NEW! Oreo Choc'o Brownie (Tesco)

There's lazy NPD (new product development) and then there's Mondelez. Mondelez are renowned for rehashing Milka bars under the Cadbury name, or combining their products to maximise profits - admittedly I do miss the Cadbury Philadelphia. This time though they've taken the biscuit. Literally. The UK has just been granted a new flavour Oreo, but have we got anything as exciting as the new Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie, Jelly Donut, or soon to be released Cookie Butter Oreos? Certainly not. We've got choco brownie. Yes that's right. A chocolate Oreo filled with chocolate filling. Sound familiar? Of course it does. Chocolate creme Oreos have been out in the UK for years, so what on earth are Mondelez playing at?

Last year, following the launch of the somewhat more exciting mint and strawberry cheesecake filled Oreos, the public were asked to partake in a month long flavour vote for the next flavour. So every day a few of us bloggers reminded each other to log on and vote - ok so we might've even used a couple of email addresses each. The choices were: lemon, coconut, banana and brownie batter. Yes, brownie batter.

Now of those choices, I was certainly team banana, but I would've been happy to try the lemon or coconut too. At least they were different. In fairness to those of you who opted for the brownie batter it did sound a little like a chocolatey cookie dough.. but you should've also realised that Mondelez like to cut corners (yep I'm referring to the peanut butter Oreo Dairy Milk for the umpteenth time). Anyway, apparently 43% of voters chose the brownie flavour -methinks their might've been some rigging for the easiest option at Oreo HQ. 

Anyway, the presumably-cooked-and-therefore-not-batter brownie flavour has now been released. So is it any different to the standard chocolate creme Oreo. No. Not in the slightest. In fact the ingredients are the same and they haven't even bothered to change the description*. They're still like an Oreo version of a Bourbon, but somehow not as good. I mean if I wanted a bourbon, I'd buy a bourbon -ya know? 

Christmas is in the shops already so please tell me this is an even more premature attempt at an April Fools.... 

2/10 (purely for taking the piss, Oreo). 

*Here's a comparison of the two packets, see what I mean?

BelVita Breakfast Soft Bakes Chocolate Filled (Sainsbury's)

It's not just Nature Valley who've brought out new 'breakfast' biscuits in the last couple of weeks.  On a side not I still don't know why they're called breakfast biscuits. Do any of you actually eat them or breakfast? Please drop me a comment and let me know. Anyway, the other key player in that market -Belvita- have surreptitiously released two new filled soft bakes in chocolate and strawberry flavours. The did, of course, release the soft bakes range two years ago, but Belvita have obviously decided it's time to give them an uplift. Admittedly I'm more of a Nature Valley girl - but then I'm addicted to oats- however it's Belvita that are bought more often in this house.

And that is because of Bert. He just loves biscuits. Where I can't resist the call of chocolate, he's more into sweets and biscuits. In fact he actively avoids the biscuit aisle in the supermarkets because he knows he won't be able to resist munching his way through an entire pack once it's open - which is why the pre-portioned 'breakfast' biscuits are handy. That and the fact that he's either at work or working on the Landy - so is forever eating out of his lunchbox. So they're handy. For Bert, the Yogurt filled and original Belvitas weigh supreme. The yogurt ones because of the taste, the original because there's four in a pack and they therefore feel more substantial.

"Soft baked biscuits made with wholegrain cereals and a chocolate hazelnut flavour filling (15.6%) and added vitamins and minerals."

Anyway, it was him I picked up these new filled soft bakes for, however I ended up tucking into them first - probably because I bought the chocolate flavour. Sorry Bert. Just for info, I found them in Sainsbury's for £1.50, however I believe they're now in Morrisons too. 

The biscuit was every bit as soft as it promised to be, although not so much that it fell apart in the pack. The smattering of oats was a pleasant sight, as was the golden hue. Breaking it in half revealed a fair amount of spread-like filling. 

Omnomnom. It was cakier than a cookie -and far removed from your standard biscuit- but I really liked it. In fact the consistency reminded me of a nutrigrain, although it was moister than that. As hoped, the chocolate filling was reminiscent of Nutella, although weirdly there's not any nuts in the actual ingredients. That shouldn't really come as a surprise seeing as Belvita comes under the Mondelez banner, and they're notorious for not including nuts in their nut flavoured products (such as the peanut butter Oreo ice cream sandwiches, and atrocious peanut butter Dairy Milk Oreo). 

Despite the lack of actual hazelnuts, I was impressed with these biscuits and went back for the strawberry flavour, so stay tuned for a follow up review of them! But most importantly, what did Bert think?....

"They're nice, but they're not big enough."

There you have it. 

8/10

Banoffee Cheesecake Slices (M&S)

My sister and I were talking about how good the banoffee digestives are again the other day when she asked me why no-one does banoffee cheesecake. I then reminded her of the M&S banoffee cheesecakes that used to be part of the dine in meal deal. "You know, the ones that were designed for two that you used to munch by yourself." "Ah... yes, I remember." 

This jogged my memory back to a conversation I had with a lady called Zoe following the Sicilian Lemon & Ricotta cheesecake slice review. I remember Zoe asking me if I had got the M&S Banoffee cheesecakes to review, but I hadn't - thinking that they had been out for years, and that I'd had them many times before. What I hadn't realised (until Zoe informed me) was that they've been re-imagined. I put them on my mental list of items to review... and then promptly forgot all about them. The banoffee chat with my sister prompted me to pop into Marks & Spencer on my way home from the train station on Sunday afternoon, where I found a packet with a yellow reduced sticker on. It was fate!

"A baked banana and muscovado sugar cheesecake topped with a Belgian chocolate ganache and toffee mousse on a digestive biscuit base."

One of the cheesecakes looked a little worse for wear, which was unusual for M&S, who are normally very thoughtful with their packaging.

First up, I sampled the mousse, which was beautifully light, with a sweet toffee flavour to it. I still think that a mousse topping is an odd (and unnecessary) choice, but admittedly it worked better here than in Waitrose's new mocha cheesecakes.

Underneath this layer was the chocolate ganache, but I'd be hard pressed to comment on the flavour of it as it was so thin. In fact, I hadn't properly read the product description until I came to type this, and until a few moments ago I thought it was another toffee layer. This may sound like a complaint, but actually it's not. You see, I can see why M&S would want to provide a barrier between mousse and cheesecake (and it served that purpose well) yet I'm glad it didn't overpower either of the more traditional banoffee elements that the ganache was sandwiched by.  

As for that banana and muscovado mousse... well. It was a work of art. It was fluffy like their chocolate orange cheesecake, lacking the stodginess that 90%+ of supermarket cheesecakes suffer from. The banana flavour was authentic and omnipresent (as it had been with the Banoffee Semifreddos), shining through the toffee mousse layer to take centre stage. A delicious caramel undertone followed the banana; which was every bit as delightful as you can imagine. 

As for that biscuit base, it was thick, buttery and utterly scrumptious. You'd think that would be an aspect that is easy to perfect, when actually so many cheesecakes fall (and fail) on that final hurdle. 

There is very little, if anything, that I'd change about this dessert. It's the best banoffee cheesecake* I've ever had, and one of the best cheesecakes I've had in a long time. Bravo M&S, and thanks Zoe for giving me the nudge to try this new formula! They're worth every penny, full price** of not!

10/10

*I'm sure that will change when I get to try this one day.... (fingers crossed!).

**I can't remember the exact price, but it was less than £3.

NEW! Dessert Menu Banoffee Semifreddos (M&S)

Banoffee pie is absolutely up there as one of my all time favourite desserts (with tiramisu and my mum-in-law-to-be's apple crumble). The trouble is, most of the supermarket versions are pretty poor, and most of them come in large sized pies (I can't deal with that amount of temptation in the house, the same reason I don't make it very often). Cue M&S. Thank the lord. Their frozen dessert collection now contains a double pack of banoffee semifreddos. But there's a catch -they're £4 a time, yes, ouch. I struggle with spending £3 on a couple of cheesecake slices, but then I reconsidered...

1)  I'd heard resoundingly positive feedback on the semifreddos from fellow dessert fanatics Nat and Sian.
&
2) I'd pay more than that for a single dessert at a restaurant.

But then I had a brainwave anyway. The dine in for £10 meal deal. That says it includes selected ice creams. It usually contains some of M&S' dessert collection free desserts. I wonder... would the banoffee semifreddos be secretly part of the fortnightly deal? There was no offer ticket to suggest it was, but I did used to work at the Hereford branch and so I cheekily asked the lovely Maria to check it through the till...

BINGO!

It worked. I managed to buy two rump steaks, 4 potato rostis, a bottle of wine and the semifreddos for just a tenner. Bargain.

"Banana and vanilla custard cream with Dulce De Leche caramel sauce on a digestive biscuit crumb base, finished with cocoa powder and a dark chocolate plaque."

Chuffed with myself, I got them home and opened them up, to find that M&S had done a rather marvellous job of packaging them carefully in separate little brown boxes. First brownie point awarded to Marks, they were impeccable, despite my persistent clumsiness; anyone remember this doughnut pancake?

The topping was well flavoured with an authentic flavour (M&S have used real bananas - 6% of the ingredients) and it was creamy whilst remaining fairly light. I couldn't get my head around the consistency though; after the 20 minutes suggested defrosting time I had a soft moussey outer edge and a frozen inside. I get that's what its meant to be, but it made me think that I hadn't left it out of the freezer for long enough. 

The biscuit bottom was a lovely digestive affair, and although it was on the crumbly, fall-apart end of the cheesecake base spectrum, it was delicious nonetheless. 

It was the caramel centre that I was most excited about, and as I started to dig in, I thought M&S had been fairly stingy. In reality, it simply turned out that it was mostly pooled down one end, and the golden treasure was worth the wait. It was thick, gooey, and sweet with the buttery richness that I had hoped for. 

M&S Banoffee Semifreddos will never beat a fresh, homemade banoffee pie -especially as they understandably* lack the slices of fresh banana. At £4 for two, they're expensive too, but are well worth picking up as part of the Dine in Offer. As such, I'd happily have them again. 

8/10

*no-one wants slimy, black defrosted bananas gracing their dessert after all!

White Chocolate & Cardamom, Mint Chocolate & Sticky Salted Toffee Goupies (Online)

A good few weeks ago I was asked if I would like to try some Goupie. 

Q: Goupie? What on earth is Goupie? 

A: A devilishly moreish chewy chocolate
confection with a hint of crunch.

Oh, clear as mud then. Still, I love chocolate, have an unrelenting sweet tooth and found out that they're a British family business. It sounded great to me... even if I wasn't entirely sure what would turn up. 

Goupie's product selection is large, including many gluten free options and some of which are vegan too. Marketing manager Grace (daughter of owners Janet and Joe) asked me which flavours I'd like to try, but I just replied with the couple that didn't sound quite as appealing and looked forward to seeing what would turn up.

Not just one, but three flavours of Goupie arrived shortly after. Goupie you spoil me! I just had to open them all up in quick succession to discover what the confections where all about...! 

Chocolate Mint Goupie

"This flavour is the natural favourite of any mint chocolate lover. A beautiful fresh peppermint flavour amongst the chewy Goupie goodness and fully enrobed in a 54% Belgian chocolate. It’s dairy free and completely vegan friendly. A great gift to share amongst friends after dinner…if you don’t eat it first!"

This sharing sized (180g) box contained a good supply of dark coated covered tiffin-esque triangles. The ingredients included chocolate, biscuit, and rice crispies. That's got to be a good sign, right? 

Wowzer. I wasn't expecting that. The flavours were spot on. Now if you're a regular reader you'll know that I'm more of a milk & white chocolate fan, so 55% is high for me, but this was far from bitter. The chocolate and mint reminded me of After Eight mints, whilst the crunchy yet crumbly texture was both interesting and comforting. Seriously moreish.

9/10

White Chocolate Cardamom

"Sweet, exotic and pure class. Often confused with a light gingerbread, the cardamom in the base nicely balances the rich white chocolate topping."

Hmm. Cardamom can be utterly overbearing. In fact I once remember Buying a prawn curry from M&S that was inedible due to the littering of cardamom pods. Could Goupie manage to avoid the pitfall? 

Yes, they really could. I really enjoyed the dark chocolate mint, but these were something else. They were sweet but spicy too, with the gingery undertone they mentioned throughout. The white chocolate was good quality too, and I revelled in the unusualness of this delicious snack. Top marks from me.

10/10

Salted Sticky Toffee

"The ultimate in devilish treats – Salted Sticky Toffee Goupie is an uber gooey chocolate confection, topped with flakes of Maldon Sea Salt."

This Goupie was gluten free and therefore wasn't a biscuity concoction like the other two. I expected a tooth-pulling, filing-ruining jaw workout, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Of course, a fundamental element of the sticky toffee pudding is dates, and thats where Goupie have been smart. Sticky toffee is so often used as a synonym for caramel, but these were a true representation of the classic dessert. Encased within the milk chocolate was a delectable combination of soft toffee and fruity dates, meaning that it refrained from being too sickly. Another bonus came from the sea salt crystals on top, which boosted the flavours from the contrast of salty-sweet. Genius. As a bonus, this flavour is dairy-free and vegan to boot. 

9/10

I can now comprehend why it's difficult for Goupie to explain exactly what it is that they're selling, for their brand encompasses a selection of innovative sweet treats that are completely different to anything I've tried before. They're innovative, creative and delicious -what's not to love? 

Please pop over to Goupie's website where you'll find other delicious sounding Goupies including lemon meringue, cherry Almond and espresso Goupies as well as chocolate and orange discs. You can get 15% off with the code gbg15 too. Nom. 

Thanks to Goupie for the samples! 

NEW! Peanut Butter & Jelly Biscuits (The Co-Op)

It's such a lovely feeling when a new peanut butter product hits the U.K shelves and you guys make an effort to let me know. It makes me appreciate that I'm not the only PB obsessive who gets excited by the new treats. Saturday evening three of you got in touch to let me know about the new peanut butter & jelly biscuits in the Co-Op's American range, so thank you. It did however mean that I made a detour after a super early start at work yesterday to the big Co-Op on the other side of town. Read: I bent Bert's arm to pick me up and take me.

'Biscuits with forest fruits filling and peanut butter, sprinkled with biscuit crumb.'

£1.79? For 6 own-brand biscuits? You've got to be kidding me! I felt the pressure to review them after the triple prod about their existence, and prayed that they would be good whilst popping them in my basket. I also spotted these new pretend chocolate coated Oreos, which I can't imagine would be as tasty as the (authentic) white chocolate covered Oreos. 

Each biscuit was individually wrapped, making them perfect for eating on the go, but that's not how I roll. Instead I opened two of the square shaped biscuits as part of my peanut butter inspired late night snack.

They were much thicker than I imagined to be, and I didn't expect them to be square either. The base was very crisp and crunchy, tasting more like shortcrust pastry than biscuit. As you can see, there wasn't a huge deal of the jam filling, meaning that it made little impression on the overall flavour of the biscuit. As for the peanut butter.. well at first I thought it wasn't real peanut butter* because it lacked the salinity that I expected -when in fact, the biscuits contain 19% peanuts, However, the more I ate, the more I enjoyed the biscuits and although there wasn't as much salt or as much jam (or jelly) as I'd have liked, they were edible and fairly enjoyable. There's just no way on earth they're worth £1.79 per pack.

7/10

*If you've had the British peanut butter Oreos, you'll know exactly what I mean by that. If you haven't (lucky you) then I'll fill you in: for some reason Mondelez decided to use a synthetic peanut flavouring instead of real peanut butter. Both disgusting and mind boggling. 

NEW! Jelly Donut Oreos

Last week might've been doughnut week on the blog, but in a bizarre twist of fate this week has borne far more Doughnut success than last. Firstly, the lovely Heather made my absolute favourite doughnut in the world again this Wednesday (see the bottom of the post for the evidence) and then I received an extremely kind offer that I simply couldn't refuse from another talented baker (@annecupcake) who offered to send me her spare pack of Jelly Donut Oreos. Yes. You heard that right, but I'll repeat it just incase you think your eyes are deceiving you. Jelly donut Oreos. I'll let that sink in.

I was having a pretty shoddy day yesterday when I opened the door and discovered a parcel had been left on my doorstep. See, they're really not a figment of your imagination! They really do exist. 

Why don't we get these exciting flavours Mondelez? Is non peanut buttery peanut butter or non-cheesecakey strawberry cheesecake the best you can do for us Brits? I really hoped that they would live up to expectations. 

Once again I couldn't get over the difference in generosity of filling between British and Stateside Oreos. There's easily an extra 50% in these bad boys. Unfortunately, our American cousins don't seem to have to give a product description so it's often a bit of a guess as to what each component is meant to taste like.

Christ. I didn't expect that. There's a sugary doughnut flavour to the cookies. I expected a plain golden Oreo base, but it didn't taste that way. Perhaps it was my wishful thinking but I'm convinced that they tasted of ring doughnuts. 

The outer ring of Creme tasted like normal Oreo filling. Not bad, nor anything to shout about, just very sweet. The magic happened in the centre though, where the 'jelly' resided. It had a berry taste (raspberry perhaps) but once combined with the cookie gave for a full on jam doughnut biscuity experience. Hell to the yes! 

Now I bet you're wondering what the difference is between these and standard jam creams or even the Jammie dodger swirled I reviewed recently. For one, the cookies are crunchier, and secondly they really do taste of doughnuts. The flavour has baffled me in the same way that the (sadly now discontinued) Tesco jam doughnut yogurts did. I don't know quite how Oreo have managed it, but somehow they've nailed it.

Doughnut lovers need to try these American Oreos. I just hope that they're available to purchase in the U.K soon. Anne, I'd like to thank you once again for bringing the Jelly Donut Oreos into my life! 

10/10

I present to you, the incredible Tandem PB&J doughnut...

Rhokett Caramel Cheesecake (Waitrose)

There's a dessert that's been haunting me for ages.. a cheesecake that's been on my mind since I first discovered it whilst researching Rhokett 16 months ago. The rarely spotted caramel slices has been supposedly stocked in Sainsbury's stores across the country, but Hereford didn't even get a sniff. I once found them, but it was in an extra store on a trip to Birmingham, and at the time I didn't think they'd survive the journey home -plus I was sure they were going to crop up sooner or later*. I guess I was right, it was just much much later, and in a different supermarket: Waitrose. At £3 for two 100g slices they're on the dear side, but I recall thinking that the Belgian chocolate flavour were worth the money and so I hope these would be too.

"A winning combination from Rhokett that really delivers on that traditional texture, raised to the next level by the Belgian chocolate chunks and the smooth caramel sauce that have been swirled through the mix before baking."

They were beautiful slices, l give Rhokett that, however they were very fiddly to retrieve from the packet -so please be careful if you buy them. 

I expected a rich toffee tone to the cheesecake, so was utterly perplexed when I tasted it and was met with a similar cheesecake batter used in the chocolate slices. That's to say it was creamy with a slight sour tang, but it was completely devoid of the caramel flavour that I'd longed for. Humf. What I hadn't realised was that the sole source of the caramel came from the toffee sauce, but unfortunately there wasn't a huge deal of it, and it certainly wasn't the generous pockets of thick dulce de leche that I had concocted in my imaginings. 

Oh the plus side, the chocolate chunks were both aplenty and delicious -although I can't help but feel that due to the lack of caramel that fudge pieces may have suited the slices better. 

I was also pleased that I'd saved the biscuit base until last as it was the only part I thought that Rhokett truly nailed. Thick and buttery with a classic digestive biscuit flavour, it held together enough to make it from fork to mouth, but crumbled easily upon munching. It just wasn't £3 worth of biscuit base. 

7/10.

* I even ended up sending poor Nat (author of Lot-o-Choc) on a hunt for them before my train arrived into New Street station when meeting her in Birmingham last month.

NEW! Krispy Kreme New York Cheesecake Doughnut

Day two of the Doughnut week brings you a review of the NY Cheesecake inspired Krispy Kreme. Now if you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know just how much I love a good cheesecake, but NY cheesecake? Not so much. Give me lemon, chocolate, chocolate orange, dulce de leche, strawberry donut, or speculoos cheesecakes (to name just a few) any day; but vanilla and sour cream? Nah, you're alright. That said, I'd heard good things about this new doughnut from the American chain, so looked forward to trying it.

'Filled with Kreme Cheese, hand-dipped in vanilla icing and sprinkled with biscuit crumb and white choc flavoured drizzle.'

Now the white chocolate topping didn't taste of white chocolate, and taking a look at the ingredients (Sugar, Palm Oil, Whey Powder (Milk), Emulsifer: Soya Lecithin) that's unsurprising. Why don't you use real white chocolate Krispy Kreme? Especially when you're charging a small fortune for each doughnut? 

Krispy Kreme's are renowned for being unpredictable when it comes to the amount of filling they contain, but this particular doughnut contained a respectable amount of 'Kreme Cheese'.

There was a slight tang to the flavour, and it was certainly different to their standard Kreme, but it wasn't 'shut-the-front-door' amazing. I did however enjoy it, and the sour edge helped to combat the resounding sweetness. 

As usual, the dough was beautifully soft and fluffy. The biscuit crumbs were also a welcome touch, helping to deliver the cheesecake element, however I have a bone to pick with Krispy Kreme.

That, ladies and gents, is the American Krispy Kreme NY cheesecake doughnut! Why can't ours look like that? Even the PR photo of the British version doesn't look as promising, although at least my doughnut did pose similarities to the picture below!

7/10

 

NEW! Neo Ice Cream Cones (LIDL)

It's 'Taste of America' week at Lidl, which means that there's all kind of peanut butter treats on offer, as well as foot long microwaveable hotdogs (complete with bun and sauce) and some Oreo themed treats. Oreos aren't Oreos in Lidl though, they're Neos. At least they're a little more subtle than Aldi with their cheeky rip offs, ahem, anyone for a Domio yogurt or Hike bar? Anyway, I was intrigued by their Neo ice creams, as both Bert and I are fans of all the Oreo ice creams (sandwiches, sticks and cones).

"67.5% vanilla flavoured ice cream with 6% biscuit pieces in 16% wafer cone coated in 5% chocolate flavour glaze, coated with 3% chocolate flavoured biscuit pieces."

They certainly looked the part! 

They just didn't taste the part. Unfortunately the ice cream tasted of reconstituted skimmed milk, lacking the creaminess that I'd hoped for. The cone wasn't great either. The dark shade insinuated that it would taste bourbon-y like the Oreo cones, but instead it had a mild cocoa flavour. My cone was also soft towards the bottom, although Bert tells me that his was completely crispy. There wasn't enough Oreo/Neo in them either, as the ice cream itself was plain throughout, and the 3% biscuit crumbs didn't make much of an impact.

At £1.49 for four they're no cheaper than the real deal (which are part of a 2 for £3 deal in Asda, £1.50 in Sainsbury's and £1.33 on Ocado) and so I'd give Neo a miss if I were you. I picked up a tub of LIDL's 'Taste of America' peanut butter ice cream at the same time, so let's hope that's less disappointing... 

5/10 

NEW! McVities Penguin Cake Crunchers (Tesco)

How has it already been a week since I reviewed the Trio cake crunchers? Scrap that, how was yesterday the summer Equinox? Christmas doesn't seem five minutes ago, and yet Sunday will mark six months until the best day of the year. Yep, I'm counting down already and will be celebrating in my own way on Sunday, keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram if you want to see what I mean. Anyway, where were we? Cake crunchers. Yes, well of you remember I wasn't impressed by the lack of crunch in the Trio cake 'crunchers', but could the Penguin bars fare better? 

"Sponge cakes with a creamy layer and crunchy biscuit pieces, covered in milk chocolate."

The cakes were aesthetically pleasing to cut into with their respective layers, I'll give them that. Penguin cake bars have, of course, been around for donkeys but it was the cookies and cream flavour that first drew me to the bars (even a hint of Oreo anything and I'm there). The trouble is, 'cookies and cream' has become synonymous with 'unflavoured' in the same way that 'vanilla' has, and that was certainly the case with these bars. The original penguin cakes have a chocolate layer above the sponge, but this was just a plain mousse. I mean it wasn't unpleasant, but it was far from spectacular either.

 To make matters worse, the biscuit pieces were again more-or-less inexistent. At only 4% of the bars they were never really going to make an impact though we're they? Why bother Mcvities? Ah yes, because then you can label it as new and draw us suckers in. 

On a brighter note, the chocolate covering and cake were fair, in a cheap, long-life cake sort of way. They were also individually wrapped which makes them good for lunch boxes, but they're also high in sugar (10g per 24g bar) so be warned if you're giving them to children! These bars have got me thinking, why don't McVities make a Hershey's cookies n creme style penguin biscuit? White chocolate studded with biscuit crumbs and a milk chocolate filling? Now that sounds good to me... 

5/10 

NEW! Limited Edition Strawberry Swirl Jammie Dodgers (Home Bargains)

Yes, I'm still on the coffee caramel digestive hunt. It's driving me loopy now! Apparently they're on Ocado and in some Spars, but they still don't seem to have made an appearance in rural Hereford yet. Or Cardiff for that matter. My sister and I intended to go trampolining on Saturday, but when we got off the bus outside the trampoline park we decided that it was too hot to spend the afternoon inside - let alone doing any kind of exercise. Instead we made a quick detour into B&M and Home Bargains before getting back on the bus to her house for a sunbathing session. As soon as we walked through the door in Home Bargains I spotted jammy dodgers in different packaging. Ooh the past it had an ice cream cone on it! Was this a new flavour? Strawberry swirled. Hmm. It was hardly the most imaginative limited edition, but it was new, and would have to do in lieu of the digestives. Plus who doesn't love a good Jammie Dodger?

"Strawberry flavoured jam with vanilla flavour filling sandwiched between two shortcake biscuits."

I'm not sure where the swirl comes in but the cream filling was present on one side of the otherwise standard looking JDs. The biscuits were just as I remembered, not as crumbly as most shortcakes but with a decent vanilla flavour. It  don't expect that it'll shock you that the strawberry and cream style filling worked well together. The jam was -of course- very sweet and artificial,  and the vanilla was gooey and somewhat marshmallow-like. 

The biscuits were pleasant, but once again we find ourselves with a very lazy limited edition. With endless possible flavour combinations out there, why have we been palmed off with what's essentially a Happy Face/Classic jam ring biscuit? I miss the old banana and toffee JDs, but would love to see Burtons create something more exciting: rhubarb and custard, lemon meringue or peanut butter perhaps? 

6/10 

NEW! McVities Trio Toffee Cake Crunchers (Tesco)

Apologies for the infrequency of posts this week. I've been super busy with a few projects (mainly work) and am experiencing a number of technical issues (both my Mac and phone aren't working properly) so please bear with me. Anyway... 

It appears that McVities are treating us to a whole host of new products at the moment. Not only have they released the scrummy new Banoffee Caramel Digestives, and the elusive Coffee Caramel Digestives (pleeeeeease shout me if you find them!) but they've also launched two new individually wrapped cakes based on two of their successful lunchbox biscuits. The first I'm reviewing today, but please stay tuned for my thoughts on their new a penguin Cookies & Cream Cake Cruncher bars. 

"Toffee Flavour Cream and Crunchy Biscuit Pieces Covered in Milk Chocolate."

The apparently iconic* Trio bars were reintroduced as a limited edition last summer, but it seems they're here to stay. Not that I'm complaining. I found packs of this new cake version of the toffee biscuit bars in ASDA for £1.78, balked at the price, then found them on offer in Tesco a week later at the far more reasonable sum of £1.00. 

Both the cake and chocolate were indifferent to those used McVities Jaffa Cake Bars. That's to say that the chocolate was reasonable, although there wasn't enough of it to really distinguish it's quality. The cake was fairly light and fluffy for a long-life cake, but again it was pretty bland. 

The toffee cream however was scrummy, with a butterscotch flavour that hit the spot in a truly nostalgic fashion. It was very sweet, but that's what I expected -especially as each 24g cake contains 9.9g of sugar! As for the biscuit pieces, blink and you miss them. There's nowhere near enough of them (they only constitute 3.5% of the bars) which I can't help but think is a shame -not to mention a huge marketing ploy. Cake crunchers my arse. 

Give these new cakes a go if you're after either an intense sugar hit and/or a little nostalgia. Don't expect anything groundbreaking and you won't be disappointed. 

7/10.

*Despite being an 80s baby and junk food addicted child (and adult) I can't actually remember them.