NEW! Chocolate & Caramel Pyramids (M&S)

I couldn't help it, ok?

After I tried my luck with the banoffee semifreddos at m&s I went back to see if any of the other frozen luxury desserts would work in the Dine in for £10 promotion. They all looked delicious but it was these chocolate and caramel pyramids that caught my eye. Not because they were particularly ground breaking in terms of flavours, or elements, but just because they looked so damn pretty. Fancy clothes might not tempt me, but pretty food? Always. 

"A cocoa sponge base topped with a Belgian dark chocolate pyramid mousse, a caramel ganache centre and caramel decoration."

I found myself thanking M&S once again for their clever packaging and thankfully, unlike their fresh banoffee cheesecake slices, the pyramids had remained perfectly intact - please ignore the freezer burn caused by my freezer blip. M&S suggests that they require defrosting for 5 hours, but I hadn't been that well organised and took mine out of the freezer a couple of hours before serving. 

That cocoa mousse was rich and fluffy with a deep flavour that I imagine would please most dark chocolate lovers, whilst remaining sweet enough to avoid offending us who prefer their chocolate milkier. Where was that sponge base at though M&S? I thought Waitrose's version was stingy but this was none existent.

Things got worse as I hunted for that supposed caramel ganache. At first I refused to panic, having been initially disappointed when digging into the Waitrose salted caramel mousse (before finding the pocket at one end), but as I got towards the last spoonful I realised I'd been duped. At best there had been a slightly sweeter mouthful, but where was that oozy caramel sauce or sticky dulce de leche?

I thought perhaps I'd got a duff one - but if I did then so did Bert. He didn't even realise that it was meant to contain caramel, and actually asked me not to buy them again as he found them too rich. Admittedly, he's not as chocolate obsessed as I am though.  Meh. Another case of style over substance, that is, unless you're after a show stopping chocolate mousse - in which case, head to Marks and knock yourself out! 

7/10

NEW! Mr Kipling Trifle Cake Slices (ASDA)

Does anyone have a dislike for Mr Kipling? It seems to be one of those favourable brands that doesn't seem to get a lot of stick. Maybe that's because they make cake, and everyone in their right mind loves a bit of cake. Thankfully Mr Kipling are helping to mix things up a little with some terribly British summer editions to grace your afternoon tea. I was pleased to see that they haven't just rehashed the old editions this year (although the cocktail fancies are back) but have brought out a new cake slice and tart. The Eton Mess tarts do appeal -and I'm sure I'll get round to buying them soon- but it was the trifle slices that initially caught my eye. 

There's something about trifle that makes me cringe a little, perhaps it's the sad Bird's mix one that's always hanging around on Boxing Day and beyond, gradually looking more and more worse for wear. Maybe it's the thought of my nan's one which was always left at birthday parties in favour of the chocolate cake. What am I getting at here? The trifle is classed as a British classic, yet it's often the poor, retro sibling of the more decadent desserts. It's nice to see Mr Kipling giving it some love, I guess. They've been making the trifle bake wells for a while, but how on earth do you transform fruit, jelly, sponge, custard and cream into a cake slice? 

"Strawberry flavour sponge with a raspberry flavour filling (12%), topped with decorated custard flavour icing (26%)."

They're funky little slices, and although the more ecologically friendly among us might disagree, the individual packs make them easier to eat on the go because, lets be honest, who has the time to sit down the aforementioned afternoon tea? 

To me, the strawberry sponge tasted like watermelon flavoured sweets. Very odd. I expected a milkshake flavour (like their milkshake cake slices) but it didn't really taste wither of the standard strawberry artificial flavour or of fresh fruit. To be honest, I couldn't really taste the sauce in the middle against the cake, but the resulting texture was fairly moist so I can't complain about it either. As for the custard icing, it was neither here nor there -It was just a standard sweet icing. 

Now I felt a little let down by the slices -despite not knowing what to expect- but Bert really enjoyed them. At £1 for 6 from ASDA, the Trifle cake slices aren't likely to break the bank so are worth buying if you're intrigued by them. 

6/10

NEW! McVities Penguin Cake Crunchers (Tesco)

How has it already been a week since I reviewed the Trio cake crunchers? Scrap that, how was yesterday the summer Equinox? Christmas doesn't seem five minutes ago, and yet Sunday will mark six months until the best day of the year. Yep, I'm counting down already and will be celebrating in my own way on Sunday, keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram if you want to see what I mean. Anyway, where were we? Cake crunchers. Yes, well of you remember I wasn't impressed by the lack of crunch in the Trio cake 'crunchers', but could the Penguin bars fare better? 

"Sponge cakes with a creamy layer and crunchy biscuit pieces, covered in milk chocolate."

The cakes were aesthetically pleasing to cut into with their respective layers, I'll give them that. Penguin cake bars have, of course, been around for donkeys but it was the cookies and cream flavour that first drew me to the bars (even a hint of Oreo anything and I'm there). The trouble is, 'cookies and cream' has become synonymous with 'unflavoured' in the same way that 'vanilla' has, and that was certainly the case with these bars. The original penguin cakes have a chocolate layer above the sponge, but this was just a plain mousse. I mean it wasn't unpleasant, but it was far from spectacular either.

 To make matters worse, the biscuit pieces were again more-or-less inexistent. At only 4% of the bars they were never really going to make an impact though we're they? Why bother Mcvities? Ah yes, because then you can label it as new and draw us suckers in. 

On a brighter note, the chocolate covering and cake were fair, in a cheap, long-life cake sort of way. They were also individually wrapped which makes them good for lunch boxes, but they're also high in sugar (10g per 24g bar) so be warned if you're giving them to children! These bars have got me thinking, why don't McVities make a Hershey's cookies n creme style penguin biscuit? White chocolate studded with biscuit crumbs and a milk chocolate filling? Now that sounds good to me... 

5/10 

NEW! McVities Trio Toffee Cake Crunchers (Tesco)

Apologies for the infrequency of posts this week. I've been super busy with a few projects (mainly work) and am experiencing a number of technical issues (both my Mac and phone aren't working properly) so please bear with me. Anyway... 

It appears that McVities are treating us to a whole host of new products at the moment. Not only have they released the scrummy new Banoffee Caramel Digestives, and the elusive Coffee Caramel Digestives (pleeeeeease shout me if you find them!) but they've also launched two new individually wrapped cakes based on two of their successful lunchbox biscuits. The first I'm reviewing today, but please stay tuned for my thoughts on their new a penguin Cookies & Cream Cake Cruncher bars. 

"Toffee Flavour Cream and Crunchy Biscuit Pieces Covered in Milk Chocolate."

The apparently iconic* Trio bars were reintroduced as a limited edition last summer, but it seems they're here to stay. Not that I'm complaining. I found packs of this new cake version of the toffee biscuit bars in ASDA for £1.78, balked at the price, then found them on offer in Tesco a week later at the far more reasonable sum of £1.00. 

Both the cake and chocolate were indifferent to those used McVities Jaffa Cake Bars. That's to say that the chocolate was reasonable, although there wasn't enough of it to really distinguish it's quality. The cake was fairly light and fluffy for a long-life cake, but again it was pretty bland. 

The toffee cream however was scrummy, with a butterscotch flavour that hit the spot in a truly nostalgic fashion. It was very sweet, but that's what I expected -especially as each 24g cake contains 9.9g of sugar! As for the biscuit pieces, blink and you miss them. There's nowhere near enough of them (they only constitute 3.5% of the bars) which I can't help but think is a shame -not to mention a huge marketing ploy. Cake crunchers my arse. 

Give these new cakes a go if you're after either an intense sugar hit and/or a little nostalgia. Don't expect anything groundbreaking and you won't be disappointed. 

7/10.

*Despite being an 80s baby and junk food addicted child (and adult) I can't actually remember them. 

Cookie Dough Gourmet Edible Cookie Dough: Red Velvet, Chocolate Chip, Triple Chocolate Fudge & Funfetti Cake Batter (Online)

Have you ever made cookies and considered just not baking them? Just sitting and eating the entire bowl with a spoon? Please tell me that you have. Raw cookie dough is a wondrous creation, and must be on par with -if not even better than- warm cookies straight from the oven. We're not meant to eat it though are we?  I mean, the dough contains raw egg, but I also guess if that if our aim is to make cookies, we probably shouldn't fall at the first hurdle and eat the dough. 

Cue Gookie Dough: the love-child of Olly and Anja, who say that they came up with the idea of creating tubs of gourmet edible cookie dough from their life long obsession with Willy Wonka. The tubs are available in four drool inducing flavours: red velvet, gooey chocolate chip, triple chocolate fudge and funfetti cake batter. They're designed to be kept refrigerated (with a shelf life of about a month) but can also be frozen. That's if your self restraint allows, of course. I was utterly excited when I received an email from Olly asking if I'd like to review their products and immediately accepted, starting to think up ways to serve up the Gookie Dough (that's if I wasn't to eat it straight from the jar). I love a good food brainstorm, but if you're feeling less creative there's plenty of ideas on their Instagram page.

Gooey Chocolate Chip

"Is there anything better than fresh golden chocolate chip cookie dough? With a generous portion of luxury Belgian dark chocolate chunks swirled in a silky, buttery Madagascan vanilla dough, the original handcrafted Gookie dough recipe is to die for!" 

The first thing I noticed was the sheer amount of chocolate chips that were embedded within the dough. The batter was quite loose too, a similar sort of consistency to peanut butter or chocolate spread. A serving size is 75g (half a mini jar) and I chose to use it to top a protein cake in one of my late night snack bowls. 

The dough was tacky, and melted fairly quickly on top of the warm cake. As you can imagine it was very sweet, but it was also comforting too. The consistency of the dough is smooth, lacking the graininess of the cookie dough chunks that are commonplace in ice creams. I thought the serving size was a little generous as I found it quite sickly towards the end, but that just meant that there's more servings per tub. Bonus.

8/10

Funfetti Cake Batter

"Sprinkles make everything more fun and better right? Taking inspiration from the ultimate American childhood birthday cake flavour, this decadent and rich Madagascan vanilla dough is layered with handfuls of luxury Belgian white chocolate chunks. Just to make it ultra special, this party favourite is loaded full of rainbow crystal sugar sprinkles!"

If you've been reading this blog for some time you'll know that misleading names are a personal bug bear -despite being a marketing and advertising student. So let's get this straight, this flavour Gookie Dough was in fact a white chocolate version of the chocolate chip, there's not really any cake about it. I'll step down off my high horse now.

This time I sandwiched the batter between two Oatmeal & raisin flapjacked cookies, and I'm salivating just thinking about the combination. I used just 50g this time and loved the flavour and textural combination of the Gookie dough with the cooked cookie. If you decide to treat yourself to some Gookie Dough, I highly recommend that you try the pairing for yourself. 

9/10

Red Velvet

"Have you ever tried the world’s most famous & elegant cake flavour? Intertwining super moist, luscious red Belgian cocoa dough, and heavenly, creamy, melt in your mouth Madagascan vanilla frosting, this dough doesn’t disappoint when it comes to providing that signature light chocolaty flavour. It’s most certainly red velvet by name and red velvet by nature!"

There's no doubt about the flavour of this cookie dough given the colour of it. Red velvet is notoriously difficult to nail from both a colour and flavour point of view, so I was pleased to see that Gookie Dough had achieved at lest one of the objectives.

This time I decided to top my ice cream with some frozen Gookie Dough. However, I'm not sure if I didn't put it in the freezer for long enough (just an hour) but the batter didn't really solidify. I also didn't find that it had a particularly strong chocolate flavour, and although the swirls of vanilla frosting were evident in the appearance, they were lost in the resounding sweetness. It was tasty, but not the best flavour by a long shot.

6/10 

Triple Chocolate Fudge 

"Simply put, this is a choc-a-holic’s dream! Using not one, not two, but 3 different chocolate varieties, this fudgey 100% cocoa dough is heaped full of divine dark cocoa, Belgian milk chocolate fudge and white chocolate chunks. Prepare yourself for a chocolate coma!"

Coma me up. I needed a chocolate hit and decided to enjoy this flavour straight from the jar. Yes it was chocolatey, yes it was extremely sweet, yes it was sticky, and yes it was the ultimate in indulgence. It was a chocolate bomb and I felt it should be for reserved for really bad Monday evenings (or Sunday night blues).

Gookie Dough isn't for the faint hearted. It's made especially for us sugar addict. It's unique (as far as I'm aware) and I applaud Olly and Anja for their ingenuity. Gookie Dough is available in 150g mini tubs and 450g monster tubs. Prices start at £7.50 for two mini tubs and can be purchased directly from Gookie Dough's website. I really hope they consider creating peanut butter and snickerdoodle flavours in future....

Thank you for the samples Olly! 

Chococcino Muffins (M&S)

I've had such a mixed bag with M&S' cakes recently. Take their new Tiramisu cupcakes for example, which were pretty lacklustre, especially when you compare them to the amazing spiced carrot cake muffins. I found these chococcino muffins reduced to a very reasonable 15p and couldn't resist the bargain.

"Tasty two-tone chocolate & coffee flavoured muffins, studded with dark and milk chocolate pieces."

They were aesthetically pleasing muffins, but then M&S can always be trusted to deliver on the appearance front. Slicing on in two revealed a centre that was entirely chocolate cake. The way my knife cut through it so cleanly with little resistance did set off alarm bells however. 

Just as feared the cake was dry as a bone and I was thankful for my cuppa to help the mouthfuls go down. The flavour didn't save the day either, for it was mostly cocoa and didn't have the coffee kick I hoped for. As for the chocolate chips, they were far and few between and so added very little to these disappointing muffins.

Another miss from M&S' bakery department in afraid; I'd give these a miss if I were you.

5/10

Cadbury Caramel Muffins (Tesco)

It might be national doughnut week but I'm being a rebel and reviewing cake instead. I've had my eyes on these Cadbury muffins for a couple of months now but refuse to spend £2 on a pack, especially when their branded doughnut counterparts are so bad. However, this week they cropped up next to the tills in Tesco for £1.50, where they just fell into my basket. I'm a sucker for an impulse purchase. Oops.

They're sizeable muffins though. I thought that a Cadbury caramel muffin would be chocolate cake with caramel innards, but instead they've opted for a caramel flavoured cake. I thought this might be a good move on Cadbury's part as chocolate cake is so hot and miss.

"Caramel flavour muffin containing mini milk chocolate buttons (3%), with chocolate icing (9%), caramel filling (10%) and caramel flavoured chocolate curls (2%)."

Slicing the muffin in half filled me with joy. Just look at the golden treasure within! Now that's a centre to be proud of. The cake was also very light in texture, and I started to feel relieved that I may not have wasted my money as feared. 

Christ. That's good cake. It was very sweet but perfectly fluffy with more than a hint of caramel. Unfortunately the chocolate 'buttons' were so small that they offered little in the way of flavour, but to be honest I was enjoying the cake too much to mind. I felt similarly about the topping, which tasted more like baking chocolate than Cadbury's, but it was enjoyable in a comforting manner and so I managed to overlook it. 

Let's talk about that caramel sauce instead. It was utterly delicious, super sticky and yet moreish. I felt myself grinning stupidly as I savoured every last drop. Mmm. 

The Cadbury chocolate might take a nose-dive into my basket whilst they're on offer now too...

9/10

NEW! Spirit of Summer Tiramisu Cupcakes (M&S)

Given how successful my first dip into Marks & Spencer's 2018 Spirit of Summer range went, it wasn't long before I was back down the stairs into Hereford's food hall on the hunt for more goodies. Specifically the tiramisu cupcakes. Now I've mentioned before that I much prefer filled muffins to cupcakes, but label anything tiramisu and I'm there. Unfortunately, my wallet might take a bit of a hammering over the coming months considering the amount of tiramisu-esque products that have just arrived in M&S stores. Admittedly the cupcakes weren't extortionate however, at £2 for a box of two.

"Sponge cupcake, with a dark chocolate and intense coffee centre, topped with a delicious mascarpone and chocolate frosting and delicate coffee dusting."

They looked splendiferous! Ok, so the frosting might be slightly off centre, but the double coloured ripples are sheer perfection. The robust coffee scent that emanated from the box the second I unwrapped it heightened my taste-buds in anticipation.

They were a pain to retrieve from their wrappers though, the cake refused to come out without a fight, meaning that I ended up scrapping the case with a knife so as not to waste any. Slicing my first cake in two revealed an off-centre dark core and very dense sponge.

Hmm, I'm sure Mary Bezzer would have something to say about the cake's lack of fluffiness. The sponge was extremely doughy and under-risen, whilst the flavour was simply plain -certainly nothing to shout about. I'm not sure whether I could tell you that the frosting contained marscarpone either to be honest, for it just tasted like a standard mild chocolate buttercream.The lack of flavour is unsurprising considering that I've just read the ingredients and discovered that mascarpone only makes up a measly 1.5% of the ingredients. To add insult to injury the sheer amount of frosting made the cupcake unbearably sweet too, but that's why I'd argue that muffins are superior.

I placed the last of my expectations on the 'intense' flavour hit that M&S promised of within the cake's centre, and yes it tasted of coffee and chocolate, but it wasn't anywhere near as punchy as it could've been. In fact I was sure the cake was almost completely devoid of flavour until I made Bert try a smidgen and he spat it out -he detests coffee. I wondered If it was perhaps because I was drinking a (mild decaf) cup of coffee alongside the cake, so the next evening I tried it with a serving of Jude's Flat White ice cream (review to follow) but it still paled in flavour comparison.

I'm not sure that M&S can really call this a tiramisu cupcake considering the complete lack of Marsala and scarce mascarpone. It certainly doesn't deserve the label. Come on M&S you can do better than this!

6/10

FlapJacked Peanut Butter, Double Chocolate & Chocolate Peanut Butter Mighty Muffins (Online)

It's Thursday evening and I'm guessing you need that final boost to get you through Friday too. Could FlapJack's protein packed, high fibre, gluten free, Mighty Muffins be just the ticket?

You might remember that I've already reviewed their Apple & Cinnamon, Maple Pumpkin & S'mores flavours, so now it's time for the Peanut Butter, Double Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. As before, the cakes just require 60ml of water and a minute or so in the microwave. Easy peasy.

Peanut Butter
One of the things that makes FlapJacked's Mighty Muffins so tasty is the abundance of extras that the company adds into the mixtures. This Mighty Muffin is not just peanut butter flavoured, but also contains a healthy supply of peanut butter chips. Mmm.

I made the mix up in my heart bowl and topped it with Jude's Chocolate ice cream.
The base flavour was pretty damn good, but I think the MyMuscleMug version was better. The chips were a fantastic addition however, and I really enjoyed it!

8/10

Double Chocolate
I've mentioned many times on this blog that chocolate cake can be so hit and miss, so my hopes weren't too high when it came to this Mighty Muffin. I decided to take the opportunity to turn the double chocolate muffin into a triple chocolate affair though, and popped some Milkybar Mini Eggs into the batter before cooking. I also topped it with fresh raspberries for a real treat.

Christ. How can a cake that contains 20g of protein taste so good? The flavour was rich and dark, with the chocolate chips adding extra flavour and moisture. The texture was fudgy, especially comforting to eat thanks to the warmth of the muffin. I was in chocolate heaven. My addition of the Milkybar was borderline genius too. You. Must. Try. It.

10/10

Chocolate Peanut Butter
I saved the most tempting sounding Mighty Muffin until last. This one was chocolate flavoured with the peanut butter chips in - it certainly sounded like the best of both worlds!

This time I topped the Muffin with Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cookie Clutter (why oh why have you discontinued the flavour B&J?!). The texture was good and the taste of the chocolate was as scrummy as I found it to be in the double chocolate muffin.

I did find that the peanut butter was slightly lost in all the chocolatiness -but that might just be because the ice cream is so peanutty that it paled in comparison. I'd like to try this Mighty Muffin again on its own to see if the peanut butter stands out more when un-Ben&Jerried.

8/10

Summary
FlapJacked's Mighty Muffins are a fantastic treat to have, especially if you're trying to up your protein intake or simply can't tolerate gluten. They certainly beat a protein shake and most protein bars hands down! I love that they're easily transportable and could even be enjoyed at work for a mid-afternoon pick me up that's healthier to the cake that's doing the office rounds.

If you fancy trying the Mighty Muffins (or FlapJacked's Protein Pancake & Baking Mix for that matter) then please head over to their website, where you can also get 10% off by using the code AMY10 at checkout.

A huge thank you to FlapJacked UK for sending me their Muffins to try, I've thoroughly enjoyed them!

NEW! Syrup Sponge Desserts (ASDA)

A good five or six months ago I was in Worcester's ASDA before my lecture and spotted a new dessert pot that took my fancy. I even took a photo of it at the time, but didn't think it would survive a 3 hour lecture followed by the 2 hour commute home. I tried the local ASDA the next day but couldn't find it, then tried the Worcester store a couple of days later... but guess what? It vanished, not to be seen again. If it hadn't been for my photo evidence I would've been sure I'd imagined it.

Just imagine my surprise during the weekly shop last week when I spied the very same packet that's been playing on my mind all this time! Without my usual reservation towards the £2 price point I swiftly picked up a pack.

"Vanilla flavoured custard and mousse with a sweet syrup sauce and sponge pieces."

The tiers were distinct and the pot was well filled, but the mousse was a disconcerting shade of yellow.

I was worried that the mousse would just be devoid of flavour but in reality it had pleasant vanilla notes to it. The texture was just as light and fluffy as I'd hoped too. A rather good start.

Underneath was the custard layer, which was thinner than I'd usually like and lacked the creaminess of Ambrosia's version. It was still enjoyable, but could be a lot better.

The final layer consisted of the cake cubes and golden syrup. The combination should be a winner but ASDA have completely messed up the ratios. Of course in a traditional golden syrup sponge the cake element makes up the majority of the dessert, but in these pots there was twice as much sauce to cake (19% and 9.3% respectively). With so much syrup pooled at the bottom the last mouthfuls were almost unbearably sweet -and I've got a very sweet tooth.

C'mon ASDA, you dominated the supermarkets last year. These Syrup sponge puddings and your new cheesecakes are a right let down in comparison!

6/10

NEW! Milkybar Milk Slices (ASDA)

White chocolate. Its adored by most dark chocolate dodgers, yet is still vastly under-utilised in the U.K. The only white chocolate bar currently available in most newsagents is Milkybar, and that's marketed at children. Still, there's something quite comforting about eating children's food. I don't trust anyone who doesn't enjoy a plate of McCain's smiles with Birds Eye fish fingers. I did feel a little silly buying these Milkybar cake slices, but realised soon after posting my Instagram post last night that I'm not the only adult with an affinity towards kiddie junk food.

I used to regularly buy the Nesquik chocolate milk slices, but haven't had them in a while, opting for chocolate cake/ muffins instead. To be honest, I'd all but forgotten about them until these Milkybar versions were released. At £1 for four from ASDA they weren't too badly priced though, and they're good to eat up to 6 hours from the fridge.

"Sponge Cake with White Chocolate Filling"

Oh, well they're not the most appetising looking snacks are they? The thin squares of cake were only a couple of millimetres thick and disconcertingly smooth. Perhaps cutting it in two would make it look prettier. What do you think?

The cake itself was solid and reminded me of rusk as opposed to the sponge it promised of. It didn't have any noticeable flavour either - no butteriness or even egg to it. Hmm.

The situation improved slightly with the filling, which was whipped and moussey in texture. Like white chocolate it was very sweet, but that's where the similarities ended. The filling had a generic vanilla ice cream flavour, with the merest hint of white chocolate, but it was certainly no MilkyBar.

I don't think I'll bother with these again.

5/10

NEW! Spiced Carrot Muffins (M&S)

So we've established that the Tesco carrot cake muffins are a bit pathetic and that the M&S carrot cake hot cross buns are the biz*. The carrot cake trend looks set to continue (&/or Marks' bakery team are running out of ideas) as they've recently launched carrot cake muffins into their four pack range. Now their muffins have been hit and miss of late; the banana chocolate chip four packs were decidedly disappointing, as were the rhubarb, strawberry & custard filled affairs,  but let's not forget how good their chocolate oranges were -there's hope yet.

"Light and delicately spiced carrot muffin studded with plump sultanas, a cooling cream cheese centre topped wth granola and pumpkin seeds."

We can even pretend that they're healthy too, what with their fruit and vegetable content and granola & seed topping and all! At £1.50 per pack they're not likely to break the bank either.

Ok, so I might've squished them on the cycle home. I could've cried when I opened my backpack, what a clutz I am. I promise you they looked rustic to begin with, just maybe not this rustic. 

A corner broke off as I sliced the muffin in two, but as I'm not sure whose fault that was, I won't mark M&S down for that. I do remember that before I mistreated the muffins the topping was scattered everywhere though. Once bisected, the pale pocket of filling was visible, and it was a pleasing sight -central and adequately proportionate- just as it should be.

The warming notes of cinnamon were well balanced, not overshadowing the earthiness from the carrot, but instead complimenting it. An abundance of plump, juicy sultanas added extra little bursts of flavour. The cake was a little on the dry side, and more like a country cake, but strangely this didn't detract from the enjoyment given the wet filling within.

The topping was ingenious too. The crunchy seeds offered a joyous textural contrast against the cake combined with a welcome gentle nuttiness. If I was being pernickety I'd point out that the 'granola' was really just oats given its lack of cluster formation, but I enjoyed it so lets forget that.  

The make or break moment comes with the filling though surely. I found the cream cheese to be more akin to traditional frosting than the centre of M&S' carrot cake hot cross buns. That is to say that it's sweeter and fluffier. I'm not sure if the gooeier, sauce like innards used within the buns would've worked better against the sweetness of the cake, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

Please don't bother buying Tesco's carrot cake muffins, pay the extra 50p and treat yourself to Marks & Sparks' spiced carrot muffins instead.

9/10

* I'm going to re-score the buns as a 10 given my 'currant' 😉 addiction to them and the amount of cream cheese I've had in every bun since writing the review.

NEW! Muscle Moose Protein Pancakes & 1 Minute Mug Cakes (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I received a message from Muscle Moose who said that they would really like to send me some goodies. I certainly wasn't going to turn down an offer like that, especially given how much I enjoyed their peanut butter cup protein mousse. I then heard through the grapevine that MM were launching mug cake and pancake mixes. Hmm. I've tried a few protein cakes and pancake mixes over the past few months (including my homemade versions) and so it felt a little like they were late to the game. I found myself wondering what MM could add to the market.

When the delivery arrived early this week I was pleased though on a few accounts:

1. It was the first time I'd come across a large multipack bag of cake mix
2. The macros for both pancakes and cakes were pretty damn good
3. They're GOLDEN SYRUP flavoured!

Good shout MM. Golden syrup is so under appreciated! If by any chance you've read my rant in the Weetabix Additions post you'll know how much we value the golden syrup in my house. Also the flavour makes for a very good base for adding toppings and/or fillings.

Protein Pancakes

"Muscle Moose Protein Pancakes are what breakfast was invented for. These extra fluffy, easy to make pancakes are a taste sensation. The world is your oyster when it comes to toppings – fresh berries, banana, peanut butter and more (not oyster though, no one wants that for breakfast!) – a perfect way to start your day!"

With over 26g of protein in every 50g (dry mix weight) serving and only 194kCal, these pancakes are little powerhouses. Instructions are similar to those on the Flapjacked pack: simply add 75ml water and mix.

The pancakes aerated as they cooked, turning a lovely tan colour. They didn't stick to the pan either and were easy to flip. I made 6 scotch sized pancakes from one serving and topped them with sugar free maple syrup and fresh raspberries.

The pancakes were soft and fluffy, with a good texture and gentle syrupy sweetness. I could taste the protein powder but it wasn't off-putting.

Good macros, easy to make and a decent flavour. They're more expensive than flapjacked but contain more protein and much lower carbs. My only complaint is that they didn't fill me up for very long (flapjacked was better for that due to the oat content) but MM's protein pancake mix is good as a snack.

8/10
Macros per 50g serving: kCal:184 P:26.2 /C: 13.1 / F: 3.7

1 minute mug cakes

"Muscle Moose Mug Cakes are your high protein, gluten free daily treat of fluffy cakey goodness! There’s no need to wait for after dinner to enjoy this cake mix – it’s a great snack any time of day. Even better, no baking is required so you’ll be saving time and increasing your protein intake – everyone wins!"

It's a shame that the old school puddings have fallen out of favour really. Golden syrup sponges and treacle tarts are desserts of beauty but often fall by the wayside in favour of salted caramel everything. I was therefore thrilled when I opened the bag of cake mix and was greeted with the most delicious nostalgic hit of syrup. Mmm.

Each cake serving contains just 186kCal, with 20g of protein. The instructions suggest adding 50-60ml of water to 50g of the mix, whisk, and microwave for 60 seconds. Simple.

Except of course I decided to be fancy and full my first cake with sliced banana and Hershey's caramel sauce.

The smell that emanated was almost unbearable in its in-toxicity. Fortunately I didn't have to wait long to dig in. 60 seconds wasn't quite long enough in my paltry little microwave, but 70 did the trick.

Mmm. The gooey cake was simply scrummy. I was at once transported back to the days of cold winters evenings and comforting puds, and I instantly wished I'd got some Ambrosia to go with it. The texture was soft and squidgy and the flavour was powerful. It was everything I hoped for and more.

9/10
Macros per serving: 186kCal P:20.1 /C:16.1 /F: 3.8

Summary
Bravo Muscle Moose. The pancakes are good but the cakes are even better. I can't wait for more flavours to come out. Both 500g packs contain 10 servings and are now available to buy from Muscle Moose's website.

Thank you for the samples Muscle Moose!