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 

NEW! Eton Mess Muffins (ASDA)

A trio of new ASDA muffins: Black Forest, Toffee Fudge and Eton Mess. Oddly enough the Eton Mess was the first flavour to catch my eye back in April, and I'm not sure why I ended up trying them last. If you regularly read this blog you'll know that my experience of the new range has been completely contrasting thus far, so I really didn't want to be left feeling disappointed by ASDA's muffin-y take on the epitome of British summer desserts.

"Two clotted cream flavour muffins with a strawberry jam filling, topped with meringue pieces."

Unfortunately all of the boxes on the shelf had taken a bit of a battering, so I chose the least abused one I could find. Miniature meringue pieces flecked the top of the muffins, and the jammy centre was evident from the oozing pore at the summit of each. So far, so good.

Slicing the muffin in half revealed a generous puddle of strawberry jam. It also became clear that they were going to be moist, as they were gloriously soft and sticky to cut through.

I was sad (but unsurprised) to find that the meringue pieces offered little more than decoration to the muffin as they were completely lost against the cake. Luckily the flavour of said cake was superb. Somehow ASDA have managed to harness the flavours of afternoon tea -think fresh strawberry and cream scones- and transformed it into a muffin. I was expecting the cake to taste identical to the iconic Victoria sponge, but the flavour was far more delicate. The jammy centre was sweet and sticky, working in perfect symphony with the clotted cream flavoured cake -after all strawberries and cream are a match made in heaven.

If I was marketing these cakes for ASDA I would certainly get rid of the useless meringue and name them the Afternoon Tea Muffins. They're a delightful addition to the range, and I hope they're here to stay. The Toffee Fudge are still my favourite, but I will certainly continue to buy more of both flavours.

Who makes your favourite supermarket muffins and what's your favourite flavour? Have I tried the best Britain has to offer yet? Leave me a comment and let me know!

9/10