Nellienoo Fudge Review: Biscoff, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Zesty Lime, & Lemon Meringue (Online)

The lovely Nic of Nellienoo fudge gave me the most wonderful surprise a couple of weeks ago when I came home to a packet containing not just one, but FOUR of her fabulous fudge packets. You can imagine how excited I was by this delivery, especially given how much I loved both her Caramac and Malteser Fudge....

Even better, Nic had included two of my absolute favourite flavours (biscoff and chocolate peanut butter) as well as two summery flavours: lemon meringue and zesty lime. 

Zesty Lime

"This white chocolate fudge combined with zesty fresh lime juice has such a wonderful flavour, subtle and fresh."

Here's where I admit that I'm not overly fussed on lime. It's not something I crave -mostly thanks to my grandmother's obsession with feeding us lime jelly. Put it this way, I never want to suffer three day old Banana Chartreuse* ever again. Anyway, I tried to forget the memories of Hartley's florescent jelly whilst taking a bite into Nellienoo's fudge.

Jeeeeeeesus, that's good. Nic you are a genius! The white chocolate base was as creamy as all of her other fudges -honestly, I've never known anything like it. Cutting through the sweetness, the lime offered a perfect zing that was utterly delicious. My only possible suggestion for improvement would be for the fudge to include some ginger biscuits within the mix, but then it wouldn't be gluten free. 

Lemon Meringue

"Fresh zesty lemon fudge with sweet crushed meringue pieces throughout."

This was another refreshing flavour. I thought that perhaps the meringue might make it either too sweet, or perhaps make the unbelievably smooth fudge feel a little grainy. Silly me. Of course Nic had mastered both the flavour and the texture. It was absolutely scrummy and a must buy for all lemon lovers!

Chocolate Peanut Butter

"This white chocolate fudge combined with peanut butter is delicious, it has milk chocolate chips stirred through at the end to give a marbled effect and a milk chocolate drizzle finish."

I'm sure Nic is a wizard. She certainly works magic on her concoctions. I was pleased to see that she hadn't watered down the flavour with any caramel. This fudge reminded me of white chocolate Reese's cups (still one of my all-time favourite treats) and it was a struggle to not gobble it down in one sitting!

Biscoff

"This delicious biscoff fudge is packed full of flavour. Smooth creamy texture with chunks of biscoff biscuit throughout. Perfect treat to have with a coffee."

You might think it was the chocolate peanut butter that had me most excited, but you would be wrong. Biscoff fudge? I was all over it. 

I had every right to be excited too. I mean it was everything I hoped for - and more. The sweet cinnamon spice came through in each soft, chewy nibble. The biscuit pieces hadn't gone soggy and added that beautiful caramelised crunch into the mix to really exalt the eating experience. It was sheer heaven. 

You know it's love when I was enjoying my fudge this much and offer a bite to my biscoff loving, but fudge hating other half. Bert seriously detests fudge. I mean he won't go near the stuff at all. Normally. But... Nellienoo fudge apparently doesn't count. It's that tasty that not only has it won him over - but I found myself hiding the rest of the pack from him. What have you done to us Nic?

I'd like to say another huge thank you to Nic for sending me some more of her magnificent fudge. Please do pop on over to her website where you can buy all of her super-duper treats for £3.50 per pack -it might just be the best money you've ever spent.


*An odd dessert made with banana, lime jelly and cream. It was meant to look something like this (photo courtesy of the Food History Journals) but hers never quite did...

Nellienoo Chocolate Malteser Malt Fudge (Online)

Do you remember me telling you about the subscription box company that celebrates the best of British independent confectioners? Well it's thanks to The Treat Collective that I came across Nellienoo fudge, and Nic's fabulous Caramac fudge (which you can find my Insta-review of here). As you can see, I was most impressed by it and so when Nic offered to send me a mystery pack of fudge this week I gladly accepted with due excitement. After all, who doesn't love a sweet surprise? 

I might've done (ok definitely did) a little jig around my kitchen when I came home to the Nellienoo parcel on Friday. Malteser fudge? My life is complete. Despite the fact that I was only home briefly before popping out for the evening I couldn't help packing a couple of pieces to take to the cinema with me. 

As with the Caramac flavour, the Malteser fudge was undeniably creamy. I hate grainy fudge (and find Scottish tablet unbearable) but this was completely smooth. In fact the fudge was more like a chocolate hybrid due to the satisfying melt that starts the minute you pop a piece in your mouth. As for the flavour, Nic has nailed that too, adding to the chocolate-fudge hybrid experience. It tasted exactly like Maltesers thanks to the malty undertone that fully complimented the chocolate flavour at the foreground. 

My one complaint about the Caramac fudge was the lack of topping, but each piece of this fudge had a single Malteser adoring it. I had wondered if they would manage to retain their crunchiness -no one wants soggy balls after all 🙈- but they were as crisp as ever, providing a wonderful textural contrast against the silken fudge. Perfection. 

If you've got a sweet tooth you must check out Nellienoo fudge's website and Facebook page. Nic's creations are all handmade, and she sells an ample selection of incredible looking fudge (all available for UK delivery). Thank you to Nic for sending me the Maltesers fudge to try. 

10/10 

That makes it a hat trick of full marks this week - this has to be some kind of blog record!

The Treat Collective (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a lovely lady called Jo, who told me about her company: The Treat Collective. As you might've gathered, I have a passion for discovering independent and small-batch manufacturers in the U.K, and so when I found out that The Treat Collective is a subscription service who collates sweet treats from independent British manufacturers and sends them directly to your door once a month, I gladly accepted her kind offer of a sample box. 

A few days later I received a parcel, which I assumed might be the Treat Collective box, but when I opened it I discovered a present inside. You see the box inside was wrapped in lollipop gift paper. It wasn't my Birthday. Surely this couldn't be The Treat Collective...?

But it was! This box really did embody the company's name. I felt utterly spoilt when unwrapping the parcel, and again when I lifted the lid on the box inside. 

Wow! What a joyful collection of goodies! I spotted the cute little gummy bears, the artisan fruit & nut chocolate, the cute citrus sweets... then spied The Grown Up Chocolate Company's wonderful 'Perfectly Buttery Peanut Cups', before my eyes rested on Nellienoo's CARAMAC FUDGE. Ahem. I might've been a tad excited. Normally in subscription boxes theres one or more item that I wouldn't have chosen myself, but I was looking forward to each and every item in this parcel. 

Also included in the box was a handy guide to the companies included within The Treat Collective box, which was a really nice touch. I absolutely love the idea behind this company. If you also like to discover the Best of British confectionary then I highly suggest you head over to their website where you can sign up to receive a monthly treat box for the reasonable sum of £24.00 per month. 

10/10

Thank you to Jo for the sample Treat Collective box. Reviews of the individual items will follow on my Instagram feed, so keep your eyes out! 

Cookie Dough Gourmet Edible Cookie Dough: Red Velvet, Chocolate Chip, Triple Chocolate Fudge & Funfetti Cake Batter (Online)

Have you ever made cookies and considered just not baking them? Just sitting and eating the entire bowl with a spoon? Please tell me that you have. Raw cookie dough is a wondrous creation, and must be on par with -if not even better than- warm cookies straight from the oven. We're not meant to eat it though are we?  I mean, the dough contains raw egg, but I also guess if that if our aim is to make cookies, we probably shouldn't fall at the first hurdle and eat the dough. 

Cue Gookie Dough: the love-child of Olly and Anja, who say that they came up with the idea of creating tubs of gourmet edible cookie dough from their life long obsession with Willy Wonka. The tubs are available in four drool inducing flavours: red velvet, gooey chocolate chip, triple chocolate fudge and funfetti cake batter. They're designed to be kept refrigerated (with a shelf life of about a month) but can also be frozen. That's if your self restraint allows, of course. I was utterly excited when I received an email from Olly asking if I'd like to review their products and immediately accepted, starting to think up ways to serve up the Gookie Dough (that's if I wasn't to eat it straight from the jar). I love a good food brainstorm, but if you're feeling less creative there's plenty of ideas on their Instagram page.

Gooey Chocolate Chip

"Is there anything better than fresh golden chocolate chip cookie dough? With a generous portion of luxury Belgian dark chocolate chunks swirled in a silky, buttery Madagascan vanilla dough, the original handcrafted Gookie dough recipe is to die for!" 

The first thing I noticed was the sheer amount of chocolate chips that were embedded within the dough. The batter was quite loose too, a similar sort of consistency to peanut butter or chocolate spread. A serving size is 75g (half a mini jar) and I chose to use it to top a protein cake in one of my late night snack bowls. 

The dough was tacky, and melted fairly quickly on top of the warm cake. As you can imagine it was very sweet, but it was also comforting too. The consistency of the dough is smooth, lacking the graininess of the cookie dough chunks that are commonplace in ice creams. I thought the serving size was a little generous as I found it quite sickly towards the end, but that just meant that there's more servings per tub. Bonus.

8/10

Funfetti Cake Batter

"Sprinkles make everything more fun and better right? Taking inspiration from the ultimate American childhood birthday cake flavour, this decadent and rich Madagascan vanilla dough is layered with handfuls of luxury Belgian white chocolate chunks. Just to make it ultra special, this party favourite is loaded full of rainbow crystal sugar sprinkles!"

If you've been reading this blog for some time you'll know that misleading names are a personal bug bear -despite being a marketing and advertising student. So let's get this straight, this flavour Gookie Dough was in fact a white chocolate version of the chocolate chip, there's not really any cake about it. I'll step down off my high horse now.

This time I sandwiched the batter between two Oatmeal & raisin flapjacked cookies, and I'm salivating just thinking about the combination. I used just 50g this time and loved the flavour and textural combination of the Gookie dough with the cooked cookie. If you decide to treat yourself to some Gookie Dough, I highly recommend that you try the pairing for yourself. 

9/10

Red Velvet

"Have you ever tried the world’s most famous & elegant cake flavour? Intertwining super moist, luscious red Belgian cocoa dough, and heavenly, creamy, melt in your mouth Madagascan vanilla frosting, this dough doesn’t disappoint when it comes to providing that signature light chocolaty flavour. It’s most certainly red velvet by name and red velvet by nature!"

There's no doubt about the flavour of this cookie dough given the colour of it. Red velvet is notoriously difficult to nail from both a colour and flavour point of view, so I was pleased to see that Gookie Dough had achieved at lest one of the objectives.

This time I decided to top my ice cream with some frozen Gookie Dough. However, I'm not sure if I didn't put it in the freezer for long enough (just an hour) but the batter didn't really solidify. I also didn't find that it had a particularly strong chocolate flavour, and although the swirls of vanilla frosting were evident in the appearance, they were lost in the resounding sweetness. It was tasty, but not the best flavour by a long shot.

6/10 

Triple Chocolate Fudge 

"Simply put, this is a choc-a-holic’s dream! Using not one, not two, but 3 different chocolate varieties, this fudgey 100% cocoa dough is heaped full of divine dark cocoa, Belgian milk chocolate fudge and white chocolate chunks. Prepare yourself for a chocolate coma!"

Coma me up. I needed a chocolate hit and decided to enjoy this flavour straight from the jar. Yes it was chocolatey, yes it was extremely sweet, yes it was sticky, and yes it was the ultimate in indulgence. It was a chocolate bomb and I felt it should be for reserved for really bad Monday evenings (or Sunday night blues).

Gookie Dough isn't for the faint hearted. It's made especially for us sugar addict. It's unique (as far as I'm aware) and I applaud Olly and Anja for their ingenuity. Gookie Dough is available in 150g mini tubs and 450g monster tubs. Prices start at £7.50 for two mini tubs and can be purchased directly from Gookie Dough's website. I really hope they consider creating peanut butter and snickerdoodle flavours in future....

Thank you for the samples Olly! 

Irresistible Mississippi Mud Pie Cookies (Co-Op)

I've gone cookie crazy! In the last week I've eaten at least ten and I'm not talking biscuit sized ones with either. Let's just call it research, eh? Anyway, I spotted these Mississippi Mud Pie Cookies on a rare trip to a large Co-Op last week. To be honest it was the orange reduced label that really called to me -yep, I still can't ignore a bargain. They were half price despite being long life and having until the 18th on them. I'm hoping the Co-Op just reduce their long life items when they've got less than a month on their best-before date, otherwise I'm telling you about a products that's been discontinued. 

The four pack of 'irresistible' cookies came in a resealable bag and I think they cost £2.50 full price (I paid about £1.60 if I remember rightly). 

For me, fresh bakery cookies always win, and that's because of the texture. Fresh versions have that lovely soft chew to them that never seems to be replicated in their hard baked, biscuity, long life counterparts. The Co-Op claimed that these were both soft and chewy however, so I was intrigued to find out if they'd mastered the seemingly impossible. 

"Soft baked cookies with chocolate fudge brownie pieces made with Belgian milk chocolate chunks."

I served up my cookie with a good helping of the Co-Op's PB&J ice cream, but refrained from warming it up like o normally would so that I could test that promised consistency. They smelt incredible though and although I would dispute their 'giant' status,  I immediately spotted a generous and even smattering of large fudge brownie pieces (16%) and Belgian chocolate chunks (16%). 

I bit into the cookie and thought that the Co-Op had fibbed about the soft chew. It was hard, and before I'd even asked Bert if his was the same he moaned that the cookie has hurt his teeth. Boo. As I reached the middle though I found a consistency much more akin to fresh cookies -hurrah! 

Let's be honest, It's not all about the texture though is it? Mississippi Mud Pie conjures up images of the ultimate in chocolate decadence, and these cookies certainly delivered on that front. From the deep cocoa flavour in the cookie base through to the squidgy, slightly sweeter brownie pieces and silken chocolate chunks, the Co-Op have created a chocoholic's dream! Yum.

Whilst the texture might not be perfect, the flavour is delicious. These irresistible cookies are indeed irresistible.

8/10

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.

Oh Henry! Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar Review

Since starting this blog, I’ve reviewed many an American chocolate peanut butter bar, but one I hadn’t tried until only recently was Nestle’s Oh Henry! Bar. Until then my only experience with Nestle’s PB bars had been pretty diabolical; I couldn’t stand the sickly sweetness of their Butterfinger bar, but then I hated the Hershey’s version too -5^th Avenue- and they’re of course the masterminds behind my beloved Reese’s. Still, I haven’t spotted the Oh Henry!s in any local stores, and wasn’t fussed enough to pay for one to be delivered from American Fizz. Fortunately for me I received a very kind offer from @pretty.vacant on instagram, who had spotted them at her local market and kindly offered to send me a couple of bars towards the end of last year, what a gem!

“2 peanutty caramel fudge bars in milk chocolate.”

I wondered: would they taste like Snickers? Or more like M&S’s ‘The Nutty One’?

I love how the American’s have a tendency to split their standard chocolate bars into two. It’s not because I want (or possess the self-restraint!) to save half for another time, but because I can savour the enjoyment and of course it means that the chocolate ratio is higher -and who doesn’t want that?

Slicing one of the fridge-cold bars in two revealed a distinct layer of fudge topped with a peanut studded caramel enrobed in milk chocolate. There’s something oddly satisfying about a bar so well structured!

Whilst Reese’s chocolate is nothing to shout about, I’m not a fan of Nestle’s chocolate -U.S or U.K for that matter. The casing for the Oh Henry! Bar however was better than expected; that’s not to say that I’d want a bar of it on its own, but it certainly didn’t detract from the other components and imparted a chocolatiness that was more than acceptable.

The fudge layer was just as soft, chewy and sweet as I’d hoped but lacked the characteristic creaminess of Cadbury’s fudge bars. The bottom layer of M&S’s ‘The Nutty One’ was noticeably more luxurious, however the Oh Henry’s fudge held its own far better thanks to the more generous ratio that made up the bars’ composition.

The caramel would have certainly erred on the wrong side of sickliness had it not been for the abundance of chunky chopped peanuts that evenly embedded it. The salinity of the nuts offset the sweetness well though, and brought the flavours back into a far better harmony. Again, the quality of the caramel was pretty standard, but then I guess America’s Oh Henry bar isn’t consumed for its superiority.

Comparatively the Oh Henry! isn’t that similar to a Snickers due to the lack of nougat, but I much preferred the fudge element and would probably always choose it over a Snickers if they were more widely available. All is certainly not lost however as I find myself grateful once again for M&S’s ‘The Nutty One’ which is much more like an inexpensive version of the Oh Henry!

7/10

NEW! Grenade Carb Killa High Protein Shakes Review (Online)

Before Christmas I was lucky enough to receive a parcel from Grenade containing their new Carb Killa Shakes to review. If you've read this blog for a while you'll know that taste-wise I think that Grenade's Carb Killas are the best on the market. I tend to see them more as a treat though and rely on Reflex's bars and powders for the top quality nutrition. Grenade's Carb Killa range is ever expanding, and even since the Shakes came out the banana armour and peanut butter bars have been released. It seems there's no stopping Grenade, but I'm certainly not complaining!

The Carb Killa shakes are currently available in three flavours: cookies & cream, fudge brownie and chocolate mint. All 330ml bottles deliver at least 24g of protein with a maximum of 9g carbs whilst still coming in at less than 200kcal -not bad going for a treat!

Chocolate Mint
Choc mint was the first up, purely because I expected to like it the least of the three and wanted to save the best until last. The shake was much thicker than expected, with a rich chocolate flavour that had a strong minty edge. It wasn't as dark as the flavour in the respective Carb Killa bar, but I liked that about it. The shake tasted undeniably indulgent, probably due to the 3% cream content. It was a delicious shake but mint chocolate is never my favourite, so I was really looking forward to the others.

8/10

Cookies & Cream
Next up was the cookies and cream for a treat post leg day workout. As you can see from the photo below, it was a very cold morning and so I took a swig before deciding to heat the rest of the bottle (in the mug not the container FYI). I couldn't believe how scrummy this shake was, and it as a bonus contained real biscuits (albeit only 0.5%)! Even compared to its non protein compadres this was one of the best milkshakes I've ever had. I mean warm cookies and cream on a freezing January day.. can you think of any better treat to help soothe aching and growing muscles?

10/10

Fudge Brownie
Last but not least was the chocolate fudge brownie shake, which I had last night before bed (alongside an array of other treats in my usual fashion). Again I slurped a swig fridge-cold before heating the rest in the microwave. The thickness in all three was similar to a frijj milkshake, and therefore almost spoonable. As a chocolate milkshake again this was delightful, and equally delicious warmed up too. I only wish I'd got some squirts cream to top it with!

9/10

I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's so easy to forget that the Carb Killa range is designed to supplement sport when it's all so bleeding tasty! Peanut butter or banana shake next please Grenade? All of the Carb Killa shakes are available to purchase from their website. 

*A huge thanks to Grenade for the samples. 

Dr Zak's Chocolate Fudge Brownie High Protein Peanut Spread (Online)

I've reviewed one of Dr Zak's high protein peanut spreads before, last time it was the Banoffee Pie flavour and this time it's Chocolate fudge brownie's turn. You guys should know by now how much I love chocolate and peanut butter together, so It seemed like the logical next flavour to try. 

I was impressed by Dr Zak's Banoffee Pie peanut spread, so I was looking forward to this chocolate fudge brownie flavour. As with all quality nut butters the jar needed a good stir once open to rectify the natural separation of oils that occurs.

The spread smelt enticingly of chocolate and was a rich dark colour. Once mixed, the consistency became how I like it: spreadable and not sloppy or too stiff. As with every protein enhanced peanut butter I've tried thus far there was a slight grainy grittiness from the whey protein that some may find off putting. I personally don't mind it though, after all it's the nutty flavour that I love, and with 7g of protein per 20g serving it's a great treat to enjoy pre or post workout.

The chocolate and peanut worked in harmony together, although the cocoa was the slightly more dominant flavour. It's a moreish spread, especially for chocolate & peanut butter lovers, and it certainly tastes like it contains much more sugar than it actually does (1.4g per 20g). My favourite ways to enjoy this spread include slathering it on apple slices, or popping it into a toastie with sliced banana! Dr Zak's spreads are available at most reputable Sports Nutrition retailers.

Who makes your favourite protein nut butters? Any suggestions for my next jar of Dr Zak's? I keep hearing how great the salted caramel flavour is...

7/10

Macros per 100g: 537 kcal/ P:35/ C:15/ F 36.3

NEW! Specially Selected Gingerbread Ice Cream (ALDI)

Earlier this week I reviewed ALDI's Specially Selected Mince Pie ice cream, and mentioned that I'd also picked up the gingerbread tub, so here's your second (and final) instalment in their Christmassy ice cream specials...

I don't know why, but gingerbread flavoured ice cream appealed to me much less than mince pie. I love gingerbread, but gingerbread flavoured foodstuffs have less appeal. Take M&S' teacakes (the toaster kind) for example; it took me a while to make the purchasing plunge -and now I stock up whenever I spot them reduced at the end of the day. ASDA are selling a frozen gingerbread cheesecake at the moment, yet that doesn't really appeal either. It's the one flavour I need convincing. Gingerbread Lattes? Absolutely! Lebkuchen? Addicted! Ice cream? Mmm, not so sure. After dillydallying for a while I decided to buy it anyway.

"Gingerbread flavour ice cream, swirled with toffee sauce, gingerbread biscuit pieces and fudge pieces."

This ice cream was noticeably firmer than the mince pie flavour, but was still easy to scoop straight from the freezer. I was pleased to spot so many fudge and biscuit pieces embedded within, even at the very top. The sauce was far less abundant, but could still be seen in subtle swirls.

There was no mistaking the flavour of this ice cream given the warming ginger that came through in every mouthful; offering the perfect juxtaposition against the creamy coolness. The heat wasn't unbearable either, but was bold enough to be true to it's namesake. As for the abundant gingery biscuit pieces, they reminded me of lebkuchen. As you know, I love the traditional German Christmas treat, but in this case the softness was a bit of an antilclimax as the additional texture (from something akin to a gingernut) would have been welcome. There were plenty of fudge cubes to mix up the consistency though, but they were more chewy and toffee like than expected, and I found that they stuck to my teeth. Gah ALDI, I don't have the patience to faff when eating my ice cream! The toffee sauce seemed to have gone AWOL in my tub too, and I really hope that it hadn't missed out entirely. Hopefully I'll find a pool of it at the bottom. 

It's fair to assume that this was my least favourite of ALDI's two festive ice creams, although admittedly it's still a pretty damn good, and not one I'll shun when selecting my nightly dessert.

7/10

Cherry Bakewell Hipster Fudge (Etsy)

Did you watch GBBO this week amid the traumatic news that our much loved programme is channel hopping next series? Forget all the M.Bezzer stress for a moment, because I want to know if the episode had you hankering after a Bakewell as much as it did me -although maybe not Val's soggy bottom, eh? Hipster Fudge must've predicted my longing for all things cherry-almond because earlier this week they offered to send me a pack of their new limited edition fudge to try. I actually debated it for a second, because my last experience (Matt & Ben's Espresso Fudge) left me believing that I didn't like the sweet treat any more. Then I reconsidered, reasoning that I would share the Hipster Fudge at work, sampling it around the office to get a more balanced view.

If you haven't heard of Hipster Fudge yet, let me fill you in:

Hipster Fudge is relatively new. The company was born after the owner, Jonny Craft, made some fudge one day for his main business 'Sweet Pizzas'  to use as toppings . He sent some to his friends to see if they liked it and a lot of them said it was the best fudge they have ever had. He then started making more wacky flavours and posting them on a Facebook page he set up for the brand and the orders came flooding in. Hipster fudge has been trading on Etsy for a month now, and already has 60 orders. Jonny believes that Fudge is seen as an older persons treat, however Hipster Fudge aims to make it trendier, a bit like the current gin revolution. Flavours change regularly and currently include Oreo & Cashew, Aero, Reese's Pieces, and Ferrero Rocher -to name just a few.

The bar arrived just a day later, comprised of six squares -each topped with white icing and a single glace cherry. Notices on the back of the packet warned me of the inclusion of nuts, and also a polite memo to let me know it's better enjoyed from the fridge. 

That evening I was so curious to try the pretty looking bar now nestled among the chocolate bars in my fridge, that I broke off a couple of squares to tuck in to (forgetting the office ladies and gents in one fell sweep, sorry all). Despite being cold, the fudge had remained soft and malleable -just how I remember loving it as a child.

The flavour was bolder than expected, with the almond shining through the sugary sweetness. I loved the glace cherry on the top, which imparted the bakewell element into every bite. Perhaps that flavour may have been slightly more impactive if the fudge itself included chopped cherries -although I'm not sure if that would change the consistency, which squidgy and absolutely perfect.

I'm so grateful to Jonny at Hipster Fudge, not only for sending me the sample, but also for reminding me that I do love fudge. When I was a small child, my granddad used to walk up a steep hill to buy me fudge from a specialist shop in the town where we lived every day (even when he was dying from cancer). Hipster Fudge has brought back those lovely decades old memories of us sitting on the sofa together enjoying our delicious, golden, sugar-laden treats after his outing. 

Please do pop over to Hipster Fudge's Etsy Shop, and if you don't see something you fancy today then continue to keep an eye out, the flavours are changing on an almost daily basis! 

9/10

*You must go check out @sweetpizzas on Twitter, but it'll leave you salivating!

Cookie Dough Pie Milk Chocolate Bar (The Pudding Parlour)

I feel very lucky to have met some wonderful bloggers in the last year (albeit through the web and not in the flesh). For the most part it's a very supportive community of people who go out of their way to help each other. One of the more recent friendships I have struck up as a result of our shared love of food is Nat (from lot-o-choc blog) and in the past few weeks I have been utterly spoiled by her with not one but two parcels of chocolatey goodies. The first contained the most fascinating sounding bar I have ever caught sight of, made by a company who I have been dying to try for months. Nat informs me that the Cookie Dough Pie is made for The Pudding Parlour by The Chocolate Smiths. The Chocolate Smiths are a company I had never heard of pre-blog, but they make the most extraordinary bars -anyone for Bacon, Cheese 'n' Crackers or Bubblegum flavoured chocolate? By comparison the Cookie Dough Pie sounds more tame but far more delicious than their other offerings. 

"A handmade Belgian milk chocolate bar with fudge chunks and cookie dough biscuit pieces. This chocolate bar simulates the flavours of our best selling and much loved Cookie Dough Pie."

I couldn't wait to dig in, and that very evening the bar was open. The first thing I noticed was the visible fudge chunks that were dotted about the place, looking far more appealing than the ones in the Cadbury Medley bar. Then, I spotted the dreaded white spoilage bubbles on the corners of some of the squares, despite a best before date of July 2017. 

Luckily the chocolate itself tasted silky and smooth for the most part, melting in the mouth with a luxurious creaminess. The fudge pieces were oddly tough however, and almost toffee-like in consistency. I really enjoyed the biscuit pieces, which were unexpectedly crunchy, and lacked the softness that makes the cookie dough in Ben & Jerry's so devilishly moreish. It was such a shame that some of the chocolate was stale, ruining the star aspect of the bar.  

I'm shocked that such a bar warrants such a high price point of £3.50. The novelty is attractive, and it's so frustrating that it's not executed as well as it could. I know that I sound so ungrateful, but Nat also tried the bar and thought similarly to me. Please do check out her review here. Thanks for sending me the Cookie Dough Pie Bar Nat!

6/10