Double Decker Banana Moon Pie (A Taste Of The States)

I've been wanting to try the Banana Moon Pie for a good couple of years now. It first caught my eye when the big sweet shop in Hereford city centre started stocking them, but I refused to spend £2 on one that was a year out of date. Yes really. I know that these things tend to last way longer than their sell by thanks to all of the artificial.. well everything.. but it was principle, you know? Way back in November I was sent the Double Decker Chocolate flavoured Moon Pie and whilst this reminded me of my desire to try the banana flavour, I did little about it. Cue A Taste Of The States. 

Like the chocolate version, this was made up of layers of graham cracker and marshmallow, but this time it was a sunny* shade of yellow. 

The banana flavour was omnipresent and, of course, undeniably artificial. It was the good kind of synthetic though, at the foam sweet end of the spectrum and not the chemically one. The gooey, cakey quality made it feel very childish (and therefore all the more enjoyable) to eat. 

I had already learned from previous experience that a quick blast in the microwave transforms a Moon Pie into an even oozier concoction. So when you try one, please do warm yours up too - but only if you don't mind sticky fingers! 

This one is for the die hard banana sweet lovers out there. Those of us who are prepared to face the inevitable sugar high and relish the nostalgic glee of sticky marshmallow. The Banana Moon Pies are are quite the bargain too at just 99p from A Taste Of The States, and if you enter AMYSEEKS20 at the checkout you'll get 20% off too! 

8/10

*does that sound more appetising than slightly alarming? 

NEW! Krispy Kreme Rocky Road Doughnut

Doughnut lovers, this week of reviews is for you! Not a fan? See you next Monday...

This week I'll be reviewing a different doughnut everyday, and today's post kicks off with one of the brand new 'Taste of America' Krispy Kremes. In the past couple of weeks the American company has released teasers on social media about the possible new flavours, and I guessed correctly with two of them (pb&j and pecan pie) but failed to think that Krispy Kreme would release a rocky road. Surely Mississippi Mud Pie would be more apt?

Anyway, I present to you the new Rocky Road Doughnut...

"Filled with toffee & mallow filling, hand-dipped in chocolate icing and topped with biscuit crumb, chocolate drops & toffee drizzle."

The doughnut was as soft as I hoped it would be, although two chocolate drops was a pretty poor effort Krispy Kreme. Slicing the ball in half revealed a fairly generous pocket of toffee sauce... but I thought it was meant to be toffee and mallow?

The toffee sauce was quite good, tasting like a slightly thicker toffee ice cream sauce. It was of course extremely sweet though, and combined with the chocolate icing made for a sickly doughnut. I found that the little bit of Mallow offered very little in the way of flavour, and ended up being a little redundant. The biscuit crumb was also good, but again there wasn't much of it. As expected, the chocolate icing wasn't the best quality, but at least it did deliver a chocolatey element.

My biggest bug bear was that this wasn't really a rocky road doughnut. I mean, the appeal of rocky road is surely the combination of textures? Seeing as there can't have been more than a teaspoonful of biscuit crumbs on the top there wasn't the contrast that I'd hoped for going on here. Really, it was a chocolate and toffee doughnut with a little bit of biscuit... perhaps Krispy Kreme should rename it the Millionaire's doughnut. Actually, that sounds rather good.

7/10

NEW! Creightons 'Spoon of Cereal' White Chocolate Bar (Online)

It's the Easter weekend, and one of two annual occasions when it's perfectly acceptable (if not required) to eat chocolate for breakfast - the other being Christmas Day. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, which of course, can only be improved by a hearty dose of chocolate. If you feel similarly, you might want to check out Creighton's' new range. The British hand-made chocolate company's new summer collection is called 'chocolate for breakfast' and consists of three very unusual sounding bars: 'Maple Bacon', 'Coffee & Crumbs' and 'Spoon Of Cereal'. I've been following Creighton's for a long time on Instagram, and so when they kindly offered to send me a bar to review, I gleefully accepted. If you haven't heard about Creighton's before, I'll give you a little background information..

Creighton's was created in 2010 by mother and daughter duo Andrea & Lucy. All of their products are created in small batches by their in-house team in Leighton Buzzard using the finest quality Belgian chocolate.  Lucy & Andrea regularly change their collections 'much like a fashion brand', and say that they are they approach everything with a light-hearted British sense of humour. 

I wasn't sure which bar would arrive, but as a white chocolate lover and cereal addict I hoped for the 'Spoon of Cereal'. Monday, as it turns out, was my lucky day! 

"Don't Grow Up. Marshmallow flavoured white chocolate bar crammed with cereal hoops - a scent of caramelised mallow wafts from the wrapper as you unwrap this bar!"  

Isn't the packaging exquisite? I hoped the beautiful pop-art-esque design would pave the way to delicious chocolate as it had with Choc Affair's rhubarb bar. 

The slab didn't have as many cereal hoops in as I thought it would, but the sweet caramel scent was immediately evident, just as Creighton's promised.

Marshmallow is a remarkably difficult flavour to play with, after all it's essentially pillowy sugar, but the white chocolate delivered a nostalgic hit of caramel tones, reminding me of butterscotch. Indulgently creamy, the chocolate was sheer heaven. Unfortunately the cereal hoops tasted a little stale and had lost most of their characteristic crunch. I can't be sure that Creighton's are to blame though because I store my chocolate in the fridge -I know, I know, utter heresy! 

Despite my grumbles the Spoon of Cereal bar was utterly delicious. I'm now craving their new Coffee & Crumbs bar (Milk chocolate bar with a dose of finely ground espresso and crisp cinnamon sour dough toast crumbs) as well as many of their core range -especially the peanut nutter, rhubarb and custard and custard cream. Mmm. Creighton's range contains more than 30 different flavoured bars, as well as truffles, bonbons and lollipops, so please do head on over to their website for the ultimate in chocolate temptation.

9/10

Thank you Creighton's for the sample!

Art of Mallow: So Strawberries & Cream (Online)

I think I've mentioned before about my Dad's talent for finding interesting foodie treats for me to try. He's a horticultural expert and lecturer so spends the majority of his time scouring the country, often popping into different garden centres. It's in one such place that he came across this bag of Art of Mallow 'So Strawberries and Cream' gourmet marshmallows. Marshmallows are another treat I go through phases of being addicted to, but admittedly I hadn't had any since trying Mallow & Marsh's Dark Chocolate Coated Raspberry Marshmallow bar last year. So who are Art of Mallow?

"Art of Mallow marshmallows are an evolutionary step away from the pink and whites that we are all used to.  They are full of delicious natural flavours including real raspberries, strawberries, lemon juice, Belgian chocolate, madagascan vanilla and natural extracts and are as light and puffy as a wonderful pillow."

The 75g bag contained six bouncy large cubes. They emitted no identifiable scent other than the sugary sweetness.

The marshmallows managed to deliver a real strawberry flavour that really tasted of fresh fruit and was a far cry from the milkshake taste I was expecting. Of course Art and Mallow only use real strawberries in their marshmallows so this shouldn't have come as a surprise. Still, strawberries aren't always that flavourful and yet somehow they've harnessed the taste of our classic summer treat.

Texturally Art of Mallow also fulfilled their promise of pillow softness. Each marshmallow was gooey and squidgy, without that dusty reside that coincides with their mass produced counterparts.

My only sticking point is the price. As a student I can't warrant £3.50 for 75g of sweets* - even if they are delicious and handmade. If, however, you're a sweetie fan and fancy a real treat then please pop on over to their website, where you'll find plenty of fancy flavours including their new (and delicious sounding) salted caramel and peanut rocky road.

8/10

Thanks Daddio for the marshmallows.

*chocolate on the other hand... ;)

FlapJacked Mighty Muffins: Maple Pumpkin, S'mores and Apple & Cinnamon (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about FlapJacked's Buttermilk Protein Pancake & Baking Mix and also promised to review their Mighty Muffin range. Today I'm reviewing 3 of the 6 flavours -so you'll have to come back again to find out how the peanut butter, chocolate, and peanut butter & chocolate flavours fare. But first, let's get to grips about what Mighty Muffins are all about...

"FlapJacked Mighty Muffins are a delicious, certified gluten free, protein packed and high fibre muffin developed with scrumptious flavour, balanced nutrition and convenience in mind. Bursting with pockets of flavour in every bite, Mighty Muffins pack 20 grams of protein and 240 calories in each serving (1 container). The patented probiotic GanedenBC30 has been added to help you support immune health as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Simply add water, microwave for up to 1 minute (time will vary depending on the power of your microwave) and you have a delicious meal or snack on the go."

Gluten free, high in protein and scrummy to boot? Surely not. 

Maple Pumpkin
As usual I opted for the flavour that I thought I'd like least (although they all sounded good to me). I peeled back the lid to find a fair amount of powder, before adding 60ml of water using the provided container as suggested. 

As I stirred the mixture my nostrils were greeted with an array of spices which instantly made me even hungrier; it's a good job I didn't have to wait for this cake to bake in the oven! My microwave took a little longer than the advised 60 seconds to make the muffin peak out the top of the tub (but it is only low watt).

I was still too eager to eat my muffin and soon found that it was still gooey in the middle - but I pretended it was supposed to be a fondant. The flavours were really delicious though, maple and pumpkin are underutilised in the UK, and I loved the combination of spice and sweet. I wasn't expecting the little crunchy maple bits in the muffin either, but enjoyed the contrast in textures.
Maple Pumpkin Mighty Muffin was every bit as scrumptious as FlapJacked promised, and it's certainly a treat I'll happily enjoy over and over again.

9/10

S'mores 
This time I knew the drill: I added my water and mixed, before attempting to give my muffin a sufficient amount of time in the microwave.

The S'mores muffin was packed full of chocolate chips and marshmallow pieces. The cake had a fluffy texture this time (thanks to my patience), but I found that without the spice that the protein flavour was much more prominent. I primarily use whey protein to bake with and haven't ever tried Pea protein before. All of FlapJacked's products are made using a combination of both. It didn't taste bad, but it certainly wasn't your usual sponge cake flavour. 

6/10

Apple & Cinnamon

I was in need of some comfort food after a long day yesterday, so opted for cake and ice cream for pudding. This was much healthier than it sounds though, thanks to the Mighty Muffin's low sugar and fat content and OPPO's low sugar content. Is my healthy halo glowing yet? I think not.

The heavy dose of cinnamon in this cake was scrummy, although now I'd detected the protein taste in the S'mores muffin I couldn't ignore it in the background of this flavour too. The combination of warm cinnamon cake with ample apple pieces and salted caramel ice cream was wonderful though, and I felt like I was eating a hug in a bowl. Serious noms.

8/10

Flapjacked's Mighty Muffins are available to purchase from their website, where you will receive 10% off by using the code AMY10.

If you want to be in with the chance of WINNING 6 Mighty Muffins AND a Protein Pancake Mix amongst many other goodies, please enter my instagram competition.

Thank you to FlapJacked for the samples!

NEW! Ben & Jerry's Topped: Salted Caramel Brownie, Chocolate Caramel Cookie Dough & Strawberry Swirled (ASDA)

The news hit two days before I went away: Ben & Jerry's were treating us (once again) with three brand spanking new flavours, and in a different style too. The new Topped tubs have a chocolatey layer above the ice cream and all three flavours sounded insanely good. As always, ice cream princess Ms One Treat was straight off the mark and I eagerly awaited her reviews from the other side of the world. Whilst she praised the new flavours she wasn't blown away, but I'm afraid to admit that it didn't hinder my excitement to try them for myself. Frustratingly Ocado has been the only place to purchase them from until this week, and seeing as the online supermarkets refuses to deliver to us country bumpkins, I had to wait it out. Monday was the day! Instagram filled with pictures of the Topped tubs in ASDA, and so I made a beeline on the way home.

£4.80 a tub. Ouch. Fortunately for me, Ben & Jerry's kindly invited me to a launch event a few months ago, and when I told them that I couldn't make it they sent me a couple of vouchers for free tubs and I've saved them for new tubs that aren't on promotion.

So which to choose? I'm embarrassed to admit that I dawdled for a good few minutes, pondering between the three before phoning a friend (I.e calling Bert) and asking his opinion. He chose the chocolate and strawberry tubs, but then I remembered that One Treat recommended the cookie dough as the best of the bunch and once again I was baffled. It was like choosing between my children.

Then I was struck by a brainwave! I remembered it was the 13th of February, and I could have bet your bottom dollar that Bert hadn't bought me a valentine present. All three made their way to the till, thanks Bert!

Salted Caramel Brownie

"Vanilla ice cream with a salted caramel swirl (11%), chocolate brownie pieces (3%), chocolatey chunks (3%) and chocolatey topping (9%)

The thick layer on top had a ganache-like density and shine to it, with plenty of dark coloured chocolate ampersands dotted about. Digging into it was fairly easy though, and I found the ice cream beneath to be one of Ben & Jerry's softer styles (much like the Sofa So Good). There was noticeably less chunks in it than I've become accustomed too of late, and the sauce was almost infused within the ice cream.

The taste was good though, and whilst I'd ordinarily never buy Ben & Jerry's for their vanilla flavours, it was yummy and allowed the caramel sauce to shine through. The brownies that I found, although far and few between (there's just 3% brownie in this compared to 7% in Sofa So Good) were up to scratch -moist and chewy as they reliably always are in B&J's tubs. The topping was the star of the show though, for it is in fact a chocolate and hazelnut paste and tastes rather like a nutella inspired ganache. It's thick and silken and complements the ice cream wonderfully. I only wish there were layers of it as opposed to just a topping! 

8/10

Chocolate Caramel Cookie Dough
Despite being a blatant chocoholic, I'm very fussy when it comes to chocolate ice creams. It's a fine line on when they become just too sickly and I didn't particularly enjoy my last pint of Ben & Jerry's Blondie Brownie. That said I'm utterly addicted to their Chocolate Fudge Brownie Wich's and couldn't be more pleased to see that they've made a come back in multi-pack form this year.

"Chocolate ice cream with a caramel swirl (10%), chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough (3%), chocolatey chunks (3%) and chocolatey topping (9%)."

The uppermost layer used in this tub is the same as used in the Salted Caramel Brownie Topped, a thick chocolate hazelnut paste with chocolate ampersands -which all stuck themselves to one side of my tub.

(Yep I was greedy and had both the Chocolate Caramel cookie Dough & Salted Caramel Brownie at the same time. The brownie is on the left and the cookie dough on the right).

The chocolate ice cream didn't disappoint, and I loved the addition of the caramel swirl. I recently tried Baskin Robbins' chocolate peanut butter ice cream (one of the best ice creams I've ever had!) and this reminded me of it. It's almost like a Rolo in ice cream form. Even better was the cookie dough pieces which broke up the texture and added a gritty biscuit flavour, nom nom nom. Again the amount of 'extras' was lower than usual, but I didn't seem to mind so much thanks to my state of chocoholic bliss. 

9/10

Strawberry Swirl

Why we can't get Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake in pint size tubs I'll never know. It's the only reason I buy the multi-packs of 100ml tubs (and only when they're on offer for £2.50 in Tesco). Ben & Jerry's seem to forget that a fruity ice cream is delicious when done right, although they seem to be rectifying this having brought back One Sweet World, and now this Strawberry Swirl, hurrah. 

"Cream ice cream with strawberry (13%) and marshmallow (7%) swirls, shortbread chunks (3%), with a white chocolate flavour topping (9%) and white chocolatey chunks (1.5%)."

Oooh, the white chocolate topping looked extremely inviting, and once dug into revealed a pale creamy coloured ice cream beneath. The topping was firmer than the hazelnut based one, shattering into shards upon impact. A pretty pink swirl pervaded throughout the ice cream, although the marshmallow was less obvious.

Mmmm. Delicious! I'm a huge fan of white chocolate and raspberry and/or strawberry in any form, so using it in Ben & Jerry's luxuriously creamy ice cream was always going to be a winner for me. The white chocolate was just as creamy and sweet as I'd hoped and melted in the mouth easily. Perhaps there could have been more strawberry sauce, or indeed it could have done with being a strawberry ice cream to bring the flavours into a better harmony, but I still absolutely loved this tub. The shortbread chunks were buttery and crumbly, and should make any Scot proud. 

I really really miss the Baked Alaska tubs, but Strawberry Swirled is a very good compromise!

9/10

Snickers: Rockin' Nut Road & Almond 2 To Go (American Fizz)

Today's double review is a bit baffling. Why am I reviewing not one but TWO American Snickers bars when I'm not particularly keen on either of the British flavours? I guess I'm still a bit confused as to why I'm not a huge Snickers fan when peanuts, caramel, milk chocolate and nougat are all absolutely delicious in my books! It might be because I prefer smooth nut flavours (I very rarely buy crunchy peanut butter) but then I love M&S' The Nutty One, so god knows! Anyway, I keep on buying and trying Snickers (including the Crisper) hence the purchase of these two bars from American Fizz.

Rockin' Nut Road

“Almonds, caramel and marshmallow-flavored nougat wrapped in dark chocolate."

A dark chocolate covered snickers is a new one for me. As you'll know, American chocolate is a different entity to our British stuff. This bar was the colour one might expect from plain chocolate, which was fine by me given my dislike of the darker, more bitter flavours.

Slicing it in two revealed the caramel encased almonds atop the nougat, which was hidden inside the chocolate. The layers were satisfyingly distinct.

Unfortunately the flavours just didn't quite work together for me. The marshmallow flavoured nougat tasted a bit odd, more like an overly sweet version and was ultimately quite jarring. The almonds were crispy, and the caramel of standard Snickers quality, but altogether the combination was far too sickly -yes, even for my sugar addicted tastebuds. The dark chocolate wasn't great either, reminding me of the super cheap value range cooking chocolate -not good.

4/10

Almond 2 To Go

Snickers have simply swapped their standard peanuts for almonds here, and given that the nuts were my favourite component of the Rockin' Nut Road, I was hoping for better things from the Almond Snickers. The 2 to go actually comprises of two (almost full size) bars.

The tiers were slightly less pretty and more smoothed in the almond bars, but I didn't mind that as long as the taste was better.

Fortunately it was much tastier. Although the milk chocolate was sweeter (of course) the nougat was less so and this resulted in a better harmony between the flavours. It's a shame that the UK doesn't make more chocolate bars using almonds really, as the combination can work very well.

Almond Snickers isn't a bar that I'd rush out to buy again in a hurry, but I wouldn't turn my nose up if I spotted a good deal either. Meanwhile, my search for the White snickers continues...

7/10

Ben & Jerry's One Sweet World (ASDA)

Hurrah! At long last One Sweet World & One Love are available in most supermarkets, and on offer in two (ASDA £2.47 & Sainsbury's £2.50). As it turns out, I stocked up on my favourite ice cream brand the day before the Marmitegate Tesco-Unilever scandal hit last week. Thank goodness that's now been resolved eh?

I've been itching to buy both of these 'new' flavours, but knew that waiting a couple of weeks would mean that I could get them at a far more respectable price than the £4.00 Tesco were charging. I appreciate too that One Love is just a rebrand, but I may review it anyway as its been so long since I last tasted it, and I've all but forgotten how it compares given the plethora of Ben & Jerry's flavours that have come and gone since. What do you think?

In any case, it was One Sweet World that was the first to get delved into. Coffee is one flavour that I'm surprised that Ben & Jerry's UK haven't dabbled in before. It's certainly a more adult offering, and one that I welcomed with open arms. Or should I say mouth?

"We’re making a bit of a buzz with our latest sweet treat, featuring Fairtrade coffee & caramel ice creams, marshmallow & caramel swirls, and chunky chocolate ampersands, all lovingly churned together to tantalise those taste buds. And you know what makes this all the sweeter? Partnering with HOPE not hate, this flavour will help fund various projects run by the organisation, which contribute to more inclusive communities. We think that (just like ice cream!) communities come in all kinds of flavours &, together, we can make One Sweet World."

I opened it at the same time as a tub of S'Wich Up  (my other half detests coffee) so it was easy to compare the texture and 'extras' between both. One Sweet World was much softer straight from the freezer -which made it easier to scoop- but also meant that it melted all too quickly. As for the chunks? Well If you've treated yourself to a tub of S'Wich Up (and you should've done by now unless you've the bad luck to suffer from intolerances) you'll appreciate that the ice cream is the epitome of added yummies. The sheer amount of biscuit and cookie dough pieces in it make it difficult to scoop, but oh so delicious! One Sweet World was in total contrast; the marshmallow, salted caramel or ampersands were subtle additions. It did smell good though.

Ben & Jerry's is renowned for its creaminess, and I was pleased to find that this was the case with this new flavour too. The sweet coffee caramel flavour reminded me of my sister's favourite Starbucks drink: a single shot caramel macchiato. The marshmallow flavour was sadly a bit lost, and the salted caramel wasn't as prominent as I'd have liked either. It's certainly not on par with the incredible core in Karamel Sutra anyway.

The chocolate &s added a delicious grownup richness, imparting some much needed balance to the otherwise sickly ice cream. I couldn't help but think some Belgian speculoos (Biscoff style) biscuits would have been a thoughtful addition, but then it wouldn't be gluten free (and there's not many Ben & Jerry's that are). Maybe I'll crumble some into on my next portion of One Sweet World.

Overall, I'm pleased to see a coffee flavour join the Ben & Jerry's family, and although It's not my favourite tub out there, I'll be sure to buy another tub whilst it sticks around.

8/10

Snyder's of Hanover S'mores Pretzel Pieces (American Fizz)

Pretzels are totally underrated here in the U.K. Even ASDA have recently discontinued their six-pack of individual pretzel bags. What gives England? Don't you understand just how deliciously satisfying the salty crunch of a pretzel is? I'm hoping that one day we'll catch up with the Stateside fascination with them, but meanwhile I will have to get my fix through American Fizz. I haven't tasted any of Snyder's range before, but they come highly recommended by fellow blogger Nibbles 'N' Scribbles (please do check out her reviews of their salted caramel pretzels pieces and peanut butter pretzel sandwiches).

"The sweet flavors of marshmallows & chocolate sprinkled onto perfectly salty sourdough Pretzel Pieces."

I think it's the combination of salty-sweet that endeavours me to peanut butter, and probably why I love it even more combined with chocolate, banana and/or jam (seriously if you've never tried a pb & nutella or pb, jam & banana toastie, you need to get on it at your next opportunity!). It was the promise of salty-sweet that really drew me to this Snyder's flavour... well that and the inclusion of chocolate of course! 

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the bag and poured out its contents. There was a complete assortment of different sized pretzel pieces, including some positively ginormous chunks! All of the bits were evenly coated in a sweet scented chocolate powder, which I was pleased with as it's so frustrating when you eat underseasoned snacks! 

The pretzel pieces were perfectly crispy with a decent crunch. Whilst I found this satisfying, it did start to irk my fiance who was watching a film with me at the time -Snyders are most certainly not cinema friendly snacks. 

The chocolate flavouring was pleasant enough, but it tasted just like hot chocolate powder. Obviously it wasn't the most authentic chocolatey experience, but the sweetness of the flavouring allowed for the perfect juxtaposition against the salty pretzel. I'm not sure where the marshmallow or Graham cracker elements went to, that the traditional 'S'mores' consists of, because I couldn't detect them anywhere.

Complaints aside, the Snyders S'mores Pretzel Pieces make a welcome change to what's currently available in the UK. I haven't tried anything like it before, and whilst I may not be in a mad rush to buy this flavour again, I'll certainly buy more from their range in future.

6/10

NEW! Tarte Au Citron (LIDL)

It's French week at LIDL, which means that they are selling a whole host of spécialités françaises. Whilst I wasn't brave enough to try the frozen snails, I did like the sound of Tarte Au Citron (especially given my current love of all things lemon). At £1.99 for four individual desserts they weren't exactly bargain basement, but were still notably cheaper than most supermarket offerings. These Tartes weren't what comes to mind when it comes to the classic French patisserie dessert as instead they consisted of a biscuit base, lemon layer and a meringue topping. Err. Excuse me LIDL but isn't that a lemon meringue pie? 

I'd certainly give LIDL low marks for their choice of packaging as each Tarte came in what looked like a cat food tin. Fortunately they appeared far more appetising once the lids were removed and the cloud like meringue was revealed.

The topping was soft and mallowy. It missed the crispy top of a home-baked meringue, but it was still pleasant to eat. Underneath was layer of bright yellow sauce, which was refreshing and zingy in a lemon curd sort of way, but there just wasn't enough of it! The biscuity base reminded me of the middle layer of Cadbury's -much missed- Caramellionaire pots, for it was softer and more cake like than what you'd expect at the bottom of a cheesecake. 

Preconceptions aside, and despite my moans, I actually rather enjoyed these Tarte-Au-Citron-come-lemon-meringue-pies. They make a handy standby dessert, and I probably would buy them again.

7/10

NEW! Caramel Flavour Marshmallow Fluff (B&M Bargains)

Masrhmallow Fluff: the sweetest substance on earth? 

My mum claims that I loved it as a child, and would quite happily munch through jars of the stuff, slathering it over multiple slices of raisin bread, before cramming it greedily into my mouth. Sound similar to Augustus Gloop from Willy Wonka? I'm ashamed to admit that I probably could've been his sister.  

Anyway, I digress, I hadn't seen the sugary spread for years, until a couple of years ago when it started popping up in specialist import stores. Fluff then became available in certain supermarkets' American section, and now it's pretty widely available, yay! The Grocer announced back in November that Fluff's manufacturer -Empire Bespoke Foods- was launching a new caramel flavour to join the existing original and strawberry flavours, but it's taken me this long to find it. 

B&M Bargains of all places was where I eventually located the new Fluff, priced at £1.29 for the 213g jar. It was a horrid taupe colour -hardly appetising- but then its never been known for its stonking good looks. 

The Fluff was as aerated as expected, wilting slightly upon impact with my knife. It spread like a dream, transgressing from light marshmallow to gooey, sticky confection. The spread melted into the pockets of my crumpets, and I got stuck in.

*please excuse the smudge of peanut butter, I had inadvertently created a mouthful of 'Fluffernutter'.

The caramel flavour was pleasant, if a little on the mild side. The sugary sweetness that Fluff is famous for was by far the most prominent flavour, but it was backed up with a butter-toffee-like undertone. 

The new Caramel flavour is a welcome addition to Fluff's range. It's not ground-breakingly different, but its a nice change if you're (also) addicted to the marshmallow spread. 

7/10

S'mores Cheesecake (Tesco)

Back in October last year I reviewed Tesco's new Toffee Apple cheesecake and was so impressed by it that I vowed to their other frozen desserts. Somehow I never got round to it, but ever the bargain hunter, I spotted their S'mores cheesecake on a half price offer

'Baked chocolate flavoured cheesecake batter and marshmallows on a digestive biscuit base.'

I was rather disappointed when I took the cheesecake out of its box; it looked utterly different to the attractive picture on the front, and was covered in icy freezer burn. Oh dear Tesco, not good so far. I acknowledged that looks don't indicate taste, and so I popped it on the side to defrost for a couple of hours with my fingers crossed.

Once it was ready to eat, the dessert was easy to slice, revealing a chunky biscuit base that accounted for roughly a third of its height (none of the barely there ASDA cheesecake fail). The chocolate layer was gelatinous in texture with a flavour that lacked any real depth. I mean, it tasted of cocoa, but it was utterly incomparable to the likes of Gu desserts. The marshmallows were a trivial addition to the cheesecake, perhaps offering extra (unneeded) sweetness, and they'd all but disintegrated away thanks to the excessive freezer burn. The base was the dessert's only saving grace, a crumbly digestive affair that luckily hadn't suffered the same fate of the marshmallows, and I was grateful for its abundance.

I'm not sure if I had bought a maltreated S'mores cheesecake, or if the product is a bit of a dead dog full stop, but if you're in Tesco and after a cheesecake freezer staple I suggest you buy their Toffee Apple version instead (it's only £1 until 7th March).

4/10

Loaded Mallow Mayhem Ice Cream (ASDA)

The Mallow & Marsh bar must have rekindled my love for the fluffy sweets, as not long after eating it I felt the urge to try ASDA's Loaded Mallow Mayhem Ice Cream. I've seen it on the shelves for a while now, but seeing as ASDA's pint tubs are £2 (and therefore roughly the same as Ben & Jerry's offer price) it never occurs to me to pick them up! 

'Marshmallow flavour ice cream swirled with marshmallow flavour sauce, mini marshmallows and white chocolate chunks'

The dessert was surprisingly soft and easy to scoop with pretty pink sauce running through it. The mini marshmallows could be seen nestled amongst the ice cream, with a few white chocolate chunks dotted throughout.

The ice cream tasted utterly luxurious, with a soft creamy filling that felt ever-so-indulgent, and the mini marshmallows adding a fluffy texture that melted pleasingly in the mouth. The sauce tasted more strawberry than marshmallow, but that may just be my brain automatically linking pink to strawberry flavouring. The chocolate chunks were rather lacking, but what I could find was of pretty low quality (think smart price white chocolate). My other half told me that he got loads of chocolate in his portion, so it may just be uneven distribution throughout the tub contributing to my rather stingy share. 

My comments above make it sound like I didn't enjoy this product, but that simply couldn't be farther from the truth; I thought that the ice cream shone in terms of its creaminess and balance of sweetness (I sometimes find Ben & Jerry's too sugary). The concept was well thought out, and although the chocolate wasn't the best quality, it still added texture and flavour to this dessert. ASDA's Mallow Mayhem will never fill the gaping hole that B&J's Baked Alaska left behind, but I'll certainly buy it in future -and try other flavours from ASDA's premium ice cream range! 

9/10

Mallow & Marsh Raspberry Marshmallow Bar Coated in 70% Dark Chocolate (Sainsbury's)

I popped into a Sainsburys Local store whilst in Cardiff recently and spotted two snacks I've not seen before, by gourmet marshmallow makers Mallow and Marsh: 'Coconut' and 'Raspberry & Dark Chocolate'. The name sparked a memory of Lucy's review (from Reaching for Refreshment) a while ago, and although I remembered her saying that they were pretty damn good, there were plenty of comments from people who'd had different experiences. Given that they were quite pricey at £1.35 per bar, I thought I'd try the dark chocolate & raspberry one first -if it was good- and buy the coconut version on my next visit to Wales. 

'This is a succulent, light as a feather marshmallow filled with bitter raspberry. then smothered in 70% dark chocolate.'

I was confused by the packaging, as the calories advertised per bar were 174, but the packet also said that there were 386cal per 100g (which would make it 135 cals per bar). A quick browse of their twitter page showed that many other customers have also been baffled by the discrepancy, so I asked them for clarification:

 "You're absolutely correct, the packaging states 2 separate calorie counts at the moment. This is because when the bars first launched (September) their weights fluctuated (It is still a completely hand made product) and as a result we work with the legal average weight (the E number next to the grams). This allows a % fluctuation on the final product weight as no 2 products are identical."

They went on to say:

"We are a very small company (3 people) that won a competition to launch the bars into Sainsbury's (so it's a very exciting time), so we are working hard to bring everything in line quickly."

Thanks for clearing that up Mallow & Marsh, you're certainly forgiven! 

The handmade nature of the bar was evident when I removed the packaging, as the chocolate had a gloriously artisan, rippled appearance. Out of interest I weighed the bar, and at 44g my luck was in! 

I always keep my chocolate in the fridge, which meant that the dark chocolate cracked pleasingly once bitten. I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate (my teeth are too sweet!) but it tasted of superior quality and provided a lovely bitter backdrop for the sweet marshmallow within. The mallow was full of giant air bubbles which gave it a lovely fluffy texture, and it was far 'wetter' than its mass-produced counterparts. The flavouring was powerful and tasted of freeze-dried raspberries which worked exceedingly well against the dark chocolate. 

Mallow & Marsh vs a mass-produced mallow

All in all, this is an unusual sweet treat, and I'm glad to have tried it. I think the high-price point (compared to most convenience chocolate bars) would prevent me from buying it regularly, but if you'd like to support a new British company and fancy something a bit different then I implore you to give Mallow & Marsh a go!

8/10