Rhubarb & Custard Doughnut (Greggs)

I can't tell you how happy I am that rhubarb and custard seems to be going through a bit of a trend phase at the moment. ASDA's Rhubarb Jumble pots and Iceland's Rhubarb & Custard Cone Sensations are wonderful 2016 edition desserts which have both slightly altered my perception of the clasically British combination. How so? Well, I once thought of rhubarb and custard as a wintery pud (especially if the rhubarb comes baked into a crumble-yum!) but I've realised that the sharp-sweetness can offer a refreshing zing on a hot summers day. It's this new thinking that caused me to pop into Greggs on the way home from work and pick up this unusually flavoured doughnut. Well, actually, I tried yesterday too but they were completely sold out -boo. 

On the shelf in the bakery, the doughnuts looked rather pretty with their yellow and pink feathered icing. Unfortunately, by the time I'd walked the 2miles home in the blazing sunshine, the icing had melted and smeared itself all over the paper bag. Waste not, want not. I scraped as much of it out as I could. 

Refusing to wait any longer, I licked the yellow and pink icing straight off the spoon. Wow, it tasted like melted rhubarb and custard sweets -and was utterly delicious! Of course it was far more sweet than tart, but the tang was not lost and lingered lovingly in the background. Would it work against the sugary doughnut too?

Yes, I'm pleased to say it did. Although the doughnut didn't taste as fresh or as fluffy as I'd have liked, the combination worked surprisingly well. What did disappoint me however, was the lack of rhubarb jam and/or custard running through the dough itself. I've come to expect all doughnuts -even the ring kind- to be filled with some kind of naughtiness, and I felt that the additional rhubarb and custard element would have elevated this treat onto a whole new level of genius! 

7/10

NEW! Twix Tops (Poundstretcher)

Do you remember Twix Tops? Chances are that if you don't, you either weren't born/were very young when they were around or you've forgotten them in their 11 year absence. According to the font of all knowledge -Wikipedia- they had a relatively short stay in the UK between 1999 and 2005 and have only been available on the continent since them. A photo on Instagram recently showed them in the UK, and I felt the nostalgic need to hunt them down.

I remember thinking that they were pretty great as a teenager, and so I was excited to try them again as an adult. I bought them from poundstretcher for £1 proudly displaying the 'new' badge, but as I can't read Arabic I'm unsure as to where they originated. 

The pack contained 10 individually wrapped biscuits. They were smaller than I remember, but isn't that always the case? I wasn't too bothered, because at 10p each they still represented seemingly good value for money. 

They looked the same as I remembered -apart from the size- but would they taste as good? 

The simple answer is no. The biscuit was plain and lacked the buttery, crumbly texture that is characteristic of a Twix (I should know, I had the white chocolate version only yesterday!). The chocolate barely covered the caramel topping, and was so thin that I could barely taste it. Caramel, surely you can save the day? Sadly not, again it was in such meagre amounts that it was just disappointing. 

The proportions are all wrong in the Twix Tops and now I can understand why they went AWOL in the first place. If you want a mostly biscuit bar with chocolate and caramel then stick with a rocky -these aren't worth the look in. 

4/10

American Pop Tarts: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Thank goodness for B&M bargains! For anyone who shops there you'll be aware that they're a veritable treasure trove of American Import goodies. You can pick up twinkies, flipz, and American chocolate etc. at a fraction of the cost that'd you'd pay at specialist import stores. Whilst this must be bad news for the independent retailers it does mean that those of us who have less disposable income can sample some of the US treats. 

The foodstuff that never fails to tempt me are Pop Tarts. I know that we have British Pop Tarts but they only come in fairly dull flavours (apple, chocolate, strawberry, & cherry as far as I'm aware) and they don't have any of the naughty additives which our stateside cousins seem to get away with putting in their foods. I know this should be a negative, but there's a reason they put them in: they do tend to make the food tastier!

I spotted these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough toaster pastries at B&M at £2.29 for 8 (2 packs of 4) and quickly nabbed a couple of boxes. I love that they advertise the fact that they're Naturally and Artificially flavoured! 

The box says you can eat them cold, but I don't know anyone who eats Pop Tarts without heating them. Anyway, I popped them into my toaster and eagerly waited my treats. 

The Pop Tarts held their shape well as they always do, so I nibbled around the outside, saving all the cookie dough til last- I'm such a child! The centre didn't disappoint, although it was a lot firmer than some of the other varieties. The cookie dough was comforting and nostalgic- bringing me back being a child and being able to lick the spoon (and the bowl!) when home baking with my nan.

I really enjoyed these Pop Tarts and I'm glad I picked up a couple of boxes. I couldn't recommend you give them to your children for breakfast though, otherwise you might be attempting to pull them off the ceiling the entire morning!

9/10