NEW! Gianni's Limited Edition Eton Mess Ice Cream Cones (ALDI)

I'm not sure if you'll remember but I bought two of Aldi's new ice cream cones a few weeks ago - Peanut Butter and Eton Mess- for £1.49 per pack. Of course I tucked into the peanut butter cones straight away but I was fell less excited about the Eton Mess versions. I love the British dessert, and no one can argue its role as a summer staple, but it's hardly a groundbreaking flavour.

"Mixed berry and cream flavoured ice cream rippled with a mixed berry sauce, topped with meringue pieces."

The cones looked rather pretty though with their two-tone colours and meringue dusting. As with the peanut butter cones I wasn't expecting the highest quality ice cream, but still felt disappointed with the lack of flavour. I guess that 'Mixed berries and cream' even sounded vague so perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised that the taste was also ambiguous. Bland and mildly fruity would be my best description. 

As for the meringue pieces, they melted away against the ice cream and didn't add anything in terms of either taste or texture.

I hoped for a pocket of sweet but sharp sauce in the centre, but instead found a solid lump of berry flavoured ice to chomp through. Very odd. At least the cone was crisp and contained a large nib of chocolate. 

I won't be buying these again, there's far better (and cheaper) cones on the market.

5/10 

Choceur Salted Caramel & White Chocolate Almonds (ALDI)

Last year dear Daddio included my first experience of ALDI's chocolate as part of my Christmas stocking and I was impressed! Since then I've only tried one more bar, their Madagascan vanilla white chocolate, which was even more delicious. I probably should buy their chocolate more often, but most of their bars come in larger formats, and I have non Reese's chocolate commitment issues. 

These salted caramel and white chocolate almonds probably wouldn't have even entered my radar had it not been for Kev's review back in October. I mean the white chocolate, salted caramel and almonds all sounded good but I imagined that I'd prefer to keep the three separate. Nevertheless I picked some up a few weeks ago to try on Christmas Day with my nut loving in-laws. Last night though I wasn't sure what I fancied after dinner, so raided the cupboards and the almonds called to me. Sorry Mr & Mrs Letby. 

"Almonds covered in white chocolate blended caramel powder and salt."

The 100g bag contained 20 almonds, each looking like large (albeit golden) Milkybar mini eggs -mmm, so good. Cutting one in half pleased me as it revealed just how generous the coating was. To give you a better idea, I checked the packet when writing this and realised that almonds only account for 18% of the ingredients! I'm certainly not complaining. 

N.B Yes, I realised there was a hair in the bowl after I took the photo, and no I didn't eat it ;).

The salted caramel flavoured white chocolate was silky smooth an utterly delicious; indeed it was just as incredible as the highly addictive KarmelLove bars I discovered a couple of months ago. Some nuts had a more saline coating than others, but this made the eating experience all the more interesting. The almonds had retained their crunchiness too -always a bonus as no-one wants soggy nuts. 

The biggest problem with these Choceur salted caramel and white chocolate almonds is the self control required to stop munching. If you're watching your weight you might want to be careful as the 20 almonds amount to 564kcal! For everyone else, tuck in and don't share, they're scumdiddlyumtious. 

9/10

NEW! Irish Cream Ice Cream Chocolates (ALDI)

I was in ALDI buying the Christmas Turkey the other day when I took the opportunity to scour the party food freezers as I walked towards the till. Now I really shouldn't be buying more ice cream seeing as we could open a gelateria from our utility room, but I spotted these curious Ice Cream Chocolates for less than a pound and didn't resist. Is there any alcoholic drink more festive than Irish Cream? Yes, OK, Mulled Wine. Still, Christmas Day is the ultimate excuse to crack open the Bailey's, comfort our food babies and indulge in the knowledge that we won't need to move from the sofa all evening. Until then, ALDI's Irish Cream Ice Cream Chocolates would serve to whet my appetite for the slick liqueur due to hit my tastebuds next Sunday.

"Irish cream flavoured ice cream with a chocolate flavoured centre, chocolate flavoured coating and amaretti pieces."

The box contained ten 10ml ice creams on a gold chocolate box-esque platter, which I thought was a lovely touch. They were dinky little barrels that would have looked perfectly at home nestled amongst the Thornton's selection. 

The chocolates were extremely soft straight from the freezer, and the middle was more mousse like than ice cream which made them a little messy to eat. There was a definite Bailey's kick to them though. I shared the 10 with my other half and didn't tell him what flavour they were until he looked disgusted at me when biting into them (he's tee-total). Sorry Bert. I really couldn't distinguish the 'chocolate flavoured centre' against the Irish cream, and only know it existed thanks to the photo evidence. 

As for the chocolate casing, it wasn't particularly thick or of great quality, but then I didn't expect it to scream indulgence given that the ice creams are part of ALDI's 99p party range. The amaretti biscuits studded in the chocolate were tasty however and they added a welcome crunchiness, as well as a little almond to the flavour mix.

I wouldn't rush out to buy these Irish Cream Ice Cream Chocolates again, but I also wouldn't refuse a few if offered at Christmas. 

6/10

NEW! Specially Selected Gingerbread Ice Cream (ALDI)

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

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

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

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

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

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

7/10

NEW! Holly Lane Chocolate Stollen Bites (ALDI)

I hope that stollen is one of your Christmas staples too. The German delicacy of buttery, cake-like bread filled with almondy marzipan and dried fruits is sheer genius. I'm quite glad it's only sold seasonally because otherwise I'm sure I'd eat too much and grow sick of it (or maybe not, I've never reached that point with chocolate, peanut butter or ice cream after all).

There's a huge discrepancy between great and goddamn awful stollen though. Some manufacturers master the lightness of the dough, whilst others create something that's best use would be best utilised as a window smashing implement. Last year I reviewed the epitome of the second type (which came from LIDL) and a beautifully fluffy version from Bahlsen. Both LIDL and Bahlsen are German companies who I imagined would work equal wizardry with stollen!

Following the brick-like experience with LIDL, I thought my German discount supermarket stollen buying days were over. But then I saw these new chocolate covered stollen bites. ALDI soon suckered me in with the exciting idea of one of my favourite Christmas treats covered in one of my favourite everyday treats. I didn't resist. The 350g box cost £1.99 and contained roughly 12 bites.

"Stollen bites with raisins, mixed citrus peel and a marzipan centre, covered with chocolate."

They certainly looked very chocolatey, and were haphazardly drizzled with milk chocolate. They felt a little on the sturdy, heavy side, and I couldn't smell the sweet spices that normally makes an appearance when opening a pack of stollen. I hoped all of this could be pinned on a super thick layer of chocolate.

Slicing my first "bite" in two (anyone able eat them in one bite has a much larger mouth than me) revealed a thick marzipan centre, sandwiched between two stollen layers, surrounded by the chocolate. The stollen appeared dry, but I tried not to judge it completely on appearances.

Biting into it I could really taste the (plain) chocolate, which wasn't the best quality but was perfectly edible and a far cry from Kinnerton's nasty calendar stuff. My tastebuds then acknowledged the marzipan: soft, chewy and almondy -just as it should be.

The trouble came with the stollen, which should always be the star of the show, but was sadly completely lost against the more dominant almond and chocolate components. Perhaps this is could be explained by the delicacy of the yeasted dough, maybe it's because less than 50% of the bites are made up of it, or possibly it's just because ALDI and LIDL can't seem to make stollen to save their life.


As far as fruity, marzipan, chocolatey squares go, they're rather good. I've made plenty of complaints in this post when in actual fact I'm rather enjoying them. They're just not going to tick the stollen box if that's what you're after this Christmas.

6/10.

P.S
If you're a fellow stollen lover you might also be interested in my review of Morrisons' Bakery stollen cookies. Otherwise, if you fancy reading another opinion on these chocolatey stollen bites please pop on over to One Treat's review. 

NEW! Specially Selected Mince Pie Ice Cream (ALDI)

This Mince Pie ice cream has been giving me the run around for weeks now. I kept seeing it pop up on instagram, but my local ALDI (which is a bit of a pain to get to from my house) has been pretty rubbish at maintaining stock of their new Christmas lines (such as their flavoured mince pies). On my third attempt, I finally got lucky, and decided to pick up both of their new festive ice creams. The other flavour -Gingerbread FYI- was reviewed yesterday by One Treat, and she gave it such high praises that I couldn't wait to get stuck in. The 480ml Christmassy Ice Cream Tubs cost £1.99 each, which isn't too bad considering Sainsbury's charge £2.85 for theirs. 

"Cream ice cream with brandy flavoured sauce, fruit conserve with brandy and biscuit pieces."

In my desperate attempt to get hold of this ice cream, I cycled across Hereford with my insulated lunch bag complete with freezer block -this was before I did the ASDA shop and was collected by my fiance. I'm explaining this because it was about 90 minutes between purchase and getting home. By the time I retrieved the ice cream from my lunch bag, the ice cream container gave slightly, and I worried that I'd ruined it. 

Opening it up a few hours later didn't seem to have damaged it in the slightest however, and I was met with a creamy coloured, easily scoopable ice cream. It wasn't as ridiculously soft as the Pizza Express Tiramisu Gelato or the likes of Carte D'Or, but my scoop gathered ice cream effortlessly, revealing some biscuit pieces and a few stray raisins. 

Just as One Treat found with the gingerbread version, the ice cream didn't melt instantly, and behaved itself long enough to survive being scooped into a waffle cone, then being photographed, before finally being enjoyed. The taste was that of super cold double cream (unsurprising considering double cream accounts for 20% of the ingredients) and it reminded me of the no-churn style ice creams that I've made in the past. A lovely warmth came from the Brandy sauce, which was eminent throughout, but occasionally popped up in stronger pockets. 

Now I've moaned before about companies giving the impression that their ice cream contains pastry *ahem Apple Tarte* when in fact they contain biscuit pieces, but I didn't even realise that this tub was devoid of real pastry until I read the description to write this post. The little chunks were certainly very sweet shortcrust pastry like, and my only query during consumption was how ALDI had managed to keep them so crispy -although I'm still baffled by this as surely biscuits should go soft when embedded in ice cream? 

My only real moan is regarding the lack of fruit pieces, after all the mince filling should be the pies raison d'être. Apparently 10% of the ice cream is the 'fruit conserve with brandy' but only 36% of that is made up of actual fruit pieces. I enjoyed the soft, plump, alcohol infused raisins and sultanas that I did find -but wasn't keen on the single hard piece of citrus peel I found in my 1/3 tub serving! 

Still, moans aside, I really enjoyed this festive ice cream from ALDI -and no I haven't got completely sick of the mince pies yet...

8/10

NEW! Chocolate Orange & Salted Caramel Mince Pies (ALDI)

A few nights ago when enjoying my mince pie and fresh salted caramel custard, I was informed about some rather delicious sounding mince pies by fellow instagrammer Amy. She had tried ALDI's new salted caramel flavoured versions, and promised me that they were "amazing". I wondered whether they were the same salted caramel tarts that came out last year -as an alternative to mincemeat for the people who can't stand the dried fruit filling- but no, apparently not, they were mincemeat and salted caramel pies.

Amy also dropped the bombshell that the discount supermarket are also selling chocolate orange flavoured ones too, and that was all a I needed to hear. The very next day I cajoled Bert into taking me to our closest ALDI (on Specialbuy Sunday I might add) but the store had completely run out. Unperturbed I trekked to the branch in my uni city on Monday (yes, In that torrential rain) and eventually found both flavours, priced at £1.59 per six pack.

Admittedly I cursed Amy that afternoon for tempting me with the curious sounding mince pies, especially when I turned up to my lectures drenched through to the skin (hence the rain damaged boxes) with my big 'nuttier than a fruit cake' ALDI bag. Can you tell I'm the cool kid in class? I really hoped that the mince pies would be worth the effort, and that I'd be thanking Amy instead later...

Chocolate Orange

"All butter shortcrust pastry cases filled with an orange flavoured mincemeat, topped with a chocolate and hazelnut filling."

That very evening I tucked into the chocolate orange mince pies. I mean, I love chocolate and often forget how much I like chocolate orange, but would this be a step too far? The pack said they could be enjoyed warm or cold, so of course I tried half and half.

Slicing into the very attractive mince pie revealed an off centre smattering of chocolatey paste stuck to the inside of the lid. There wasn't as much of it going on as I hoped there would be, but the shop assistant in ALDI was glowing with positivity about the deliciousness of these pies so I hoped the chocolate would be more potent than appeared.

The first non heated half was good, but nothing to write home about. The pastry was sweet and crumbly, whilst the mincemeat was zesty and not overwhelmingly rich -but the chocolate was barely distinguishable. There was a little there, but it just felt a bit lacklustre. Humf.

Admittedly the second half was the side with the most chocolate in, and I deliberately chose to heat this side as I tend to prefer mince pies warm anyway. 10 or so seconds in the microwave later and I could see the steam emitting from the pastry.

Wowzer! This side really was chocolatey. The cocoa orange came through in full pelt, so strongly that it completely overshadowed the mincemeat. The texture of gooey chocolate and fruits however was divine, and I found myself delighting in the sheer decadence of the combination.

It's a shame that the chocolate wasn't better spread out, but I still can't wait for my next chocolate orange mince pies. I did wonder how I would get through the 18 mince pies that I've bought in the last week (to myself, Bert hates mince pies) but now I realise that there's no chance I'm giving these babies up.

9/10

Salted Caramel 

"All butter shortcrust pastry cases filled with fruity mincemeat of vine fruits and mixed peel, topped with salted caramel."

Now I realised after my concoction last week that salted caramel and mincemeat shouldn't be a feared combination, but instead heralded for it's scrummy-ness. 

Again, I decided to try half warm and half ambient, so sliced the pie in two. I soon wondered why the pastry was only half filled, and then realised that quite a bit of the caramel had bled into the casing. My head filled with thoughts of Mary Berry disgracing the soggy sides.

The ambient half was first to make it to my mouth. It was good but, as with my first experience of the chocolate flavour, a bit non-committal. The second portion suffered the same quick blast in my microwave, and I kept my fingers crossed that the same sort of taste transformation would occur. 

Sadly it didn't, and whilst the caramel offered an extra sweetness to the already rich mincemeat, it wasn't special enough to stand out. It was still delicious, and an ingenious twist on the classic, but nowhere near as mind-boggling as the chocolate orange. 

8/10

NEW! The Foodie Market Hike Bars (ALDI)

A few weeks ago I got the chance to pop into ALDI with my other half, but only because he was on the search for new tools that were part of their weekly 'special buys'. God only knows why he needs more tools when he's got a garage full of the things, but then I guess I can never explain why I need new pyjamas or socks either -I just do, ok? 

Anyway, we were queuing up at the till (yes I know, where else would we queue?) when I spotted these new Hike bars. Their brightly coloured packaging informed me that they're gluten free, low in fat, high in fibre and protein packed. At 59p per bar I decided to try both the berry and banana flavours. 


Berry Hike

" Fruit bar made with gluten free oats and dried raspberry pieces."

Admittedly the Hike wasn't much of a looker, but then these kind of healthy bars never are. It immediately made me think of Natural Balance Foods' Nakd and Trek Bars, as well as Tesco's (very good) knock-off Banana Bliss bars. Although firm to the touch, the bar was malleable, which I saw as a very good sign. 

Taste wise the bar tasted primarily of dates, with very little of the berry flavour to back it up. This is unsurprising given that dates make up 23% of the Hike, compared to a pretty pathetic 1.5% of dried raspberry pieces. The sweetness was also apparent -not an issue for my sugar addicted tastebuds I'm afraid- but it might be worth considering that the 55g bar contains 16.5g of (naturally occcuring) sugars if you're trying to be healthy but cut down on your intake.  It was pleasant, and a good handbag staple, but nothing to shout about. 

Macros per bar: 168Kcal P: 10.5/C: 24.8/F:0.7

6/10

Banana Hike

" Fruit bar made with gluten free oats and dried banana pieces." 

Ok, so if you've ready any or many of my reviews before, you'll be already aware -and probably bored- of my infatuation with all things banana. With this in mind, you'd be right in guessing that it was the banana Hike that really took my fancy out of the two.

Again, the bar was rather the ugly duckling, but I could immediately smell an authentic ripe banana scent as soon as the wrapper was off (the berry version had no noticeable aroma). This Hike was soft enough to bend too.

What a totally different experience! This bar was well flavoured, with a lovely cinnamon spice that complemented the banana wonderfully. Banana is so often badly thought out in snacks, often it tastes overwhelmingly artificial (jaffa cakes) whilst other times it's just not strong enough (M&S and Hotel Chocolat can you hear me?). Fortunately ALDI have got the flavours in this Hike bar bang on the mark, resulting in a bar that makes me imagine what a freshly baked banana flavoured oat and raisin cookie would taste like. Again, it's high in sugars too -although slightly less than the berry flavour at 16g per 55g bar. I really enjoyed the banana Hike and will make sure I pick more up next time I'm being taken (read dragged) on a tool hunt. Just for info, I think it's even better than Nakds, Treks, and Tesco's version and warming it up serves to enhance the flavours. 

Macros: 169Kcal P:11/C: 24.8/F:0.8

8/10

NEW! Moser Roth Rhubarb & Strawberry White Chocolate (ALDI)

Rhubarb and strawberry is a combination that is utterly underrated in the UK. In fact I hadn't really come across it until I was in hospital a couple of years ago and was served a steaming bowl of rhubarb and strawberry crumble with custard. I could've cried with delight at how good it tasted. Admittedly that might have been down to the fact that NHS grub is normally pretty damn awful, but I have made said dessert from scratch on many an occasion since -and still love it. 

It was this connection with the flavour combo that made me jump for joy when I spotted this new white chocolate bar in ALDI. The vows I had made to not buy any more food until I'd got through at least some of my recent snack hauls were instantly forgotten, and into my basket it went. The 100g bar cost 99p, and for your information there is also a forest fruits version.

As soon as I unwrapped the foil I was greeted with the strong scent of freeze dried strawberries. The bar snapped easily and I noticed that it was starting to melt slightly. 

Oh. What a disappointment! The chocolate was chalky and cheap tasting -worlds apart from the glorious Madagascan Vanilla Moser Roth bar. To make matters worse, the strawberry that I could smell totally overpowered any hints of rhubarb, that may or may not have been there. I expected there to be some balance of sweetness but instead the chocolate was super-sweet and very sickly. Gah. 

The bar was edible, but nowhere near as good as I've experienced previously with Moser Roth chocolate. I certainly won't buy it again.

4/10

Brooklea Fat Free Greek Style Yogurts (ALDI)

Following my disappointment at Danone's new 'Light and Free' yogurt range, I thought I'd branch out and give ALDI's fat free Greek style yogurts a go. I'd seen various Instagrammers comment on how good they were so what was there to lose? Priced at between 89p and 99p per four-pack they were much cheaper than their branded counterparts. Please accept my apologies for the lack of photos, I deleted a load off my camera without meaning to, oops! 

Toffee

The first ALDI yogurt I tried was this toffee flavoured variety. The pack was labelled as new, but given how little I've shopped at ALDI -until recently- I'm not sure as to how new they truly are!

Thicker than Muller's greek style yogurts, my spoon sliced through it. It was as sweet as expected with a pretty generic toffee flavour. I preferred it to Muller -so much so that I made the trip back to to my local ALDI in order to try the fruity layered ones...

8/10

Greek Style Layered Yogurts

Available in cherry, strawberry and peach & passionfruit flavours, these look very different to Muller's pots as they come in an opaque pot. I'm not sure why I found that offputting, but I did! 

The top part was the yogurt layer; well balanced between sour and sweet. A pleasant change from Muller, who I often find is heavy-handed with the artificial sweeteners. It was as thick as my favourite Liberte Greek style yogurts, which I'd certainly buy more of if they weren't so expensive! 

Underneath was a generous layer of compote, which was very sweet, but not unexpectedly so. Paired with the slightly acidic yogurt the fruit worked well, and I enjoyed all of the flavours equally! 

9/10

If you're a flavoured Greek Yogurt sort of person, I highly recommend that you give ALDI's own brand versions a go. They're cheaper than Muller, and yummier to boot. I wouldn't go as far as saying that I'd choose them over Liberte if they were the same price, but whilst I'm a student the pennies rule out (most of the time).

Moser Roth Madagascan Vanilla White Chocolate (ALDI)

Today's review is courtesy of a reader request. One of my lovely followers on twitter has mentioned to me on a number of occasions about how she had heard great things about ALDI's Moser Roth white chocolate. I promised to buy some and review it when I next visited the supermarket, but this year seems to have rushed by, and months passed before I got the chance to make the trip. Well folks, the time is upon us and I finally have my hands on the long awaited white chocolate -let's hope it's good!

The box contained 5 mini 25g bars of white chocolate, which I guess is handy if you're watching your weight but need that chocolate fix. I can't remember the exact price I paid, but think it was around £1.25. 

"Finest Madagascan Vanilla Chocolate from Moser Roth is a delicious treat for connoisseurs of sophisticated gourmet chocolate. This chocolate is made with the finest quality ingredient, carefully prepared to a classic recipe. The delicate flavour of Bourbon Vanilla combines perfectly with smooth white chocolate to create an unforgettable eating experience."

I'll gladly admit that I am no chocolate connoisseur. Give me Galaxy, Reese's or Milkybar and I'm one happy girl. That just means I'm ready to be educated, right?

The speckled vanilla seeds and embossed Moser Roth branding certainly attributed to the bar's luxurious quality. A sweet aroma immediately begun to effuse from the chocolate: sheer sugary pleasure.

The Moser Roth was every bit as perfect as it promised. Indescribably smooth, it lacked the graininess of Nestle's MilkyBar and was much more delicate in flavour. The vanilla worked well with the white chocolate, resulting in a treat that was utterly moreish. It's a good job they come in individual wrappers, otherwise I imagine it would be all too easy to polish off the entire 125g in one evening.

Thank you to the lovely lady who pointed these out to me. If you have any suggestions of products that you would like me to review, please either leave me a comment, tweet me (@seeksnewtreats) or drop me an email: amyseeksnewtreats@gmail.com

10/10

NEW! Choc Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (ALDI)

There's no arguing with the fact that Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough 'Wich Ice Cream Sandwiches are one of the very best new products of 2016 to date. I gave them a 10/10 and have unashamedly stocked up on them whilst they're half price at ASDA (currently £2.24 FYI). Honestly, I think I could open a Gelateria with the amount of ice cream I've currently got stashed in my house! Anyway, the trip to ALDI didn't stop me buying yet more of the stuff (you can find my recent review of their chocolate brownie deluxe ice creams here) especially as they have produced rip-off versions of Ben & Jerry's perfect ice cream sandwiches.

At  £2 for four ice creams, they are cheaper than their branded counterparts, and also contain a chocolate flavoured ice cream -instead of the cookie dough that fills the B&J's. I've been trying find the elusive chocolate brownie 'Wich for months with no luck (if you've any idea where I might be able to find it, please leave me a comment!) so I thought ALDI's new ice creams might be a good compromise.

"Chocolate chip cookies filled with chocolate flavoured icre cream with chocolate chips."

I was struck by how meagre they looked when I took them out of the box. They are in fact the same size as the Ben & Jerry's versions, but I was convinced they were smaller -perhaps I'm just getting greedier ;). 

The cookies looked thicker, but the chocolate ice cream appeared oddly pale. Hmm. 

Indeed the chocolate was lacking in flavour; any flavour really. So bland and faint was the cocoa, that I'm sure if I'd had have been blind taste-tasting I would have been completely baffled. I thought that the flavour was nondescript in ALDI's chocolate brownie ice creams, but this was worse. 

Scattered about were a few chocolate chips, but they offered little in the way of anything other than texture. Humf. 

The cookies were the saving grace, they were much more robust than Ben & Jerry's. Firmer, and more biscuit-like, they reminded me of giant Maryland cookies -scrummy. 

ALDI's new choc chop cookie ice cream sandwiches are a bit of a mixed bag: the 'chocolate' ice cream is pretty pants, but the cookies are excellent. I imagine that if I hadn't tried the branded versions I would have been more impressed -damn you and your delicious ice cream Mr Ben & Mr Jerry. 

If you're after supermarket brand chocolate ice cream sandwiches however, I recommend that you head on over to ASDA and pick up a pack of their Bourbon Biscuit Ice Creams instead.

7/10

Chocolate Brownie Deluxe Ice Creams (ALDI)

I think that ALDI must've hired secret spies who lay among the general population and persuade us to shop at their supermarkets... 

Months ago I mentioned my suspicion about my father's love for the German discount store, and since then I've noticed a whole host of people mentioning ALDI food. Forgive me, I've been researching the concept of whether advertising is manipulation or persuasion, and it's addled my brain. I realise that both ALDI and LIDL are finally getting the recognition they deserve for their low prices and decent quality.

 In any case, this seeimingly inexplicable tangent is due to the fact that these gentle hints and comments led me to finally visit my local store yesterday (thanks again Dad) and pick up these rather scrummy looking ice creams -as well as many of the other products that readers have pointed out to me over the past few months.

"Our luxurious chocolate brownie ice creams are made with chocolate ice cream swirled through with a chocolate truffle sauce. We coat them in a thick layer of rich milk chocolate with a delicious chocolate cookie crumble. A chocolate lover's dream."

And that folks, was me sold. The pack of three cost £1.49, and were in the same range as the salted caramel ice creams (the ones my Instagram followers assumed the M&S ones were).

As you can see, they looked rather impressive. The chocolate coating was thankfully as thick as promised, and the cookie crumble was plentiful. What a great start! 

Cracking into the outer coating, I was delighted to find it was good quality. Don't get me wrong -it wasn't the best tasting milk chocolate I've ever had- but it was certainly a far cry from the likes of Kinnerton chocolate. From what I recall, the M&S chocolate coating was tastier, but the ALDI offering was on a par with what you'd expect from Magnum. The cookie pieces were delicious, adding a gritty texture that worked well with the otherwise smooth coating and ice cream within.

Onto the star of the show: the ice cream. The reason that the description was so compelling was because it claimed that they were a chocolate lover's dream. I could happily eat chocolate from dawn until dusk... and then through the night too... so it's easy to imagine how excited I was to try the ultimate in chocolate ice cream. Except; it was a let down. The chocolate flavour was akin to the brown section of a Neopolitan ice cream tub. The mild, milky taste was not what I was hoping for -and I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

 Surely the 'chocolate truffle sauce' would save the day? Well, no. I couldn't even find it. I could see the lines where the ripples were meant to live, but they were seemingly bare. **Sad face**.

I tried to hide my dismay from my fiance, and asked him what he thought of his chocolate brownie ice cream, but he also thought they were pants and said he wouldn't have them again. I didn't think they were bad -they just didn't live up to my high expectations.

6/10 

Moser Roth Orange and Almond Dark Chocolate (ALDI)

Bless my Dad. I'm sure he's a secret ambassador for ALDI. He's been telling me for years about their fabulousness, long before the recession turned it into a rather more fashionable place to shop. He's been buying my (now-slightly-addicted) sister their Moser Roth chocolate for years, and I shamefully admitted to him recently that I'd never tried any of it.

Well, when it came to opening my Christmas Stocking, my Dad did good -he filled it with a good selection of ALDI's chocolate. Of course I've eaten most of it now, but I can highly recommend their winter truffle collection if they sell it again in 2016 -truly scrumptious.

In amongst my selection was this pack, which contained 5 mini 25g bars of the Moser Roth Orange and Almond Dark Chocolate. As far as I know it's not a seasonal product, so I thought I'd review it -just in case you too are an Aldi chocolate virgin.

I'll start out by admitting that I'll eat dark chocolate, but I am no means its biggest fan, much preferring the milky sweetness of milk and white chocolate (70% is my limit, although I am in awe of those who enjoy 85%+!). It was this disdain towards the dark-side that led me to neglect the bars at the back of my fridge until they called to me at the beginning of February  -the last of my Christmas hoard.

The bars were very slim, which resulted in an easily snappable chocolate. The chocolate was full-bodied, with a balanced intensity that prevented it from becoming too bitter. As you can see from the photo below, the almonds were flaked instead of chopped, and were in plentiful abundance, meaning that every nibble guaranteed nuttiness. The orange element came as a surprise -I imagined the flavour to be blended into the chocolate like a Terry's Chocolate Orange- but instead it came from little bits that were dotted throughout the bars. This method resulted in a far more subtle citrus flavour than I expected, but it did give the chocolate a more luxurious, artisanal quality.

Dark will never be my number one chocolate of choice, but I have to admit that I enjoyed these bars far more than I expected too. I'm hoping that this recent dalliance with ALDI's chocolate is a representation of the quality of their entire range -in any case I'm heading down to my local store in the not too distant future to find out.

8/10