Blackfriars Bakery Cakes & Cookies (Online)

It's time for my last instalment of my trio of Blackfriars reviews. We've had the Lumberjack Protein Packed Flapjacks and Bakery Flapjacks, so now it's the turn of their cakes and cookies! In my sample package I received three delicious looking treats: a chocolate muffin, a carrot cake slice and a chocolate chip cookie. All of which sounded delicious to me...

Carrot Cake

"A Scrumptious Carrot Cake Slice with a Cream Cheese Flavour Topping."

 I've mentioned before that I love a good carrot cake. It was a favourite of mine long before I started eating carrots themselves (which for some reason I referred to as 'dirts' as a child). Anyway, the combination of spice, raisins, and cream cheese frosting is a winner in my books -although my fiance would rather watch every single episode of sex and the city than eat a mouthful of carrot cake. All of Blackfriars' products have a long shelf life, so would or could it still taste good?

Well yes, surprisingly so in fact. The cake was bouncy, light and moister than expected. The warming spices came through well, and the icing offered an extra sweetness -but not to the point that it became sickly. The 70g size was also well thought out and (unlike the flapjacks) could be eaten as a mid-afternoon treat -especially as it handily comes individually wrapped. My only qualm was that the slice contained no raisins; which for me is a requisite of a true carrot cake. I recognise however that this might be a bonus for those who like carrot cake but don't enjoy dried fruit!

7/10

Chocolate Chip Cookie

"A Delicious Cookie with Chocolate Chips"

Wowzers! A treat that can compete with Lenny & Larry's face sized cookies! Again, I wasn't overwhelmed by the size of it, as cookies tend to be less filling than flapjacks. I knew this wasn't going to be a soft, chewy bakery-style cookie as it felt much firmer, but I didn't let that put me off.

In fact, the cookie turned out to be less brittle than I'd feared, so it was easy to break chunks off to dunk in my coffee. The chocolate chips weren't particularly high quality, neither were they big or chunky, but there was something oddly nostalgic about the flavour. Once again, the wrapping meant it would be perfect to take on the train/to work without lots of crumbs getting everywhere. I wouldn't turn down another Blackfriars cookie, and I particularly like the sound of their Raspberry & White Chocolate Chunk version.

6/10

Chocolate Chip Muffin

"A Scrumptious Chocolate Flavoured Muffin with Chocolate Chips."

This decadent cake looked amazing. I could see from its colour that it would be rich, whilst it's physical lightness indicated that it would be fluffy.

I wasn't disappointed either. Considering that this too has a shelf life of 3 months, you wouldn't know it. Even writing about it leaves me yearning for more. I heated the muffin in the microwave for 20 seconds which meant that the chocolate chips melted messily into the cake -utter chocoholic heaven.

9/10

Summary

I believe that Blackfriars Bakery definitely comes into its own with their muffins. The rest of their range sound incredible too: from banoffee to black forest, cherry bakewell, cappuccino, jaffa cake and monster white chocolate muffins (to name just a few!) I really wouldn't know where to begin.

Once again, a huge thank you to the British Bakery for sending me such a lovely array of treats to try. Please head over to their website where yes you can buy mixed boxes too! What are you waiting for? 

Rhubarb & Custard Doughnut (Greggs)

I can't tell you how happy I am that rhubarb and custard seems to be going through a bit of a trend phase at the moment. ASDA's Rhubarb Jumble pots and Iceland's Rhubarb & Custard Cone Sensations are wonderful 2016 edition desserts which have both slightly altered my perception of the clasically British combination. How so? Well, I once thought of rhubarb and custard as a wintery pud (especially if the rhubarb comes baked into a crumble-yum!) but I've realised that the sharp-sweetness can offer a refreshing zing on a hot summers day. It's this new thinking that caused me to pop into Greggs on the way home from work and pick up this unusually flavoured doughnut. Well, actually, I tried yesterday too but they were completely sold out -boo. 

On the shelf in the bakery, the doughnuts looked rather pretty with their yellow and pink feathered icing. Unfortunately, by the time I'd walked the 2miles home in the blazing sunshine, the icing had melted and smeared itself all over the paper bag. Waste not, want not. I scraped as much of it out as I could. 

Refusing to wait any longer, I licked the yellow and pink icing straight off the spoon. Wow, it tasted like melted rhubarb and custard sweets -and was utterly delicious! Of course it was far more sweet than tart, but the tang was not lost and lingered lovingly in the background. Would it work against the sugary doughnut too?

Yes, I'm pleased to say it did. Although the doughnut didn't taste as fresh or as fluffy as I'd have liked, the combination worked surprisingly well. What did disappoint me however, was the lack of rhubarb jam and/or custard running through the dough itself. I've come to expect all doughnuts -even the ring kind- to be filled with some kind of naughtiness, and I felt that the additional rhubarb and custard element would have elevated this treat onto a whole new level of genius! 

7/10

Blackfriars Bakery Flapjacks (Online)

So as I mentioned in my Lumberjack review, I was fortunate enough to receive a box load of goodies recently from BlackFriars Bakery to review which included an array of rather large flapjack bars. When I say large  -I mean it - at 110g each they're twice the size of the Graze flapjacks. The flavours Blackfriars sent me all sounded rather marvellous: original, chocolate, caramel toffee & fudge as well as a box of 5 smaller (30g) yoghurt flapjacks.

I posted the pictures on Instagram of my lovely stash, and immediately realised that there's a lot of love out there for Blackfriars, although it sounds like they're pretty hard to come across nowadays -especially as ALDI no longer stock them.


Chocolate

"Delicious Oat Flapjack Slice with a Chocolate Flavour Topping". 

I found the texture to be on the dry side, which meant the oats crumbled easily. As I prefer a moister, gooey flapjack I was a little disappointed. As expected, the chocolate topping tasted like cooking chocolate, and I was left feeling underwhelmed. It's not one I would buy again unfortunately.

4/10


Fudge

 "Indulgent Oat Flapjack Slice with Caramel Flavour Fudge Icing and a Chocolate Flavour Topping."

Sorry Blackfriars, but I couldn't really tell the difference between this one and the plain chocolate slice.

4/10

Yoghurt

"Delicious Oaty Flapjack with Yoghurt Flavour Topping"

I had high hopes for this flavour, especially given how delicious Blackfriars' yoghurt Lumberjack protein flapjack is, but Alas! This too was dry and a bit too bland. I did find the size a lot easier to manage though, and appreciated their individual wrapping. 

5/10

Caramel Toffee

"Scrumptious Oaty Flapjack with Caramel Toffee Flavour Topping."

This was more like it! Despite the lack of gooeyness, this slice had a much better taste! The topping reminded me of Caramac/Gold Bars and it was, without doubt, the best of the bunch. This was a flapjack I'd definintely have again!

7/10


Bakewell

"Delicious Almond Flavour Flapjack with a Mixed Fruit Jam Flavour Filling and White Chocolate Flavour Topping."

I was really excited by this flapjack. As anyone who follows me on instagram will know, I absolutely adore cherry bakewell, and often make a porridge version of the classic British dessert for breakfast (which FYI is insanely good). Almond infused flapjack sounded right up my alley, as did the jam and white chocolate... But once again I felt the quality of the ingredients let it down. The flavours were there, but they weren't bold enough. I found that the layers weren't thick enough either -especially the jam which seemed to get lost completely. 

5/10

Conclusion
I'm left feeling a little perplexed as to whom the target market is meant to be for these flapjacks. They're so large that they are almost a meal in themselves ( approx 500 cals per slice) so in my opinion they're too big for lunchboxes. I also felt that with so many delicious, high quality flapjacks around nowadays that these kind of missed the mark -especially when their new Lumberjack bars are so good! If you want to get your hands on some of BlackFriars' flapjacks however, they are available to purchase from their website. All of their flapjacks are vegetarian, and Blackfriars also manufactures a vegan range too. 

Thank you Blackfriars for the opportunity to try your flapjacks, and I apologise for the damning feedback -but I always promise to be honest. There is one last review in the series to come: Blackfriars cakes and cookies. Will they fair any better? Stay tuned to find out... 

Reese's Fast Break (American Fizz)

It was about time that I got myself up to date with all of the Reese's products I could get hold of, before the new Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter cups make their way over here (American Fizz, I hope you're on the case). I hadn't spotted the Fast Break in any of the import stores though -surprising really considering that it sounded so damn good! 

"REESE'S peanut butter and soft nougat covered in deliciously rich milk chocolate for a candy bar that is perfect to get your REESE'S on-the-go."

I loved the satisfyingly distinct layers; with the nougat at its bottom, Reese's peanut butter at its core, all covered by a decent coating of milk chocolate. 

There's not much I could say about the chocolate and peanut butter that I haven't said a gazillion times before. It's utterly delightful, I just can't get enough of Reese's perfect balance of salty nuttiness and waxy milk chocolate (you lie Reese's when you say it's deliciously rich though). The nougat was squidgy and sweet, and pretty good in its own right. The problem was that it knocked Reese's perfect salty-sweet equilibrium out of kilter however and into the realms of sickliness. Perhaps the lack of crunch or otherwise interesting texture didn't help matters, but either way I wasn't fussed on the Fast Break. In fact, to me it tasted like a poor man's version of M&S's moreish 'The Nutty One'.

6/10

NEW Haribo Little Cupcakes

It turns out that the Frenzy Carnival range isn't the only new addition to Haribo's extensive sweetie range -there's room for a super cute product in 2016 too. I saw the Haribo Little Cupcakes on instagram a couple of months back, but they've proven extremely hard to track down. I tried all of the pound stores, discount stores, WHSmith, all of the supermarkets... and eventually discovered them in Superdrug of all places! Who'd a thunked it?

"Create your own delicious cupcake creations with a caramel or lemon biscuit base, finishing it off with either a blueberry, orange, lemon, cherry, vanilla or strawberry topping!" 

I was pleased to find such a mixture of flavours, although there seemed to be a far greater ratio of cakey bottoms to frosting tops in my bag. 

I tried the lemon base first; expecting to not like it as I find that lemony sweets are so hit and miss. I was delighted therefore to discover a sweet citrussy kick, followed by a surprising ginger aftertaste. Lemon and ginger works so well together in cheesecake form, and it seems to harmonise in Haribo's foam candy too. 

The caramel base was less exciting. Sure it had a super sweet toffee flavour, but the ginger from the lemon version had leeched its way into the caramel. There's less to say about the toppings: each was well flavoured, soft, squidgy and awfully moreish. My favourites were the blueberry and cherry, but none will be left lingering in the packet for very long. 

Fellow sweet-o-holic? Make the effort to pop to Superdrug and get yourself a pack of the new Haribo Little Cupcakes -if only for the novelty. At £1, they're not likely to bankrupt you either. 

8/10

Hippeas Organic Chickpea Puffs (WHSmith)

I first spotted these Hippeas chickpea puffs a few weeks ago in the WHSmith in Birmingham train station. I looked at the price and assumed that I'd be able to pick them up cheaper elsewhere (seeing as train station stores are usually so overpriced). The trouble was, I couldn't find Hippeas again anywhere! So on my way back from London on Saturday afternoon I made sure that I popped into the Paddington WHSmith especially to pick some up. At £1.50 for two bags they had also come on offer and didn't break the bank, hurrah!

Sowhat are Hippeas? Hippeas are organic, vegan, gluten-free, high fibre, and low fat puffed chickpeas. The company are also keen to 'give back' and say:

"We believe in change from the ground up. That’s why we support Farm Africa, a charity who do just that.Working in Sub-Saharan Africa, they help farmers become more pioneering andproductive, climate-smart and competitive, enabling them and their communitiesto grow their own way out of poverty."

So, they're healthy and ecologically friendly, but that only matters if they taste good! I picked up a pack of the "Pepper Power" and "In Herbs We Trust" to try.

Pepper Power

Why did I opt for this flavour when I know I'm not keen on overly hot foods? WHSmith only had two varieties and I wanted to be able to compare both. 

The bag was only half full, but that's on par with most other savoury snack bags, and it only claimed to weigh 22g after all. The golden puffs looked like larger -less luminous- Wotsits, but the texture was entirely different. They were crunchier, and more satisfying to eat than the cheesy maize based snack. The trouble was, they were very 'flavourful' -and by that I mean they were super peppery. I needed a large glass of water to wash them down with!

6/10

In Herbs We Trust
This Hippeas flavour seemed to be much more up my street. A quick scout at the ingredients list revealed that they were seasoned with a mixture of sea salt, onions, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic and pepper. That sounds almost Italian. I like Italian.

Wow, as soon as the bag was open I was struck by the most wonderfully Mediterranean aroma. Seriously, had I just wandered down the streets of Sorrento? It was clear that these shouldn't be eaten on the train or bus -for fear that you'd be mugged for them. I hoped that the smell would be a true indication of the taste...

..and it was. They were so utterly moreish. The earthy tones of the chickpeas amalgamated with the flavourings perfectly. I enjoyed their crunchiness too, which was much more satiating than eating a bag of potato crisps. They were seriously good.

10/10

Summary
Pepper Power might not be my bag, but if you like spice I'm sure that you'll be able to handle it better than me. I loved the herby flavour, and now am desperately seeking the "Far Out Fajita" and "Sweet & Smokin'" packs too. I've noticed that Holland & Barrett have just started stocking Hippeas, but our local branch only stocks the two flavours I've reviewed! Keeping my eyes peeled...

Limited Edition Choc Raspberry Brownie Ice Cream (Tesco)

What's the best foodstuff to review on the hottest day of the year? That's a silly question. It's Ice cream of course! Have you joined the hoards who are moaning in typical British style about the one hot & sunny spell we're likely to get? Although... I must admit to whinging when I can't sleep due to the heat either.

Back to the topic in hand. This pint sized pot was released at the beginning of the summer, but I had reservations though about the amalgamation of fruit, chocolate and brownie. If it was banana flavoured instead of raspberry however, I'm sure the tub would have gone straight into my basket.

"Chocolate and raspberry ice creams swirled with a raspberry sauce, chocolate brownie pieces and milk chocolate chunks"

It seemed as if the chocolate and raspberry ice creams took up exactly half of the tub each (in the same format as Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra and Blondie Brownie ice creams) but as I dug on down, I realised that there was the usual hodgepodge dollops of each flavour. The firmness meant that it was quite difficult to scoop straight from the freezer, but with a bit of willpower and determination I managed to retrieve a decent portion (much larger than the paltry 64g suggested serving I might add). 

The ice creams weren't anything to shout about I'm afraid, as they lacked the creamy, luxurious quality of most pint size tubs (such as Ben & Jerrys and Haagen-Dazs). The chocolate flavour was better than the ALDI chocolate brownie sticks -but only marginally so- whilst the raspberry was rather nondescript. My favourite part was the sauce which administered a welcome boost of zing and broke up the sweetness nicely. The chunks were in abundance, although I thought the chocolate chips tasted rather more like plain cooking chocolate than the milk variety. Luckily the brownie chunks were soft and moist, and added an extra textural dimension to please my disappointed palate. 

I think this ice cream is better of given to the children, perhaps they won't mind the lack of depth to its flavour!

6/10

Getbuzzing Banana Nut Free Flapjack (Holland & Barrett)

Hey stranger! If you regularly read this blog I just want to apologise for my lack of posts recently. My life has changed a lot of late (in a very good way!) and I just don't have enough hours in the day any more. So the posts won't be daily, but I'll still review as often as I can -promise!

Anyway, I bought this Banana Nut Free Flapjack from Holland & Barrett as part of the huge order I placed on a whim when desperately trying to track down the Bombay Firecracker Roasted Chickpeas. It appealed to me because I'm going through somewhat of a flapjack craze at the moment, and I'd already been tempted by them on a number of occasions in Waitrose. Somehow they had never made their way into my basket, so I seized the opportunity and bought one whilst on my H&B shopping spree!

So who are Getbuzzing? 

"Here at Getbuzzing, a family run business, we started making 100% Natural flapjacks to offer people snacks that are genuinely healthy and actually taste good. In 2009 we launched our range of 100% Natural Nut Free Getbuzzing flapjacks, which are a fantastic choice for those who want to look and feel good no matter what their busy lifestyles bring."

They also promise to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that all of their products are completely nut free -good news if you suffer from allergies. Getbuzzing flapjacks are also 100% Natural, completely free of any artificial colourings, flavourings, preservatives or additives and are suitable for Vegetarians. Sounds good to me! 

The 62g bar smelt delicious; a fruity, almost tropical aroma emanated as soon as the wrapper was peeled back. I prefer flapjacks to be on the gooey, moist side and fortunately Getbuzzing must agree with me. The oats were fused together with the traditional golden syrup and butter mixture, resulting in an comfortingly sweet, soft and chewy bar. Banana and apricot injected an abundance of extra flavour into the fold. What more can I say? It was utterly scrumptious! 

I'm mightily impressed with the Getbuzzing banana flapjack. The trouble is, now my curiosity has been piqued by the discovery that the company also makes protein bars... 

9/10

Cookie Crumble Ice Cream Sticks (Tesco)

I wasn't going to write a post on these until I posted a photo of a cookie crumble ice cream on instagram and received a request to review them. So here goes! A number of people have recently informed me about how great Tesco's salted caramel ice creams are, but -dare I say it- I'm a bit bored of salted caramel at the moment and so these cookie crumble ice creams excited me more: 

"Vanilla dairy ice cream with cookie pieces, covered with chocolate sauce coated in Belgian white chocolate with cookie pieces."

As far as I know there's nothing else similar on the market, so I din't mind paying the £2 at Tesco for four lollies, especially as they're a respectable 100ml each too. Yep I'm looking at YOU Magnum *tut*.

They looked as good as the wrapper, and the taste didn't let me down either. The ice cream wasn't the highest quality, but it was no worse (or better) than the centre of the Oreo sticks. Combine it with cookie studded white chocolate though and you've got something rather special. Imagine wrapping a Hershey's cookies & creme bar around ice cream and you'll get the picture! The chocolate sauce wasn't identifiable in terms of flavour, although I know it was there because I could see it. Nevermind, there was enough going on. 

All of that sugar did start to get a little sickly by the end, but that was ok -it meant I wasn't craving the others in the box, but rather looked forward to them for another evening. I'd like to warn you now: the cookie crumbles are reserved for fellow serious sugar fiends only! 

9/10

NEW! Lumberjack Protein Packed Flapjacks (Online)

If you follow me on Instagram you may already know that I have recently returned to the gym after a break of a few years. With my mission to tone up and gain muscle mass, one of my concerns is how to get enough protein into my diet. I don't eat a huge amount of meat, and often prefer to have peanut butter at lunchtime instead of something more sensible. Fortunately there are a veritable plethora of high protein products available on the market now; some of which I've found to be utterly delicious (the vanilla and fruity Icelandic Skyr pots for example) and others I've found inedible (such as the B'Jammin PB&J and Protein Active Peanut Chia Blast bars). 

I was thrilled to recently receive a huge box of Blackfriars Bakery treats to review, which included a trio of Lumberjack Protein Packed Flapjacks. I'd never heard of Lumberjack before, but then I read the attached note and discovered that they are a new branch of the Leicester based company. I was a bit dubious about the flapjacks as I'd had such a bad experience with the PhD Protein+ Peanut Butter flapjack -so bad was it that it ended up in the bin! Would these be the same? I hoped not, especially as they came in such interesting sounding flavours.. Each of the flapjacks contains between 22-23% protein, are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians.

Ginger, Orange & Dark Chocolate

I love the packaging of all of these bars, they look really colourful and I imagine that they would really stand out on the shelf against their competitors.

As you can see, there was a decently thick layer of dark chocolate topping. It smelt like a normal flapjack, which sounds silly, but I was expecting the pungent chemical/whey protein odour that I'd experienced in the past. 

Biting into it, I would have been forgiven for thinking I was eating a regular flapjack. It was soft, squidgy and buttery -thanks to the inclusion of real butter. Thank the lord! The chocolate wasn't particularly dark, but I preferred it that way. Combined with the orange flavour which infused the oats, the flapjack tasted remarkably jaffa cake-esque. That was until I hit the ginger, which didn't enter every mouthful but occasionally injected it's warm, spicy tones into the bar. 

I was impressed.

8/10

Vanilla Flavour Fudge With Chia & Hemp Seeds

I was a bit surprised when I peeled back the wrapping and discovered the naked bar beneath, Where oh where was the fudgy topping I expected?

Once I had bitten off my first chunk, I forgave Lumberjack entirely. I'm not the world's biggest advocate of chia seeds (they seem a bit tasteless and therefore pointless to me) but the flavour and texture of the bar was amazing! The delightfully sweet vanilla fudge was omnipresent, and the crunchy texture from the seeds kept the bar just as interesting as the ginger did in the first flapjack. 

Another winner!

9/10

Yoghurt Flavour & Mixed Berries

I was actually a little concerned by the time I tried this last flavour in case it was disappointing in comparison to the others. I was therefore pleased when I unwrapped the flapjack and saw a thick yoghurt-y topping. This was looking good.

Sweet bejesus! One of my best friends makes the most incredible white chocolate and cranberry flapjacks, and I kid you not, these tasted so darn similar! I think I'm going to have to check that she's not Mrs Lumberjack in disguise. The tart cranberries and sweetened dried blueberries worked perfectly with the raspberry flavoured oats, offering the ultimate in dried fruit symphony. What made the flapjack taste even more indulgent was the yogurt topping, but that's pretty self explanatory seeing as yogurt coated raisins are one of the best snacks known to man. Note to self: must buy some ASAP.  

10/10

Conclusion

I've been mightily impressed with this new range of protein flapjacks from Lumberjack. They taste less like a health product and more like an indulgent treat. If I were you I'd head on over to Blackfriars' website ASAP -where you can get 10% off until the end of July by using the code 'LUMBERJACK10'.

Many thanks to Lumberjack for the free samples.

NEW! Rolo Crack'It Desserts

The new Rolo and Yorkie 'Crack'It' dessert pots came out a few weeks ago now, but I patiently waited for them to come on offer before trying them (£1 for 2 in ASDA). I say them but, as I never buy a standard Yorkie bar, I knew I'd only ever purchase the Rolo pots. The newish Rolo mousses have become a staple in my household, and I really like the original Rolo pots so I had high hopes for these Crack'Its!

"Caramel creme dessert with a cracking chocolate layer."

I was fortunate to find that all of the caramel layer in my pot had faithfully stayed in place below the chocolate disk. My fiance hadn't been so lucky however, and told me that his had suffered in his lunchbox -which meant he didn't have to 'crack' the chocolate to get to the golden treasure. 

He wasn't missing out on much anyway. The chocolate did snap easily -but that was about its only redeeming feature. How Nestle can describe it as chocolate I'll never know, for it was gritty, bitter, and far from the quality I expected. Put it this way, I'm sure that if Rolo chocolates could talk they'd be shouting about how they were no relation to the Crack'Its. 

I hoped that the caramel layer would be akin to the delicious, silken ganache-like caramel substance used in the original Rolo pots. It wasn't. It was insipid, and thin enough to run off my spoon. The flavour was alright, but its texture meant it reminded me of cold, watery custard. Not good.

I won't be buying these again. Good idea, terrible execution Nestle.

3/10   

Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Twirls

Thank goodness the proposed cinnamon ban never came into place. Well as far as I'm aware it hasn't! Nothing has stopped me enjoying my favourite spice anyway, whether it be in cereal, ice cream, biscuits, desserts, popcorn, waffles, yogurt, pretzels , protein bars or flapjack. Sod the potential risks involved, there are also many proven health benefits associated with consuming cinnamon, and -lets be honest- it tastes just so damn good! 

Is there any better way to use the spice then rolling it in dough? Seeing as I'm *still* longing after the IKEA Kanelbullar I couldn't resist recently ordering these Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Twirls. 

Despite their lengthy journey and lack of best before date printed on the packet, they were super soft. So doughy were they that presented with the Twirls out of their wrappers I'm sure most people would be hard pressed to determine them as long-life. A lovely warming familiar scent immediately welcomed my nostrils thanks to the Twirls' generous coating in 'Cinnabon' cinnamon. 

Taste wise, they were somehow better than expected. The combination of fluffy dough and ample spice was spot on, leaving me feeling rather impressed. The only trouble came when you compared them to the fresh bakery buns (or indeed the bake at home IKEA ones). Without that external crust, cream cheese frosting, or warm from the oven comfort to give them the edge they became the poor man's version. Seeing as there's a Tesco express less than 500m from my house, I think I'll stick to their bigger buns in future.

8/10 

NEW! Godiva Double Chocolate Bar (B&M)

As you may be aware, today is World Chocolate Day! Isn't every day chocolate day? Still, I can't think of a better excuse to review this double chocolate Godiva bar. What I hadn't realised when I reviewed the Chocolate & Creme version was that both products are in fact new to the USA. 

"Layer of Cocoa Biscuit & Chocolate Ganache in Milk Chocolate."

The chocolate and creme bar was simply divine, and so I imagined that a double chocolate version would taste even better. From the outside they looked identical, but slicing it in half revealed both chocolate flavoured layers. 

Once again the quality of the chocolate casing was impeccable, and the biscuit was short and delicious.

I expected high quality ganache from luxury chocolatiers Godiva, but that's unfortunately not what I tasted. Perhaps I should blame Gü puds for setting the standards so high; instead of the silky soft ganache that I've come to love so much, I found a chalky, super sweet, almost gritty substance. It wasn't unpleasant -just not what I was hoping for. 

The sickly nature of the second chocolatey layer also knocked the flavours off balance, and I wished that I'd just bought two of the creme bars. Oh well. Lesson learned.

7/10

Milka Bubbly Caramel

Del Boy did it again, this week he was selling Milka chocolates that I've not seen before. The cute little 44g bar seemed to be an Italian import, but as I'm not au fait with the language, I can't promise of its origin. All I know was that it was a bargain at just 20p, cheers Mr market man! 

I hold Milka chocolate in high esteem -especially Happy Cows- so I imagined this bubbly bar would taste like an upmarket version of the Aero Mousse Caramel. 

The first thing that struck me was the unusual design. As a fan of order and logic, it threw me slightly. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised seeing as Milka is made by the same company as Cadbury -who have of course experimented with all sorts of crazy shaped bars as part of their 'Marvellous Creations' range. The second shock came when I snapped off a couple of bubbles: where oh where was the caramel? I couldn't find any!

Fortunately the promised caramel was hiding in the top of the bigger domes. It was a bog standard sauce, lacking any depth of flavour and wasn't a patch on my beloved Galaxy. 

A third anticlimax came from the quality of the chocolate, which tasted like the cheap Christmas calender stuff. I found the Bubbly Milka to be so contrasting against my previous experiences with their products -perhaps Mondelez is now meddling with their recipes too? Either way it wasn't a patch on the caramel mousse Aero bar. 

5/10

Mrs Freshley's Peanut Butter Brownie (American Fizz)

Yesterday called for celebrations (and not to mention a day off!) on the other side of the Atlantic. I might not be American but I thought I'd contribute towards Independence Day by enjoying a treat that had travelled all the way from the USA. 

This wasn't my first Mrs Freshley's goody, as I tried the banana pudding cupcakes way back in March. At the time I was relatively impressed by the cakes and mentioned that I fancied the look of their peanut butter brownies and cinnamon twirls (a review for another day). In fact the Mrs Freshley's peanut butter brownie is a relatively new addition to their extensive range of baked products as it only came out in February. 

What I stupidly hadn't realised when I bought the bar was that the brownie itself wasn't peanut butter flavoured -only the icing was. Still, at 85g it was a substantial snack and at £1.31 American Fizz offered pretty good value for money.

The brownie was moister than expected, and had a good fudgy flavour. The chocolate was rich, and although  sweet, it was far less sickly than the Oreo brownie . As far as mass manufactured brownies go, it was tasty... BUT... I didn't want a chocolate brownie, I wanted a peanut butter brownie. Unfortunately the generous layer of icing didn't inject much nuttiness into the bar and the flavour was totally overpowered by the (admittedly yummy) chocolate. My pb cravings weren't fulfilled and I was sorely tempted to whack out my jar of Skippy and slather a spoonful or two on top. 

As a chocolate brownie: 8/10

As a peanut butter brownie 4/10