly jelly like consistency that I find so off-putting in most supermarket cheesecakes. Flavour-wise neither the chocolate or chocolate chip batter cut the mustard either. The paler of the two didn't have many chocolate chips, neither did it taste of vanilla, or soured cream, just plain. Humf. The chocolate cheesecake wasn't much better either. 
As for the cookie dough, that was a bit lost too. In fact I only realised when I finished my slice that I hadn't even tasted it! Oops. Fortunately the chocolate bottom was ok, although a little on the dry and crumbly side.

5/10 

Salted Caramel 

"Digestive biscuit base topped with caramel cheesecake batter and salted caramel sauce, topped with milk chocolate malt balls and chocolate crispies."

At least the cheesecake itself was actually flavoured. Whilst it still wobbled, I enjoyed the treacly flavour (although I'm not sure how salted it truly was). 
The honeycomb balls on top were crisp, although admittedly they weren't up to Malteser standards.

I also enjoyed the base of this one. Sometimes you can't beat the original, and I greedily hoovered up every last crumb of digestive biscuit. 

7/10

Red Velvet Secret Centre 

"Red velvet base with vanilla cheesecake batter and a chocolate sauce centre, with red velvet topping."

Boy this was messy to retrieve from its pot, the cake crumb scattered everywhere! Also, can you call a cheesecake a cheesecake without a biscuit bottom? 

Another sub-standard cheesecake. I think ASDA must've used the same batter in this and the cookie dough flavour, for it had a similar a similar taste and consistency. The cake crumb was ok, but there wasn't much of it, and without the crunchy base there was a distinct lack of textural contrast. Not good. The 'secret centre' constituted a measly teaspoonful of runny chocolate sauce, the sort of stuff you'd use to top ice cream -again it wasn't particularly enjoyable. 

I'd give this one a miss if I were you.

4/10  

S'mores 
I really hoped that this cheesecake would fare better than the other new ASDA cheesecakes and the Tesco freezer burnt S'mores cheesecake I reviewed last year.

"Chocolate biscuit base with chocolate cheesecake batter topped and a chocolate sauce centre topped with a chocolate sauce and marshmallows."

This cheesecake was at least easier to remove from its case, revealing three distinct layers beneath the marshmallow topping.

The top layer was meant to be chocolate sauce, but it was set and tasted a bit like the odd wobbly chocolate puddings you find in all inclusive hotels on the continent -please tell me you know what I mean? I really wish that ASDA had used ganache instead.

The chocolate cheesecake was far from the best I've had; it was gelatinous and mild in flavour. As for the secret centre, I uncovered the same sorry state of affairs as I found in the Red Velvet. Gah, ASDA, you can do so much better than this.

I was grateful that the base was crunchy and actually made from biscuits! The chocolate flavour was rather good too, with a dark bourbon-esque element. C'mon guys, I'm looking for the silver lining here. 

6/10

Summary
What a disappointment ASDA, especially having bought and thoroughly enjoyed your outstanding White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecakes the weekend before. 

Just some of the other new cheesecakes spotted at ASDA..

I like the sound of the Banana Bonanza, but I fear it'll be just as bad as their other new cheesecakes. Please let me know what you think if you try any of ASDA's new dessert range!

The Skinny Bakery: Less Calories, Fat & Sugar Product Review (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by The Skinny Bakery who asked me to review their products. This was a very welcome request seeing as I've been pawing over images of their range on Instagram for quite some time. Haven't heard of The Skinny Bakery? Let me fill you in...

The Skinny Bakery is the brainchild of baker Mariella Forte, who set up the company in 2013 with a vision to create delicious baked treats containing a fraction of the calories of their traditional counterparts. Think flapjacks, cookies, tarts, and cakes that even dieters can enjoy. Salivating yet? You should be.

A couple of days later a box arrived. Well it arrived at my neighbour's house actually, who came out running as soon as she saw me return home from uni. 

"Amy! Amy! There's a parcel here for you, and it says to refrigerate it! But there's no room in my fridge!" She cried (she's a good egg).

Luckily it was a cold day and the cakes still all looked in perfect nick. The parcel contained 8 individual packs of treats, each of which contained less than 212kcals or less.

Skinny Beetroot Pearls (169kcals)
There's two flavours in this world that I really can't stomach, and those are beetroot and liquorice. I almost gave these to a friend, but then my curiosity got the better of me.

"Pack of beetroot sponges piped with a quark based low fat cream cheese frosting"

Blow me down. I'm sure I grimaced as I prepared to take my first mouthful, but my expression soon took a change for the better. The cake was unbelievably moist, with a very mild beetroot flavour. I tasted the delicate balance between earthiness and dark cocoa, contrasted with the slight tang from the quark centres. I'm not a beetroot convert by any means, but I can honestly say that this is the first beetroot product I've ever truly enjoyed.

7/10

Skinny Chocolate Pearls (208kcals)
Given the success of the beetroot Pearls, I was very much looking forward to their chocolatey sibling.

"Pack of chocolate sponges piped with our signature tofu-chocolate frosting. Low fat and a good source of protein. 21% tofu, 25% low fat yoghurt."

I was right to be excited. They tasted exactly like a very fudgy chocolate cake. The flavour was rich and dark whilst texturally they were moist and squidgy. I might've double checked the packaging to make sure I hadn't misunderstood and that they were 208kcal per cube. I wasn't, they were 208kcals for all 6 Pearls. Incredible.

10/10

Skinny Coconut Bites (212kcals)

 "Pack of 5 vegan coconut balls with only 5 ingredients. No added sugar and wheat free."

I was looking forward to these because they're made with peanut butter! However, whilst they were soft I found that none of the flavours really stood out and they were a little on the bland side.

5/10

Skinny Sweet Potato Brownies (189kcal)

"Pack of sweet potato brownie bites, gluten and dairy free recipe, made with 46% sweet potato and sweetened with dates – only 38 calories each!"

It's a shame I'd tried the Pearls first really! These were yummy, but they weren't as chocolatey as the Pearls. They are a good treat if you're gluten and/or dairy free though!

7/10

Skinny Carrot Cake Pearls

"Pack of carrot cake sponges piped with a quark based low fat cream cheese frosting."

These are a new addition to the Skinny Bakery collection, and boy are they good! They're moist, yet fluffy and well spiced. The ratio of cake:filling was spot on and the mini morsels contained currants -Tesco take note. These surpass most of the full fat/sugar carrot cakes I've had. Delicious!

10/10

Skinny Choc Chip Cookies (187kcal)

"Pack of soft dairy-free chocolate chip biscuits – only 37Kcal each"

My pack contained a mixture of mushroom,star and heart shaped cookies, which were texturally somewhere between a biscuit and a cookie. In fact they reminded me of rusks! They were less sweet than I'm used to, and I could barely taste the chocolate. Tasty, but not outstanding.

6/10

Skinny Choc & Orange Cookies (181kcal)

"Pack of soft dairy-free chocolate chip and orange biscuits – only 36Kcal each"

I couldn't really taste very much difference between these and their standard choc chip cookies. Both the chocolate and the orange could've done with being bolder.

6/10

Skinny Double Chocolate Meringue Cookies (141kcal)
The pack contained 7 rather splendid looking cookies. Instead of eating them on their own I decided to make a wicked dessert with them and sandwiches them between Jude's Chocolate with a touch of sea salt ice cream.

"Pack of chocolate cookies made with egg whites and dairy-free chocolate. Crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. 30 calories per average cookie."

Genius. The cookies were exactly as promised. They were crispy, crunchy, chewy and chocolatey! My decision to pair them with the indulgently dark ice cream was a good one, and the added creaminess added a wonderful additional layer of flavour and texture. The double chocolate Meringue cookies are definite winners!

9/10

Summary

I love the idea of The Skinny Bakery, and many of their products are simply scrummy. I'm sure I could live off the chocolate and carrot cake pearls as well as their double chocolate meringue cookies. The packaging is cute and a lot of their products are suitable for those requiring dairy free and/or gluten free diets. The cakes have a short shelf-life but can be frozen for up to 6 months -if you can wait that long! If you love the sound of them and fancy giving them a go please check out their website, where you can receive 10% off your order by using the code STARTER10 at checkout.

**A huge thank you to the team at The Skinny Bakery for sending me the samples**