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.
I'd just about given up on Müller Corners after the pants Oreo Corner and equally disappointing Gold Edition this summer, when they released their most exciting sounding yogurt to date: Pumpkin Spice Latte. It wasn't that long ago that I was moaning about the lack of Autumnal products in the UK, and I've since realised that I simply spoke too soon! Of course we have Starbucks to thank for bringing pumpkin spice popularity to the UK; PSLs have been a regular seasonal addition here since 2012 (a good 9 years after it was launched in the USA I might add).
Could and would Müller pull off the famous drink in yogurt form?
"Smooth pumpkin spice sauce with creamy coffee flavoured yogurt."
My honest opinion? No. Sorry to disappoint you...
I really wish that Müller would return to their older method/recipes to make their yogurts in the corners. The liquidity of it was much more similar to their Müller lights than the corners of old. There was also an odd synthetic aftertaste which curdled with the coffee flavour somewhat -it was simply quite bizarre.
It's a shame really, especially because the pumpkin sauce was really quite tasty -although completely different to what I expected: much runnier and sweeter. I'd have thought it was apple rather than pumpkin, but maybe that's just because it's a similar spice mix that I use in my crumbles. I imagine that the pumpkin sauce would make a wonderful base layer for Müller rices actually. Müller are you reading this?
Meh. Not one for me, and I won't bother again. Kev had a more favourable opinion of the new Corner however, so please do go and check out his review too. Also, here's a tip off if you are a Müller fan: all their single pots (lights, corners and rices) are currently all on a 12 for £3 offer at ASDA!
4/10
