NEW! Spirit of Summer Tiramisu Cupcakes (M&S)

Given how successful my first dip into Marks & Spencer's 2018 Spirit of Summer range went, it wasn't long before I was back down the stairs into Hereford's food hall on the hunt for more goodies. Specifically the tiramisu cupcakes. Now I've mentioned before that I much prefer filled muffins to cupcakes, but label anything tiramisu and I'm there. Unfortunately, my wallet might take a bit of a hammering over the coming months considering the amount of tiramisu-esque products that have just arrived in M&S stores. Admittedly the cupcakes weren't extortionate however, at £2 for a box of two.

"Sponge cupcake, with a dark chocolate and intense coffee centre, topped with a delicious mascarpone and chocolate frosting and delicate coffee dusting."

They looked splendiferous! Ok, so the frosting might be slightly off centre, but the double coloured ripples are sheer perfection. The robust coffee scent that emanated from the box the second I unwrapped it heightened my taste-buds in anticipation.

They were a pain to retrieve from their wrappers though, the cake refused to come out without a fight, meaning that I ended up scrapping the case with a knife so as not to waste any. Slicing my first cake in two revealed an off-centre dark core and very dense sponge.

Hmm, I'm sure Mary Bezzer would have something to say about the cake's lack of fluffiness. The sponge was extremely doughy and under-risen, whilst the flavour was simply plain -certainly nothing to shout about. I'm not sure whether I could tell you that the frosting contained marscarpone either to be honest, for it just tasted like a standard mild chocolate buttercream.The lack of flavour is unsurprising considering that I've just read the ingredients and discovered that mascarpone only makes up a measly 1.5% of the ingredients. To add insult to injury the sheer amount of frosting made the cupcake unbearably sweet too, but that's why I'd argue that muffins are superior.

I placed the last of my expectations on the 'intense' flavour hit that M&S promised of within the cake's centre, and yes it tasted of coffee and chocolate, but it wasn't anywhere near as punchy as it could've been. In fact I was sure the cake was almost completely devoid of flavour until I made Bert try a smidgen and he spat it out -he detests coffee. I wondered If it was perhaps because I was drinking a (mild decaf) cup of coffee alongside the cake, so the next evening I tried it with a serving of Jude's Flat White ice cream (review to follow) but it still paled in flavour comparison.

I'm not sure that M&S can really call this a tiramisu cupcake considering the complete lack of Marsala and scarce mascarpone. It certainly doesn't deserve the label. Come on M&S you can do better than this!

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

Mrs Freshley's Banana Pudding Cupcakes (American Fizz)

It's another American Fizz find today, I feel like I should apologise in case I'm starting to bore you with my reviews of foreign treats! I've been on the hunt for some of the new UK food releases but, as per usual, they seem to be taking a long while to reach this landlocked county. So today you'll have to put up with another American review, and this time it's the turn of Mrs Freshley's Banana Pudding Cupcakes.

I hadn't heard of the brand until I was bored one afternoon last month and put a huge order into American Fizz. I'm well aware of cake-manufacturing giant Hostess -the people who make Twinkies- but I couldn't have told you who Mrs Freshley is, or what she/they produce. It turns out the company produces a hella'lot: everything from fruit pies, to cookies, pastries and pretty much most baked goods in between. Banana Pudding cupcakes? I'm a huge banana cake fan, it's one of my favourites, so I had to see what Mrs F was all about, especially at the reasonable price 65p for a pack of two.

The wrapper didn't give much away about what a banana pudding cupcake consisted of, but I could see the custard coloured icing that covered the dubious looking sponge beneath. I sliced my cupcake in half, and discovered a pocket of creamy filling within, reminiscent of a Twinkie.

The cake was dense but moist, with a close texture that heralded a good squidge. It tasted very banana-y, in the same sort of artificial way that Mr Kipling's banoffee cake slices do, although the wrapper clearly states that it's made from natural banana flavouring -and vanilla wafers (although I've no idea where they come into play!). The icing was thin enough to provide just the right amount of sweetness, without becoming tootheachingly sugary. I also enjoyed the pocket of creamy, whipped filling in the centre that added a light mallowy fluffyness, breaking up the texture nicely. 

The Banana Pudding Cupcakes were another pleasant surprise from American Fizz; they're nowhere near as good as homemade, but are a tasty treat and different to any of the mass produced British cakes. I'll be ordering them again when my supplies start running low, although I'm also tempted by Mrs Freshley's Boston creme honey buns, cinnamon twirls, and peanut butter chocolate brownies. Drool. 

8/10

American Pop Tart: Confetti Cupcake

I confess, I must be addicted to the GM ingredients in American Pop Tarts. I can't have completely satisfied my sugar cravings earlier this week with the Cookie Dough Pastries, because I didn't hesitate to buy these Confetti Cupcake treats when I discovered them at half price in a local vintage shop. 

I'm always so envious of American product flavours, they're always so much more interesting than the tame English offerings. The confetti cupcake sounded vey tempting, who wouldn't want cake and pastry, right? They're probably a diabetic nightmare but I wasn't bothered about my sugar intake, being too intrigued to even consider my health. I think I must've had a cake induced craving as a direct result of the bake off. Yes, I'm blaming the BBC for my purchase- shame on you Bezzer. 

I digress, the Pop Tarts themselves were Aesthetically pleasing, covered with white icing dotted with hundreds and thousands. They were the first Pop Tarts I've sampled which I could actually smell heating in the toaster. As usual, I nibbled the un-frosted edges first, savouring the warm filling until last.

The centres were the same firm consistency as the cookie dough, but with a lovely jammy surprise coming through every now and then. They were very sweet, even for me, but not to the point of being un-enjoyable. I shared the pack of two with my partner, which I was grateful for as I think by the end of the second my teeth would've started to ache. 

I enjoyed these Imports, but not as much as the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts.

8/10