NEW! Spiced Carrot Muffins (M&S)

So we've established that the Tesco carrot cake muffins are a bit pathetic and that the M&S carrot cake hot cross buns are the biz*. The carrot cake trend looks set to continue (&/or Marks' bakery team are running out of ideas) as they've recently launched carrot cake muffins into their four pack range. Now their muffins have been hit and miss of late; the banana chocolate chip four packs were decidedly disappointing, as were the rhubarb, strawberry & custard filled affairs,  but let's not forget how good their chocolate oranges were -there's hope yet.

"Light and delicately spiced carrot muffin studded with plump sultanas, a cooling cream cheese centre topped wth granola and pumpkin seeds."

We can even pretend that they're healthy too, what with their fruit and vegetable content and granola & seed topping and all! At £1.50 per pack they're not likely to break the bank either.

Ok, so I might've squished them on the cycle home. I could've cried when I opened my backpack, what a clutz I am. I promise you they looked rustic to begin with, just maybe not this rustic. 

A corner broke off as I sliced the muffin in two, but as I'm not sure whose fault that was, I won't mark M&S down for that. I do remember that before I mistreated the muffins the topping was scattered everywhere though. Once bisected, the pale pocket of filling was visible, and it was a pleasing sight -central and adequately proportionate- just as it should be.

The warming notes of cinnamon were well balanced, not overshadowing the earthiness from the carrot, but instead complimenting it. An abundance of plump, juicy sultanas added extra little bursts of flavour. The cake was a little on the dry side, and more like a country cake, but strangely this didn't detract from the enjoyment given the wet filling within.

The topping was ingenious too. The crunchy seeds offered a joyous textural contrast against the cake combined with a welcome gentle nuttiness. If I was being pernickety I'd point out that the 'granola' was really just oats given its lack of cluster formation, but I enjoyed it so lets forget that.  

The make or break moment comes with the filling though surely. I found the cream cheese to be more akin to traditional frosting than the centre of M&S' carrot cake hot cross buns. That is to say that it's sweeter and fluffier. I'm not sure if the gooeier, sauce like innards used within the buns would've worked better against the sweetness of the cake, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

Please don't bother buying Tesco's carrot cake muffins, pay the extra 50p and treat yourself to Marks & Sparks' spiced carrot muffins instead.

9/10

* I'm going to re-score the buns as a 10 given my 'currant' 😉 addiction to them and the amount of cream cheese I've had in every bun since writing the review.

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**

NEW! Carrot Cake Muffins with a Cream Cheese Centre (Tesco)

Chocolate orange and carrot cake are the flavours of the season it seems. Every man and his basket have got on the choc orange hot cross buns bandwagon this year (stay tuned for the last in that series very shortly!) and all of a sudden the carrot cake craze is popping up. Hoorah! The humble carrot cake has been vastly under appreciated until now, and it's lovely to see such a summery flavour appearing on a shelves - it certainly makes a welcome change from dulce de leche/salted caramel everything. What's even better is that these companies are filling these products with cream cheese. I always find that cupcakes are a bit lopsided on their ratios. Yes buttercream is tasty (when done right) but the cake should always be the star of the show, and somehow it gets lost under showy icing when part of a cupcake. That's why I think filling cake is a better concept. Anyway, as soon as @productsinstore alerted me to the new Tesco muffins the hunt began. 

The first store I visited wouldn't sell me any because they were "waiting for a manager to set them up" (your guess is as good as mine) but fortunately the nice manager that I found in the bakery department of Hereford's smaller Tesco retrieved me some from the freezer. Thank you kind sir! The four pack cost £1, and I just prayed that they were better than their Christmas Red Velvet muffins. 

"Spiced carrot cake with a tangy cream cheese centre." 

The muffins were a decent size and colour, speckled with sugar crystals on their tops. 

I sliced through and discovered how close crumb it was. Was that all of the filling? I thought M&S were stingy, but this was ridiculous, there could only be a teaspoonful of cream cheese at the bottom there.

The cake was well spiced with a strong cinnamon flavour and a slight warmth from the ginger. There were hints of carrot throughout, but it wasn't as prominent as one would expect in a home made version. The texture was soft, but it was so moist that it was claggy and almost raw in places. 

It wasn't just the cream cheese that was missing either. Where were the raisins at? Surely a carrot cake has to have dried fruit in too? Humf. One of the qualities I love most about carrot cake is the plump raisins that break up the texture and burst in your mouth as you munch.  

I did enjoy the sugar crystal topping however, which reminded me of country cake (albeit without the raisins). 

As for the cream cheese at the bottom, it was fairly good, but its location and meagreness meant that it was impossible to enjoy some with every mouthful of cake. 

Tesco' Carrot Cake muffins are kind of the anti-cupcake I suppose. Let's hope M&S carrot cake muffins are better, and if not I'll be sticking to their buns. 

6/10

NEW! Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns (M&S)

Did you have Easter Egg hunts as a child? We did, it was my favourite part of Easter. In fact I think I enjoyed it more than actually eating the chocolate (hard to believe, I know) because I'm so damn unrelenting and love a good puzzle. Sod the fact the cousins were round, I revelled in the joy of finding an egg when or where I least expected to. Perhaps that's part of the reason I love writing this blog so much, I revel in the thrill of finding a new product and then telling you all about it. That's certainly been the case this week after both Sarah (baking extraordinaire of Waffly Versatile) and Nat (chocolate expert at Lot-O-Choc) notified me to an instagram post from writer Felicity Spector. Cream Cheese Carrot Cake hot cross buns? Jeepers. They sounded rather good, and if they're anything like M&S's ingenius Boobie Buns... Needless to say, the Hot Cross Bun Hunt was on.

Monday afternoon: none in Worcester, but they did have a ticket out. Humf. I popped into Hereford store on the way home, who incidentally thought I had lost the plot and didn't know what on earth I was on about. Carrot cake? Yes! Hot Cross buns? Yes! Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns however...?

Tuesday afternoon: the ticket is out in Hereford! But no stock as yet...









By Wednesday I'm having kittens every time someone posts a picture on instagram of their Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns. How is everyone else so much better at this Easter hunt than me? I call the store and speaks to a helpful assistant, who kindly advises me that not all stock goes to all stores and it's unlikely that Hereford will receive them first. But then, he finds them. Jackpot! Reserve me two packs please...

"2 Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns with pieces of carrot, sunflower seeds, a hint of cinnamon and filled with cream cheese frosting."

[At this point I'd like to congratulate you for sticking with me and my strangeness. It's the small wins in life ok?]

I really hoped that they would be worth the effort. Aesthetically the buns appeared indifferent to your normal fruited variety -save for the odd slither of grated carrot- and the scent was very similar too. Unlike your normal hot crosses however, these can't be toasted or frozen.

I sliced the buns in half, anticipating a similar oozy centre to the brandy sauced filled Boobie buns. Oh.

Was that it?

Hmm M&S, that's a bit stingy and very lopsided. Still I tried to look for the positives; at least I'd have the opportunity to taste the dough on its own.

It was scrummy too, with a good strength of mixed spice and plenty of juicy raisins and date pieces, meaning the texture was very moist. The flavour didn't particularly scream of carrot cake, and I think I wouldn't have noticed that it was any different to a traditional bun If I wasn't aware that it was meant to resemble one. That said, what is the flavour of carrot cake? For me it's a moist cake with plenty of spice and dried fruit, so I guess M&S ticked all the boxes. I can't say I noticed the sunflower seeds, but I didn't miss them either. 

On to the cream cheese frosting: AKA the best bit of a carrot cake (or red velvet/cinnamon bun for that matter). I wondered how a traditionally refrigerated dairy based would fair within an ambient product.

Very well it turns out! The wizards at M&S have done it again; they've mastered the balance so that the frosting was primarily sweet with just enough tang to take the edge off. It's a genius filling for a hot cross bun, although I did find myself craving strawberry jam for the non-filled side.

Hats off to Marks & Sparks for their Hot Cross Buns this year (let's just forget the chocolate orange minis never existed, eh?). They've bent the boundaries and created two cracking versions. I'll happily enjoy these and their Savoury Cheese Hot Cross Buns right through to Easter -especially whilst they're both in the 2 for £2.50 bakery offer.

9/10 (it would be a 10 if the filling was more consistent).

On a side note, I spotted Waitrose's new luxury Heston buns today at long last, but I can't say they're anywhere near as inspiring...

Didn't he do Earl Grey stollen bites at Christmas too? C'mon Heston, that's plain lazy.

NEW! Nakd Peanut Delight & Carrot Cake (ASDA)

If you follow me on Instagram you'll already know that Nakd bars are one of my diet staples, and are regularly taken to work for a mid morning snack. I love them because they're bold in flavour, despite being relatively saintly. I've learned that heating the bars for 20 seconds in the microwave somehow further unlocks their boldness further and turns them squidgy at the same time -double bonus. So, it's needless to say that addition of not one, but THREE new Nakd bars got me more than a little excited. The line up now includes carrot cake, peanut delight and an apricot crunch bar. I found the first two in ASDA for 75p each, but I'm yet to spot the apricot flavour -have you seen it yet?

Peanut Delight
Out of the newbie trio, Peanut Delight was -of course- the bar I was most excited to try. I'm pretty much fuelled by peanut butter these days, and love the peanut trek bar, so I expected this bar to become my new favourite Nakd.

"Go nuts for peanuts with our splendid new Peanut Delight bar, packed with all the goodness you’ve come to know and love from Nākd.  Perfect as a pick-me up between meals or just when you feel like treating yourself, this lovely bar has a deep, rich peanut taste from chunky peanut pieces and of course, they’re smooshed together with delicious dates. Made with nothing but natural ingredients, this guilt-free delight is sure to satisfy any snack-hankerings."

Get in my belly. Now.

Somehow the bar looked different to what I expected, I thought that it would just be a mini Trek, but instead it was dark and glossy with a strong date scent.  

Taste-wise it was disappointing. I regularly stuff dates with peanut butter as one of my favourite healthy evening snacks (utterly delicious if you've never tried it) and therefore usually love the combination. Nakd seem to have got the proportions all wrong though: there's far too much date and not nearly enough peanut. In fact the only nod to peanuts were the occasional soggy chopped nut that cropped up every now and then. The resulting flavour lands the bar a long way into the sweet camp, and I found it to be longing for a good sprinkling of salt -and preferably a coating of peanut butter too. Not even warming it through could save it. I'm afraid it's not one I'll buy again.

3/10

Carrot Cake
I've mentioned a good few times over these past few months that I'm partial to a good slice of carrot cake. I was a bit dubious about this carrot cake flavoured raw, vegan and gluten free bar. After all surely nothing could compare to an indulgent homemade affair, adorned with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.

"Feeling the need for something desserty without the guilt? Presenting a special guest treat, this is a crave-busting carrot cake bar that tastes just like the real thing, but with the added bonus of being super-healthy too! This Carrot Cake bar is unique and special which is why it’ll only be around for a short time, it’s bound to be snapped up quick so you’ll want to get involved as soon as you can to avoid disappointment! With the warming spice of cinnamon accompanied by soft walnuts, raisins and dates this one really takes the cake."

Can you see the flecks of carrot dotted about the bar? I could smell the cinnamon the moment I peeled back the wrapper..

Hurrah Nakd! This is what I've come to expect from you! The bar was soft and chewy, whilst packing some serious punch. They have worked their magic and absolutely nailed the flavours of one of my favourite cakes. Moveover Rhubarb & Custard, the new Carrot Cake bar might just have claimed the top spot. I microwaved the second half of my bar and found -for the first time ever- that it wasn't any better warm... which makes it perfect for eating on the go. I'm gutted that this is a limited edition flavour, so I'll be sure to stock up whilst they're still around!

10/10

Have you tried any of the new bars yet? Are you in agreement with me and Kev (find his review of both bars here) or do you like the Peanut Delight bar like the lovely Erin (read her review here).

Blackfriars Bakery Cakes & Cookies (Online)

It's time for my last instalment of my trio of Blackfriars reviews. We've had the Lumberjack Protein Packed Flapjacks and Bakery Flapjacks, so now it's the turn of their cakes and cookies! In my sample package I received three delicious looking treats: a chocolate muffin, a carrot cake slice and a chocolate chip cookie. All of which sounded delicious to me...

Carrot Cake

"A Scrumptious Carrot Cake Slice with a Cream Cheese Flavour Topping."

 I've mentioned before that I love a good carrot cake. It was a favourite of mine long before I started eating carrots themselves (which for some reason I referred to as 'dirts' as a child). Anyway, the combination of spice, raisins, and cream cheese frosting is a winner in my books -although my fiance would rather watch every single episode of sex and the city than eat a mouthful of carrot cake. All of Blackfriars' products have a long shelf life, so would or could it still taste good?

Well yes, surprisingly so in fact. The cake was bouncy, light and moister than expected. The warming spices came through well, and the icing offered an extra sweetness -but not to the point that it became sickly. The 70g size was also well thought out and (unlike the flapjacks) could be eaten as a mid-afternoon treat -especially as it handily comes individually wrapped. My only qualm was that the slice contained no raisins; which for me is a requisite of a true carrot cake. I recognise however that this might be a bonus for those who like carrot cake but don't enjoy dried fruit!

7/10

Chocolate Chip Cookie

"A Delicious Cookie with Chocolate Chips"

Wowzers! A treat that can compete with Lenny & Larry's face sized cookies! Again, I wasn't overwhelmed by the size of it, as cookies tend to be less filling than flapjacks. I knew this wasn't going to be a soft, chewy bakery-style cookie as it felt much firmer, but I didn't let that put me off.

In fact, the cookie turned out to be less brittle than I'd feared, so it was easy to break chunks off to dunk in my coffee. The chocolate chips weren't particularly high quality, neither were they big or chunky, but there was something oddly nostalgic about the flavour. Once again, the wrapping meant it would be perfect to take on the train/to work without lots of crumbs getting everywhere. I wouldn't turn down another Blackfriars cookie, and I particularly like the sound of their Raspberry & White Chocolate Chunk version.

6/10

Chocolate Chip Muffin

"A Scrumptious Chocolate Flavoured Muffin with Chocolate Chips."

This decadent cake looked amazing. I could see from its colour that it would be rich, whilst it's physical lightness indicated that it would be fluffy.

I wasn't disappointed either. Considering that this too has a shelf life of 3 months, you wouldn't know it. Even writing about it leaves me yearning for more. I heated the muffin in the microwave for 20 seconds which meant that the chocolate chips melted messily into the cake -utter chocoholic heaven.

9/10

Summary

I believe that Blackfriars Bakery definitely comes into its own with their muffins. The rest of their range sound incredible too: from banoffee to black forest, cherry bakewell, cappuccino, jaffa cake and monster white chocolate muffins (to name just a few!) I really wouldn't know where to begin.

Once again, a huge thank you to the British Bakery for sending me such a lovely array of treats to try. Please head over to their website where yes you can buy mixed boxes too! What are you waiting for? 

Carrot Cake (Boots)

Boots. Last chance. I was picking up my meal deal this week but didn’t fancy chocolate -shock horror, right? I went to pick up another Graze flapjack, but then realised that I had just ordered my first Graze subscription box. Hmm. Maybe, just maybe, Boot’s carrot cake wouldn’t be as bad as their cookie dough brownie, banoffee flapjack or red velvet cake. It would have to do.

Unlike their other baked goods, the carrot cake was noticeably soft and moist; so much so that it stuck to its cardboard sleeve. The slice was covered in an ample cream cheese frosting and I could spot a few seeds and raisins dotted about, alongside the slivers of carrot pieces. So far, so good.

The cake was very soft, but not so much that it fell apart. The texture was damn near perfect, light yet packed full of crunchy seeds and squidgy raisins to break up the consistency. Cinnamon was used to great effect, offering a hint of spice in every mouthful.

I wasn't particularly fussed on the cream cheese frosting, but then I'm not an icing kind of girl. I find it too sweet, and the cake was sugary enough as it was (brown sugar ranks highest on its list of ingredients). I'm sure if you do like icing that you would find that it wasn't too bad, and I know I'm just nitpicking!

FINALLY Boots, a cake you can be proud of. Don't get me wrong, nothing beats homemade cake, but this slice is a pretty decent effort for a mass-manufactured bakery treat.

8/10

NEW Tesco Carrot Cake flavour Yogurt

I have to applaud Tesco for being continually creative with their ranges. They don't seem scared to push the boat out with odd new products and flavour combinations such as their ill-fated 'Turkey and Stuffing Weirdoughs' and Lasagne sandwiches but (thankfully) this new range isn't quite as peculiar.

They've produced three yogurts which offer an intriguing selection of hybrid flavours: 'Marmalade On Toast,' 'Raspberry Doughnut' and 'Carrot Cake.' Now I love a good carrot cake and so I felt the need to sample it in yogurt format- especially after reading A Review a Day's review last week.

They are only little 100g pots and when I lifted the lid I was met with an unappetising orange coloured yogurt with a lone sultana swimming on top. 

I took my first spoonful, and was utterly astounded. Tesco have got the characteristically luxurious, creamy, and fruity flavour down to a T! It is so similar to it's cake form that there is no doubt as to what it's supposed to be reminiscent of. Tesco have cleverly incorporated many of the classic carrot cake ingredients into the yogurt such as: carrot puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and even mascarpone cheese (powder!)- which must be the reason why it is so convincing.  The only small issue I have with the product is that they've coloured it the horrid orange colour, which is totally unnecessary as the carrot comes through wonderfully from the flavour alone.

I genuinely can't believe how well they've made this lovely creamy new yogurt, and I hope it's here to stay! 

9/10