NEW! Go Ahead Banana Flavour Fruit & Oat Bakes (ASDA)

It's been quite a while since I reviewed any of the Go Ahead products, namely because they don't appear to have released any since the cookie bites last year. In recent weeks though the company have launched some new lines. There's the dippers in chocolate almond (which sound delicious) and salted caramel flavours, which appear to be somewhat like lower calorie versions of the nostalgic KP dipper pots (which I wish I could still find the toffee ones of) or the Nutella/Reese's snack pots.  There's also new Cocoa & Hazelnut and Cacao & Orange 'Goodness Bars' which look like Nakd rip-offs. Its none of these new products that have got me interested though, instead it's a new flavour of an existing product: a banana flavoured fruit and oat bake. You should know by now that if it's labelled as banana I'm there. I found them in ASDA for £1, which I didn't think was bad value at all. Bargain banana bakes? Yes please. 

As with the Go Ahead! Cherry Bakewell Pud Bars, these come in three almost segments. They're also only 124kcal each, and are fairly low fat -although they do contain a whopping 9.4g of sugar per 35g bake. 

'Golden baked bars with a delicious banana flavoured filling'.

The pastry round the outside was just as I remember, not firm enough to be tart-like but not soft like a Kellogg's nutrigrain either. It's not the casing that we're interested in here though really, is it? 

For me, banana flavour falls into three camps:

1. Natural
2. Foam banana artificial (sweet but pleasant)
3. Chemical artificial (not pleasant). 

Unfortunately the jam, although moist and sticky, landed slap bang in the middle of number three. It came as a surprise that the flavour reminded me of the banana in both the Party banana Jaffa cakes and the Co-Op's banoffee brownies seeing as it does actually contain banana puree.

Ok the new bakes might not have been quite as bad as the jaffas, as they are at least edible, but they don't hit the spot for me and I won't bother with them again. 

4/10 

NEW! Banoffee Brownies (Co-Op)

I'd vowed not to by any more baked goods. My cupboards are brimming with all kinds of biscuits, and I've recently started baking again (which I'm thoroughly enjoying). I thought I was doing well with my oath, even not giving in to my doughnut cravings (largely caused by The Tandem Bakery's Instagram feed).  My self-restraint caved completely though this week when I saw a story by the lovely Emma (@EmmasFood) which featured banoffee brownies. I hope you agree this constituted a cake emergency, although I did manage to abstain from heading to the Co-Op in my pyjamas that evening, and indeed managed to wait until I was on my way home from the gym the next day. 

"Banana and toffee flavour chocolate brownies topped with salted fudge pieces."

The pack cost £1 and included 8 square brownie chunks. Despite them being sat with the fresh cakes they had a reasonably long shelf life of about a month. Upon opening the bag I was greeted with a rich cocoa aroma, followed by a lingering artificial banana scent.  Uh oh. I hope that wasn't a precursor for a chemical taste. 

Unfortunately it was. On the positive side the brownies were soft in the middle, with a decent squidge and deep cocoa flavour.  Sounds great, right? Except for that damn banana. It wasn't even a pleasant foam banana sweet or milkshake kind of flavour; it was nasty and synthetic. I can't even see banana mentioned in the ingredients list. How can some companies get it so wrong? At least McVities got it right. 

What a shame! If only the Co-Op had chosen to use real banana instead of some artificial flavourings to make these brownies. They had so much potential. I guess I'll just have to make my own....

4/10

Chococcino Muffins (M&S)

I've had such a mixed bag with M&S' cakes recently. Take their new Tiramisu cupcakes for example, which were pretty lacklustre, especially when you compare them to the amazing spiced carrot cake muffins. I found these chococcino muffins reduced to a very reasonable 15p and couldn't resist the bargain.

"Tasty two-tone chocolate & coffee flavoured muffins, studded with dark and milk chocolate pieces."

They were aesthetically pleasing muffins, but then M&S can always be trusted to deliver on the appearance front. Slicing on in two revealed a centre that was entirely chocolate cake. The way my knife cut through it so cleanly with little resistance did set off alarm bells however. 

Just as feared the cake was dry as a bone and I was thankful for my cuppa to help the mouthfuls go down. The flavour didn't save the day either, for it was mostly cocoa and didn't have the coffee kick I hoped for. As for the chocolate chips, they were far and few between and so added very little to these disappointing muffins.

Another miss from M&S' bakery department in afraid; I'd give these a miss if I were you.

5/10

Wheyhey Banoffee Protein Ice Cream Review (Tesco)

Everyone seems to be finding ice cream bargains in their local Tesco recently. Apart from me. The only thing I've discovered reduced in the freezer section (until today) is a packet of McCain Smiles for 84p. Now I appreciate I can't grumble at a bag of happy potatoes but I'd rather find a pint of B&Js for less than a squid (as per the many rightfully boastful Instagram photos I've spotted). Today however I found a healthy supply of Wheyhey Banoffee individual ice cream tubs adorning yellow stickers. Now I can only presume that they'd been reduced because they'd been sent to a store that doesn't usually stock them as Tesco have only recently started stocking Wheyhey. At £2 per 150ml tub I usually wouldn't bother buying them, but seeing as they were reduced, new, and banoffee flavoured, I bought a couple to try.

Haven't heard of Wheyhey yet? Well according to their website "Wheyhey is the world's first and best selling protein ice cream." The company was founded in 2012 by two best friends, one of which was a GB basketball coach, the other a fitness model. They created Wheyhey with the intention of creating an ice cream that does you good.* In fact their tagline is: The ice cream that loves you back. Aww. 

Anyway, I've moaned before about the lack of banana ice creams on the market (thank heavens for B&J!*) so I was happy to see Wheyhey's choice of flavour. The ice cream is made from whey isolate and contains 20.1g of protein per 150ml tub (Kcals: 149 F:4.3g C:11.8g). It contains no added sugar, artificial sweeteners (wheyhey use xylitol instead) and is gluten free. Sounds good, but is it too good to be true?

What a flipping odd consistency. I've never attempted to scoop a gluey ice cream before. It stretched and stuck to the scoop whilst melting before my eyes. I'd have to be quick with this one. 

Or just grab a bowl as it really wasn't going to hold.

Psssht. That's not ice cream. It's not even as good as the protein 'fluff' I make with Reflex's protein powder. It's just a semi-frozen shake. What the badger? I'll give it one credit: the flavour was clearly banoffee, and I could taste both the banana and toffee. This was all well and good until the nasty whey flavour hung around in the background. Not good. I can bear the taste of whey in a bar, but not in my ice cream -where it really doesn't belong.

I actually felt liked I'd wasted my calories and my money. I mean for IIFYM the macros are decent, but the Wheyhey tubs are expensive if I was out and about (and desperate for a protein fix) I'd rather have a shake -especially as they tend to be cheaper. 

I can't say I'll bother with these again. 

4/10


*...Sounds familiar... 
**Good lord, I'm utterly obsessed. Is B&J-aholics anonymous a thing yet?

NEW! Red Velvet, S'mores, Salted Caramel & Cookie Dough Cheesecakes (ASDA)

I walked into ASDA the other night to pick up some bread rolls and came away with four cheesecakes. How did that happen?! Please tell me I'm not the only one. Believe it or not, that was me holding back, there were many more new ones (take a look at the bottom of this post for photos of just some of the others I spotted). Anyway, I bought 4 of the 5 new individual ones for £1 each -key lime pie didn't appeal I'm afraid, even enough to take a photo. 

Cookie Dough
I really hoped this would be better than the last ASDA cookie dough cheesecake I reviewed just over a year ago. It certainly looked appealing, with a more substantial base this time around.

"Chocolate biscuit base with chocolate chip and chocolate cheesecake batters, with cookie dough, topped with chocolate sauce, milk chocolate chips and white chocolate buttons."

The cheesecake itself was pretty pants. It had that wobbly jelly like consistency that I find so off-putting in most supermarket cheesecakes. Flavour-wise neither the chocolate or chocolate chip batter cut the mustard either. The paler of the two didn't have many chocolate chips, neither did it taste of vanilla, or soured cream, just plain. Humf. The chocolate cheesecake wasn't much better either. 
As for the cookie dough, that was a bit lost too. In fact I only realised when I finished my slice that I hadn't even tasted it! Oops. Fortunately the chocolate bottom was ok, although a little on the dry and crumbly side.

5/10 

Salted Caramel 

"Digestive biscuit base topped with caramel cheesecake batter and salted caramel sauce, topped with milk chocolate malt balls and chocolate crispies."

At least the cheesecake itself was actually flavoured. Whilst it still wobbled, I enjoyed the treacly flavour (although I'm not sure how salted it truly was). 
The honeycomb balls on top were crisp, although admittedly they weren't up to Malteser standards.

I also enjoyed the base of this one. Sometimes you can't beat the original, and I greedily hoovered up every last crumb of digestive biscuit. 

7/10

Red Velvet Secret Centre 

"Red velvet base with vanilla cheesecake batter and a chocolate sauce centre, with red velvet topping."

Boy this was messy to retrieve from its pot, the cake crumb scattered everywhere! Also, can you call a cheesecake a cheesecake without a biscuit bottom? 

Another sub-standard cheesecake. I think ASDA must've used the same batter in this and the cookie dough flavour, for it had a similar a similar taste and consistency. The cake crumb was ok, but there wasn't much of it, and without the crunchy base there was a distinct lack of textural contrast. Not good. The 'secret centre' constituted a measly teaspoonful of runny chocolate sauce, the sort of stuff you'd use to top ice cream -again it wasn't particularly enjoyable. 

I'd give this one a miss if I were you.

4/10  

S'mores 
I really hoped that this cheesecake would fare better than the other new ASDA cheesecakes and the Tesco freezer burnt S'mores cheesecake I reviewed last year.

"Chocolate biscuit base with chocolate cheesecake batter topped and a chocolate sauce centre topped with a chocolate sauce and marshmallows."

This cheesecake was at least easier to remove from its case, revealing three distinct layers beneath the marshmallow topping.

The top layer was meant to be chocolate sauce, but it was set and tasted a bit like the odd wobbly chocolate puddings you find in all inclusive hotels on the continent -please tell me you know what I mean? I really wish that ASDA had used ganache instead.

The chocolate cheesecake was far from the best I've had; it was gelatinous and mild in flavour. As for the secret centre, I uncovered the same sorry state of affairs as I found in the Red Velvet. Gah, ASDA, you can do so much better than this.

I was grateful that the base was crunchy and actually made from biscuits! The chocolate flavour was rather good too, with a dark bourbon-esque element. C'mon guys, I'm looking for the silver lining here. 

6/10

Summary
What a disappointment ASDA, especially having bought and thoroughly enjoyed your outstanding White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecakes the weekend before. 

Just some of the other new cheesecakes spotted at ASDA..

I like the sound of the Banana Bonanza, but I fear it'll be just as bad as their other new cheesecakes. Please let me know what you think if you try any of ASDA's new dessert range!

Oreo Doughnuts (Tesco)

Having enjoyed my peanut butter Oreo ice creams the other day, the Oreo cravings lingered and I decided it was high time to try an Oreo doughnut. I've been eyeing them up for quite a while, especially since they're now stocked in our local co-op as well as the Tesco supermarket. The trouble is, defrosted doughnuts never taste anywhere near as good as freshly baked versions. It seemed that as fate was on my side though for the very afternoon I decided to buy them at last, I found them reduced to just 25p (normally £1). Bargain!

"Chocolate Doughnut with Vanilla Flavour Creme Filling (16%), White Icing (9%) and small Oreo Cocoa Cookie Pieces."

As with Tesco's toffee cream filled doughnuts, one was much more generously decorated than the other. How does this happen? Is it a test to find out who is the greediest in your household*? Apologies for my latent paranoia.

*Me by the way, obviously 😉.

The doughnuts had a very, um, sturdy base that wasn't as soft as I'd have liked. I hoped to discover an ample creme filling when slicing into my one, but instead found a sorry looking white sauce that was barely visible against the dark dough surround. The icing was in generous supply however, so I guess that was one bonus.

The dough itself had a strong cocoa flavour, but was extremely dry. To be honest it was easily the most un-doughnut-ty doughnut I've ever had. I mean it tasted more like overcooked long-life supermarket chocolate cake than the bouncy and light doughnut I was hoping for. I think even the out of date imported Oreo brownie I reviewed last year was better. As for the creme, there wasn't enough of it to really taste it, let alone even start to moisten the doughnut.

Easily the best part was the sweet and sticky topping. The cookie pieces were soft and tasted again more like cake (a better cake than the actually doughnut too I might add). They were OK though, and provided the only enjoyment in this pretty pants 'treat'.

Have any of you tried these Oreo doughnuts? If so what do you think of them?

4/10

Schlute Kirsch Lebkuchen (TKMaxx)

Last year I was obsessed with plain Lebkuchen, but this year it's the turn of the jammy, chocolate dipped variety. Thus far I've tried the Lambertz version, but then I spotted this curious Kirsch version from a company I've not heard of before in TKMaxx.

I don't make a regular habit of buying food from the discount retailer (mainly because it's actually more expensive than most supermarkets) but I've recently made a habit of checking my local branch because I've discovered that they regularly stock Jordan's skinny syrups- and they're much cheaper than I can get them online.

Now that TKMaxx have their Christmas foods in stock I'm finding it even harder to make my was to the syrup shelf without being distracted by the continental treats -and Kirsch Lebkuchen sounded just to good to resist. At £1.49 for 100g bag they're more costly than the Lambertz version, but they sounded so much more exciting and I felt that the extra expense was justified.

Have any of you tried Schlute's products before? Their website leads me to believe that the company are a quality German manufacturer of biscuits, waffles and pastries who use only "old, tried and tested recipes and exquisite ingredients" and "carefully selected ingredients".

"Juicy gingerbread with fine apple-cherry-fruit filling (18% and plain chocolate (28%).

Gah. The bag obviously hadn't been looked after on its travels. Unlike the Lambertz Lebkuchen, most of the hearts were smashed. I certainly wouldn't have been happy if I'd received them a present in such a questionable state. Still, I hoped that the taste would make up for their sorry appearance.

Alas! Compared to the Lambertz versions, these were pathetic. The gingerbread was fairly well spiced but was noticeably less soft and more tough -which in itself wasn't a deal breaker. Add poor quality chocolate and so-so jam into the equation however and you're left with a pretty disgruntled Amy. I was hoping for a lovely, black forest vibe (or at the very least a good quality German gingerbread) but these missed the mark entirely -especially as the jam was distinctly lacking in the Kirsch department. Perhaps I should've read the bag before I'd bought (or even tasted) the hearts, as then I would've realised that the ingredients includes 10% apple pulp and just 1% morello cherry juice concentrate. Very misleading.

I can't blame Schlute entirely for my experience with their Kirsch Lebkuchen though, after all I have no idea how long these have been kicking about the TKMaxx system (but they were in date until April next year) and I also imagine they looked far prettier when leaving the factory floor. 

4/10

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

NEW! Pumpkin Spice Latte Style Müller Corner (ASDA)

I'd just about given up on Müller Corners after the pants Oreo Corner and equally disappointing Gold Edition this summer, when they released their most exciting sounding yogurt to date: Pumpkin Spice Latte. It wasn't that long ago that I was moaning about the lack of Autumnal products in the UK, and I've since realised that I simply spoke too soon! Of course we have Starbucks to thank for bringing pumpkin spice popularity to the UK; PSLs have been a regular seasonal addition here since 2012 (a good 9 years after it was launched in the USA I might add). 

Could and would Müller pull off the famous drink in yogurt form? 

"Smooth pumpkin spice sauce with creamy coffee flavoured yogurt."

My honest opinion? No. Sorry to disappoint you...

I really wish that Müller would return to their older method/recipes to make their yogurts in the corners. The liquidity of it was much more similar to their Müller lights than the corners of old. There was also an odd synthetic aftertaste which curdled with the coffee flavour somewhat -it was simply quite bizarre. 

It's a shame really, especially because the pumpkin sauce was really quite tasty -although completely different to what I expected: much runnier and sweeter. I'd have thought it was apple rather than pumpkin, but maybe that's just because it's a similar spice mix that I use in my crumbles. I imagine that the pumpkin sauce would make a wonderful base layer for Müller rices actually. Müller are you reading this?

Meh. Not one for me, and I won't bother again. Kev had a more favourable opinion of the new Corner however, so please do go and check out his review too. Also, here's a tip off if you are a Müller fan: all their single pots (lights, corners and rices) are currently all on a 12 for £3 offer at ASDA!

4/10

Witches Fingers: Peanut Butter & Jelly Filled Milk Chocolate Bars (Co-Op)

Instagram (or instagrammers) beckoned me again yesterday morning, informing me of a peanut buttery product that I just had to try straight away (thanks ladies!). New, chocolate, and peanut butter are the three words that ring through to my core. They don't have to all be present at the same time either -as apparently these witches fingers were around last year too. How did I miss that?

The 100g pack contained 8 individually wrapped fingers and was priced at £1. I had my doubts about the quality of a chocolate geared specifically towards children (although I do love Milkybar) and only popular enough to market once a year at Halloween (shh, I know Reese's pumpkins are the biz).

"Milk chocolate fingers with a smooth peanut butter and strawberry jelly filled centre."

Do witches have cuboid fingers? According to the Co-Op they do! In all seriousness though I liked the fact that each bar could be broken into four individual sections. 

Breaking one such section in two revealed both the peanut butter and jelly centres. I could smell a mixture of calendar chocolate and synthetic super-sweetness -which I presumed was emanating from the centre. 

Biting into the chocolate made me pull such a disgusted face that my other half started laughing at me. I was eating some white chocolate Reese's hearts around the same time for comparison (and if you believe that you'll believe anything - I just fancied them), and the contrast in sweetness between the two peanut butter & chocolate products was immense. The peanut element of the Witches Finger's filling was fondant like; and although it had a strong peanut flavour, was completely off kilter thanks to the sheer amount of sugar (6.5g per 12.5g finger FYI). As for the jelly, it tasted artificial, and so far removed from strawberries that it was off-putting. If you've ever tried goober you'll have an understanding of what the centre of the Witches Fingers are like. With that in mind I imagine that if you're a fan of the American pb&j spread, you'll like these too. The chocolate was as expected: thin, waxy and just about edible. 

As I made my way through the last three segments of the bar, I found it slightly more bearable, but not exactly enjoyable. I won't bother with these again, and actually hope that I have some teenage trick or treaters to palm them off onto this year -aren't I horrible? ;)

4/10 

NEW! Banana Bread Selector (Hotel Chocolat)

That Nat (from a-lot-o-choc blog) is too kind for her own good. Not only did she send me the Cookie Dough Pie chocolate bar, but a few days later I received a parcel containing one of the new Autumn selectors from Hotel Chocolat AND the best protein bar in the world (Grenade White Chocolate Cookie Carb Killa FYI). 

"Banana flavoured praline with walnuts and dried banana flakes covered in milk chocolate."

The Hotel Chocolat selector excited me, not solely because my nearest branch is over an hour away, but because Nat had cleverly chosen the exact truffles that I would have. As I explained in my recent review of M&S' new banana & chocolate chip muffins, banana bread -or cake- is one of my absolute favourites. Banana and chocolate is always bound to cheer me up, so I saved these for a day when I was feeling particularly tired and grumpy. Last night, they beckoned me, calling my name from the fridge...

The truffles sliced cleanly, revealing a centre embedded with banana chips and walnut pieces.

The first flavour that hit me was the smooth, rich chocolate. The cocoa was punchy, with the characteristic Hotel Chocolat balance between sweet and bitter. The chocolate melted on my tongue almost instantly, tasting every bit as luxurious as you would expect. Next up, I was bowled over by the overwhelming taste of cinnamon. It was so very strong, in fact I felt it was too strong, overwhelming the banana flavour that lingered in the background. I love cinnamon (and bold flavours) but this was simply too much. The banana had a very natural flavour thanks to the banana flakes studding the praline, but I just wish it was given the opportunity to shine at the foreground.

Walnuts are a funny thing. I can enjoy them on their own, but really don't like their inclusion in cakes or ice cream (I'm one of those annoying people who pick them from the top of a coffee & walnut cake, and wouldn't even think about popping them into a banana cake mix). I wanted to explain this before moaning about them in the banana bread selector. Again I found that they detracted from my beloved banana, and put the flavour ratios out of sync. Gah.

I'm really sorry Nat, but I can't agree with your opinion on this one. They're a lovely idea, but for me Hotel Chocolat have failed to harness the true essence of banana bread this Autumn.

4/10

NEW! Milbona Skyr Pots (LIDL)

If you look into our 'drinks fridge' (aka the skanky fridge that we inherited with the house, but worked fine so we couldn't throw it out) you'll find a rather impressive selection of yogurts. My other half and I love the stuff -his shelf contains Muller corners, mine Skyr. I'm a happy girl with a bowl of yogurt so thick I can stand my spoon up in it. The trouble is, my preferred brand -Icelandic Skyr- is so much more expensive than the ARLA big pots, so I end up buying the cheaper version most of the time and then flavour it -at the moment I can swap between: banana, salted caramel, white chocolate, almond and tiramisu. With that in mind you can imagine my animation whens spotting the photo Alex posted onto Instagram of a selection of flavoured small pots he'd found in LIDL this week, and I made a beeline for the discount retailer after work. Everyone else must have seen Alex's pic too, because they had sold out the first day, but thankfully I was in luck the second! Each 150g flavoured tub cost 49p, and the plain 45p. 

Strawberry

So keen was I to try this new Skyr that I even took my first pot to the cinema with me that very afternoon (together with a generous supply of popcorn and sweets). I had assumed that the strawberry flavour would be amalgamated within the yogurt, so I was shocked -and excited- to find that in fact it formed a separate fruity layer at the bottom. The layer was also thick, and even better... it contained whole strawberries. I gleefully informed my fiance of this whilst we were watching the trailers, but I don't think he was as impressed! As for the Skyr, it tasted just like the ARLA stuff to me, and passed the thickness test.

8/10

Raspberry 

Unfortunately the thick layer of compote at the bottom of the raspberry yogurt wasn't quite as successful. It was very runny, and the natural tartness of the fruit didn't do enough to counteract the acidic yogurt on top; resulting in quite a bitter yogurt pot.

4/10

Blueberry

The balance of sweet-sour was better with the blueberry, but again the fruit layer was too watery, meaning that it was more like a sauce. The pot was pleasant though, and certainly much more enjoyable than the raspberry.

6/10

Peach & Passionfruit

The almost tropical flavours worked well with the Skyr in this pot, helped again by the natural sweetness. My only complaint would again be the thickness, but it was better than the blueberry.

7/10

Plain
As expected, I couldn't handle the acidity of the plain Skyr. I can't fault LIDL for that though, seeing as I'm not keen on the taste of any natural yogurt. Not to worry though, my trusty tiramisu syrup came to the rescue!

 7/10

Summary

These little pots from LIDL make a welcome change to ARLA, and are handy to pack in my lunchbox. They're not even close in deliciousness to the premium Iceleandic Skyr -but then I didn't expect them to be either. For anyone interested, the macros for the fruity are roughly: 6.6C/13.4P/0.3F (83Kcal) and the plain: 6.2C/17.7P/0.3F (98kcal).

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...