Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon Rolls (Tesco)

Cinnamon rolls. One of the greatest, if not the very best bakery treat. The soft dough with sweet spices filling that as you uncurl as you break the spiral apart, all topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting. Mmm. Only the inclusion of raisins (like a Chelsea-Cinnamon bun) would make it better. I haven't had an IKEA trip for a while, so my freezer is sadly devoid of their wonderful Kannelbular, but my dismay might've been solved on a recent trip to Tesco. There, sat amongst the scones was a bag of Pågen Gifflar mini cinnamon rolls. At just over £1 for 12 buns there was no question -they were mine. 

"Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon is deliciously baked, and has a wonderfully tasty filling. With coffee, at picnic, with friends, or just for yourself when you're in the mood for something sweet! Simple and tasty! With Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon you're always in good company!"

The Gifflar are produced in Sweden too, which helped me feel like I was getting even more of a bargain. After all, the Swedes are known for their cinnamon buns.

The dough had a brioche-like shine to it, and although they were still fairly soft, they weren't fluffy like just baked versions.

I made the mistake of attempting on at ambient temperature. The dough didn't taste very fresh, which ruined the flavours of the roll. Let's try it microwaved for 15 seconds as per the packet's instructions.

Hmm. Still not great. The dough tasted no different to a standard savoury dough and lacks the characteristically soft centre of a fresh baked bun. The filling also lacked the rich buttery flavour that I loved so much. Yes the cinnamon was there, but without the sugar it tasted harsh. Of course there's no frosting to these buns, and yes I missed that too. 

These Pågen Gifflar left me feeling sad and hard done by. I'm sure there's plenty of you that'll disagree with my views on these cinnamon rolls (there certainly was a lot of love for them on my Instagram post) but for me they just don't hit the spot. Tesco's fresh cinnamon rolls and IKEA's Kanelbullar still reign, but I think a trip to LIDL's bakery might change that..! 

Where do you buy your cinnamon buns from in the U.K? Leave me a comment on here, twitter or Instagram and let me know! 

3/10 

NEW! Pandy Protein Candy Soda Shakers Review (CNSport)

The protein ever-expanding protein product market knows no bounds. Once upon a time I mocked the high street brands who were jumping on the high protein bandwagon, but since then I've returned to fitness and have cupboards full of bars and powders that supplement my diet (especially because I'm not a huge meat eater).

There's seemingly been a gap in the market though: protein sweets. Ever eaten a bag of Haribo and thought "I wish this was helping me hit my macros"? No? Nor me! Pandy have provided the answer to any of you who have however, and I know that I'm certainly not averse to the idea now that they're here!

"Pandy has three different bagged jelly candy products that are entirely free from sugar, gluten and lactose. They also have a high protein content, are low in calories, and are packed with BCAA. The candy is made in Sweden with the best calibre ingredients and the highest quality standards."

Pandy have produced three varieties: fruity 'Sour Plates', liquorice 'Salty Kettlebells' and pop flavoured 'Soda Shakers'. Fortunately for me my local sports nutrition shop manager, protein guru, and all round good guy Conor (of CNSport -who can also deliver) has just started stocking their entire range and offered me a bag to sample. The Soda Shakers sounded hardest to resist and so I gleefully nabbed a bag.

The 70g bag contained 20+ bottle shaped sweets, with a roughly even mixture of cola and lime flavours. They looked so convincingly like normal sweets that I'm not sure I was convinced that the whole pack could contain just 151kcal on 16g of protein!

Damn. They tasted just as good as they looked, and were addictive to boot. They were chewy and sweet with a surprising flavour likeness to their full-sugar and non-protein containing counterparts. Even my Haribo addicted other half was impressed!

So where's the catch? Well the only ones I could find is that they're still quite high in carbs (43g per 70g which comes from polyols) but that makes them perfect for leg day, am I right? They're also not suitable for vegetarians (due to the pork gelatin but that's probably obvious because they're jelly sweets) and excessive consumption may have some dodgy side effects for your tummy (also unsurprising due to the sugar substitutes used). They are however gluten and lactose free!

9/10

Macros per bag: 151kcal P16/C43/F0

Thank you Conor for the sample, I'll be buying more shortly! 

Kanelbullar: Frozen Cinnammon Buns (IKEA)

At the beginning of the year I mentioned that I'd fallen back in love with flapjacks, well now it's the turn of the cinnamon bun -I just can't get enough of the doughy pastries! Anyway, last month I had the opportunity to visit an IKEA (a rare treat as all 3 of our local branches are approximately 70 miles away) and spotted this curious pack of pre-made frozen cinnamon buns. Seeing as it is always a bit of a gamble as to whether Tesco Express has any in stock when my craving strikes -and no, I'm not pregnant- I thought these would offer the perfect solution. At £2.25 for six they were a fraction of the price I normally pay too. 

What I didn't really consider was that we were visiting IKEA on our way to pick up an axle for my Landrover, and so it was another three hours until we arrived back home -in which time the buns had fully defrosted. I checked the packet to discover that you're not supposed to refreeze the Kanellbullars. Damn. Undeterred, I kept one out to have that evening, and shoved the others back in the freezer. 

In its raw state the bun appeared anaemic and much smaller than it's Tesco cousin, but I hoped that 15 minutes in the oven would sort it out. In that quarter of an hour the house started to fill with the most glorious scent of cinnamon and bread cooking -seriously the Kanellbullars were worth it for the smell alone. When the agonising wait came to a close I opened the oven door and was greeted with a beautiful bun that even Paul Hollywood would approve of: double the size and golden brown. 

(I know it doesn't look like it grew that much, but I promise you it had!)

Of course I couldn't wait to tuck in, and ate the bun piping hot -but boy it was worth the wait. There's something so comforting about warm bread, but believe me it's even yummier if it's warm cinnamon sweet bread. The outer edges were borderline crispy, but the inner swirls were soft and doughy. The sugary topping and sticky spicy centre were in ample supply and I think I might've groaned with pleasure as I munched my way round the bun's coil -finishing of course with the squidgiest, most cinnamon covered bit in the middle. 

Fortunately, despite their defrost and refrost, the remaining 5 buns were equally as delicious. I cooked them straight from frozen and rationed myself to one a week, but now I've run out and I'm eagerly plotting an excuse to make another IKEA trip soon. I admit it, I'm hooked. 

10/10