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!

Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Bun (A Taste Of The States)

As you may have gathered from my many lengthy rambles about cinnamon buns, I bloody love the things. In fact, I love most cinnamon based treats, and have now renamed Mondays Cinnamondays. It's the buns that especially fill my heart with joy though and so It should come as no surprise that when A Taste Of The States recently gave me a gift card to spend on their website that the Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Bun made its way into my basket. If you regularly read these posts you'll know that I'm also no stranger to Mrs F's cinnamon products, having tried their Cinnamon Twirls and, more recently, their Cinnabon Cinnamon mini ring donuts.

At 113g it was a sizeable affair, slightly larger than both Tesco's cinnamon buns and the Kanelbullar that I'm (more than a little bit) in love with. As you know, Cinnamon buns are often covered in cream cheese frosting; but given the long life span, ambient nature and the distance this bun had travelled, I was pleased to see that Mrs F had opted for some kind of icing instead. It was also shorter, wider and less tightly coiled than the cinnamon buns I'm accustomed to.

Oh jeez. You remember I said that the Mrs F cinnamon donuts were like a cake hybrid? Well imagine a cinnamon bun crossed with a glazed doughnut and you'll get the gist of what this cinnamon swirl bun was all about. It was soft, sweet, spicy - and even better when warmed in the microwave for 15 or so seconds!

The glazed coating was sheer genius, and I was left wondering why other companies don't jump on the bandwagon and glaze their buns. It's safe to say that it's not for the clean eaters though, and should probably come with a notice that they're best reserved for dedicated sugar fans only. Noms.

The Cinnamon Swirl Buns from A Taste Of The States cost just £1.39 (although they're currently out of stock, please keep an eye on their website as they're regularly restocked) you can also get a massive 20% discount off them (and anything else that catches your fancy on their website) with the code: AMYSEEKS20.

9/10

Thank you to A Taste Of The States for the gift card!

Mrs Freshley's Oatmeal Creme Pie (A Taste of The States)

I love cinnamon. Like seriously love cinnamon.  I mean, give me cinnamon buns, cereal, cookies, cakes, with apple in a crumble? It makes my heart sing, does it do the same to you? It might shock you, given my chocolate addiction, that oatmeal raisin cookies take precedence over any chip varieties in my house, something I already mentioned in my FlapJacked cookie review.  I also love cookie sandwiches (albeit normally filled with peanut butter or ice cream) and so the Mrs Freshley's Oatmeal Creme Pie appealed to me -especially at 99p and given my recent success with Mrs F's cinnamon donuts.

The Creme Pie consisted of two bakery-size cookies filled with creme. Now Creme tends to be something more favoured on the other side of the Atlantic, you certainly don't see it so often here (unless we're talking Oreos, but then again, they're American expats really anyway. The cookies had crumbled in transit, revealing the white coloured centre. I could also smell the cinnamon. Mmm. 

The cookies were fairly moist considering the distance they've travelled (they obviously don't suffer from long-haul flight related dehydration in the same way us humans do). The cinnamon spice was every bit as prominent as the aroma had led me to believe, however  I was a bit disappointed that the creme pie doesn't contain raisins -although according to the packaging it does contain raisin paste... something I've never seen referenced before.

If you're accustomed to eating Twinkies, you'll get the gist of what the creme was like. Indeed it was that similar, super-sugary buttercream-y filling. To be honest, I found it made the cookie creme pie overwhelmingly sweet, but I imagine if you ate it in two sittings (or shared, shock horror) that it wouldn't become so sickly. My bad. 

I'm glad I've tried the Oatmeal Creme Pie. It's not my favourite Mrs F product to date but I did enjoy it and would have it again. The Oatmeal Creme Pie is available to buy from A Taste of The States, where you can get a huge 20% discount across the site using the code AMYSEEKS20. Go, shop!

7/10

Mrs Freshley's Cinnabon Cinnamon Mini Donuts

If you follow me on instagram you might've seen that I've recently discovered long life doughnuts. Yes. Doughnuts that you can keep in your cupboard for that moment when the cravings strike. Of course they're not a British creation (one day hopefully Mr Kipling will jump on the bandwagon) but for now we'll have to make do with importing packs of Mrs Freshley's from the states. God bless America. 

You can find my insta-review of the Mrs Freshley's Crunch mini donuts here, but this was the pack I was more like excited about...

I feel that cinnamon is essential to life's happiness, especially cinnamon buns (again, if you follow me on instagram you'll know that cinnamon bun Sundays are back thanks to a recent IKEA trip). A real Cinnabon is on my foodie bucket list, but mini Cinnabon donuts sounded like a good option to tide me over until I can visit America (or London most likely). 

As with the Crunch version, this pack contained six mini ring donuts -but this time they were leaden with a heavy cinnamon coat. Yes, not dusting, coat. This means they're a little messy to eat, but that didn't bother me in the slightest.

Again the texture was like a doughnut-cake hybrid. Despite their long-life status* they're remarkably soft, although the Cinnabon donuts were slightly more crumbly than the Crunch versions. The cinnamon made them a winner in my books though, and the ample covering ensured for a sweet, spicy hit with every mouthful. 

These mini donuts are morsels of joy for fellow cinnamon loving sugar junkies!

8/10 

*they didn't have a BB date on them, so I don't know how long-life they are!

Mrs Freshley's Reese's Peanut Butter Swiss Rolls (Protein Pick & Mix)

It's been ages since I've reviewed any foreign imports, despite recently munching my way through a whole host of Japanese products courtesy of Nat (of Lot-o-Choc blog) on top of the vast array of treats I bought back from Malaysia. The main reason I haven't written reviews is because I'm not sure if and where you can find them in the UK, but please let me know if you want the low downs on what was good and what was terrible. These Reese's peanut butter flavoured Swiss Rolls are available to buy in the UK though, and were a birthday present from Nat (she's good like that). A quick google shows that they're available from Protein Pick & Mix.

I have tried a couple of Mrs Freshley's products before with varying degrees of success. The banana pudding cupcakes were rather good, as were the cinnamon twirls, but the peanut butter brownie was less impressive. I found myself really hoping that Mrs F had done these peanut butter Swiss rolls proud as they sounded absolutely marvellous. 

Let's just start by acknowledging the size of these cakes. Cadbury's mini rolls are 27g each, whereas this two pack was a whopping 79g. The packet suggests that one roll is a serving, but I don't have that kind of restraint and so ate both in one sitting.

Unfortunately the covering had shattered in transit, but that meant I got to peel off the chocolate as I would with a Jaffa cake. Yes, the peanut butter drizzled chocolate was thick enough to peel, and whilst it was far from the most superior I've tasted, it was about on par with Reese's (in other words it was weirdly addictive). 

Swiss roll cake is traditionally made without butter and that's why it tends to be drier than your normal sponge. At least that's what I was reminding myself whilst devouring Mrs Freshley's offerings. The cake has a taste and texture that's not dissimilar to our British Cadbury's versions, however the filling was very different -thank goodness for that...

...Yes, I could actually taste peanut butter, hurrah! Where Mrs F's brownie had failed to get the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate right, these mini rolls were gloriously nutty. I'm not sure the photo does them justice, but I thoroughly enjoyed the combination. Noms.

These Swiss Rolls aren't dainty enough to serve your nan for a posh afternoon tea, but there's nothing wrong with that. They might be clumsy and full of additives, but they're charming and pack a peanutty punch, which means they get the thumbs up from me!

8/10

Mrs Freshley's Peanut Butter Brownie (American Fizz)

Yesterday called for celebrations (and not to mention a day off!) on the other side of the Atlantic. I might not be American but I thought I'd contribute towards Independence Day by enjoying a treat that had travelled all the way from the USA. 

This wasn't my first Mrs Freshley's goody, as I tried the banana pudding cupcakes way back in March. At the time I was relatively impressed by the cakes and mentioned that I fancied the look of their peanut butter brownies and cinnamon twirls (a review for another day). In fact the Mrs Freshley's peanut butter brownie is a relatively new addition to their extensive range of baked products as it only came out in February. 

What I stupidly hadn't realised when I bought the bar was that the brownie itself wasn't peanut butter flavoured -only the icing was. Still, at 85g it was a substantial snack and at £1.31 American Fizz offered pretty good value for money.

The brownie was moister than expected, and had a good fudgy flavour. The chocolate was rich, and although  sweet, it was far less sickly than the Oreo brownie . As far as mass manufactured brownies go, it was tasty... BUT... I didn't want a chocolate brownie, I wanted a peanut butter brownie. Unfortunately the generous layer of icing didn't inject much nuttiness into the bar and the flavour was totally overpowered by the (admittedly yummy) chocolate. My pb cravings weren't fulfilled and I was sorely tempted to whack out my jar of Skippy and slather a spoonful or two on top. 

As a chocolate brownie: 8/10

As a peanut butter brownie 4/10 

Mrs Freshley's Banana Pudding Cupcakes (American Fizz)

It's another American Fizz find today, I feel like I should apologise in case I'm starting to bore you with my reviews of foreign treats! I've been on the hunt for some of the new UK food releases but, as per usual, they seem to be taking a long while to reach this landlocked county. So today you'll have to put up with another American review, and this time it's the turn of Mrs Freshley's Banana Pudding Cupcakes.

I hadn't heard of the brand until I was bored one afternoon last month and put a huge order into American Fizz. I'm well aware of cake-manufacturing giant Hostess -the people who make Twinkies- but I couldn't have told you who Mrs Freshley is, or what she/they produce. It turns out the company produces a hella'lot: everything from fruit pies, to cookies, pastries and pretty much most baked goods in between. Banana Pudding cupcakes? I'm a huge banana cake fan, it's one of my favourites, so I had to see what Mrs F was all about, especially at the reasonable price 65p for a pack of two.

The wrapper didn't give much away about what a banana pudding cupcake consisted of, but I could see the custard coloured icing that covered the dubious looking sponge beneath. I sliced my cupcake in half, and discovered a pocket of creamy filling within, reminiscent of a Twinkie.

The cake was dense but moist, with a close texture that heralded a good squidge. It tasted very banana-y, in the same sort of artificial way that Mr Kipling's banoffee cake slices do, although the wrapper clearly states that it's made from natural banana flavouring -and vanilla wafers (although I've no idea where they come into play!). The icing was thin enough to provide just the right amount of sweetness, without becoming tootheachingly sugary. I also enjoyed the pocket of creamy, whipped filling in the centre that added a light mallowy fluffyness, breaking up the texture nicely. 

The Banana Pudding Cupcakes were another pleasant surprise from American Fizz; they're nowhere near as good as homemade, but are a tasty treat and different to any of the mass produced British cakes. I'll be ordering them again when my supplies start running low, although I'm also tempted by Mrs Freshley's Boston creme honey buns, cinnamon twirls, and peanut butter chocolate brownies. Drool. 

8/10