NEW! Mocha Cheesecakes (Waitrose)

A couple of days ago I reviewed Waitrose's new Cookies & Cream cheesecake slices and mentioned that I'd bought another double pack at the same time. It was these Mocha cheesecakes that had initially caught my attention though, and was only Bert's hatred of coffee that caused my brief hesitation. It wasn't long before I saw sense and bought them anyway, making the most of the fact that they're currently on offer for £2.63 -before they go up to £3.20.

I sent my sister a picture of my dessert purchases, and she instantly tried to persuade me to hop on a train to Cardiff to share them with her -despite my insistence that they wouldn't bode well on the two hour walk-train-bus journey to her house. In a great twist of fate however, her best friend collected her and brought her back to Hereford on Saturday evening. Great! I'd cook her Sunday dinner and we'd have them for dessert. Or so I thought... 

A heavy night of drinking later meant that she was only up to a coffee at my house yesterday, and took her cheesecake-to-go. Cheeky mare (love you really, Lou bum). Anyway, yes, mocha cheesecakes. Back to the case in hand, and the reason you're reading this post...

"2 Baked chocolate and coffee flavoured cheesecakes on a chocolate flavoured biscuit base, topped with vanilla flavour mousse and cocoa and vanilla dusting."

Despite their thoughtful packaging, the cheesecake stuck itself to the acetate surrounds, meaning that they didn't look as attractive as I'd hoped. I reminded myself that it was the taste I bought them for, not the aesthetics. 

Is it just me or is the vanilla mousse a slightly odd choice of topping for a mocha cheesecake? My thoughts went as follows:

 1. Cheesecake isn't normally topped with an additional layer
and
 2: Well, wouldn't white chocolate be more in keeping with the mocha theme?

I mean, it was light, fluffy, and perfectly pleasant. I just think it was slightly peculiar.

For once,  I was pleased that Waitrose hadn't opted to include a ganache layer because it meant that the Belgian chocolate flavoured cheesecake could shine through. Yes, it was every bit as rich and delicious as I always hope for when buying chocolate cheesecake, no doubt thanks to the inclusion of 10% Belgian milk chocolate.But wait a little minute here. Wasn't this meant to be chocolate and coffee cheesecake? Did that mean that there was meant to be two tiers of separate flavours, or that the cheesecake was meant to be mocha and therefore encompass both? All I know was that the coffee flavour was very much on the mild side, especially noticeable considering the helping of Jude's Flat White Coffee I chose to enjoy alongside the cheesecake. Looking at the ingredients gives an indication as to why it wasn't particularly prominent - Waitrose have used coffee granules here, and not ground coffee. Oh.

I forgave Waitrose a little when I reached the centre of the cheesecakes though, and uncovered a secret chocolate sauce centre*. Ooh, you cheeky devils! There was no hint of this on the products description (or the ingredients list), but who doesn't love a chocolate surprise? I know I do. It wasn't ganache-thick, but it wasn't overly runny either. There wasn't a huge deal of it, but it had a slightly darker edge to it than the milkier cheesecake and was therefore a welcome inclusion. 

The chocolate biscuit base was also pretty good (it was similar to the one used in their new C&C cheesecake) but I think a standard digestive (or coffee flavoured biscuit) base may have actually worked better considering how much chocolate there was already going on. That's only a slight niggle though, because it was still absolutely scrummy. 

Would I buy these again? Probably not, and especially not at £3.20 per pack. As far as new chocolate cheesecakes go, I much prefer the M&S sunken Valencian Orange. 

8/10

*apologies for the dark photo, I was eating it in front of the T.V, hopefully you can spot the darker patch in the middle! 

Intense Cappuccino Bar (M&S)

I was in M&S recently* when I spotted their chocolate truffle bars on a 2 for £1 offer. Normally I veer straight towards their scrummy peanut butter bar, but I was swayed by the idea of a good deal (they're normally 70p each) and the opportunity to try something I haven't tasted before. One of the bars I bought was this intense cappuccino bar, which appealed given my love of all things mocha.

"White and dark chocolate bar with a coffee mousse centre (57%), decorated with milk chocolate (7%)."

The bar's size didn't enter my mind when I bought it, however I was taken aback once I retrieved it from its wrapper. It was weeny! I mean, finger size...

Humf. I know my chocolate cravings are hard to fulfil, but this was taking the Micky! Still, the finger sliced cleanly in two, revealing all of the distinct layers. At least it was attractive.

Fortunately for those who enjoy a strong coffee hit, this bar delivers the intense cappuccino taste that it promises. The truffle-esque filling was soft and packed full of flavour, indeed slightly too much so for my personal latte/weak coffee preferences. Despite the presence of white chocolate, the bar wasn't particularly sweet, and I felt my taste buds longing for more chocolate to provide a more balanced mocha style flavour -silly really considering that the bar is called 'intense cappuccino' and not 'mocha latte'. I couldn't really taste the chocolate in all honesty, for it was almost completely overwhelmed the coffee flavour and just served as more of a vehicle for the mousse filling.

Im complaining, but I shouldn't be really. I imagine the Americano or Espresso lovers out there would really enjoy the bar, but it's not one that I would buy again. I hope the other bar I bought will be more my cup of tea. Or coffee, haha.

6/10

*recently-ish, it was a few weeks ago!

NEW! E.Wedel Caffe Latte Milk Chocolate (Polski Sklep)

Last week I was queuing up to pay for the peanut & chocolate croissant in the Polish deli, when a chocolate bar I hadn't spotted before caught my eye. It grabbed my attention for three reasons:

1. It was cheap (just 40p)
2. It was caffe latte flavoured (I love anything mocha)
3. It was made my E.Wedel...

...Why would the slightly obscure brand appeal to me you may ask? Well, I've seen their larger (and equally interesting sounding) bars in supermarkets, as well as reading a few favourable reviews* of their products, but have never taken the plunge and bought myself a bar. In the name of impulse, I grabbed the Pawełek and quickly bought it before I could remind myself of he numerous bars of chocolate already sat in my fridge.

Please can we just take a moment to take in the Google translation of E.Wedel's description of the bar on their website (where I also found out that it's new)!

"Pawełek flavored Caffe Latte in milk chocolate bar designed for lovers of coffee with milk and refers to the ritual of drinking this beverage in combination with sweet chocolate pleasure."

My heart sunk when I unwrapped the bar and spotted the White curse of spoilage lingering on the corners. Still, appearances can be deceptive, and I snapped the bar in half. I think I was expecting a truffle-esque centre enrobed in chocolate, but instead I discovered a gooey, fondant core (which smelt very alcoholic!).

Unfortunately in this case, the book should have been judged by its cover. The chocolate was waxy, and tasted cheap, reminiscent of Kinnerton's Christmas calendars. I'm a fan of liqueur chocolates, but I couldn't even detect the slightest hint of coffee, as it was totally overwhelmed by the throat burning alcohol. So potent was it, that I was left wondering how many bars you would need to eat before feeling woozy**.

It's such a shame really, considering the success I had with both of the last Polish chocolate bars I've tried (The Wawel Peanut Butter review here, and advocaat bar review here if you're interested) and the success other bloggers have had with E. Wedel. Maybe I'll give them another shot soon. Have you had any of their bars? If so, which is the best?

3/10

* Such as:
Kev's  Karmel-love! Caramel White Chocolate Bar review
Nibs' Crème Brûlée Bar review
and One Treat's Dark Tiramisu review

** At 2.1% of the bar's ingredients I guess it might be more than the taste led me to imagine!

Carb Killa White Chocolate Mocha

If you regularly work out and/or take protein supplements, chances are you'll have heard about Grenade's newest bar. Added to the delicious range of Carb Killas (which FYI taste remarkably like chocolate bars) is the White Chocolate Mocha. I love anything mocha and always begrudge the fact that coffee is very rarely paired with white chocolate as opposed to milk or dark. As someone who likes their coffee mild, I prefer the sweeter white chocolate against the naturally bitter coffee. Still, one must not forget that the Carb Killa is a protein bar and not a chocolate bar; its main focus is meant to be delivering quality nutrition pre or post exercise.

"Delivering over 22 grams of protein per bar, Carb Killa® is a high protein bar that has been designed to provide balanced complete sources of protein, while limiting the level of simple, processed refined sugars. Unlike many other protein bars Carb Killa® is unique in the fact it is so low in carbs."

Slicing into the bar revealed the trio of layers: the mocha flavoured protein layer, covered in caramel and topped with the biscuit studded white chocolate. Normally I like my protein bars all warm and gooey but I decided to try the end section in it's ambient state for reviewing purposes. 

Boy I wasn't disappointed. The coffee flavour was milky but omnipresent, working wonderfully with the sweet white chocolate flavoured coating. The crunch made the texture all the more appealing, and I found it to be better than most real (non protein!) white mocha chocolate bars that I've tasted! As always, the protein layer was soft and lacked the dreaded chewiness (or whey flavour) of most bars.

I almost didn't warm this Carb Killa given how much I was enjoying it, but 20 seconds or so in the microwave rendered the bar even more delicious. Seriously, I'm sure my tastebuds thought I was eating dessert instead of a bar that was delivering much needed protein to my muscles pre-workout -it was that good!

I didn't think that Grenade could create a bar more scrummy than my beloved white chocolate cookie, but they've really worked their magic with this one! I'm hoping and praying that their next addition will be a peanut butter version..

Carb Killas are available from most decent sports nutrition retailers for about £2.50- £3 per bar.

10/10

NEW! Mini Mocha Hot Cross Buns (M&S)

Good old Hot Cross Buns, the Easter-time bakery treat that makes the cold wintry days that little more comforting. As traditional as they may be however, they haven't managed to escape the recent trend of being enhanced or meddled with (depending on your viewpoint).

Over recent years we've seen the emergence of creations such as the double chocolate Hot Cross Buns (Tesco in-store bakery) and chocolate fudge buns (M&S and Tesco). Lauren from Nibbles 'n' Scribbles recently reviewed Waitrose's newest buns on the block- Heston's Cherry Bakewell -which unfortunately I haven't been able to find as they sound divine! Of course M&S couldn't miss the opportunity to create something potentially even more wacky, so they have pulled out the Mini Mocha Hot Cross Buns.

I wasn't sure what to expect. Although I love Mocha, its transference into snack items can be a bit hit and miss.  KitKat Mocha underplayed the coffee element, whilst Nakd's bar lacked the required sweetness. I also wasn't sure how to serve them... With butter? Jam? Warm? Or just plain and cold? 

I could smell the cocoa and spices as soon as I unwrapped the buns, but couldn't really detect the coffee. However, with my first mouthful, I was pleased to discover that both the coffee and dark chocolate favours were in abundance. I couldn't quite get round my head around the concept at first. It was the combination of flavours one might expect in a mocha cake, but with the light and fluffy texture of a hot cross bun. The spices were somewhat lost against the coffee and chocolate, but that wasn't a problem as there was already so much going on.

I tried a whole realm of possibilities with regards to temperatures and filling, but I certainly most enjoyed the buns  when slightly warm and slathered in butter -with the chocolate chips starting to melt. I imagine they would be pleasant filled with cream cheese to resemble the icing on the cake -or rather, bun/ 

I'm not sure these will ever replace unadulterated Hot Cross Buns for me, and I did buy some of M&S' more traditional buns when purchasing the mocha variety, but they certainly make a good alternative afternoon treat.

7/10

KitKat Limited Edition Mocha Flavour (Morrisons)

Sometimes I'm quick off the mark when it comes to new food releases, whilst other times I'm not so excitable and wait a long while before buying. This is certainly true when it comes to this KitKat Mocha, as they've since released two new flavours: Stirred Vanilla & Extra Chocolatey (check out One Treat's review here). Anyway, on the off chance that you've not tried the Mocha Kitkat yet either, I thought I'd give it a quick review.

The four-finger bar smelt convincingly of coffee. The chocolate was of standard Nestle quality (I much prefer both Mars' and Cadbury's milk chocolate). The coffee came through as a mild flavouring, certainly earning its status as mocha rather than espresso, which gave it a rather comforting element. The wafers were perfectly crisp, but the ratio of chocolate to wafer was rather stingy- but maybe that's only my chocoholic opinion!

Overall, this is a pleasant bar, but I wouldn't choose it regularly over a more chocolatey product. I just wish there were more true coffee chocolate bars on the market!

7/10

NEW Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha at ASDA

I was just picking up a carton of milk when some lovely red festive packaging caught my eye on the shelf above. Next to the regular iced Starbucks coffees was this new Christmas edition- White Chocolate Mocha. It seems an odd time of year to release an iced coffee, but it did sound good so I thought I'd try it out: white chocolate and coffee are two of my favourite commodities after all!

First off, rather stupidly, I was taken aback by the colour -expecting it to be look similar to the white chocolate 'Options' drink- but of course, it's fundamentally coffee and so looked more like a Latte. 

The taste was super sweet, but lacking the distinctive flavour of white chocolate... Or any kind of chocolate to be honest. The coffee element was nice enough, but it was just a sugary standard iced latte. I drank it in a bit of hurry, so perhaps I didn't give it a chance by lending enough time to properly enjoy it, but I probably won't buy it again.

Disappointing Starbucks!

3/10