NEW! Milk Chocolate & Irish Cream Brownie Slices (M&S)

Last week I combatted the change in seasons by celebrating the fact that M&S have just launched new desserts into their menu collection. Whilst the giant macaroons might've been a little more style over substance, I looked forward to trying some of the other unusual additions.

I was in luck too - a couple of days ago I found the new Irish Cream Brownie slices emblazoned with that promising yellow reduced sticker. £1.90 for two wasn't too bad! They're currently £2.80 but will be £3.50 when full price. Ouch. 

"Layers of earl grey mousse and Irish cream mousse, chocolate sponge, chocolate brownie and milk chocolate."

They were an usual shape too, and although they were well protected in the wrapper, they were a pain in the bum to plate up as they had a tendency to fall over. Squish them onto the plate a little -like I did- though and they should stand proud. 

Shall we do this by layers? Ok then..

The top layer was jelly like, and offered little in the way of flavour. I assume it was simply there for decoration, and the gold sparkle was pretty. Beneath this was the first mousse layer - and it was scrummy. It was light, chocolatey and delivered an almighty Baileys-esque kick. For teetotal Bert this wasn't a good point, but I'd bought them because they were labelled as Irish cream and so I was happy to find that M&S had followed through on their promise. Simply put, it reminded me of Christmas.

Next up was a layer of dry, bland "sponge" cake. Again I assume it's only role was to break up the layers as it wasn't a substance that I'd want to eat on its own.  Another mousse layer followed - this time it was Earl Grey. Now I don't like Earl Grey tea - to me it's equivalent to drinking my nan's perfume- and had I have read the product description properly I think I wouldn't have actually bothered with this dessert. On its own I found it sickly and floral, but I bore with it in the hope that when it was combined with the other elements that it would transform into something magical... 

At the base was the brownie layer, which was perfectly moist and utterly chocolatey - exactly how a brownie should be. 

But what happens when you eat all the layers together? 

A journey of flavours. First the alcoholic heat greets your tastebuds, followed by the mellow chocolate and then that perfume-like Earl Grey. Damn that tea! Take out the bottom mousse M&S and you'd be on to a winner, but for me it's just too much. Too fussy, and too delicate. Give me the simple, scrummy (and cheaper) Banoffee Cheesecakes instead anyway. 

7/10. 

NEW Chocolate Orange Beanies Coffee

I love coffee -especially flavoured coffee. However, as a student I sadly don't have a huge amount of disposable income to be able to regularly get my fix from coffee shops (although I did treat myself to the new Tiramisu latte at Costa yesterday, which I thought was delightful). 

Fortunately there is a solution in the form of flavoured instant coffee. I fell in love with the Douwe Egberts 'Flavour Collective' range when it was released two years ago, and haven't really returned to standard coffee since. More recently I've dabbled into Beanies' flavoured coffee range, although my local Tesco only stocks their Amaretto Almond. Sainsbury's stock a much larger range and so I took the opportunity to stock up on the different flavours when I visited recently, including the new Chocolate Orange Coffee.

Chocolate instant coffee is something I've had bad experiences with. I once bought Little's Swiss Chocolate Coffee, but it was so bitter and had such a disgusting chemical aftertaste  that I was put off the idea completely; so much so that I haven't even dared try the Douwe Egberts version. As the entire Beanies range was on offer for £2 per jar, and given how much I enjoy their Amaretto Almond coffee, I decided to give their jaffa-inspired coffee a go.

'So chocolatey, so orangey, it’s not theirs it’s ours! Smooth milk chocolate with tangy orange flavours - try it once, you'll be hooked - trust us! At just 2 calories per serving every cup of Beanies Chocolate Orange is like a little taste of happiness. All our flavours are 100% SUGAR FREE and suitable for Vegetarians & Vegans!'

Lifting the lid, I was greeted by the sweet scent of dark chocolate combined with an orangey citrus zing- it certainly smelt better than what I remember of the Littles' coffee. Sadly, the chocolate didn't translate as well in taste, however the orange was much more palatable and came through as the star flavour. I guess that making a chocolate coffee with no sugar but maximum taste is quite the challenge, which meant that the cocoa element had a similar (although much less sharp) synthetic aftertaste to the Little's chocolate coffee.  Fortunately the orange saved the day, and whilst it's certainly not my favourite coffee, it won't be going in the bin. It's a shame though, because I think that the other Beanies coffees are wonderful.

5/10

Ratings I'd give other Beanies Coffee:

Amaretto Almond 8/10 

-It's smooth with lovely end note of Almond

Cinder Toffee 6/10

- I didn't find that there was huge amount of flavour, although it's pleasantly sweet

Irish Cream 9.5/10

- If you like bailey's I'd highly suggest buying this, it's difficult to believe this creamy coffee is just 2cals* per serving!

*unless you give it a good slug of milk like I do!