NEW! Sticky Toffee Hot Cross Buns (Morrisons)

I've reviewed many of the supermarket 2017 hot cross bun creations this year, but there's one last variety that I'd been requested to review. I promised I would do so if I could find them, but they kept escaping me. In all honesty I was quite content in the knowledge that I've stocked up on the M&S carrot cake buns, which are stashed in my freezer so that I can continue to fuel my addiction post-Easter. Then, today, the sticky toffee buns finally appeared in my local Morrisons, and although I wasn't filled with the innate desire to try them, a promise is a promise and so they ended up in my basket -swiftly followed by my belly.

“Sticky toffee flavoured spiced buns made with sultanas, date and fudge pieces.” 

The buns are priced at £1 for four and fall under Morrisons' 'The Best' range. They were reasonably soft to the touch, with a rather dainty cross on top.

Slicing my bun in two revealed a dark coloured dough, not too dissimilar in hue to Lyle’s golden syrup cake*. I didn’t even bother tasting it at room temperature, my instincts told me that it would be much so much better warmed up -much like sticky toffee pudding. 

The bun halves were slim enough to fit into my toaster without getting stuck, and I just popped them in for a minute or so until they were just about warm, before slathering them in butter. 

Blow me down. They were really rather good. The texture was much better than I’d anticipated, well proven and with ample moistness coming from the plentitude of dried fruit pieces. The sultanas and date pieces were squidgy at that, injecting little bursts of fruitiness.

Flavour-wise Morrisons have done extremely well too; a strong syrupy flavour permeates the dough, which precedes the lovely warming spices that follow. It’s certainly one for those with a sweet inclination, but I thought that they were delicious.

I’m thoroughly pleased that I made that initial promise now, otherwise I’d have never bothered trying Morrison’s sticky toffee pudding-humble hot cross bun hybrid. They're right up there with M&S' buns and they're cheaper too, so if you find them, buy them! 

9/10

*now added to the shopping list of items I don’t need but am craving.

Graze Megapost: Sticky Toffee Pudding, Summer Berry Flapjack, Banana Bread, Apple & Cinnamon Flapjack, Belgian Speculoos and Banoffee Dippers

I was always one of those girls in the office who sniggered at the suckers who'd been duped into subscribing to Graze. The trouble is, I wasn't aware of what I was missing out on, and as they say "ignorance is bliss." I would have quite happily remained in my naïve state if it wasn't for Graze's recent-ish inclusion as part of the Boots Meal Deal. The lemon drizzle flapjack called to me, followed by the newer Cocoa & Vanilla protein flapjack. By the time I was nabbing my sister's peanut butter pretzel punnet from her I realised that I needed to sign up.

I was savvy though, and made full use of Graze's selection process to 'bin' all the healthy and/or savoury treats in favour of the naughtier punnets that I've jealously spotted popping up on Instagram. My first Graze box was a winner! Six heavenly looking treats that begged to me munched -or Grazed- upon pronto.

In normal weirdo Amy fashion I opted for the punnet that I thought I'd enjoy the least first, saving the best pack until last.

Banana Bread

I knew how good my Graze box was when the first box open contained one of my favourite flavours of cake. The miniature square was not much more than a mouthful, but at only 55cals would be the perfect solution for cake deprived slimmers.

I can't pretend that this was the best banana cake I've ever had, after all nothing beats fresh banana bread still warm from the oven. As a mass-manufactured treat it was pretty good however, and the inclusion of chopped hazelnuts and dates did ensure enough moistness.

7/10

Apple & Cinnamon Flapjack

I had actually meant to retrieve the summer berry flapjack instead, but in my dozy late evening state I opened this flavour before I realised what I was doing.

This treat didn't disappoint. As with the lemon drizzle flapjack the texture was perfect -soft, squidgy and sticky enough to hold it together without leaving a mess on my fingers. The cinnamon and apple came through in equal measures, mimicking the taste of my mum-in-laws homemade apple crumble. Oaty perfection.

9/10

Sticky Toffee Pudding

As suggested I warmed this up in the microwave, and as un-suggested I enjoyed it for dessert drowned in a giant pool of Ambrosia's new Deluxe Salted Caramel Custard. Just like the banana bread it was a dieter's portion, and it tasted like a 'light' version too. The gooey cake texture was lacking, but the toffee sauce was delicious. A so-so punnet, one that'll probably be 'binned' from future Graze boxes.

6/10

Summer Berry Flapjack

I don't think you can beat Graze's flapjacks. My fourth flapjack from them to date, and a lovely flavour too. The berry infused cranberries were packed with flavour, injecting fruity bursts into every mouthful. As I've come to expect the texture was on point too.

8/10

Banoffee Dippers

I've gone on and on about my love for all things banoffee, so it is perhaps unsurprising that I'd saved this punnet until almost last. It was worth the wait too: the shortbread was beautifully buttery and crumbly, but it held together enough to survive a good dunking in the toffee side. The dip was in fact so good that I ended up scooping out every last ml with my finger. Very unladylike I know.

9/10

Belgian Speculoos

I had to hoard this one, partly because I'd heard such great things about it, and also because Nibs (Nibbles 'N' Scribbles) didn't think I'd be able to resist it. I must admit that it was trying at times, ignoring my urges to rip open the pack of cinnamon pretzels and cookie dip, but I did it! Do I get a medal? No? Oh well. There was ample supply of dippers, which I excitedly stuck into the dip. I was welcomed with a beautifully crisp pretzel and naughtily scrummy speculoos. If you've ever tried Biscoff spread you'll get the gist... and if you haven't, why on earth not? It's incredible stuff.

The only trouble I found was that the ration of dip:dippers was way off. Normally with these style pots I run out of the former before the latter, but by the time I was finishing the punnet I was having to put up with meagre spread scrapings on the pretzels. More sir. Please sir.

8/10

Summary

Well, if you're even considering signing up to Graze I suggest you do so to avoid missing out for any longer -just make sure you edit your likes to ensure you end up with punnets you're likely to enjoy! If you're still not sure whether you want to commit, then you simply must try their Lemon Drizzle Flapjack (which is now available in most major supermarkets) I think it's still my favourite.

NEW! Toffee Fudge Muffins (ASDA)

Exactly a month ago I reviewed the black forest muffins from ASDA's new bakery range. Totally disappointed, I vowed to not buy any more unless they were deeply discounted at the end of the day. I stuck by that promise, ignoring the intincing displays at the front of the store, until I started to grow curious about the other flavours. Surely the eton mess and toffee fudge couldn't be so bad? Eventually I caved into the toffee, hoping that I wouldn't be left feeling quite so disgruntled. 

"Two toffee flavoured muffins with a toffee filling topped with fudge pieces."

The first thing I noticed was the immediate sweet scent of toffee that eminated from the muffins the moment I opened the plastic casing, nostalgically reminiscent of Lyle's golden syrup cake. 

A large grin escaped my lips when I sliced my muffin in half. The cake was soft, squidgy and bared a huge pocket of golden sauce running down the centre, exactly what I was hoping for. 

I'm not sure how ASDA have managed to make such different muffins in the same range. The toffee flavoured cake was brimming with flavour whilst being gloriously soft and sticky. It was as moist as any homemade sticky toffee pudding, and an absolute delight to eat. The sauce that ran down the centre was delicious too and worked in perfect harmony with the muffin that surrounded it. I groaned with pleasure as I savoured every last crumb...

Wow ASDA, I'm so glad I gave your new muffins a second go. Whilst the black forest were a disappointing let down, these are exemplary, and a must for all sticky toffee lovers out there! 

10/10

NEW! 'Cherry Bakewell' & 'Mini Sticky Toffee' Hot Cross Buns (Waitrose)

I've been eagerly waiting to try Heston's Cherry Bakewell Hot Cross Buns since Nibbles 'N' Scribbles lauded their ingenuity way back in March. True to form* however, it's taken Waitrose almost two months to send these new Easter treats to our local store.

*I still haven't quite forgiven the branch for not stocking their love life! Turkey sarnie at Christmas, of which I heard great things.

All of Waitrose's Hot Cross Buns are on a 2 for £2.50 offer at the moment, (the Heston Buns are £1.89 on their own) so I chose the aforementioned cherry buns and some mini sticky toffee buns -also a new 2016 Easter addition.

Heston's Cherry Bakewell Hot Cross Buns 

As you may recall I'm not a huge fan of Mr Blumenthal, something I mentioned when reviewing his Toffee Apple Cider, but the idea of two British classics combined in seasonal carb-heaven sounded just to good an opportunity to miss. I have an affinity towards anything Cherry Bakewell and so I was intrigued to discover how well Heston had managed to amalgamate the flavours.

'Cross a hot cross bun with flavours of a bakewell tart and you get something deliciously different.' 

Big promises there Mr B. The buns were pretty enormous -I'd guess a third bigger than regular versions- with clearly defined crosses on top. I was going to toast one half and try the other half cold, but before I knew it I'd popped both under the grill and slathered them in butter. Oops.

The buns felt heavy (they're almost 100g each) but were surprisingly light and fluffy. They reminded me of Brioche, as the same butteriness shone through, giving the buns a luxurious, artisinal quality. 

My first bite heralded a strong almond hit, with a delicious marzipan-like taste that was simply divine. The likeness to a Bakewell tart stopped there though unfortunately, it seems I hit the jackpot with my first mouthful and the rest of the bun was comparatively lacklustre. My disappointment was explained when I read the ingredients list: almonds make up only 2% of the bun and cherries 3%. I can't help but think that these buns could have been improved by the addition of a cherry jam swirled throughout; I had added some blueberry jam (I hadn't got any cherry unfortunately!) to the second half and found it much more enjoyable.

7/10

Sticky Toffee Mini Hot Cross Buns

From one size extreme to the other! These mini hot cross buns were quite cute, and were a similar size to M&S' mini mocha version.  There were plenty of plump looking raisins and sultanas to be seen, which pleased me considering M&S chose to omit the fruit altogether.

This time I managed to hold back from toasting both halves, and grilled just one. I covered both sides in butter as per the serving suggestion and got stuck in.

Again, Waitrose didn't disappoint with the texture of these buns. They were also soft and fluffy despite their size. I was met with a lovely fruity taste with the first half, but the melted butter overwhelmed the flavours and I couldn't detect the toffee element. 

Onto the second (non-toasted) half, and I hoped that the toffee pieces would prove easier to find, but -alas!- there was none to be found. I checked the ingredients, which claims that they make up 8% of the buns, but I think I must've chosen a dodgy specimen because I couldn't find any. None. Nada. I successfully found the date pieces however, which make up 6%, and they added a lovely gooey fruitiness to the buns.  

Don't get me wrong, again these buns tasted wonderful, it's just that they weren't very true to their description. 

7/10

Summary

These hot cross buns are yummy seasonal offerings from Waitrose. I loved the idea of them, it's just a shame that the flavours weren't as pronounced as they could have been. Texturally they are perfect, and much better than M&S's horribly dry 'Cherries & Berries' hot cross buns -which I suggest you steer clear of!

Waitrose also make a delicious sounding Cherry Bakewell Granola, but I'm a bit concerned now as to whether that would be lacking in flavour too. Have you tried it? If so, what do you think? Also, have you tried any wonderful Hot Cross Buns this year? Please do leave me a comment with your thoughts and suggestions!