NEW! Taste of Summer Lemon Filled Croissants (M&S)

It's been a while since I reviewed any of the Spirit of Summer range! In the meantime I have tried the Chicken Shawarma flatbread* which was recommended to me by friends (and fellow bloggers) Nat and Laura. Good shout ladies, it's delicious, although I personally prefer the lamb kofta -it's a close call though. Anyway, I've had my greedy eyes on Marks & Spencer's new filled croissants since they appeared in store a couple of months back. The croissants are available in both lemon and apricot flavours, but I've been stingy and refused to pay £2 for the two-pack, thus the patient wait to find them reduced. In all honesty, it was the apricot flavour that piqued my interest (it's my favourite flavour jam) but when I found the lemon reduced this week I was governed by budget and bought the yellow-stickered pack. 

"All butter croissants filled with a zesty sicilian lemon curd."

I rarely buy croissants as I find they can be so hit and miss. Unless they're fresh from the oven, the pastry is often dry and tough. I'm sad to report that M&S haven't avoided this pitfall either as I discovered when I opened the pack and gave the croissants a little squidge.

Slicing one in half didn't improve matters either. The lamination was admittedly impressive, but I couldn't see much of the promised lemon curd filling. Come on Marks & Spencer! 

I took a bite. Ghandi's flipflop. To make matters worse, the lemon curd had the bitter pithy flavour also present in M&S' Spirit of Summer Lemon & Ricotta Cheesecake Slices.

There was only one thing for it... could the microwave save the day? 

Oops. I think I might've popped it in there for too long! I now had visible evidence that there was lemon curd in the croissant (now lemon sauce). Warming the croissant improved matters slightly; at least it was now edible and I could use the lemon to give the pastry some much needed moisture. I still found the lemon to be too bitter, but I appreciate that some of you may prefer it that way. 

I don't think I'll even bother with the other croissant though -currently in my freezer- is it safe to give them to dogs? I'm still tempted to give the apricot croissant a go, but I'm definitely not paying £2 for what could be another dog treat! 

3/10 

*

FYI I'd give the Chicken Shawarma flatbread an 8/10.

NEW! Lemon Drizzle Bun (LIDL)

Often when I wrote reviews of a disappointing product I find myself feeling the need to rectify the issue with a delicious version of said treat. At least that's why I'm blaming Pågen for my cinnamon cravings. Where could I find a decent cinnamon bun though outside of London (thanks for the tips guys)? Normally I can rely on Tesco's bakery -ASDA's aren't nearly so good- but my local Express store has been lacking in supplies lately. Well, either that or there's more cinna-fanatics out there. Then I had a brainwave. Lidl. Lidl sell fabulous looking cinnamon buns, and given the jam doughnut's success I thought I could rely on their bakery. Being the wily mate that I am, it didn't take long to persuade Bert that I really needed more Skyr and he kindly drove me across town. 

Oh dear, dilemma time. I instantly spotted the cinnamon buns, but then cushioned up next to them was an impressive array of iced buns adorned with white chocolate curls. They were simply labelled 'sweet buns, 49p'. Intriguing. I went on a mission to find a member of staff (easier said than done in Lidl) and eventually found a young man who advised me that he thought they were "lemon, lemon drizzle perhaps?". We'll go with that. The cinnamon bun could wait, the lemon drizzle could not. 

I had no idea whether the bun would be filled or not, but given it's coiled shape I found myself dreaming of a sweet yet sharp lemon curd interior. Nom. 

Oh. I guess not then! What the badger? The bun was dry all the way through; no raisins, no butter, and certainly no curd. I suppose on the plus side the dough was well risen with large air pockets, but it was also hard and almost crusty at the edges. 

My disappointment deepened with the first bite. The dough was very dry whilst the lemon flavoured was mild at best. I almost threw it away I was that annoyed by it. Before my frustrations got the better of me I heated the other half in the microwave. 

Ahh, that was better. The nuked dough softened, and the lemon became more prominent thanks to the now melted icing. It shouldn't have to come to that though should it? 

If you're after a citrusy bun, please stick to M&S' brilliant lemon Whitbys. They're gloriously soft, studded with sultanas and filled with a delicious curd. In comparison Lidl's are barely edible when ambient. I'll just stick to their jam doughnuts in future. 

Now I'm craving lemon curd and cinnamon buns. Oh boy.

3/10.

NEW! Tarte Au Citron (LIDL)

It's French week at LIDL, which means that they are selling a whole host of spécialités françaises. Whilst I wasn't brave enough to try the frozen snails, I did like the sound of Tarte Au Citron (especially given my current love of all things lemon). At £1.99 for four individual desserts they weren't exactly bargain basement, but were still notably cheaper than most supermarket offerings. These Tartes weren't what comes to mind when it comes to the classic French patisserie dessert as instead they consisted of a biscuit base, lemon layer and a meringue topping. Err. Excuse me LIDL but isn't that a lemon meringue pie? 

I'd certainly give LIDL low marks for their choice of packaging as each Tarte came in what looked like a cat food tin. Fortunately they appeared far more appetising once the lids were removed and the cloud like meringue was revealed.

The topping was soft and mallowy. It missed the crispy top of a home-baked meringue, but it was still pleasant to eat. Underneath was layer of bright yellow sauce, which was refreshing and zingy in a lemon curd sort of way, but there just wasn't enough of it! The biscuity base reminded me of the middle layer of Cadbury's -much missed- Caramellionaire pots, for it was softer and more cake like than what you'd expect at the bottom of a cheesecake. 

Preconceptions aside, and despite my moans, I actually rather enjoyed these Tarte-Au-Citron-come-lemon-meringue-pies. They make a handy standby dessert, and I probably would buy them again.

7/10

NEW! Signature Lemon & Raspberry Muffins (Morrisons)

I might not have been impressed with their chocolate marbled muffins, and I may have said that I wouldn't buy any more... but I remembered seeing these white chocolate topped cakes and decided to give Morrisons' bakery a second chance. My only excuse is that I'm going through a bit of a lemony phase at the moment and I definitely heard them summoning me.

"Lemon muffin with raspberries filled with lemon curd and topped with a raspberry crumb and a mini white chocolate bar."

Hats off to Morrisons. These cakes wouldn't look out of place on Marks and Sparks' shelves. They weren't as risen as the chocolate version, but I was too excited about the mini chocolate bar to care.

Slicing the muffin in two revealed the puddle of lemon curd nestled in the centre. I noticed immediately how soft the cakes were -even more so than the marbled muffins. 

The lemon cake wasn't nearly zesty enough. It offered the mildest hint of citrus, but I was hoping for a full-blown drizzle number. In fact it reminded me more of a blueberry muffin thanks to its moistness and faint berry flavour. The raspberry crumb was also lacking; the only nod to it's existence came from the pips which seemed intent to wedge themselves between my teeth. Humf. The white chocolate bar that I was so enthralled with also didn't taste as good as it looked I'm afraid, and certainly wasn't up to M&S's standards.

There was a saving grace however, and that came from the lemon curd. The golden treasure injected much needed tang, and a lovely smooth texture -the perfect contrast against the otherwise dense cake. It was simply quite delicious and reminded me that I must make some lemon curd to grace my spread cupboard post-haste!

7/10