Efectiv Pro & Oats High Protein Flapjacks (Online)

There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t eat oats in some form or another. In fact, it was the food I missed most when in Malaysia earlier this year. Almost every morning is kick-started with a bowl of protein oats (proats if you will), but I also love granola and flapjacks too. Protein flapjacks however are often disappointing, and tend to be so far removed from real flapjacks that I’d rather have a real flapjack and get my protein elsewhere. I’m not averse to trying new products though and so when Efectiv contacted me a few weeks ago to ask if I’d like to try their new protein flapjacks and Dual bars, I accepted their kind invitation. After all, the protein bar market is rapidly evolving. Gone are the days of chewy bricks, thank goodness! 

Their flapjack range currently consists of three flavours: Chocolate Orange, Toffee Oat & Cherry Bakewell. Each 70g bar is less than 270 cals and contains 14g of protein (check the bottom of the review for the full macros). They’re made with gluten free oats and whey, with no palm oil or gelatine. Efectiv have also used natural flavours and sweeteners, and the flapjacks are GMO free and certified Halal. One massive bonus for me is that they contain no soya protein or polyols, making them much kinder on your stomach. This makes them higher in carbs, but also the perfect post-workout treat. I say treat, but that’s only right if they taste good… 

Cherry Bakewell

I’d normally save the flavour I’d anticipate would taste the best until last, but my preconceptions on what these bars would taste like wasn’t especially high and so I thought I’d give Efectiv the best chance possible. 

The first thought that struck me was how much closer to a real flapjack this bar looked. It was also a decent size too. The second realisation was just how soft the bar was - often protein flapjacks are either super dry or gluey, but this was neither. 

The texture was spot on. Soft and gooey, with a pleasant chew that wasn’t hard work. The cherry flavour however was milder than I’d have liked and I couldn’t help but think that either a layer of jam or chunks of dried cherries would improve the taste. It was still the best protein flapjack I’d tried to date though. 

8/10

Chocolate Orange

Unlike the Bakewell bar, this flapjack was dark in colour. Texturally it was very similar though. 

As for the flavour, this time it was much punchier, although I’d describe it more as cocoa orange as it lacked the milkiness that I’d associate with eating a bar of orange flavoured chocolate. In fact, the flavour kind of reminded me of something that Trek might make, but it was much tastier than Trek’s protein flapjacks. 

8/10

Toffee Oat

I saved this bar until last and found myself really looking forward to it. 

I wasn’t disappointed either. The bar tasted like a proper flapjack! It was gooey, sweet, soft and chewy with a lovely toffee undertone. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that I’d happily eat the Efectiv toffee & oats pro&pats flapjack instead of a normal flapjack and I’ll be hunting down more to try in the future!

9/10

All in all, I was mightily impressed with these protein flapjacks from Efectiv. I do feel like the flavour of the Cherry Bakewell bar could be improved slightly, but that’s just a mini moan! Thank you to Efectiv for sending me the samples. The flapjacks (and the new Dual bars, watch out for the review) are available from their website.

*as promised, here's the Macro breakdown:

Choc Affair Orange & Geranium Milk Chocolate (Online)

The 'new' Mars Choc Brownie bar turned out to be pretty unexciting, but thankfully there are companies out there who are prepared to be bolder with their flavours. Take Choc Affair for example, the British handmade chocolatier who refuse to shy away from the more traditional pairings, such as their rhubarb milk and mango white chocolate bars. Today's review features another one of their twists on the classics; a veritably seasonal combination of orange and geranium. Whilst rose -and to some extent lavender- are occasionally used in sweet treats, I can honestly never remember ever having seen anything geranium flavoured.... 

"Our orange & geranium chocolate is a firm favourite amongst the team here at Choc affair HQ, and is just delicious. A creamy milk chocolate infused with natural flavours.  But don’t take our word for it, see for yourself!

Let your cares drift away with this perfect pairing of sweet, sun drenched oranges, and jolly notes of summer geraniums."

As soon as I unwrapped the beautifully packaged bar I could smell the refreshing tang of orange combined with the sweetly scented milk chocolate. Appearance wise it looked indifferent to the rhubarb bar; darker in colour than your usual milk due to the high cocoa content, but utterly smooth with a subtle glossiness.

First to hit my palate was the luxuriously rich milk chocolate which -as I've come to expect from Choc Affair- was melt-in-the-mouth with a creaminess that makes you feel as if you're diving into a pool of molten chocolate. Next up was the orange, which was milder in taste than the scent led me to believe it would be -in fact I would've preferred it to be slightly bolder. Then the geranium followed, delivering a floral flavour that wasn't too dissimilar to rose. Admittedly I'm not a huge rose fan, and I found that the geranium overshadowed the orange, especially as I continued to munched my way through the bar. As that last sentence suggests, I didn't find the geranium to be unpleasant, it just wasn't my favourite flavour. I imagine those who do enjoy a spot of Turkish Delight would really enjoy the combination however, so please don't let my personal preferences put you off this high quality chocolate. I'm certainly looking forward to trying Choc Affair's peach and raspberry white chocolate - now that sounds exciting and right up my street.

Thank you to Choc Affair for the samples. You can buy any of their innovative, luxury, handmade chocolate bars direct from their website here.

NEW! Sunken Chocolate & Valencian Orange Cheesecake (M&S)

I knew I had my work cut out on Friday afternoon when I rang my sister after her law accountancy exam and she was giving me one word answers -she's usually a chatterbox like me. Apparently it hadn't gone so well, and she was just about to get the train to Hereford to stay with me for the night. How could I cheer her up? Food. Alcohol. That's bound to work, right? I tried my best to encourage her that we would have a pleasant evening in the garden by telling her we were that we were christening our new BBQ, and gave her the option of cheesecake or ice cream and wine or Pimms. "Cheesecake". "Pimms". She muttered. 

Hmm, this was going to have to be good cheesecake to pull her out of this mood. Who could I trust to create a winning cheesecake? It was going to have to be something special. Who does special desserts? I know... Marks and Spencer! I had spotted a smaller version the new sunken chocolate & Valencian orange cheesecake in the Dine In for £10 meal deal a couple of days previously and hoped that they had some left on a Friday evening.

Bugger. 

Fortunately they'd got one of the larger six portion cheesecakes left and as a bonus it was reduced! Perfect. This meant that Bert could have some too, even though he's not the biggest chocolate orange fan -unless he's eating Jaffa cakes  because apparently they don't count, go figure. 

"Baked chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate biscuit base with Valencian orange cements centre and a Valencia orange glaze decorated with a white chocolate drizzle."

I was pleased that the cheesecake was well protected and in one of those pop out cases, making it relatively easy to retrieve. The cheesecake is also freezable, which meant that I could save the remaining slice for another day -yes, we had bigger slices than the recommended portion, don't judge!

Ive said numerous times that my biggest issue with supermarket cheesecakes is the horrible gelatinous wobble that they often have. M&S however have worked their magic on this dessert; the texture was whipped, light and therefore much more like a fresh homemade version. Flavour-wise the chocolate was perfect, it's dark and rich, tasting utterly indulgent. The resulting combination of flavour and consistency made this cheesecake an absolute winner in my eyes. The only trouble was that it wasn't particularly citrusy. The only source of orange came from the centre, and although the glaze was delicious, it would have been better if it had topped the entire cheesecake (although Bert disagrees with me on this, he thought it was delicious). 

The chocolate base was also scrumptious; it was short, crumbly and sweet. Most mass produced chocolate-bottomed cheesecakes feature a bourbon/oreo-esque base, but this tasted more like chocolate digestives and it was all the more delicious for it. 

This new M&S Spirit of Summer dessert was one of the best supermarket chocolate cheesecakes I've ever had. It's so good that I'm dreaming of that last slice. I'd go as far as giving it full marks but the orange just wasn't quite strong enough.

9.5/10

NEW! Creative Nature Protein Flapjacks (Online)

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to receive some of Creative Nature's new protein flapjacks, you know, the ones I mentioned in my review of their superfoods bars? The flapjack flavours sounded spectacularly good too, and seeing as their superfoods bars reminded me of nakd, I thought these might pose similarities to Trek protein flapjacks bars.

Like Trek flapjacks they're made from cold-pressed fruit, are vegan, gluten and dairy free. In contrast they're smaller (40g compared to 50g) contain a mixture of vegan proteins (soya and pea instead of just soya) and contain about a third less calories, whilst delivering only about a gram less protein. 

Apple pie

Is there anything more comforting than warm apple pie (or crumble) with custard? Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that a raw protein bar is in danger of replacing the classic dessert, but surely it can't hurt to have a healthy snack with similar flavours to tickle your tastebuds when hunger strikes between meals. 

Can you see how packed full of seeds and protein crisps the bar was? It smelt incredible too with both the Apple and cinnamon emanating from the bar. It was soft, and the aromas translated into the taste. For me there wasn't enough oats to quantify it being called a flapjack, but it was certainly tasty! 

Macros per 40g bar: 152kcal P8.1/C:20.0/F:3.5

8/10

Salted Caramel 

The flavour is everywhere isn't it? So it makes sense that Creative Nature bring out their new bars in salted caramel too. 

Unfortunately whilst the texture was good, the flavour wasn't as fabulous as I'd hoped.Granted the fruity bar was sweet and had a welcome salinity to it that worked well, it just didn't scream of gooey, buttery caramel. Perhaps that's unsurprising given that it's vegan and raw. 

Macros per 40g bar: 152Kcal/P:8.4/C:19.0/F3.7

6/10 

Cacao orange

Of course I saved the chocolate flavour until last, and used it to top some chocolate flavoured skyr and served it with raspberries as part of a pre-bed treat. 

The flavour in the bar comes from a combination of cocoa fibre, cocoa butter, cacao beans and natural flavourings. It was tasty too; there was a kind of rustic feel-good quality to the chocolate which was complimented by the tangy orange. It wasn't overly sweet, but it was far from bitter either. 

Macros per 40g bar: 151Kcal/P:8.0/C:18.0/Fat3.9

9/10

If you fancy trying these protein flapjacks them please pop on over to Creative Nature's website where you can find your nearest stockist and/or place an order! As ever, a huge thank you to Creative Nature for the samples!  

NEW! McVities Jaffa cakes Chocolate & Orange Blondies (Morrisons)

I'm not sure that we can be friends if you don't like Jaffa cakes. In my books they must be eaten in one of two ways: 

1. Nibble off the chocolate, dunk the sponge in coffee and savour the orange jelly.

Or

2. Proclaim "full moon"... "half moon"..."total eclipse" in a silly accent whilst devouring the Jaffa cake in two bites. N.B. If you don't remember the iconic advert please google it so you don't make me feel old! 

I'm not sure either ritual can be applied to these new blondies though. McVities have also released chocolate jaminger* (sorry, Jamaican Ginger) cakes and chocolate brownies in the same range, but it was the Jaffas that took my fancy.

"Moist Sponge Cake with Orange Flavour Fruit Pieces, Dark Chocolate and an Orange Flavour Topping."

I love the combination of warm brownie/blondie with ice cream so jumped on the opportunity to try these with Tesco's Jaffa Cake ice cream; which incidentally I've fallen more and more in love with. Oh, silly me. Given the topping I'm not sure the squares would microwave all that well. Ambient blondies and ice cream it was then. 

The chocolate was very thin, there's no way I could even attempt to peel it off even if I wanted to. I'm glad I had the chocolatey ice cream to fulfil my fix. 

The blondie was an odd one. Surely for a blondie has to contain white chocolate to earn its name, or is that just my wrong presumption? I certainly didn't think it meant a dense, doughy, un-risen sponge cake devoid of flavour. The 'blondie' was so stodgy that it stuck itself to the roof of my mouth. Not pleasant. 

Don't even get me started on the 'orange flavoured fruit pieces'. Why not use an orange sauce, jelly or *real* orange pieces McVities? Why can't companies use the real deal in products? Argh, I can feel another peanut butter rant coming on. Anyway, the 'orange'  pieces are made from an unbelievable amount of ingredients: Concentrated Apple Juice, Concentrated Orange Juice, Sugar, Dried Apple Powder, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Glucose Syrup, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Natural Flavouring, Acidity Regulator (Potassium Citrate)].

It pretty much had the texture of a sauce anyway, but I think you can make out from the photo below that it had sunk down to the bottom of the squares, which made the base all sticky. Taste-wise it was ok, but seeing as it only constituted 6% of the blondie it didn't make much of an impact.

I've made a lot of complaints in this review, but that's because I love my jaffas and I felt these missed the mark. At £1 for four they're cheap and cheerful, just don't expect too much from them.

5/10

*explanation of Jaminger here!

NEW! Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns (Morrisons)

It's time for the last in the chocolate orange hot cross bun trilogy* today. Perhaps you'd think that M&S or Waitrose would sell the stock that would be most difficult to track down (sincerest apologies to those of you still hunting for M&S' carrot cake hot x buns) but in this case it was Morrisons who had me running round in circles -or at least in and out of our local store. I first spotted them way back in January, and made a mental note to come back and buy some once I'd got through my initial Easter hoard, but then they disappeared! Poof. 

Gone. Weeks went by when there was no non-bakery buns on Morrisons' shelves. Then the apple & cinnamon flavour started to make a reappearance, eventually followed by these chocolate orange buns. 

"Hot cross buns with chocolate chips and orange oil."

At 82p for 6 they're the cheapest I've bought so far. The buns are also part of a 2 for £1.50 deal and are freezable to boot.

They're soft and fluffy too! After all of the brioche style hot crosses it's a welcome surprise to slice open one with the same sort of texture as a classic iced bun. There were plenty of large chocolate chips to be found hiding within the pale brown dough, although the orange wasn't as aromatic as I had hoped.

The bun's texture was good, but the flavour wasn't much to shout about. I could taste a mild amount of cocoa but the orange oil was all but lost again. Why can't any of the companies deliver a really citrussy bun?

As before I tried all manner of toppings: naked it was too dry, both jam and peanut butter were a bit odd, chocolate was good but overpowered the flavour completely, so butter was the best bet.

Back to the carrot cake buns for me 🙈

6/10

*My review of Waitrose's Mini Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns can be found here and M&S' one here. 

NEW! Jaffa Cake Ice Cream (Tesco)

I'm in the middle of a chocolate orange frenzy at the moment, despite claiming not to be the biggest fan of the combination. This was the last of the four new Tesco luxury pint ice cream tubs that I fancied trying though, and despite the failure of both the Red Velvet & Jammy Ring flavours, I just couldn't help myself. After all there's no quality chocolate orange ice creams on the mass market is there? Please do correct me if I'm wrong.

"Chocolate ice cream with an orange ripple, sponge cake pieces and dark chocolate curls."

Removing the lid didn't reveal much appearance-wise, however I could smell the classically Christmas aroma of Terry's chocolate orange. Mmm.

Digging down into the soft but scoopable tub I soon uncovered a plentitude of sponge cake pieces, orange sauce and chocolate curls. Could this be Tesco's redeeming ice cream?

Yes! Comparatively the ice cream wasn't anywhere near as indulgently rich as Jude's but it was chocolatey! I was pleased that Tesco chose to use plain sponge pieces, and they were fluffy & soft -breaking up the texture nicely.

The orange sauce was a winner too, it was bold and zingy, providing a wonderful fusion of flavours with the chocolate. It really did taste just as it smelt- it's the Terry's ice cream!

The chocolate curls were an equally thoughtful touch and made a welcome change from the standard chocolate chips that are nearly always used instead. They cracked as you ate, offering an unexpected crunchiness to the ice cream.

Finally! A Tesco tub that's worth the £2! A better quality ice cream base would have heralded higher marks, but I'll happily buy Tesco's Jaffa Cake tub again. 

8/10

The Skinny Bakery: Less Calories, Fat & Sugar Product Review (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by The Skinny Bakery who asked me to review their products. This was a very welcome request seeing as I've been pawing over images of their range on Instagram for quite some time. Haven't heard of The Skinny Bakery? Let me fill you in...

The Skinny Bakery is the brainchild of baker Mariella Forte, who set up the company in 2013 with a vision to create delicious baked treats containing a fraction of the calories of their traditional counterparts. Think flapjacks, cookies, tarts, and cakes that even dieters can enjoy. Salivating yet? You should be.

A couple of days later a box arrived. Well it arrived at my neighbour's house actually, who came out running as soon as she saw me return home from uni. 

"Amy! Amy! There's a parcel here for you, and it says to refrigerate it! But there's no room in my fridge!" She cried (she's a good egg).

Luckily it was a cold day and the cakes still all looked in perfect nick. The parcel contained 8 individual packs of treats, each of which contained less than 212kcals or less.

Skinny Beetroot Pearls (169kcals)
There's two flavours in this world that I really can't stomach, and those are beetroot and liquorice. I almost gave these to a friend, but then my curiosity got the better of me.

"Pack of beetroot sponges piped with a quark based low fat cream cheese frosting"

Blow me down. I'm sure I grimaced as I prepared to take my first mouthful, but my expression soon took a change for the better. The cake was unbelievably moist, with a very mild beetroot flavour. I tasted the delicate balance between earthiness and dark cocoa, contrasted with the slight tang from the quark centres. I'm not a beetroot convert by any means, but I can honestly say that this is the first beetroot product I've ever truly enjoyed.

7/10

Skinny Chocolate Pearls (208kcals)
Given the success of the beetroot Pearls, I was very much looking forward to their chocolatey sibling.

"Pack of chocolate sponges piped with our signature tofu-chocolate frosting. Low fat and a good source of protein. 21% tofu, 25% low fat yoghurt."

I was right to be excited. They tasted exactly like a very fudgy chocolate cake. The flavour was rich and dark whilst texturally they were moist and squidgy. I might've double checked the packaging to make sure I hadn't misunderstood and that they were 208kcal per cube. I wasn't, they were 208kcals for all 6 Pearls. Incredible.

10/10

Skinny Coconut Bites (212kcals)

 "Pack of 5 vegan coconut balls with only 5 ingredients. No added sugar and wheat free."

I was looking forward to these because they're made with peanut butter! However, whilst they were soft I found that none of the flavours really stood out and they were a little on the bland side.

5/10

Skinny Sweet Potato Brownies (189kcal)

"Pack of sweet potato brownie bites, gluten and dairy free recipe, made with 46% sweet potato and sweetened with dates – only 38 calories each!"

It's a shame I'd tried the Pearls first really! These were yummy, but they weren't as chocolatey as the Pearls. They are a good treat if you're gluten and/or dairy free though!

7/10

Skinny Carrot Cake Pearls

"Pack of carrot cake sponges piped with a quark based low fat cream cheese frosting."

These are a new addition to the Skinny Bakery collection, and boy are they good! They're moist, yet fluffy and well spiced. The ratio of cake:filling was spot on and the mini morsels contained currants -Tesco take note. These surpass most of the full fat/sugar carrot cakes I've had. Delicious!

10/10

Skinny Choc Chip Cookies (187kcal)

"Pack of soft dairy-free chocolate chip biscuits – only 37Kcal each"

My pack contained a mixture of mushroom,star and heart shaped cookies, which were texturally somewhere between a biscuit and a cookie. In fact they reminded me of rusks! They were less sweet than I'm used to, and I could barely taste the chocolate. Tasty, but not outstanding.

6/10

Skinny Choc & Orange Cookies (181kcal)

"Pack of soft dairy-free chocolate chip and orange biscuits – only 36Kcal each"

I couldn't really taste very much difference between these and their standard choc chip cookies. Both the chocolate and the orange could've done with being bolder.

6/10

Skinny Double Chocolate Meringue Cookies (141kcal)
The pack contained 7 rather splendid looking cookies. Instead of eating them on their own I decided to make a wicked dessert with them and sandwiches them between Jude's Chocolate with a touch of sea salt ice cream.

"Pack of chocolate cookies made with egg whites and dairy-free chocolate. Crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. 30 calories per average cookie."

Genius. The cookies were exactly as promised. They were crispy, crunchy, chewy and chocolatey! My decision to pair them with the indulgently dark ice cream was a good one, and the added creaminess added a wonderful additional layer of flavour and texture. The double chocolate Meringue cookies are definite winners!

9/10

Summary

I love the idea of The Skinny Bakery, and many of their products are simply scrummy. I'm sure I could live off the chocolate and carrot cake pearls as well as their double chocolate meringue cookies. The packaging is cute and a lot of their products are suitable for those requiring dairy free and/or gluten free diets. The cakes have a short shelf-life but can be frozen for up to 6 months -if you can wait that long! If you love the sound of them and fancy giving them a go please check out their website, where you can receive 10% off your order by using the code STARTER10 at checkout.

**A huge thank you to the team at The Skinny Bakery for sending me the samples**

Chocolate & Orange Muffins (M&S)

If you'll remember, back in September I got overly excited about M&S' Strawberry, Rhubarb & Custard Muffins and Banana & Chocolate Chip Muffins which both turned out to be disappointing. Simultaneously Sparks also released a chocolate orange variety, but I couldn't bring myself to waste yet more money on their disappointing cakes. Cut to six months later when my disgruntlement has faded, I spot a pack reduced to just 60p and suddenly I'm giving M&S' muffins another go. Third time lucky right? Surely they've got to be better than their new mini chocolate orange hot cross buns...

"Rich chocolate muffins, studded with milk chocolate chunks, and filled with an indulgent orange sauce, topped with a delicate chocolate drizzle."

The ebony coloured cakes smelt invitingly of cocoa -indeed much more so than their mini Hot Xs. I couldn't detect any hints of citrus, but quickly forgave Marks & Spencer given the ample supply of chocolate chips that graced the top of each.

My knife sliced through the muffin easily, revealing the central core of sticky filling that stayed put (unlike the oozing middle of Greggs' new Jaffa Cake-esque doughnut). The cake was dense and moist too - a good sign from the off. 

Hallelujah! M&S have made a chocolate cake that delivers in being soft, squidgy and extremely chocolatey. In fact it was almost fudgy, and struck the perfect balance between dark and sweet. As for the central orange jam, it was good, but there wasn't enough of it to give the cake a truly citrussy taste. I didn't mind that chocolate was the dominant flavour, given the quality of it, but perhaps some zest through the batter would've given the cake a better zing. 

I'm not sure I'd pay the full £1.60 for these muffins (ASDA's Toffee Fudge still reign supreme in my books) but I'd happily buy them reduced again -especially as they freeze well despite the packaging claiming otherwise.

8/10

NEW! Mini Chocolate & Orange Hot Cross Buns (M&S)

It's Shrove Tuesday, which can only mean one thing: hot cross buns. 

Wait, no. I've got that wrong haven't I? Ah yes, I covered the pancakes yesterday* so it's time to rekindle my love affair with my new best friend -the hot cross bun. As mentioned the other day in my review of Marks & Spark's innovative savoury cheese buns, I made use of the 2 for £2.50 deal and also picked up a pack of their mini chocolate orange flavour.

"9 Mini Chocolate & Orange Hot Cross Buns with Belgian dark chocolate chips, orange puree,  candied orange and lemon peel with a hint of spice." 

Now I'd hazard a guess and say that these have replaced M&S' so-so mini mocha hot cross buns of 2016. Last year I remember being confused on how to serve the buns but fortunately I've already had my first dose of mini chocolate orange versions this year, courtesy of Waitrose.

I'm not sure who copied who, but Marks & Spencer certainly outshone Waitrose when it comes to aesthetics. I loved the super chocolatey look of the bun and the bright orange cross; they'd certainly make for an appealing centrepiece at afternoon tea. 

Once out of their wrapper I was hit by the unmistakable scent of... Christmas cake! Where you expecting that? I certainly wasn't. I blame the pungent aroma of candied peel for confusing my nostrils.

Slicing the buns in half revealed the fluffy texture of the dough, which wasn't as soft or moist as Waitrose's. The majority of the chocolate chips seemed to be on top, although there were a few pieces of candied peel dotted about.

Well, it was just a bit odd. Not in a good way like the aforementioned cheese buns either. It tastes somewhat like an uber dry, under flavoured chocolate cake and the orange just didn't come through in the same strength as the scent alluded to either. Easily the best bit of the buns was the chocolate chips, and I savoured the bites when I found a cluster. 

I tried them warm, then cold, then filled with peanut butter (which just didn't work) before deciding that they're best generously filled with JimJam's Chocolate Hazelnut spread. The spread adds some much needed moisture to the very bread-y dough (it's certainly no brioche), and otherwise they're really quite bland.

6/10

*and will be making more FlapJacked ones tonight, so keep your eyes peeled on my instagram!

NEW! Chocolate Orange Doughnut (Greggs)

I've moaned time and time again on this blog about the fact that I can't get my hands on a Krispy Kreme unless I travel an hour to either Cardiff, Gloucester or Birmingham. So when their Chocolate Orange and Tiramisu doughnuts were released in January, I once again turned an unattractive shade of green as the #foodporn pictures appeared on instagram. As you know by now I have to rely on Greggs to bring home the goods instead, and whilst they're pretty good at bringing out (fairly disappointing) new ring doughnuts, they don't tend to update their filled versions as often. Imagine then my surprise/glee/envy when I was on holiday and saw @Macrodad's photo of the new Greggs chocolate orange filled doughnut! Fortunately I was eating a Malaysian Krispy Kreme* at the time, so my skin-tone remained a lovely tanned shade and didn't even start to change colour. I could wait, it was ok.

Now some may accuse Greggs of ripping off Krispy Kreme but- as I mentioned in my hot cross bun post- Chocolate Orange seems to be the flavour combination of the season, and there's some stark difference between the two. 

Wheras KK's doughnut is filled with an "orange flavour chocolate kreme" and "topped with orange flavour gloss, dark chocolate shavings and decoration" 

Greggs'  contains "Orange flavoured filling topped with milk chocolate and orange flavour icing."

It's also just £1, compared to Krispy Kreme's £1.90.

It smelt like Terry's Chocolate Orange! Where was this bad boy at Christmas? Cutting into it revealed a generous (hurrah) pool of florescent, oozy sauce that refused to stay put. So far so good Greggs.

The joy continued when I took my first bite; many a time have I commented on the fact that Greggs' dough is more bready than KK's, but this was certainly much softer than the doughnut I had in Malaysia. Helping matters was the flavoursome topping, which ticked the boxes by managing to be both chocolatey and orangey -scrumdiddlyumptious. 

As for the saucy centre, it was zingy and sweet. If I was being picky I'd admit that I found it to be a little on the runny side -a more jelly-like centre would have been easier to eat- but it was rather good. I often hear complaints about KK's lack of filling, and Greggs certainly delivered here. If you've not got a sweet tooth you may find it a tad too sickly, but I really enjoyed it. 

Greggs really have recreated the traditional Jaffa Cake in doughnut form, and have done a cracking job to boot. It's certainly a treat I'll be buying again.

9/10


* Krispy Kreme's in Kuala Lumpur cost a maximum of 80p for the premium varieties. Although tempted by the KitKat doughnut, instead I opted for the Chocolate Mud Pie. Check out the varieties available below!

Chocolate Mud Pie

"Chopped Cadbury chunks and crushed Oreo crumbs sprinkled on a luxurious bed of chocolate, filled with Chocolate Kreme. Now that’s a Chocolate Creation that you won’t want to miss!"














Which one would you have chosen?