There's not many puddings more comforting than a bowl of apple crumble (or tar) with custard (or ice cream or a combination of both which my father in-law swears by) on an Autumnal evening. The weather at the moment however is very mild for late October so I thought I'd get my fix of the seasonal flavours from Carte D'Or's new Apple Tarte flavoured ice cream.
I spotted it in ASDA at £2 for 900ml, which I didn't think was too unreasonable. Admittedly I didn't read the product description until after I retrieved the tub from the freezer at home, opened the lid and was taken aback by the aroma that presented itself to me...
"Biscuit flavour ice cream with apple sauce (15%), semi candied apple pieces (5%) and topped with biscuit pieces (1%)."
I can't be the only person in the world to expect apple, pastry, cinnamon and possibly custard in an ice cream marketed as Apple Tarte flavour! I've certainly never had biscuit in my apple tart. The initial confusion started as soon as the lid was off, when the remarkably sweet toffee-esque scent hit my nostrils. What would this odd tarty-biscuit-toffee-apple hybrid taste like?
Toffee apple, that's what. It was strange, but not unpleasant, just more confusing. In fact I gave my other half his ice cream cone as I always do, and then he came back into the kitchen to ask me what flavour it was meant to be -and he never questions his food.
I could certainly taste the apple and a hint of cinnamon, but the predominant flavour was reminiscent of the icing of Greggs' seasonal doughnut and indeed Iceland's cones from the summer -instead of the Apple Tarte I was promised. There were plenty of foamy apple pieces about which added an unusual but pleasing texture. As for the biscuit pieces, they were completely lost-unsurprising really given that they only accounted for 1%.
Hmm. This Apple Tarte ice cream is somewhat of a mixed bag, and I probably won't buy it again. Just call it toffee apple Carte D'Or for goodness sake!
7/10
Out of sheer nosiness I popped into Iceland after work one evening this week to see if they had the new Ben & Jerry's Empower Mint ice cream*. There wasn't any to be found (although there was space set aside) however I did spot a whole freezer dedicated to a new Pizza Express range which is exclusive to the frozen food supermarket. Whilst the pizzas and ready meals looked good, it was the Tiramisu Gelato that really piqued my interest. There's two other new ice creams in the new range too -a Sicilian lemon & chocolate fudge cake flavour- all priced at £3 per pint tub. All of the new Pizza Express products are currently part of a 2 for £5 mix & match deal, but seeing as I have a freezer full of chocolatey ice cream and wasn't feeling the lemon, I ended up picking up a pizza to go with my Gelato.
"Tiramisu flavour gelato swirled with coffee sauce and crumb pieces, garnished with a fat reduced cocoa."
Seeing as I didn't actually read the product description before I opened the tub, I was aghast by the sheer amount of cocoa plonked on top of the ice cream.
So thick was it that when I started the scoop the extremely soft gelato, an almighty cloud of cocoa immediately emitted from the tub -making a horrendous mess of my surfaces. The cocoa sort of confused me. Yes I appreciate that no tiramisu is complete without a cocoa crown, however it seemed very much like an afterthought. After all, the person who gets the last portion won't receive any whilst the person with the first scoop will end up with a very cocoa-heavy ice cream. The other surprising factor was the colour of the gelato itself; I was expecting a pale cream, or perhaps light beige coloured affair (much like the Lidl version) but instead was greeted with something more akin to the sunny yellow of Wall's soft scoop.
Now, fortunately, the situated vastly improved when I tasted the Tiramisu Gelato. Yes, it was super sweet & soft -which did nothing to convince me that it wasn't Walls in disguise- but that made it strangely comforting. There was a lovely Marsala wine undertone throughout, and although I couldn't see the 'coffee sauce', I could taste it. The soft crumb pieces added to the tiramisu experience, offering a welcome textural contrast.
The new Pizza Express Artisana Gelato is far from the most genuine of italian desserts, however it is pretty damn tasty. Compared to the Lidl version it is more expensive and tastes less slightly luxurious. I'm still pleased I've tried it though, and will certainly enjoy every last mouthful!
8/10
*I'm sorry but Empower Mint doesn't actually appeal to me, so if you want to read a review please do read One Treat's thoughts on the new flavour. I'm desperate to try the new One Sweet Love however, so if any of you spot it anywhere other than Ocado (who don't deliver out here in the sticks) please do let me know ASAP!
