Belgian White Chocolate & Raspberry Sauce Ice Cream Sticks (Tesco)

Hey, do you remember when I moaned (yes, I know I'm always moaning) a couple of weeks ago about Magnum's double raspberry ice creams, and more specifically about the fact that they'd chosen to coat them in milk chocolate instead of white? Well, I was in Tesco the other day when I spotted something that might just be the solution to said grumbles: a white chocolate and raspberry ice cream with raspberry sauce. Hurrah!

I had actually forgotten that until this summer Tesco sold white chocolate and raspberry ice creams that were pretty good rip offs of the white chocolate and raspberry Magnums - but now both Tesco and Magnum's versions have been sadly discontinued. Boo. Let's hope that Tesco have made up for it with these 2017 editions - which are slightly cheaper than Magnums At £1.50 for three sticks  (Magnum doubles are currently on offer in Tesco at £2 for 3).

"Vanilla dairy ice cream, covered with raspberry sauce, coated in Belgian white chocolate with freeze dried raspberry pieces."

Please agree with me that the raspberry flecked ice creams looked beautiful; to me they screamed luxury. However, I still find myself taken aback however at how small all these new 90ml sticks are (new Magnums are the same size). Biting into the stick revealed the shocking pink sauce that looked stunning against the vanilla ice cream and white chocolate. 

Unfotunately, it was one of those occasions where the taste just didn't quite live up to the looks. God damnit, I wish appearances weren't so deceptive. Perhaps I'm being harsh here, because the white chocolate was fairly good -it's no Magnum covering though- and the ice cream was creamy -it just lacked the real vanilla flavour that I longed for.

It was more the sauce that I was disappointed by. The sauce in the double Magnum had a real tang to it, more like a coulis, whereas this was more like a standard Askey's ice cream topping. I mean, it was just very sweet, and lacked the tartness that I'd hoped for. The raspberry flavour was a little lost actually, and I found myself wishing that they'd used a raspberry ice cream (as Magnum had) to really boost the contrasting flavours. 

These are great if you're after a pretty ice cream, but they're another case of style over substance. Considering the uncompetitive price-point, I probably won't bother with them again. 

7/10

Magnum Double Raspberry (Tesco)

This weekend I stayed with my sister and we found ourselves craving some proper comfort food. Both of us were super-achey (she’s training for the Cardiff Half Marathon) and I’d started phase two of the Crusader Strength Program*. We needed stuffed crust cheese pizza and ice cream. But what ice cream to have? Lou, like me, has a strong love for all things Black Forest (I think we’ve got our grandma’s Xmas roulade to thank for that) and so it didn’t surprise me that she was drawn to the new double raspberry Magnums whilst we were on our junk food hunt in Tesco.

I was unimpressed with Magnum’s 2017 flavours when they were announced earlier this year. Double raspberry? Double coconut? Meh. As you might’ve gathered I’m not Magnum’s biggest fan, but I wasn’t about to argue with my sister! 

"Raspberry ice cream with a chocolate flavour coating (8%), raspberry sauce (19%) and milk chocolate (24%)."

The ice sticks have a similar layout to the Double Peanut Butter Magnums; i.e. the ice cream resides in the centre, surrounded by a chocolate layer, then a sauce, all coated in milk chocolate. 

Biting into the stick revealed the tetralogy of distinct layers. The ice cream in the middle had a pleasant berry flavour, but you'd be hard pressed to ascertain that it was raspberry and not strawberry. This might sound like a complaint, but I was fond of the seemingly discontinued white raspberry Magnums, and so did enjoy the ice cream. 

The raspberry sauce was sticky and oozed from between the chocolate layers. It was much thinner than the sauce in the double peanut butter Magnums, and I preferred it as such. Magnum have made it from raspberry puree, which was a wise idea as it gave the sauce a sharpness that counteracted the sweetness from the ice cream wonderfully. 

The milk chocolate coating was just as tasty as I'd hoped it would be. Magnum might've reduced the size of their lollies quite considerably in recent years but they don't seem to have messed with their chocolate. However, I can't help but think that this ice cream would have been really special had Magnum have opted for a white chocolate coating. I mean, white chocolate and raspberry were just meant to be together weren't they?

Thanks Lou bum to treating me to the Double Raspberry Magnum (especially as I've promised to not buy any more new ice cream until I've got my collection under control). 

8/10

 *please check it out if you fancy building some strength and muscle with an extensive full-body plan, I can’t believe the changes I’ve seen in five weeks.

NEW! Cadbury Chocolate Muffins (Tesco)

A few weeks ago it was National Doughnut Week and I reviewed the new Cadbury Caramel Muffin. Today it's apparently National Doughnut Day and so it seems only right to review the other new Cadbury muffin. I mean, the caramel one was so good that it would have been rude not to buy a pack, wouldn't it? Especially whilst they were still on offer in Tesco. 

"Muffin with mini milk chocolate buttons (5%), chocolate icing (9%) and chocolate filling (10%)."

What happened to that icing? It's a bit skew-wiff isn't it? Never mind, at least one side would be super chocolatey at least! 

Oh, it wasn't just the topping that was wonky. Slicing the muffin in half revealed one side that was almost completely devoid of filling...Look for the silver lining... which meant that I could appreciate the muffin's flavour separately. Will that do? 

The muffin was incredibly soft and light though, and although I preferred the toffee tones of the caramel version, it was still delicious. The buttons were too small to be noticeable however, and without the caramel to distract the situation this became more of an issue. 

Given the abundance of icing on one half it was harder to ignore the quality issues of the chocolate this time around. Let's be clear, it wasn't awful, but it wasn't the sort of chocolate you'd want to eat a bar of -and that's what it felt like I was doing in some bites. 

On to the chocolate filling. Thankfully it was fairly good. When I bought the muffins I prayed that it wouldn't have a drizzly sauce consistency, and it didn't. Instead it was more like a soft chocolate spread, and although it wasn't luxurious or creamy like ganache, it was sweet and sort of homely. 

Although I've complained a fair bit in this post, I'd happily have these muffins again. Oddly enough Bert completely disagrees with my thoughts on these muffins and preferred them to the caramel. He's not a huge chocolate fan though so I'm not sure whether that tells you anything or not.

7/10.

Mr Gladstone's Curious Emporium Rhubarb & Custard Wine Review (Tesco)

It feels very odd to be writing about wine at 10am, especially whilst en route to a fitness convention. Actually, scrap that, the man opposite me on the train  just cracked open a Strongbow so I figure it's more than acceptable. Plus, it'll be evening by the time this is published, and you might be needing wine to get you through the Sunday blues. Convinced yet? I am.

Now I'll also start by admitting that I'm certainly no wine connoisseur but my preferences usually lie with either a full-bodied Rioja or zesty Pinot Grigio, depending on what I'm having for dinner. I've left the rosé with my teenage years and early twenties; despite my chocoholic tendencies I find it too sweet now. That was at least until I spied this rhubarb & custard wine on fellow sweet-toothed foodie Siân's instagram and then promptly found it on offer in Tesco. Argh it's pink, it's likely to be sweet but it's new, novel and rhubarb & custard flavour. If you've been following this blog for a while you'll know that I can't resist the call of anything rhubarb. At £3.50 (normally £4) it wasn't about to break the bank and so I treated myself to a bottle in the wake of finishing my second year at uni. 

"Expertly crafted with 100% natural flavours to create a refreshingly delicious treat, bursting with the traditional confectionary flavours of Rhubarb and Custard. Perfect served chilled or over ice."

Chilled it was. Siân suggested that I smelt it before I tried it, and I was pleasantly surprised by the intermingled aromas of both wine and rhubarb and custard. Whilst I was concerned that it would smell odd and artificial, it reminded me of summer days during my a-levels and having BBQs in the fields by the river with my friends. Now I don't imagine that that's what it would bring up for you, but I hope you get the picture.

It wasn't syrupy and slipped down my throat with ease. The rhubarb and custard flavour is surprisingly strong, but not overwhelming and works weirdly well with the rosé. I thought I'd balk at the sweetness, but it's not half bad. I wouldn't serve it alongside dinner but the Curious Emporium Rhubarb and Custard wine makes for a good sunny afternoon drink with friends (it's much lower in alcohol at 9%) or alongside a tub of Ben & Jerry's strawberry swirled.  

8/10 

NEW! Half & Half: Cookie Dough And Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream (Tesco)

I can't believe that I succumbed to the final new Tesco ice cream. If you remember, there were four new 'luxury' tubs released in March: Red Velvet, Jammy Ring, Jaffa Cake and this Half & Half. I almost gave up on the new ice creams after the disappointment of the Red Velvet and Jammy Ring flavours, but then I took a punt on the Jaffa Cake and was pleasantly surprised. The half & half didn't sound all that interesting, and I thought to myself: why buy Tesco when Ben & Jerry's core tubs are bound to be so much better? Last week Tesco had 20% off all of their new tubs though and at £1.60 it was worth a go. 

"Chocolate and vanilla ice creams swirled with a chocolate sauce, chocolate brownie pieces and chocolate chip cookie dough chunks."

As with all of Tesco's tubs, the ice cream was very soft and easy to scoop straight from the tub (there's no Haagen-Dazs luxury here I'm afraid). As promised the pint was split between vanilla and chocolate ice creams, which continued through the tub.

What I wasn't expecting however was the sheer abundance of massive cookie dough chunks and brownie pieces. Halle-flipping-lujah! After the Jammy Ring tub this was a sight for sore eyes.

As I'd imagined, the quality of the ice cream wasn't great. It's pretty bog-standard supermarket stuff, and doesn't come anywhere near the likes of B&Js or H-D. It's palatable though, just don't dig in anticipating it to blow your mind. I can't say the chocolate sauce was particularly special either, but it was pleasant enough.

The brownie was soft and fluffy with a respectable chocolate flavour. In fact I would say that it was almost as good as the cake pieces in Ben & Jerry's. Wait. Say what? I bet you weren't expecting that. 

Lets not stop there though, because get this: the cookie dough was better than chunk-gods B&J's. It's almost blasphemous. Yes, they're squidgier and big enough to taste by themselves. Yum yum yum. 

Argh! I'll say it again. Tesco please improve the base of your ice cream. They could really be something rather special if you followed these fabulous ideas through. I'd definitely suggest buying a tub of this Half & Half if you buy Ben & Jerry's for the extra additions -especially if you spot it on special offer.

8/10

Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon Rolls (Tesco)

Cinnamon rolls. One of the greatest, if not the very best bakery treat. The soft dough with sweet spices filling that as you uncurl as you break the spiral apart, all topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting. Mmm. Only the inclusion of raisins (like a Chelsea-Cinnamon bun) would make it better. I haven't had an IKEA trip for a while, so my freezer is sadly devoid of their wonderful Kannelbular, but my dismay might've been solved on a recent trip to Tesco. There, sat amongst the scones was a bag of Pågen Gifflar mini cinnamon rolls. At just over £1 for 12 buns there was no question -they were mine. 

"Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon is deliciously baked, and has a wonderfully tasty filling. With coffee, at picnic, with friends, or just for yourself when you're in the mood for something sweet! Simple and tasty! With Pågen Gifflar™ Cinnamon you're always in good company!"

The Gifflar are produced in Sweden too, which helped me feel like I was getting even more of a bargain. After all, the Swedes are known for their cinnamon buns.

The dough had a brioche-like shine to it, and although they were still fairly soft, they weren't fluffy like just baked versions.

I made the mistake of attempting on at ambient temperature. The dough didn't taste very fresh, which ruined the flavours of the roll. Let's try it microwaved for 15 seconds as per the packet's instructions.

Hmm. Still not great. The dough tasted no different to a standard savoury dough and lacks the characteristically soft centre of a fresh baked bun. The filling also lacked the rich buttery flavour that I loved so much. Yes the cinnamon was there, but without the sugar it tasted harsh. Of course there's no frosting to these buns, and yes I missed that too. 

These Pågen Gifflar left me feeling sad and hard done by. I'm sure there's plenty of you that'll disagree with my views on these cinnamon rolls (there certainly was a lot of love for them on my Instagram post) but for me they just don't hit the spot. Tesco's fresh cinnamon rolls and IKEA's Kanelbullar still reign, but I think a trip to LIDL's bakery might change that..! 

Where do you buy your cinnamon buns from in the U.K? Leave me a comment on here, twitter or Instagram and let me know! 

3/10 

NEW! Rhubarb & Custard Ice Cream Cones

Last year I found sheer joy with Iceland's Nostalgic Rhubarb & Custard Cone Sensations. Only ASDA's Rhubarb Jumbles yielded similar happiness with my favourite sweet shop classic combination and both the Greggs Rhubarb & Custard donut, & M&S' Rhubarb, Strawberry & Custard Muffins paled in comparison. Seeing as the Iceland Cones were discontinued in the Autumn, I hoped that Tesco had provided us with an ample replacement. 

"Rhubarb and custard flavour ice creams in a wafer cone coated with chocolate flavoured coating, rippled and topped with rhubarb sauce, finished with biscuit pieces."

At £1 for a box of four ice creams, they were the same price as Iceland's versions. There was a subtle difference between the two descriptions though - Iceland's were adorned with sugar crystals whereas Tesco's are coated in biscuit pieces. 

Well I say covered, but I don't mean it. There was a measly smattering of crumbs, which I didn't even acknowledge until I looked back at the photos. Iceland's sweetie-esque topping was much better. 

Luckily the sauce was tasty, bearing a welcome combination of sweet with a slightly tanginess. I can't comment on whether it was an improvement on Iceland's as my memory doesn't serve me that well, but it was scrummy nonetheless. Unfortunately the sauce wasn't very well distributed. The top half of the cone didn't contain much, and neither did the bottom, but there was a huge pocket of pink stickiness in the middle. 

As for the ice cream, it had that soft, almost whipped-ness of most cheap supermarket ice creams. Flavour-wise it was every bit the let down. Both the rhubarb and custard elements were weak. Rhubarb is such a punchy flavour so there's no excuse for it to not come to the fore, but it was very much lacking in these cones. 

If I was looking for the silver lining, I'd tell you that the wafer cone was crunchy with a decently sized chocolate nib at the bottom, but surely that's the least you expect, isn't it? 

5/10

NEW! Finest Eton Mess Cookies (Tesco)

Yesterday was one of those indecisive, dawdly days, and therefore probably not the best day to do the weekly shop. The chores needed doing though, and so I found myself hovered in the bakery section of Tesco mid-afternoon, torn between two new bags of freshly baked cookies. I've heard from many people that Tesco Bakery's Finest cookies are the bees knees (especially the white chocolate and honeycomb flavour), yet the brownie stuffed cookies sounded rather tempting too. Choices choices. In the end I let Bert decide, and that's how we ended up with these Eton Mess cookies.

"Cookies with Belgian white chocolate, freeze dried strawberry pieces and meringue pieces."

They certainly looked much chunkier than the anaemic brownie cookies, and they were on special offer too at 4 for £1.

Once out of the bag I could appreciate the rugged, cracked appearance of the cookies; although the white chocolate chips and Meringue pieces were unevenly dispersed. Needless to say I nabbed the most plentifully adorned of the bunch.

I wasn't sure how the strawberry would come across.Freeze dried strawberries can be quite sharp, which I hoped would work well to counteract the sweetness of the white chocolate and meringue.

My first bite provided me with the answer, establishing that the strawberry pieces were crushed into the cookie, infusing a gentle flavour throughout. The taste reminded me of strawberry Nesquik though, which was surprising considering that the fruit wasn't synthetic. As a lover of strawberry milkshake I enjoyed the result, but anyone with a less sweet tooth might not be so keen.

The white chocolate chunks weren't noticeably luxurious, but were sizeable enough to deliver scrummy mouthfuls of sweet chocolatey pleasure. As for the meringue pieces, they were in mini form and so every few bites I came across little sugar hits. They're an unusual inclusion to a cookie, and whilst they were successful in terms of adding extra texture, I actually found the meringues knocked the flavour harmony into sickly territory. It would have been better for Tesco to stick with strawberry and white chocolate.

8/10

NEW! Jaffa Cake Ice Cream (Tesco)

I'm in the middle of a chocolate orange frenzy at the moment, despite claiming not to be the biggest fan of the combination. This was the last of the four new Tesco luxury pint ice cream tubs that I fancied trying though, and despite the failure of both the Red Velvet & Jammy Ring flavours, I just couldn't help myself. After all there's no quality chocolate orange ice creams on the mass market is there? Please do correct me if I'm wrong.

"Chocolate ice cream with an orange ripple, sponge cake pieces and dark chocolate curls."

Removing the lid didn't reveal much appearance-wise, however I could smell the classically Christmas aroma of Terry's chocolate orange. Mmm.

Digging down into the soft but scoopable tub I soon uncovered a plentitude of sponge cake pieces, orange sauce and chocolate curls. Could this be Tesco's redeeming ice cream?

Yes! Comparatively the ice cream wasn't anywhere near as indulgently rich as Jude's but it was chocolatey! I was pleased that Tesco chose to use plain sponge pieces, and they were fluffy & soft -breaking up the texture nicely.

The orange sauce was a winner too, it was bold and zingy, providing a wonderful fusion of flavours with the chocolate. It really did taste just as it smelt- it's the Terry's ice cream!

The chocolate curls were an equally thoughtful touch and made a welcome change from the standard chocolate chips that are nearly always used instead. They cracked as you ate, offering an unexpected crunchiness to the ice cream.

Finally! A Tesco tub that's worth the £2! A better quality ice cream base would have heralded higher marks, but I'll happily buy Tesco's Jaffa Cake tub again. 

8/10

NEW! Carrot Cake Muffins with a Cream Cheese Centre (Tesco)

Chocolate orange and carrot cake are the flavours of the season it seems. Every man and his basket have got on the choc orange hot cross buns bandwagon this year (stay tuned for the last in that series very shortly!) and all of a sudden the carrot cake craze is popping up. Hoorah! The humble carrot cake has been vastly under appreciated until now, and it's lovely to see such a summery flavour appearing on a shelves - it certainly makes a welcome change from dulce de leche/salted caramel everything. What's even better is that these companies are filling these products with cream cheese. I always find that cupcakes are a bit lopsided on their ratios. Yes buttercream is tasty (when done right) but the cake should always be the star of the show, and somehow it gets lost under showy icing when part of a cupcake. That's why I think filling cake is a better concept. Anyway, as soon as @productsinstore alerted me to the new Tesco muffins the hunt began. 

The first store I visited wouldn't sell me any because they were "waiting for a manager to set them up" (your guess is as good as mine) but fortunately the nice manager that I found in the bakery department of Hereford's smaller Tesco retrieved me some from the freezer. Thank you kind sir! The four pack cost £1, and I just prayed that they were better than their Christmas Red Velvet muffins. 

"Spiced carrot cake with a tangy cream cheese centre." 

The muffins were a decent size and colour, speckled with sugar crystals on their tops. 

I sliced through and discovered how close crumb it was. Was that all of the filling? I thought M&S were stingy, but this was ridiculous, there could only be a teaspoonful of cream cheese at the bottom there.

The cake was well spiced with a strong cinnamon flavour and a slight warmth from the ginger. There were hints of carrot throughout, but it wasn't as prominent as one would expect in a home made version. The texture was soft, but it was so moist that it was claggy and almost raw in places. 

It wasn't just the cream cheese that was missing either. Where were the raisins at? Surely a carrot cake has to have dried fruit in too? Humf. One of the qualities I love most about carrot cake is the plump raisins that break up the texture and burst in your mouth as you munch.  

I did enjoy the sugar crystal topping however, which reminded me of country cake (albeit without the raisins). 

As for the cream cheese at the bottom, it was fairly good, but its location and meagreness meant that it was impossible to enjoy some with every mouthful of cake. 

Tesco' Carrot Cake muffins are kind of the anti-cupcake I suppose. Let's hope M&S carrot cake muffins are better, and if not I'll be sticking to their buns. 

6/10

NEW! Jammy Ring Ice Cream (Tesco)

After many trips to Tesco I've finally found the Jammy Ring ice cream. Well, no actually I fib, Bert found it for me. Given my disappointment with the Red Velvet I didn't have very high hopes for this new flavour, but still desperately hoped that the supermarket would pull it out of the bag.

"Try our delicious 500ml tub of Jammy Ring Ice Cream. Biscuit flavour ice cream with a swirl of raspberry sauce and tasty shortcake biscuit pieces."

Except the tubs only contain 480ml of ice cream don't they Tesco? Starting with a lie is never a good sign. Each of their new 480ml tubs cost £2 each.

Once the lid was removed I was met with a milky coloured ice cream that barely hinted at the prospect of raspberry sauce. Digging in I found the ice cream to be almost mousse-like in consistency. It was so airy that the 96ml portion only weighs 59g (compare that to 82g for the same volume of Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Swirled). I did, however, uncover some bright pink swirl as I scooped.

I'm not exactly sure how to describe the flavour of the ice cream. It's meant to be biscuit flavour, but seeing as biscuits come in such a huge array of varieties and flavours, it's hard to distinguish one determining element. Instead I'll tell you that the ice cream is sweet, and somehow does remind me of shortbread -although that might just be wishful thinking. I also found it to be quite nostalgic, stirring memories of the cheap little ice cream mousse pots that mum used to give us as children.

The sauce was neither here nor there, adding little in the way of flavour. As for the biscuit pieces, they were far and few between - I had a grand total of 3. Texturally they were hit and miss too: two were soft and cake like, whilst one was delightfully crunchy. Humf. Fortunately Siân had already tried the ice cream and given me the heads up on instagram concerning the meagreness of the chunks so at least I'd had the foresight to top my cone with mini Jammy Dodgers.

What a shame. Tesco have created an ice cream with a scrummy flavour; it's just a shame they haven't used quality ingredients and seen the product through. As a luxury tub it doesn't quite work and as such I'd rather pay the extra 50p for a tub of Ben & Jerry's from ASDA.

7/10

Red Velvet Ice Cream (Tesco)

It's an extremely rare occasion when I lose my appetite. Yesterday was one of those days though, a chest infection took full force and I was grumpy and feverish. Eating became a chore (yes, even the pink pancakes I made for lunch) and I just wanted to curl up. After almost 9 years together, I'm fortunate that my other half knows how to cheer me up, and he did so by coming home with a tub of Tesco's new Red Velvet ice cream. Last May Tesco asked its Orchard members to vote for a new flavour of ice cream, but I wasn't expecting them to bring out four!

"Pink and white cream cheese flavoured ice creams swirled with a cream cheese sauce and red velvet sponge pieces."

What's pink cream cheese flavour? I wasn't sure, but I guess I'd find out.

The ice creams were attractively swirled and dotted with cake pieces. There was a gelatinous blob at one edge, which I assumed to be the cream cheese sauce - at least that's what I hoped it was because it didn't look very appetising. My scoop delved easily into the tub, uncovering bright red cake chunks throughout.

Now cream cheese is known for having a resonant tang, so that's exactly what I was hoping for. Sadly though it was more reminiscent of the cheaper ice cream normally labelled as vanilla (really meaning devoid of flavour). I asked Bert what flavour he thought the ice cream was, and he replied "raspberry, because it's pink" -which I hope says it all. It lacked the creaminess of more luxurious brands, and instead had the kind of consistency that makes me think of Carte D'Or (of which I'm not a huge fan).

I couldn't taste the cream cheese sauce either. It was completely lost against the sweet ice cream, and I wouldn't have known it existed had I not have seen it. Fortunately the cake bits were good, breaking up the texture with little fluffy morsels. Again, they weren't very flavourful, but at least they were pretty.

All in all, it's not a bad tub, but it's nowhere near Ben & Jerry's standards either. At £2 per 480ml it's worth a go if it takes your fancy though! Meanwhile I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the jammy dodger inspired "jammy ring" ice cream is better, stay tuned for the full review...

6/10

ChokABlok Caramel Yolkie (Tesco)

Tesco is my go-to for commercial chocolate bars. Their 3 for £1.20 deal is pretty damn good, particularly because I find it too hard to commit to buying a multipack of one bar (unless it's Reese's). At the moment they've got a deal on individual Easter chocolates too (as well as half price Oreo Egg 'n' Spoons and Milkybar Mini Eggs, hell yes!) which means you can mix and match any three items for £1. It was whilst perusing this offer* that I spotted their Caramel Yolkies. The Caramel Yolkies first came out last year, but neither of my local branches stocked them and so I missed out. My chocolate self-restraint failed me once again, and I simply couldn't miss out on the deal (they're 50p each) so the Yolkie was soon joined by Cadbury's mini eggs and a Milkybar bunny. Oops.

"Milk and white chocolate bar with a caramel filled inclusion."

The attractive 25g mini slab was branded on the back under Tesco's ChokABlock label.

I haven't had any of their bars in a couple years, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the quality. In terms of the cocoa content, their milk chocolate is respectably high with a minimum of 33.5% cocoa solids and 20.5% milk solids (compared to Cadbury's Dairy Milk containing a 23% and 20% respectively).

Despite its credentials, the flavour of Tesco's milk chocolate just didn't quite hit the spot. I mean it was edible, but lacked the silkiness of a high quality chocolate. The flavour was rich, there was just something else missing that I still can't quite put my finger on. As for the Caramel yolk, it was gooey and sticky but alarmingly sweet. Perhaps it's because it was surrounded by white chocolate (which I couldn't taste whatsoever) but the flavour jarred against the milk chocolate base and I can't say that I enjoyed it too much.

I'm glad I tried the Yolkie but I won't buy another, especially when there are far better tasting chocolates in the same deal.

5/10

*despite trying to stop myself from buying more, honestly I'm like an alcoholic in a pub.

NEW! Cadbury Egg 'n' Spoon Oreo (Tesco)

Even though I got stuck straight into the hot cross bun reviews almost a month ago, I've somehow resisted the call of the Easter chocolates until now. It might have something to do with the fact that I still have an excessive amount of chocolate, some left over from Christmas as well as the countless bars I brought back with me. Oops. When I spotted the insta-famous Oreo Egg 'n' Spoons half price in Tesco this week however, my self-restraint evaporated and somehow I ended up at the till with a box.

I remember being utterly disappointed with the chocolate Egg 'n' Spoons when they first came out a few years ago. Since then I've stayed clear of mousse filled Cadbury chocolates (bar a lone snowman reduced after Christmas). It was the addition of Oreo swayed me. I'm not even sure why I'm so infatuated with anything Oreo, but after the disappointment of the Peanut Butter Oreo filled Dairy Milk this week I hoped that Cadbury could go at least a little way to redeem their sorry selves.

"4 Milk chocolate eggs with a soft vanilla flavour mousse filling (42 %) with biscuit pieces (4.5 %)."

At least the packaging design is smart, and although it hasn't changed since the eggs were first launched, I still think it's a nifty little concept. The box contained four purple wrapped eggs and two very dinky plastic spoons.

I unwrapped my first egg and spotted the lines where the top could come apart from the bottom. I'll be very honest here and admit to indulging my perfectionistic streak by separating the top from the bottom with a veg knife... Sooo satisfying.

Inside the chocolate casing was the milky white Oreo filling, flecked with cookie crumbs as expected. Digging in, I discovered just how soft and light the centre was. For some reason I thought it was going to be a similar substance to the centre of the Dairy Milk bars, and I'm still not sure if I was initially pleased or disappointed by my findings.

The flavour of the mousse was plain vanilla, and it was super fluffy. The gritty nature of the Oreo crumbs were a delightful addition however, and helped to provide a contrast in terms of both flavour and texture. I really enjoyed the lightness of the mousse, and was pleased that I'd chilled it in the fridge beforehand to give the egg a more dessert-like feel -perhaps next time I'll freeze it.

As for the chocolate around the outside, it was pretty thin, but I really enjoyed it. I've heard that Australian Cadbury is better than ours, but having tried a couple of bars of their Dairy Milk recently, I'm inclined to disagree. The quality of our chocolate has gone dramatically downhill -I'll give you that- but it still outstrips many of the foreign versions.

I think I may have to stock up* on these Oreo Egg 'n' Spoons whilst they're on offer!

9/10

*Actually I've just taken another peek at my chocolate hoard, and decided that that may not be the greatest idea.

NEW! Salted Caramel & Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns (Tesco)

It's 1:30am here in Malaysia and I'm waiting to be collected from the hotel for the 23 hour+ journey home. I'm so sad to be leaving this wonderful country and can highly recommend visiting it to anyone considering Kuala Lumpur and/or Penang. Whilst the food here has been mostly incredible, and ridiculously cheap, there's a few foodstuffs that I've been craving. One such item is the humble hot cross bun. Not long before I left my obsession with the traditional Easter Friday snack returned in full force, and I can't wait to sink my teeth into my next fix.

Having tried Waitrose's Cherry & Almond and Mini Chocolate Orange Buns, I turned to Tesco a few weeks ago to sample their 2017 editions. For the past couple of years they've sold double chocolate hot cross buns (which sound better than they tasted) but this year they've decided to extol the ultimate food trend that refuses to die: salted caramel. Tesco's bakery salted caramel and chocolate chip buns are sold in four packs for 65p or two for £1. Could this supermarket have finally produced a hot cross bun that my other half would actually eat*?

"4 Soft salted caramel flavour hot cross buns with milk chocolate chips."

I asked Bert to pick me up a couple of packs, and I'm not sure if he hunted for the biggest buns he could find or if all of Tesco's hot cross buns are whoppers this years, but both of our packs contained some of the biggest versions I've ever seen. These buns looked even bigger than Heston's 2016 Bakewell Buns! Out of interest I popped one on the scale. My eyes weren't deceiving me, it was over 100g! They were also on the rather tanned side of the equation, but I wasn't sure if that was simply how they were meant to be.

Tesco's salted caramel and chocolate chip hot cross buns were noticeably firmer than either of Waitrose's, but this did make them easier to slice. The interior of the bun was darker than a normal dough, and had an ample supply of chocolate chips. As normal I tried the buns both warm and cold and with a number of toppings.

I'm not sure how or where the salted caramel came into the equation for all I could taste was a standard sweet bread dough. The texture wasn't particularly fluffy, although this mattered less when they were toasted. As for the chocolate chips, they were so-so; injecting a cocoa flavour but nothing to shout about.

I found that the best way to enjoy these buns was warmed up and smothered with Biscoff or chocolate spread and banana... To be honest, the biggest bonus was that Bert enjoyed them and they were sizeable enough to sustain him through during his night shifts (but only when covered in biscuit spread).

6/10


*I'm not even sure why Bert doesn't like hot cross buns, he likes buns, cinnamon and raisins.. But apparently not together. .