NEW! Milk Chocolate & Irish Cream Brownie Slices (M&S)

Last week I combatted the change in seasons by celebrating the fact that M&S have just launched new desserts into their menu collection. Whilst the giant macaroons might've been a little more style over substance, I looked forward to trying some of the other unusual additions.

I was in luck too - a couple of days ago I found the new Irish Cream Brownie slices emblazoned with that promising yellow reduced sticker. £1.90 for two wasn't too bad! They're currently £2.80 but will be £3.50 when full price. Ouch. 

"Layers of earl grey mousse and Irish cream mousse, chocolate sponge, chocolate brownie and milk chocolate."

They were an usual shape too, and although they were well protected in the wrapper, they were a pain in the bum to plate up as they had a tendency to fall over. Squish them onto the plate a little -like I did- though and they should stand proud. 

Shall we do this by layers? Ok then..

The top layer was jelly like, and offered little in the way of flavour. I assume it was simply there for decoration, and the gold sparkle was pretty. Beneath this was the first mousse layer - and it was scrummy. It was light, chocolatey and delivered an almighty Baileys-esque kick. For teetotal Bert this wasn't a good point, but I'd bought them because they were labelled as Irish cream and so I was happy to find that M&S had followed through on their promise. Simply put, it reminded me of Christmas.

Next up was a layer of dry, bland "sponge" cake. Again I assume it's only role was to break up the layers as it wasn't a substance that I'd want to eat on its own.  Another mousse layer followed - this time it was Earl Grey. Now I don't like Earl Grey tea - to me it's equivalent to drinking my nan's perfume- and had I have read the product description properly I think I wouldn't have actually bothered with this dessert. On its own I found it sickly and floral, but I bore with it in the hope that when it was combined with the other elements that it would transform into something magical... 

At the base was the brownie layer, which was perfectly moist and utterly chocolatey - exactly how a brownie should be. 

But what happens when you eat all the layers together? 

A journey of flavours. First the alcoholic heat greets your tastebuds, followed by the mellow chocolate and then that perfume-like Earl Grey. Damn that tea! Take out the bottom mousse M&S and you'd be on to a winner, but for me it's just too much. Too fussy, and too delicate. Give me the simple, scrummy (and cheaper) Banoffee Cheesecakes instead anyway. 

7/10. 

NEW! Soft Centre Chocolate Macaroons (M&S)

M&S updated their 'Dessert Menu' collection this week. Well there's got to be an upside to the darker mornings and chillier days hasn't there? You might've noticed that most of the supermarkets have also launched Christmas sections too - but don't worry, I've not been struck by mince pie mania like last year. Yet. Giant chocolate macaroons though? Count me in!

"French almond chocolate macaroons - just warm for a soft chocolate ganache centre."

The new desserts in the range are all part of a 20% introductory offer. This double pack was still a pricey £3.20 though. Macaroons are always expensive but can they be spectacular enough to warrant the £3.80 (non-offer) price tag? Let's find out...

Each macaroon was about 10cm ish in diameter, and could be eaten warm or cold. To be honest, it was the idea of the molten middle that persuaded me to prise apart my usually tight purse strings. Call me simple but I really don't understand the fascination with macaroons. 25 seconds in the microwave and it was ready to go.

Microwaves have a habit of making crispy food soggy but the shell remained crispy on the outside and soft on the insider. There was a fair amount of cocoa flavour to it too, with the almond aftertaste following through. As for the ganache, it was, of course, undeniably decadent due to the dark chocolate (11%) and whipping cream (19%) and once warmed became more like a sauce. In fact, the whole experience was like eating a lighter warm chocolate fudge cake. 

The new giant Macaroons are great for the novelty factor, however  I can't help but feel they pale in comparison to the Gold Bullion bars in terms of creativity and innovation. That said, I'd happily pick them up as part of the Dine In for £10 meal deal (if and when they're ever included) but would never pay the full price for them. 

8/10. 

NEW! Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Slices (Waitrose)

Isn't it funny how thoughts and ideas wheedle into our brains and lodge themselves into our subconscious? Only yesterday morning was I talking to Nat about cheesecakes, and by yesterday evening I was tucking in to one (admittedly it was never going to be as exciting as her talk of a Biscoff banana cheesecake creation). Despite the fact it was a warm day, all of a sudden ice cream just wasn't going to cut the mustard, and so I popped to Waitrose on the hunt for the new desserts that have started to crop up on Instagram this week. 

Argh, they were all on an introductory offer too. Cookies and Cream or Mocha? Bert doesn't like mocha.. but damn they looked good. But so did the Cookies and Cream... bugger it. Both went into my basket. Oops. 

Cookies and Cream were up first....

"A baked cocoa biscuit and vanilla flavour cheesecake on a chocolate flavoured biscuit base, decorated with chocolate ganache."

They were much cheaper than the Mocha at £1.67 for two (they will be £2.20)  and looked rather pretty with their ganache, which was definitely more of a drizzle than a topping. The amount of visible cookie pieces was a promising start too. I really hoped they wouldn't be another disappointingly dull cookie product and that this was a case where I could tell a book by its cover. 

Oh. The cookie pieces looked pretty, but I'll be damned if you could taste them. A look at the ingredients list indicates why: they only make up 4% of the desserts. The vanilla cheesecake itself was fairly good though, but it was sweet and lacked the sour tang of a New York cheesecake. Also on the plus side, it lacked the horrible gelatinous edge that so many supermarket cheesecakes seem to have and I would say it was on a par with the vanilla topping of the Rhokett. Unfortunately it seems that the ganache was only purely for decoration too, for there wasn't enough of it to taste on its own -and believe me I tried!

Thankfully the biscuit base however was a work of art. The deep cocoa flavour worked wondrously well against the vanilla topping, and was the only real nod to the Oreo type flavour that we've come to associate with cookies and cream. Like the base of Rhokett's cheesecake, it held together well until bitten in to -when it started to melt in the mouth perfectly. 

They're good, but not outstanding and I'd still rather have an ASDA white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. 

7/10

NEW! Waitrose 1 Chocolate & Salted Caramel Mousses

My sister was coming to stay yesterday evening and I was about to head to M&S to pick up a Dine in for £10 meal deal when I thought I'd check their 'menu' online. Oh. The desserts looked pretty lacking. I mean, the Millionaire's desserts are well worth a try if you haven't had them before, but I really fancied something different. I chanced a look at Waitrose's website and found that this weekend the upmarket supermarket is also offering a similar deal. For £10 you can have a main, side, bottle of wine (or box of chocolates) as well as a choice between many starters or desserts. This makes it a good option if you've got less of a sweet tooth, but let's be honest -for me- it's always going to be dessert.

As part of the offer, Waitrose have included their two wavy shaped mousses that form part of the '1' range. I've been eyeing these mousses up for a while, but there was no way in hell I was prepared to pay £3.99 for the privilege of trying them. I mean, they looked good, but they're hardly groundbreaking, are they? Just for info, and incase you're not as pudding obsessed as I am, the other flavour available is limoncello and raspberry. I was temporarily tempted by the lemony flavour, but when the choice was between lemon and chocolate? A no-brainer I'm afraid.

"Belgian chocolate mousse with a salted caramel centre, chocolate sponge base and topped with a chocolate sauce."

What the...? How the badger are you meant to retrieve these things from their plastic casing? If any has any better ideas than the only solution I came up with, please drop me a comment. I ended up using a combination of a knife under the cake bottom, and my fingers to wiggle the mousses out -of course leaving an inelegant finger print on both sides. Oops. I hoped my sister wouldn't spot the grooves of my digits on the side of her dessert, and instead would focus on the pretty glittery topping. 

"Ooh, they're gold..." she cooed. Phew.

The chocolate mousse was rich and light. Less so than the likes of an aero mousse, but that's unsurprising considering that whipping cream and dark chocolate (20%) are the top two ingredients. The resulting flavour is a chocoholic's dream, tasting of ganache but without the resulting heaviness. 

Disappointment hit however when I found the puddle of caramel in the centre. I was hoping for a generous, oozing trove of salty-sweet treasure, but instead I found a jot of thin, toffee sauce. Hmm. Another 'salted' caramel that really didn't live up to expectations. As for the chocolate sponge base, I can only imagine that it was created as a base to move the desserts with, for it was wafer thin and therefore added very little -if anything at all- to the dessert. 

As far as chocolate mousses go, this one is rather good. Is it worthy of a £3.99 price tag? Absolutely not. Is it worth buying with the ranch steak, pommel frites and bottle of Italian red for £10? You betcha. 

8/10

NEW! Extra Special Black Forest & Amaretto Desserts Review (ASDA)

I've recently outed my addiction to buying chocolate and ice cream on instagram in an attempt to remind myself that I really need to stop buying more and instead work through my admittedly impressive collection. The trouble is, whilst I love both chocolate AND ice cream, occasionally I'm just not in the mood for either, or I spot something different that I'd rather have. This is especially true when it comes to ice cream, and since promising myself that I'd not purchase any more, my non-frozen dessert cravings have fully kicked in. BAM! All of a sudden I just needed to have the Black Forest & Amaretto Pots that I've been contemplating for weeks.

Even my price conscious nature gave way to the compulsions to try these little desserts. In ASDA Gü are currently on offer for £1.50, yet I still chose their own brand desserts. I must be mad. In my defence, previous experiences with ASDA's Extra Special desserts* have thus far been remarkably positive.

"Amaretto-infused sponge layered with black cherry compote and Belgian dark chocolate ganache."

C'mon ASDA, you seem to have fallen foul of Cadbury's usual trick here and only half filled the pots! The Peanut Butter Millionaire's Dessert was full to the brim, and had much more distinctive layers too.

Digging in to the top I first tasted the dark chocolate ganache, which was as silky and as delicious as expected -there just wasn't very much of it. The little that there was had kind of sunk into the custard below. Talking of which, the custard was a bit of a let down. The flavour was weak against the ganache and so I wished that ASDA had just done away with it and filled the tub with more of the good stuff.

Fortunately the black cherry compote was delicious, offering a sweet tartness against all the chocolate, but again the pot could have done with more. Boo.

The final layer was the main reason why I wanted to try these desserts so badly - the amaretto soaked sponge. The cake was in keeping with the Black Forest theme and was therefore chocolate flavoured. It was a good sponge with a decent amount of cocoa -but I just couldn't taste the amaretto or even almond. Now this might be partly because I was drinking a glass of red wine alongside it, but nonetheless I was disappointed.

I'm aware that I've done a lot of complaining in this review, and perhaps it's not entirely necessary considering I scraped the sides of the tub and really enjoyed it. The trouble is, I know that ASDA sell a much better version of this, and it's cheaper too: their Black Forest Velvets.

7/10

*such as their White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake which was one of my first reviews, and remains my favourite supermarket cheesecake!

NEW! Chocolate & Hazelnut Müller Rice (Morrisons)

When's the last time you had a Müller Rice? It's only just dawned on me that I haven't bought one in months. Once upon a time I'd have them a few times a week for dessert, but since my ice cream addiction got out of hand I rarely buy them - although admittedly I'd got a bit bored with the flavours too. Every few months Müller bring out a new limited edition but more recently the company have got a little lazy and have just reinstated previously retired flavours (such as the banana & toffee, chocolate, maple syrup and salted caramel).

At long last they've come up with a new concoction though: chocolate and hazelnut. Short of releasing a peanut butter/peanut butter & chocolate variant*, a Nutelle-esque rice pud is about as up my street as it gets! The new flavour didn't come without concerns though -so far Müller's chocolatey pots have been pretty pants in my book. I haven't got along with the insipid sickliness of the sauce at the bottom, and even gave every single one of the chocolate & caramel flavour pots in the Going The a Distance multipack to Bert.

"Creamy dairy rice with smooth chocolate & hazelnut sauce (15%)."

I spotted the new Chocolate & Hazelnut Müller Rice at Morrisons and ummed and ahhed for a moment on wasting the money on a pot, then got a grip and reminded myself that it was just 69p (although they're now 50p in Sainsbury's) and bought one.

As always, I stuck my pud in the freezer for 45 mins before retrieving it. The sauce had behaved itself and had remained at the bottom, but I could still smell the sweet hazelnut scent emanating through the creamy rice topping.

We'll blow me down; the flavour was rather good! It was still a thin 'ice cream topping' style sauce, but the taste of hazelnut was at the forefront and complimented the chocolate. Perhaps it would have been better with a denser texture -akin to the consistency of the caramel core in Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra for example- but it was still much better than expected.

I then decided to take my chances and microwaved the second half. Now I always normally prefer my rice puddings ice cold, and so the second surprise came when i found that I loved this flavour warm too. In fact it was easier to imagine I was eating melted Nutella that way, and the chocolate mixed into the rice easily.

For a low fat (but high sugar!) dessert it tasted very indulgent, and this flavour is certainly one I'd buy again. Bravo Müller!

9/10

*can you imagine? Yes please!

Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts (M&S)

There's not many things more satisfying in life than finding a good bargain, particularly if said bargain is found in M&S! One afternoon last week I popped into our local branch and spotted duo packs of their Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts reduced to just 35p! Now I'm not normally a fruity dessert kind of person, opting for chocolate every time, but these looked rather good and I just couldn't turn them down at such a steal -especially as they could be frozen too! 

"Apples with sultanas and cinnamon in an all butter luxury pastry case topped with butter enriched filo."

They didn't pay a lengthy visit to my freezer because I thought that the tarts would make a perfect post-roast Sunday pud. They appeared to be the wonderful love child of a strudel and an apple pie. Could these possibly be the most homely desserts known to man?

The tarts come in individual tin foils, and M&S suggest popping them in the oven for 15 minutes before serving. Whilst they were heating up I contemplated serving them with custard, then ice cream, before remembering I'd got the rest of the Aunt Bessie's custard ice cream left to use -perfect. 

The tarts were hot to touch after quarter of an hour, and were easy to remove from their casings. One had a slightly soggy bottom so I guess it could've done with a few minutes longer, but I was too impatient to wait! 

There was a good mixture of apples and sultanas in the centre of my tart, which were wonderfully sweet and well spiced. The apples were soft but not mushy, retaining just enough texture to provide bite. Talking of texture, the combination of pastries worked wonderfully well together. I can't remember ever having filo and shortcrust pastry together before, but they complimented each other remarkably well.

As they did with their Frangipane Mince Pies (which I so hope will return this year) Marks and Spencer have created perfect buttery shortcrust pastry once again. It's sweet and crumbly, melting in the mouth in the most delicious way. I'm sure I heard Bert groan with pleasure at the simple but ultimately scrummy dessert -I know I did!

I only wish I'd stocked up on these tarts; they're delightful.

9/10

Gü Strawberry & Raspberry Cheesecake (ASDA)

So I was going to write a 7th healthy review today to conclude the first week of the new year buuuuuut....

1. It's Saturday
2. My sister asked me to review something "that she'd actually eat."

..Which gave me the nudge to not neglect those of you for whom high protein/low sugar just isn't interesting. With that in mind I thought I'd jump to the other end of the foodie spectrum and write about one of my sister and I's favourite indulgent desserts: cheesecake. Not just cheesecake either, but Gü's newest strawberry & raspberry shortbread creation.

This duo pack of desserts came out towards the end of the year, which I thought to be quite an odd choice for the company, or is it just me who naturally thinks of strawberry as a summer treat? Especially when enjoyed with shortbread, or shortcake, or scones, or cream. Mmm. Can you tell I'm hungry at the moment? Anyway, they were on offer in December for £2 in ASDA (currently £3) and although I wouldn't normally veer from their incredible Zillionaire's or Banoffee cheesecakes I was tempted enough to try them at least once (for you guys of course).

"Wander through raspberry and strawberry fields with flowering hibiscus, before journeying into vanilla infused cheesecake and crumbly shortbread base.
Pleasure seekers, grab your spoons..."

Yep, definitely summery then!

The bright red topping of these cheesecake looked eerily similar to the insipid toppings adorning ASDA's smart price cheesecakes -i.e not great, don't bother if you're lucky enough to have never suffered them. On the plus side there was evidence of real fruit though in Gü's little number , so I dug in..

I was worried the Hibiscus flavouring might overpower the berries (though I'm not sure that I can tell you what hibiscus tastes like, but I'm guessing flowery like lavender) but all I got was a pretty bog standard jam like topping. The cheesecake was ok, pretty standard, and without Gü's incredible ganache sitting alongside it was disappointing.

As I've explained in all of my cheesecake reviews to date, the biscuit base is very important. I hoped that the rich buttery shortbread tones would sing through, but actually the final layer tasted barely different to your usual digestive number. In fact there wasn't a huge deal of it, and what was there was über crumbly.

Humf. I wish I'd listened to my instincts and picked up a chocolatey ramekin instead. Talking of which, what on earth do you do with yours once you eaten your dessert? I always think that they're too nice to throw away, but I now have 30 or so in my kitchen drawer! Any bright ideas?

5/10

NEW! Shimmering Gold Melt In The Middle Puddings (M&S)

My sister has come to stay this weekend, so I decided to treat both her and my other half to their favourite dinner. I hate steak, in fact cooking it makes me heave, but they love it! It's Christmas after all. The other "must have" item for the weekend was wine, so then dawned on me that this was was one of those rare occasions when shopping at M&S would actually be cheaper -thanks to their Dine In for £10 offer. This weekend's selection is the best I've seen for a long time; I'm even tempted to go back and buy another selection before the deal finishes on Tuesday. The very best part is that M&S have created a few smaller versions of their 2016 Christmas desserts, including the one I opted for. I was actually torn between two puds, but couldn't resist the idea of a glittery pud -and thought my sister would approve too. Yep, I might not have partaken in the main, but I sure as hell wasn't missing out on dessert. I guess it's a good job that my fiancé doesn't like chocolate orange anyway!

"Deliciously soft textured pudding with a hidden golden orange sauce."

Seeing as we were on the path to opulence here I thought a side of ice cream wouldn't go amiss with the warm chocolate puddings. I popped each pot in the microwave for the states 60 seconds before pouring on a plate and covering with the supplied edible glitter. At first I was a little disappointed that the puds didn't come pre-shimmered but then realised that the gold would probably stick to the inside of the wrapping and result in a far less beautiful pudding. And stunning it was, don't you agree?

Slicing the dome in two revealed the sauce innards, although there was certainly less of it than the photo on the packaging suggested (reading the packet informs me the puddings only include 11% sauce). The pool of molten gold was gloriously glittery though, and I hoped it would pack the jaffa punch as promised.

As usual, Marks & Sparks have nailed the chocolate cake (there's a reason why their iconic molten middle chocolate puddings have been so successful). The cocoa was dark and rich, whilst the texture remained moist and soft. The warmth gave it the comfort factor (especially whilst eating it in front of the fire and Christmas tree). As for the molten centre, it was orangey, but not as flavourful as I'd hoped -I imagine the addition of orange zest would have helped. The scarcity of the sauce also meant that it was impossible to scoop some up with every spoonful of cake, and I was grateful for the vanilla ice cream to offer sweetness against the intense chocolate. 

It's a shame really because had the sauce been a tad more zingy -and say there was about a third more of it- this dessert would have been one of my favourite M&S puds to date. Hopefully the larger version offers a better balance of sauce to filling. Even so, the Shimmering Gold Melt In The Middle Pudding would make the most impressive centrepiece for Christmas Day!

9/10

NEW! Melting Chocolate Domes (M&S)

I've had my insatiable and greedy chocoholic eyes on the Melting Chocolate Domes since Nat (of a lot-o-choc blog) told me about Marks & Spencer's new dessert collection line up at the beginning of September. Despite my temptations I stupidly picked up their new muffins instead (you can reviews of their banana choc chip here, and rhubarb, strawberry & custard here). Before I knew it, the Domes were removed from their introductory offer price, and I just couldn't being myself to fork out the full whack for them (approx £4!) even after viewing Nat's spectacular food porn video of their preparation on Instagram.

This week the trains to and from uni have been useless -abandoned trains, cancelled trains, last minute platform changes, extremely delayed trains, you name it. However, the disruption has had one perk -a lengthy delay last night meant that I had a spare few minutes last night to pop into Marks & Sparks at reducing time, yippee! I didn't have much room in my rucksack, and realised that any treasures would have to suffer a 50 minute train followed by a 2 mile cycle ride in the rain, but when I saw the Domes reduced to £1.40 I just had to have them! 

"Chocolate brownie on top of a feuilletine biscuit layer, filled with milk chocolate ganache and topped with a milk chocolate dome. Served with a milk chocolate pouring sauce." 

These hot melting dome style domes have become quite popular in higher quality restaurants (so Instagram leads me to believe anyway)! Of course trusty Marks & Sparks have harnessed the opportunity to turn it into a commercially available dessert, and who am I to complain, it both looked and sounded fantastic.

Despite my trek home, the desserts were still in tip-top shape by the time I got home. The instructions informed me to bring a pan of water to the boil before turning down the heat to a simmer. Then it told me to place the chocolate sachet in the water and simmer for 5 minutes. What's wrong with making the sauce microwaveable M&S? Despite my grumbles about the faff (and enforced extra wait) I wasn't about to mess up what could potentially be the most perfect dessert, so I obliged and followed the guidelines. 

Now I have to admit that I felt like a bit of a failure when I didn't make my domes collapse in the way that Nat had managed to. Mine took a bit of prodding before they begrudgingly caved. Still, they looked beautiful and I immediately got stuck in. 

The first part I tasted was the brownie, which was rich and chocolatey, but a little on the dry side. I imagine that M&S might have made it that way so that it held the domes properly, but it didn't taste like a fresh homemade version. The second component that reached my mouth was the feuilletine base, which offered up a beautifully crispy texture. and crackled away pleasingly. In the centre was the ganache, which was cool, creamy and slightly lighter than expected -a bonus given how heavy the dessert was. Of course the domes had mostly melted, but the remaining chocolate was of good quality (although I expected nothing less from the premium supermarket). The chocolate sauce that had pooled around the dessert was delicious, but very runny, which complemented the brownie and injected the required moisture. 

I really enjoyed M&S' Melting Chocolate Domes, but I do warn you that they are extremely rich and chocolatey so therefore advisable only for serious chocoholics! My only real issue was with the temperature of the dessert -I tend to like mine either piping hot or freezing cold and of course the hot sauce on top of cold domes resulted in an lukewarm effect. For this reason alone I'm afraid I can't give the Domes the top marks that I awarded M&S's Billionaire Bullion Bar, but I still recommend that you pick yourself up some when you're in need of a chocolatey treat. 

9/10

NEW! Cadbury Winterful Layers Of Joy (Tesco)

Cadbury releasing their new limited edition Layers Of Joy is always a dicey time. Their previous attempts have been a right mixed bag between delicious and grim. Fortunately their last product in the line -the Jaffantastic pots- were at the top end of the 'Joy' scale, but that does mean that they'll be sorely missed if the new winter edition isn't up there with them.

I'm pleased to see that Kev (from Kev's Snack Reviews) has recently stepped up his 'spotted in shops' posts again, so it's to him I owe the knowledge that Cadbury have launched the Winterful pots -thanks Kev! I found them at Tesco for a round pound, but have since spotted them in Waitrose priced at £1.20.

"One winterful gingerbread biscuit dipped in Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate sauce and delicious white chocolate mousse."

I always find that Cadbury are on the sneaky side and slightly under fill their pots; still at least it meant that the white chocolate mousse had retained it's attractive peaks. Admittedly I haven't had the best experience with Cadbury's white chocolate mousse in the past, but I tried to keep my mind unbiased before digging in to the Winterful dessert.

Sigh. They haven't changed it since last year. The mousse was fluffy, but had the same bland flavour and lacked the richness that Milkybar Mousses achieve. It might be due to Cadbury using white chocolate powder (5%) to give it it's flavour. Come on now Cadbury -this isn't marketed as a diet product so surely you can do better than that?

Underneath the mousse layer was the chocolate sauce, which I normally quite like, except this time some rogue ginger had fused with it and messed with the flavour. If you've been reading this blog since the start you'll appreciate that I love a good chocolate and ginger combination -heck I more-or-less lived on Lebkuchen last December- but this just didn't work. Maybe it's because the chocolate was too mild, or too sweet, but the resulting flavour reminded me of washing up powder. Not good. 

I kept everything crossed that the gingerbread would go some way to redeem the situation. It kind of did too -that's to say that it had a bold, fiery flavour- but -and here's the killer- it was soggy, and made me think of the ensuing disaster when dropping a dunked ginger biscuit into your cuppa. Fail.

Last up was yet another layer of insipid white chocolate mousse,which was at this point, totally overwhelmed by the ginger aftertaste of the soggy biscuit. Gah, at least the disappointment ended at the bottom of the pot, right?

Maybe my grumbles are based on high expectations from the 'Layers Of Joy' range, so I'd welcome any comments with reference to how you found them. Or just leave me a note to say hello, that's always nice.

5/10

*or Muller -who Cadbury told me last year make their desserts! 

NEW! Peanut Butter Millionaire's Dessert (ASDA)

Social media. What's your stance? I both love it and hate it. I'm basing my career on it (not through the blog I might add), but it's addictive and my other half regularly finds himself sighing when I inevitably stop in my tracks to reply to a follower on instagram, a tweet, or my work's facebook enquiries. I thrive on the instantaneous and constantly evolving nature of the various platforms, and also grumble about their reluctance to pause for a moment. I was plunged into this mixture of emotions when the lovely Ellie (Ellie Is In The Soup) tweeted the following:

No. No I hadn't had it. And Yes! I needed it NOW. Fortunately Wednesdays are the only day I don't have lectures, and I'd finished my job for the day, so about an hour later I'd got my coat on and was on my merry way to ASDA -desperate to get my greedy mitts on this fabulous sounding new dessert.

Whaaaat! Where were they? ASDA was taunting me. There was the shelf. There was the label. But where, oh where, were the Peanut Butter Millionaire Desserts? I momentarily baulked at the price too, but my heart over-ruled my head and the desperation lingered.

Then I had a thought: what if the staff had bunged them in with the cream cakes (at the other end of the store) instead of the desserts with their label? 

Hurrah! There they were. Isn't it wonderful to see their new products so highly respected? Ha! Not to worry my peanut butter dream, I'd look after you.*

"Peanut butter mousse and peanut butter caramel with a Belgian chocolate ganache, chocolate honeycomb pieces and a digestive biscuit base."

Luckily, ASDA had the foresight to protect its new dessert with a domed lid, so despite its mistreatment in store, the pot looked every bit as perfect as it did when leaving the factory. The layers were impressive, and I was glad to see a chunky biscuit base. 

I delved into the chocolate topping, which was every bit as silky as Gu's ganache. Rich and decadent, it delivered a powerful dark chocolate hit. The chocolate balls were a nice decoration I thought, although there wasn't a great deal of them. I was surprised at how thin the top layer was, but then I remembered that there were so many more layers of potential deliciousness to get through yet. 

Next up was the mousse, which tasted more like super light and fluffy whipped cream. I couldn't taste the peanut butter though, and my face dropped. My other half caught on to my disappointment and asked what was up. I explained my non-nut related sorrow, and offered him a spoonful to taste. He agreed, and then instantly pulled a disgusted face back at me. I was then accused of becoming peanut butter immune -yep, apparently it was that potent. Confused, I waited a minute or so before continuing, and then I realised what he meant. The ganache had overpowered my tastebuds and once I'd let them recover from the chocolate, I could taste and fully appreciate the peanut butter flavour in all its glory. My, it was wonderful! ASDA have wisely used 8% peanut paste within the mousse, which is perhaps why it's so delicious -and doesn't taste in the slightest bit artificial.

Peanut butter cravings now satisfied, I was more than ready for a lacklustre caramel layer ("Double Peanut Butter" Magnums mark two). I was therefore not expecting the sheer scrumminess that lay in wait. It was very sweet -of course- but the peanut butter was even more powerful (the caramel consists of 40% peanut paste). Wow, I'd never tried a caramel like it. If I was to nitpick I would perhaps have preferred it slightly more dense (more similar to Ben & Jerry's cores) but it was incredible all the same. Bravo ASDA!

Last up was the biscuit base. To begin with I was slightly gutted that it was a puddle of crumbs rather than the buttery concoction at the bottom of a cheesecake. But then I discovered the hidden treasure at the bottom of the pot and realised exactly why it was so loose...

Balls! Balls galore! Hidden between the biscuit crumbs were a number of malteser-esque malt balls. I love a good surprise, and this has to be one of the best I've uncovered (literally!) in a dessert. What a wonderful end to a fantastic pudding. 

Initially I thought that £1.49 was steep for an individual dessert, but it's nothing compared to what restaurants charge -and it's worth every penny. Yum yum yum. Peanut butter lovers harass your local ASDA for this new Millionaire's dessert quick smart!

10/10

*Is peanut butter madness a condition? It must be. 

NEW! Mars Dessert Bar (Iceland)

I was so impressed with the new Twix cheesecake at Iceland that it was only going to be a matter of time before I ventured back into my local branch for the Mars Dessert Bar. I still think that the £3 non offer price is a tad on the pricey side, but for £2 it wasn't so bad. As with the cheesecake, the dessert bar is also actually made by specialists Coppenrath & Wiese.

"Layers of delicious chocolate sponge, mousse and caramel, smothered in milk chocolate."

The child in me was delighted when I removed the bar from it's box and saw that the inner wrapper made it look like a whopping great big Mars Bar (the pen is there to give you an indication of its size)! Surely that means I could eat it all? Sorry guys, no sharesies! Pah, I don't think my other half or sister would have agreed. Although it wasn't quite as preposterous as the cheesecake, 6 servings did seem a bit meagre and I decided that fifths would be more reasonable.

The serving suggestion warned me to defrost it inside its wrapper for the first hour and then naked for the last 1.5 -what a faff! There was also 3 of us for dinner, and I wanted to keep the remaining 2 portions for another day, so I ignored the destructions and unwrapped the bar straight away -slicing into it whilst still frozen. My defiance meant that the chocolate casing shattered upon impact, but I wasn't too bothered by the aesthetics as long as it tasted good. 
Whilst we're on the subject of prettiness, I did appreciate the distinct layers of cake and mousse, but was somewhat disgruntled when I realised that the caramel sauce only ran through one tier (unlike the picture on the box, humf). 

Meh, my disappointment didn't stop there. The Mars Dessert Bar is yet another case of style over substance. Where was the rich chocolate flavour? The mousse was light and airy, sure, but what's the point when it doesn't taste of much? The same went for the cake, which fortunately wasn't dry or stale, but was so non-descript that I wasn't savouring every morsel as I expected to. What made matters worse was that the caramel was the best bit, and the only nod to the chocolate bar that it's supposed to resemble.. If only there was more of it. Pants. 

Gah. I don't really think I need to tell you that I won't be buying another Mars Dessert Bar. There are far tastier chocolate gateaux on the market -Tesco's own for example.

6/10