NEW! Sticky Toffee Hot Cross Buns (Morrisons)

I've reviewed many of the supermarket 2017 hot cross bun creations this year, but there's one last variety that I'd been requested to review. I promised I would do so if I could find them, but they kept escaping me. In all honesty I was quite content in the knowledge that I've stocked up on the M&S carrot cake buns, which are stashed in my freezer so that I can continue to fuel my addiction post-Easter. Then, today, the sticky toffee buns finally appeared in my local Morrisons, and although I wasn't filled with the innate desire to try them, a promise is a promise and so they ended up in my basket -swiftly followed by my belly.

“Sticky toffee flavoured spiced buns made with sultanas, date and fudge pieces.” 

The buns are priced at £1 for four and fall under Morrisons' 'The Best' range. They were reasonably soft to the touch, with a rather dainty cross on top.

Slicing my bun in two revealed a dark coloured dough, not too dissimilar in hue to Lyle’s golden syrup cake*. I didn’t even bother tasting it at room temperature, my instincts told me that it would be much so much better warmed up -much like sticky toffee pudding. 

The bun halves were slim enough to fit into my toaster without getting stuck, and I just popped them in for a minute or so until they were just about warm, before slathering them in butter. 

Blow me down. They were really rather good. The texture was much better than I’d anticipated, well proven and with ample moistness coming from the plentitude of dried fruit pieces. The sultanas and date pieces were squidgy at that, injecting little bursts of fruitiness.

Flavour-wise Morrisons have done extremely well too; a strong syrupy flavour permeates the dough, which precedes the lovely warming spices that follow. It’s certainly one for those with a sweet inclination, but I thought that they were delicious.

I’m thoroughly pleased that I made that initial promise now, otherwise I’d have never bothered trying Morrison’s sticky toffee pudding-humble hot cross bun hybrid. They're right up there with M&S' buns and they're cheaper too, so if you find them, buy them! 

9/10

*now added to the shopping list of items I don’t need but am craving.

NEW! Savoury Cheese Hot Cross Buns (M&S)

Marks & Sparks' savoury hot cross buns have been gnawing away in the back of my mind since I spotted them six weeks ago.

What were M&S thinking? Had they created the new salted caramel and produced something so odd sounding that actually we'll all be living off in a few years time? Or were they just a disaster lying in wait for the poor sucker who dared to try them? Oh and how do you even serve them anyway? It's never a good sign to be thinking about something that much and not buy it, so I patiently waited to find one with the yellow reduced sticker at the end of the day.

Except that day never came, and so whilst my faith in the buns grew in line with their lack of clearance time rejection, my curiosity also surged. That was until I was perused Instagram on the train home yesterday and spotted a well-timed post from Marks & Spencer about their cheesy buns:

"M&S has launched the UK's first savoury hot cross bun. The Savoury Cheese Bun is made with a blend of two cheeses, just Turkish sultanas, onion, chives and of course traditional hot cross bun spice. It's said to be the perfect pairing of fruit and cheese and delicious stuffed with bacon for a gourmet bacon butty!  #hotcross17"

 I was hungry. I detoured. Oops. They were £1.70 each (I think) or 2 for £2.50.

 "4 savoury hot cross buns: a blend of 2 cheeses with Turkish sultanas, onions and chives with spices and a brewers yeast flavoured cross."

As someone who can't bear the sultanas in coronation chicken (or ham and pineapple for that matter) I wasn't sure how well I'd get on with these buns. Still I shouldn't moan considering I was only recently complaining about the lack of fruit in others.

I contemplated serving it with melted cheese (but I thought it might mask the cheesiness of the bun) then considered toasting it with butter and marmite, before deciding to roll with the serving idea suggested below the very instagram post that prompted my purchase in the first place. Bacon butty time it was!

The non-toasted bun was remarkably soft, with a strong cheesy chive scent. I couldn't help but nibble the corner whilst waiting for my bacon to cook and was oddly surprised at how odd the combination of the flavours was but also how much I enjoyed it.

The decision to fill it with smoked bacon and ketchup was genius. My tastebuds enjoyed the complexity of flavours; with the spices, sultanas, cheddar and chives prevalent in every bite. I thought that perhaps one element would fight for dominance, but instead they seemed to work in harmony. The added salinity from the bacon was welcome, and I'm not sure if the bun would have have tasted too sweet without it. As for the texture of the bun, it was denser and moister than your normal cheese topped bap, but I found the soft chewiness to be extraordinarily comforting.

I think I may have found a new favourite lunch time treat, bravo M&S! Stay tuned for a review of their mini chocolate orange hot cross buns...

10/10

Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts (M&S)

There's not many things more satisfying in life than finding a good bargain, particularly if said bargain is found in M&S! One afternoon last week I popped into our local branch and spotted duo packs of their Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts reduced to just 35p! Now I'm not normally a fruity dessert kind of person, opting for chocolate every time, but these looked rather good and I just couldn't turn them down at such a steal -especially as they could be frozen too! 

"Apples with sultanas and cinnamon in an all butter luxury pastry case topped with butter enriched filo."

They didn't pay a lengthy visit to my freezer because I thought that the tarts would make a perfect post-roast Sunday pud. They appeared to be the wonderful love child of a strudel and an apple pie. Could these possibly be the most homely desserts known to man?

The tarts come in individual tin foils, and M&S suggest popping them in the oven for 15 minutes before serving. Whilst they were heating up I contemplated serving them with custard, then ice cream, before remembering I'd got the rest of the Aunt Bessie's custard ice cream left to use -perfect. 

The tarts were hot to touch after quarter of an hour, and were easy to remove from their casings. One had a slightly soggy bottom so I guess it could've done with a few minutes longer, but I was too impatient to wait! 

There was a good mixture of apples and sultanas in the centre of my tart, which were wonderfully sweet and well spiced. The apples were soft but not mushy, retaining just enough texture to provide bite. Talking of texture, the combination of pastries worked wonderfully well together. I can't remember ever having filo and shortcrust pastry together before, but they complimented each other remarkably well.

As they did with their Frangipane Mince Pies (which I so hope will return this year) Marks and Spencer have created perfect buttery shortcrust pastry once again. It's sweet and crumbly, melting in the mouth in the most delicious way. I'm sure I heard Bert groan with pleasure at the simple but ultimately scrummy dessert -I know I did!

I only wish I'd stocked up on these tarts; they're delightful.

9/10

Mulled Wine Fruit Loaf (M&S)

I was my normal scroogy, scrimpy, student self and bided my time when buying this fruit loaf from M&S. At £2 it seemed a little on the steep side, and if I was going to treat myself to full-priced goods from their bakery section you can bet your bottom dollar that it was going to be their boobie buns (sorry Christmas Pudding Buns). Yesterday afternoon though I popped back into my local branch -second attempt at buying another bottle of Chocolate Opal -this time successful- and detoured via the bakery on the way out where I spotted a single loaf reduced to just 70p. The packaging informed me that it was freezable, so I hastily nabbed the pack and added it to my basket. 

"Spiced fruit loaf with port soaked dried vine fruts, sour cherries, citrus peel and ginger."

The first thing I noticed about the bread was its density. For a fruit loaf it wasn't very risen or fluffy -but then I told myself that perhaps it was meant to be more like a stollen. The pale dusting on top marked a further stollen similarity, and I kept everything crossed that it would be as tasty as Lidl's luxury chocolate version. 

The bread was shockingly tough to slice into, revealing a very compacted interior with a plethora of fruits -the only plus point thus far. The packet suggested toasting the slices, so I popped both of mine in for a minute so that it just begun to tan. I slathered both slices in butter, and got stuck in.

Eurgh. All I could taste was burnt fruit. If you've ever made raisin flapjack or rock buns at home and caught them in a fierce oven then you'll know how awful burnt dried fruit tastes. The thick crust round the edge of the bread made it very chewy too, so much so that I almost gave up eating it. I'm very determined however, and hate wasting food, so I gave the second slice a generous coating of apricot jam -which I hoped would inject some much needed sweetness and counteract the acrid burnt raisin taste.

Nope. The second slice also felt like a punishment, and the rest of the loaf went in the bins -even the poor birds shouldn't suffer this.

I'm really hoping that I got the worst of a bad batch, so I'm extremely eager to know if any of you have tried M&S' Mulled Wine Fruit Loaf this Christmas, and if you're experience was similar or vastly different! Be a dear, and leave me a comment to let me know...

2/10 

NEW! Frangipane Mince Pies (M&S)

Are you sick of the mince pies yet? No of course not, I'm sure you've been much more sensible and waited much longer before giving into to the festive treats.

I'm obviously not either, given that this is the fifth review so far this season -and that's excluding yesterday's mince pie ice cream! I'm not sure I'll be up for the Twelfth night mince pie tradition promising of a full year's happiness come Christmas itself though (please let me know if you have the stamina after all the festive feasting and brave it)!

Of course so far we've seen the disappointing individual pie, award winning pies, chocolate orange pies and the salted caramel pies. Today marks the turn of M&S' frangipane mince pies -yes it's yet another twist on the classic! What will they think of next year? I do love a good frangipane tart, but don't buy them often as I find them too moreish and  could easily devour 2 or 3 in one sitting. I knew I'd regret not trying these mince pie versions though, so I stumped up the comparatively pricey sum of £2.50 for 6 (although they are on a 2 for £4 offer). 

"All butter shortcrust pastry cases filled with mincemeat and topped with almond frangipane and flaked almonds."

They looked much smaller than the other mince pies I've tried this year, but I knew I wouldn't mind if the taste was up to scratch. They were attractive too with their smattering of flaked almonds. Helping matters further was the combined bakewell-esque aroma mixed with the mixed spices emanating from the mincemeat within -to me the fusion was utterly enticing.

The instructions refrained to mention whether or not it was possible to heat the pies in the microwave, but the box did say "heat to eat" and informed me to bake them in the oven for 8-10 minutes (gas mark 4/180c). The wait was excruciating, especially as the pies started to fill my house with the most heavenly scent. Mmm. 

After 8 treadmill-like minutes, the wait was up and I retrieved my almond topped pie from the oven. Both the pastry and frangipane was soft and crumbly, which made it rather messy to cut into -especially as the mincemeat oozed out simultaneously. I can't mark M&S down for this though, as I can't imagine many people cut into their pies unless they're silly and photographing them.

The pastry was thin but deliciously buttery, and I imagine it would make for a good traditional lidded mince pie. The mincemeat was well spiced, whilst the currants, sultanas and raisins were plump and juicy. We've heard this story before of course with the Iceland mince pies. Could the frangipane edge the M&S offerings into the extraordinary level of Christmas scrumminess?

Yes, it did. The frangipane was sheer perfection, and complimented the mincemeat and pastry wonderfully. I was pleased to find that the almond tasted completely natural, and shone through despite the spiciness of the filling. It was moist too, which can often be the stumbling block of lesser quality and/or long life frangipanes. The trouble is, I've already mentioned how my self-control is lacking with frangipane tarts -and that I can easily eat multiple mince pies in one go- so I think I'm going to have to ask my fiance to lock these away from me!  

Bravo M&S, true ingenuity! It's another well deserved 10/10 from the premium supermarket this Christmas from me.

10/10

NEW! Specially Selected Mince Pie Ice Cream (ALDI)

This Mince Pie ice cream has been giving me the run around for weeks now. I kept seeing it pop up on instagram, but my local ALDI (which is a bit of a pain to get to from my house) has been pretty rubbish at maintaining stock of their new Christmas lines (such as their flavoured mince pies). On my third attempt, I finally got lucky, and decided to pick up both of their new festive ice creams. The other flavour -Gingerbread FYI- was reviewed yesterday by One Treat, and she gave it such high praises that I couldn't wait to get stuck in. The 480ml Christmassy Ice Cream Tubs cost £1.99 each, which isn't too bad considering Sainsbury's charge £2.85 for theirs. 

"Cream ice cream with brandy flavoured sauce, fruit conserve with brandy and biscuit pieces."

In my desperate attempt to get hold of this ice cream, I cycled across Hereford with my insulated lunch bag complete with freezer block -this was before I did the ASDA shop and was collected by my fiance. I'm explaining this because it was about 90 minutes between purchase and getting home. By the time I retrieved the ice cream from my lunch bag, the ice cream container gave slightly, and I worried that I'd ruined it. 

Opening it up a few hours later didn't seem to have damaged it in the slightest however, and I was met with a creamy coloured, easily scoopable ice cream. It wasn't as ridiculously soft as the Pizza Express Tiramisu Gelato or the likes of Carte D'Or, but my scoop gathered ice cream effortlessly, revealing some biscuit pieces and a few stray raisins. 

Just as One Treat found with the gingerbread version, the ice cream didn't melt instantly, and behaved itself long enough to survive being scooped into a waffle cone, then being photographed, before finally being enjoyed. The taste was that of super cold double cream (unsurprising considering double cream accounts for 20% of the ingredients) and it reminded me of the no-churn style ice creams that I've made in the past. A lovely warmth came from the Brandy sauce, which was eminent throughout, but occasionally popped up in stronger pockets. 

Now I've moaned before about companies giving the impression that their ice cream contains pastry *ahem Apple Tarte* when in fact they contain biscuit pieces, but I didn't even realise that this tub was devoid of real pastry until I read the description to write this post. The little chunks were certainly very sweet shortcrust pastry like, and my only query during consumption was how ALDI had managed to keep them so crispy -although I'm still baffled by this as surely biscuits should go soft when embedded in ice cream? 

My only real moan is regarding the lack of fruit pieces, after all the mince filling should be the pies raison d'être. Apparently 10% of the ice cream is the 'fruit conserve with brandy' but only 36% of that is made up of actual fruit pieces. I enjoyed the soft, plump, alcohol infused raisins and sultanas that I did find -but wasn't keen on the single hard piece of citrus peel I found in my 1/3 tub serving! 

Still, moans aside, I really enjoyed this festive ice cream from ALDI -and no I haven't got completely sick of the mince pies yet...

8/10

NEW! Fresh Stollen Cookies (Morrisons)

What are the flavours and foods you look forward to over the festive period? I'd love to know. Personal favourites include Lebkuchen, mince pies and stollen -as well as pigs in blankets of course.

Tesco have stopped selling their Mince Pie Cookies this year, opting for a Black Forest version instead -which I'm dubious about. I thought Tesco was the only supermarket producing festive cookies, but yesterday I was early for the train so popped into Morrisons (where I promptly fell in lust with many of their fresh bakery lines) before spying these Stollen cookies. What caught my eye initially was their festive little bag -c'mon, how cute is it? At £1 for 5 they were pretty good value too, especially considering that they're a limited edition. 

"Spiced cookies with sultanas, currants, cherries and marzipan flavoured fudge pieces."

The pale little misshapen rounds looked rather delicious, although the smattering of dried fruit was all embedded on one side in my first cookie to bite the biscuit -pardon the pun- but admittedly the others were better spread out.

I'm not sure how you like your bakery cookies, but for me they have to be soft and chewy. Fortunately Morrisons must agree with me as these were perfect in consistency. There was a delicate spice to them, which perhaps could've been a bit stronger (they've certainly not been as heavy handed with the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves as Graze, that's for sure) but then Stollen does tend to have a subtler flavour than many of our British Christmas treats. I enjoyed the currants, cherries and sultanas, and the fruitiness gave the cookies a lighter flavour.

Of course the star of the Stollen Cookie show should be the marzipan, and it was this element that I was most excited about. The trouble was, it wary much lacking in quantity. I thought Morrisons had once again pulled the wool over my eyes and sold me a dead dog. Then, just as I had almost finished, a lovely almondy flavour greeted my tastebuds like a long lost friend. There you are marzipan, it's a shame you couldn't stick around.

These cookies are very sweet, but not as much as the discontinued Mince Pie cookies. They don't scream stollen at me, but they're a novel idea, and a welcome addition to the 2016 Christmas treat line up.  They would be getting very high marks if they contained more marzipan, but I still think an 8 is pretty respectable, don't you? I'm certainly looking forward to my next one this evening...

8/10

NEW! Limited Edition Dairy Milk Tiffin (ASDA)

Chocolate. Raisins. Biscuits. All delicious in their own right, but together? Utter perfection. I've previously written about my love for tiffin  (remember the disappointing Hobnob's Tiffin Slices?) and remember -and miss- Cadbury's take on the classic combination. Mondelez announced earlier this year that they have decided to remake the bar for a limited time only, which got me rather excited! But then I realised that it probably wouldn't taste as good as I recall, particularly seeing as the new bosses of the once iconic British chocolate company seem impervious to resist meddling with Cadbury's tried and tested original recipes. That said, I still bought the 95g Tiffin bar as soon as I spotted it in ASDA at the non-offer price of £1.49 (which disgruntled me somewhat seeing as all of Cadbury's other 100g-ish size bars were discounted to £1).

"Milk chocolate with dried grapes (12%) and biscuits (8%)."

I really hoped  that this new bar would taste like the Dairy Milk of days gone by, rather than the greasy "chocolate flavoured creme" used in the newish Medley bars.]

It delivers. More or less. The Dairy Milk may not be to the original recipe, but at least the chocolate tastes like the individual bars -rather than the cheaper, waxier sort that Cadbury/Mondelez employ in their Easter Eggs. 

The dried grape (are they raisins or sultanas?) offer fruity little bursts. They're not in ample enough supply to make their way into every nibble, but crop up every now and then. The biscuit pieces are crisp, although the pieces are too small to be able to really taste. I didn't mind this so much because the chocolate should always be the star of the show, and Cadbury have rightfully made it so.

Cadbury's have released a bucketload of new products this year, but their limited edition Tiffin bar is certainly my favourite and I hope it's here to stay. It's really just a better quality (and less chunky) version of a raisin and biscuit Yorkie, so if you like them then I suggest you try Cadbury's new offering. 

Now, if only Galaxy would hear my plea for a tiffin themed Duet bar, I'd be one happy lady!

9/10

NEW! Kellogg's Ancient Legends Cereal: Spelt, Apple, Sultana & Chia Seeds (ASDA)

So apparently, Kellogg's have created the 'Breakfast of Legends'. Unfortunately it's not a Full English, Eggs Benedict or Pain au Chocolat, but a instead range of cereals containing a mixture of healthy grains.

'Help get set up for the day ahead with our brand new range of wholesome Kellogg's mueslis, cereals and granolas. Made from a carefully prepared blend of nature's finest ancient grains such as barley and spelt with oats, chia and flaxseeds, one bowlful of delicious Kellogg's Ancient Legends gives you the nutrition you need to help you perform at your best* – just like the legendary champions of ancient times.'

ASDA are currently selling the entire range at the offer price of £2 per bag, and so I chose to try the cereal version.  I wasn't sure what to expect -I'm certainly not one of the clean eating brigade- and my cereals are either normal chocolate-y, sugary or ultimately a mixture of both (although I am partial to a bowl of Fruit 'n' Fibre every now and then).

Pouring myself a bowl, it looked strikingly similar to Fruit 'n' Fibre. I could see plenty of apple slices, and what looked like puffed rice amongst the wheat flakes. The sultanas were very sparse, and I could see little nutty looking clusters dotted about too. 

On to the tasting... It was very similar in flavour and texture to Fruit 'n' Fibre, but without the sweetness that usually comes from the sweetened banana chips and coconut flakes. The wheat flakes were just as bland and cardboard-like as one would expect, whilst the 'puffed rice' (actually the toasted spelt) offered an extra textural depth, but not much in the way of flavour. Again, the 'nutty clusters' (Chia Seeds) contributed some crunch, but were pretty bland. The apple and raisins were sweet, which was truly needed to help make the non-sugared cereal more palatable. 

The cereal was OK: It tasted healthy, and would probably offer some variety for regular consumers of Fruit 'n'Fibre/Bran Flakes/Raisin Bran. I think I'll try it with (sweetened) yoghurt tomorrow to see if that makes it tastier.

6/10

Update:

This morning (Tuesday) I had the Ancient Legends cereal with blueberries and forest fruit yogurt, and the extra sweetness made it far more enjoyable.

8/10