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

NEW! Mocha Cheesecakes (Waitrose)

A couple of days ago I reviewed Waitrose's new Cookies & Cream cheesecake slices and mentioned that I'd bought another double pack at the same time. It was these Mocha cheesecakes that had initially caught my attention though, and was only Bert's hatred of coffee that caused my brief hesitation. It wasn't long before I saw sense and bought them anyway, making the most of the fact that they're currently on offer for £2.63 -before they go up to £3.20.

I sent my sister a picture of my dessert purchases, and she instantly tried to persuade me to hop on a train to Cardiff to share them with her -despite my insistence that they wouldn't bode well on the two hour walk-train-bus journey to her house. In a great twist of fate however, her best friend collected her and brought her back to Hereford on Saturday evening. Great! I'd cook her Sunday dinner and we'd have them for dessert. Or so I thought... 

A heavy night of drinking later meant that she was only up to a coffee at my house yesterday, and took her cheesecake-to-go. Cheeky mare (love you really, Lou bum). Anyway, yes, mocha cheesecakes. Back to the case in hand, and the reason you're reading this post...

"2 Baked chocolate and coffee flavoured cheesecakes on a chocolate flavoured biscuit base, topped with vanilla flavour mousse and cocoa and vanilla dusting."

Despite their thoughtful packaging, the cheesecake stuck itself to the acetate surrounds, meaning that they didn't look as attractive as I'd hoped. I reminded myself that it was the taste I bought them for, not the aesthetics. 

Is it just me or is the vanilla mousse a slightly odd choice of topping for a mocha cheesecake? My thoughts went as follows:

 1. Cheesecake isn't normally topped with an additional layer
and
 2: Well, wouldn't white chocolate be more in keeping with the mocha theme?

I mean, it was light, fluffy, and perfectly pleasant. I just think it was slightly peculiar.

For once,  I was pleased that Waitrose hadn't opted to include a ganache layer because it meant that the Belgian chocolate flavoured cheesecake could shine through. Yes, it was every bit as rich and delicious as I always hope for when buying chocolate cheesecake, no doubt thanks to the inclusion of 10% Belgian milk chocolate.But wait a little minute here. Wasn't this meant to be chocolate and coffee cheesecake? Did that mean that there was meant to be two tiers of separate flavours, or that the cheesecake was meant to be mocha and therefore encompass both? All I know was that the coffee flavour was very much on the mild side, especially noticeable considering the helping of Jude's Flat White Coffee I chose to enjoy alongside the cheesecake. Looking at the ingredients gives an indication as to why it wasn't particularly prominent - Waitrose have used coffee granules here, and not ground coffee. Oh.

I forgave Waitrose a little when I reached the centre of the cheesecakes though, and uncovered a secret chocolate sauce centre*. Ooh, you cheeky devils! There was no hint of this on the products description (or the ingredients list), but who doesn't love a chocolate surprise? I know I do. It wasn't ganache-thick, but it wasn't overly runny either. There wasn't a huge deal of it, but it had a slightly darker edge to it than the milkier cheesecake and was therefore a welcome inclusion. 

The chocolate biscuit base was also pretty good (it was similar to the one used in their new C&C cheesecake) but I think a standard digestive (or coffee flavoured biscuit) base may have actually worked better considering how much chocolate there was already going on. That's only a slight niggle though, because it was still absolutely scrummy. 

Would I buy these again? Probably not, and especially not at £3.20 per pack. As far as new chocolate cheesecakes go, I much prefer the M&S sunken Valencian Orange. 

8/10

*apologies for the dark photo, I was eating it in front of the T.V, hopefully you can spot the darker patch in the middle! 

NEW! Magnum White Almond (Iceland)

I popped into Iceland the other day to pick up my other half’s favourite ready meal for his night shift (sausage, cheese and beans is where it’s at apparently!) when I spotted a deal on Magnum ice creams. Now the deal itself wasn’t amazing, but it did include the new white almond Magnums and therefore piqued my interest.

I’ve kind of fallen out of love with Magnums in the past year or so, much preferring the Oreo sticks, Daim sticks, or better yet: Ben and Jerry’s in a waffle cone. I mean, Magnums are ok, they’re just not particularly inspiring.

Anyhoo, at 2 4 packs for £4, I decided to pick up a box of the new white almond Magnums as well as the classic white Magnums (which happen to be one of Bert’s favourite ice creams). After all, it seemed only fair to see how they compare to the white almond Haagen-Dazs.

“Vanilla ice cream with white chocolate (28%) and almonds (3%).”

There’s one quality you can depend upon from Magnum, and that’s a thick chocolate coating. These sticks were no different, meaning that the white chocolate cracked satisfyingly as my teeth pressed against it. Perhaps I’ve had better quality white chocolate of late, because the coating didn’t taste quite as silky as I remember. Instead it tasted much more like a composite, and although it was thicker than H-D’s covering, it didn’t taste any better. Yes, the almonds added a little texture to it, but as with the original almond Magnums, they didn’t offer much in the way of flavour.

As for the ice cream centre, it was as creamy as ever, with a real vanilla flavour and visible seeds. But that’s about as far as the enjoyment went and I found myself yearning for the caramelised nuts that studded H-D’s ice cream sticks. 

I thought these would be on par with H-D. I knew the ice cream wouldn’t be as tasty but thought the chocolate would level the playing field. In reality, I’d choose the H-D sticks over the Magnum, but probably won’t go out of my way to buy either anytime soon.

7/10

NEW! Neo Ice Cream Cones (LIDL)

It's 'Taste of America' week at Lidl, which means that there's all kind of peanut butter treats on offer, as well as foot long microwaveable hotdogs (complete with bun and sauce) and some Oreo themed treats. Oreos aren't Oreos in Lidl though, they're Neos. At least they're a little more subtle than Aldi with their cheeky rip offs, ahem, anyone for a Domio yogurt or Hike bar? Anyway, I was intrigued by their Neo ice creams, as both Bert and I are fans of all the Oreo ice creams (sandwiches, sticks and cones).

"67.5% vanilla flavoured ice cream with 6% biscuit pieces in 16% wafer cone coated in 5% chocolate flavour glaze, coated with 3% chocolate flavoured biscuit pieces."

They certainly looked the part! 

They just didn't taste the part. Unfortunately the ice cream tasted of reconstituted skimmed milk, lacking the creaminess that I'd hoped for. The cone wasn't great either. The dark shade insinuated that it would taste bourbon-y like the Oreo cones, but instead it had a mild cocoa flavour. My cone was also soft towards the bottom, although Bert tells me that his was completely crispy. There wasn't enough Oreo/Neo in them either, as the ice cream itself was plain throughout, and the 3% biscuit crumbs didn't make much of an impact.

At £1.49 for four they're no cheaper than the real deal (which are part of a 2 for £3 deal in Asda, £1.50 in Sainsbury's and £1.33 on Ocado) and so I'd give Neo a miss if I were you. I picked up a tub of LIDL's 'Taste of America' peanut butter ice cream at the same time, so let's hope that's less disappointing... 

5/10 

NEW! Häagen-Dazs White Chocolate & Almond Ice Cream Bars (Tesco)

I'm gradually dipping my toes into the world of Häagen-Dazs. So far the salted caramel tubs have been the clear winner, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to try the new white chocolate sticks whilst they were on offer (currently £1.74 per pack in Tesco). I've often bemoaned the lack of almond-chocolate combinations on the market, and although Magnim have started selling a white chocolate version of their classic milk chocolate almond ice cream sticks, I was interested to see how Häagen-Dazs fared.

"Our vanilla ice cream with crunchy caramelised almonds enrobed in a coating of real white Belgian Chocolate, a soothing white chocolate treat."

Ok so there's already a clear difference between Magnum and Häagen-Dazs: Häagen-Dazs' ice cream incorporates caramelised almonds and is covered in a smooth white chocolate coating, whereas Magnum is a plain ice cream surrounded by a nutty chocolate. 

Once again I found myself disappointed with the quality of the white chocolate. It did seem a little thicker than the coating user on their salted caramel sticks, but was noticeably inferior to Magnum's chocolate. I can't imagine Häagen-Dazs releasing a bar of pure chocolate as Magnum have, put it that way.

Fortunately the ice cream was the saving grace, although there weren't as many of the caramelised almonds as I'd have liked (they only constitute 7% of the bars). The nuts I did find were delicious though, like little crunchy pockets of flavour amongst the otherwise smooth and creamy luxury ice cream. 

I really wish we could amalgamate the Magnum and HD ice cream sticks. 

Magnum are the chocolate champions but Häagen-Dazs' ice cream and caramelised almonds are superior to Magnum. Therefore if you're buying the sticks for the chocolate then stick to Magnum, for the ice cream opt for Häagen-Dazs. If like me, however, you're governed by budget then choose whichever is on offer!

8/10 

NEW! Limited Edition Strawberry Swirl Jammie Dodgers (Home Bargains)

Yes, I'm still on the coffee caramel digestive hunt. It's driving me loopy now! Apparently they're on Ocado and in some Spars, but they still don't seem to have made an appearance in rural Hereford yet. Or Cardiff for that matter. My sister and I intended to go trampolining on Saturday, but when we got off the bus outside the trampoline park we decided that it was too hot to spend the afternoon inside - let alone doing any kind of exercise. Instead we made a quick detour into B&M and Home Bargains before getting back on the bus to her house for a sunbathing session. As soon as we walked through the door in Home Bargains I spotted jammy dodgers in different packaging. Ooh the past it had an ice cream cone on it! Was this a new flavour? Strawberry swirled. Hmm. It was hardly the most imaginative limited edition, but it was new, and would have to do in lieu of the digestives. Plus who doesn't love a good Jammie Dodger?

"Strawberry flavoured jam with vanilla flavour filling sandwiched between two shortcake biscuits."

I'm not sure where the swirl comes in but the cream filling was present on one side of the otherwise standard looking JDs. The biscuits were just as I remembered, not as crumbly as most shortcakes but with a decent vanilla flavour. It  don't expect that it'll shock you that the strawberry and cream style filling worked well together. The jam was -of course- very sweet and artificial,  and the vanilla was gooey and somewhat marshmallow-like. 

The biscuits were pleasant, but once again we find ourselves with a very lazy limited edition. With endless possible flavour combinations out there, why have we been palmed off with what's essentially a Happy Face/Classic jam ring biscuit? I miss the old banana and toffee JDs, but would love to see Burtons create something more exciting: rhubarb and custard, lemon meringue or peanut butter perhaps? 

6/10 

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

UFIT Drinks (Most Supermarkets)

At the end of January I received a message from the owner of UFIT drinks, asking if I'd like to try a sample box of their products to review. Having seen their humorous "a great tasting protein drink for active-ish people" marketing campaign*, I was already intrigued and so gladly accepted. A day or so later, said parcel arrived containing three standard sized ready to drink protein shakes, and one of their PRO50 mega shake. 

So who are UFIT? They say:

"We are a team of protein enthusiasts and industry experts with over 20 years of nutrition industry experience. After building multiple successful brands and products we decided to assemble our own team of passionate and knowledgeable protein lovers and launch a range of our own, delicious protein drinks. UFIT was the result!"

Chocolate 
As it turned out, the chocolate shake's best before date was the day after I received the parcel (although the other flavours had much longer). The 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein and no added sugar. The drink looked rather similar to the For Goodness Shakes version that I reviewed  at the beginning of last year, although there was a few lumps lurking at the bottom of this one -not great.

Lumps aside, the taste and thickness was pretty standard. It's a reasonable shake, and if you're on the go and stuck for a chocolate hit without the fat or calories, you can't go wrong with a UFIT chocolate shake 

Macros: kCal: 170: P22/C11/F3.2

6/10

Iced Latte
UFIT have got some stiff competition on the protein market. Not only have protein giants Grenade launched their own coffee (which I haven't heard great things about),  but SCIMX have just released a 30g protein carton and Reflex also have a brilliant protein coffee (which contains 25g or protein).

Now I do enjoy a good milky sweet iced coffee, so I was looking forward to trying UFIT's version. Again, the 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein, but this time it was lump free. Happy days. Taste wise it's almost as good as Reflex, but it does contain more fat and less protein. It's a tasty drink though, and it's sweet despite the lack of added sugar. Tesco stock it and it's cheaper than the other protein brands, so it's handy to grab on the go. I also found that it made decent proats too!

Macros: kCal: 173 P:22/C10/F2.1

8/10

Banana
Now I love a good banana milkshake, in fact it's my favourite flavour. Is it awful that a McDonald's banana milkshake still fills me with joy? Banana is oddly far and few between when it comes to pre-made protein shakes though. 

Oh, that's disappointing. The flavour was lacking. I was hoping for a full on whack of real banana or foam banana, I don't really mind which, but found that instead UFIT have produced a wishy-washy flavour that well, didn't wash with me. Unfortunately it's not one I'd buy again.

Macros: kCal 176/P: 22/C:10.7/F3.2

6/10

Vanilla PRO50
This product was the one that baffled me the most was this vanilla 500ml bottle. There's plenty of debate about how much protein your body can utilise in one go, with this Men's Health Article suggesting that between 25-30g is the optimum amount per mealtime. With this in mind I decided to half the bottle and drink it over two days.

Crikey, the flavour was damn good. The vanilla was my favourite UFIT by far, reminding me of runny Ambrosia custard -yum! It tasted just as good warmed up for 2 mins in the microwave too. The macros were good too, with each half bottle 250ml serving coming in at: Kcal:164/P:25/C:8.6/F2.6. The trouble is, if I'm drinking only half in one serving, then I'm keeping it at home, in which case it's cheaper to make my own shake with my protein powder.

However... UFIT have recently brought out a 310ml vanilla flavour bottle, which I certainly will buy when needing a protein fix on the go!

9/10

A huge thank you to UFIT for sending me the samples!

NEW! Magnum White Ice Cream Tub (Iceland)

This week I brought you reviews of all three new Ben & Jerry's Topped tubs. They sounded ingenious didn't they? But they weren't the first kids on the block. Oh no. Right at the beginning of the year I spotted some new Magnum Tubs in Iceland, balked at the price (£3.89) and didn't give them a second thought. That was at least until One Treat reviewed them (told you she's the ice cream queen) and revealed just what you were getting for your money. Naively I had assumed that the tubs were just full of the innards of a Magnum which, although tasty, isn't worth almost 4 squids - especially when you can buy 4 of the sticks from Farmfoods for one pound.

If you haven't grabbed your keys and left for Farmfoods yet I both applaud you and worry about your sanity. Seriously, that's a bargain that shouldn't be missed. Anyway, if you've stuck it out for the remainder of this review, I'll also let Magnum explain why their new tubs are considerably more special than I originally thought...

"Experience Magnum White in a tub Discover the ultimate Magnum cracking chocolate and velvety ice cream experience with the new Magnum White tub. Squeeze the pack and crack the thick Magnum white chocolate shell that envelops the delicious velvety dairy vanilla ice cream. There you will find cracking Magnum white chocolate shards throughout the tub, so you can have a rich and intense white chocolate experience in every spoonful."

Just for info: Iceland are stocking Classic and Almond flavours too. The tubs are currently on offer for £2.50, which meant it was high time for me to give this bad boy a go.

The packaging includes instructions to remove the tub from the freezer and leave it 10 minutes before pressing the indent on the side to crack the tub. Wait. I've got to wait? I'm not sure who possesses that level of patience or self restraint? Five minutes I lasted before pressing the button. As promised the top cracked; albeit into four large shards.

Beneath the top layer was the signature vanilla flecked Magnum ice cream, which had become overly soft having been left out of the freezer for a few minutes (I dread to think what I'd find after 10). Digging in I found a huge amount of white chocolate pieces intermingled with the ice cream. It appeared that there was almost 50% chocolate in this ice cream, although I'm sure there couldn't have been that much -could there? The chocolate shards make it difficult to scoop into a cone, which means it's admittedly probably best eaten straight from the tub.

If you follow me on Instagram you'll already know that I was just getting excited to tuck in when disaster struck. I dropped it on the floor. Now I'm normally a "30 second rule" kind of girl, but this doesn't apply in my back room where the dog resides after a muddy walk and the food in question is almost liquid. Boo. 1/4 of a tub wasted - Yep, the 'pints' are in fact only 440ml. Boo.

Second time lucky and I wasn't surprised by the flavours that greeted my tastebuds. As a regular consumer of Magnums, I knew to expect the milky vanilla ice cream base and creamy white chocolate. Eaten in a waffle cone did make the experience different however, and I enjoyed the greater ratio of chocolate.

I personally preferred the white chocolatey Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Swirled ice cream. The addition of shortbread chunks, strawberry and marshmallow makes it texturally more interesting, and I found the Magnum to be less inspiring in comparison. As a cheaper option to the new Magnum tubs I'd suggest buying a box of four sticks from Farmfoods and smashing them up -especially when they go back up to full price. That said, they're still tasty though, and a worthwhile buy for Magnum lovers countrywide.

7/10

NEW! Lindahl's Vanilla and Raspberry Flavoured Quark (Waitrose)

Happy New Year guys and gals! Have you woken up aiming to turn over a new leaf? Whilst I think that everyone can and should set themselves goals at any point during the year, January the 1st does present itself as somewhat of an opportunity to kick those dreams into motion. Sometimes it's the smaller goals that can bring us joy; for example one of my 2016 resolutions was to have peanut butter and chocolate every single day -simply because I love it- and yesterday I completed my little challenge (admittedly sometimes that meant sneaking Reese's peanut butter cups into my suitcase).

Other goals have been more significant -2016 was the first year since 2012 that I have completely avoided hospital admissions- and for that I raised a glass (or two) last night. I feel very fortunate for my life right now, and I'm super excited for what 2017 has to offer. Sure there's a mixture of resolutions and goals that'll be challenging, but that's what makes life interesting! 

For many people New Years diets will be coming into force from today. It's something that grates on me a little bit, but only because I think that healthy lifestyles should be a way of life and something that includes balance. As a snack reviewer it may look like I live on a diet of pure junk food, but most of the time (70% ish) I eat relatively healthily (certainly not clean though!), and I'm pretty active. One of my daily food staples is LIDL's Milbona Skyr pots -they're cheap, a brilliant source of protein and fat free. I flavour them using sugar free syrups to make them more interesting (Salted Chocolate Espresso, Tiramisu and banoffee are personal favourites) but I'm still always on the look out for new brands to try.

Cue Lindh's, which isn't Skyr at all, but Quark. Both Skyr and Quark are technically soft cheeses, although quite often they sit amongst the yogurt section in the supermarket. I buy Skyr because it's cheaper (at Lidl anyway), and the only sweet flavoured Quark pots widely available are the ARLA protein pots -which I don't particularly rate. So when I spotted these new Lindahl's Raspberry & Vanilla pots on offer at Waitrose for 70p (per 150g pot) I just had to give them a go!

Lindahl's is the number 1 Quark brand in Sweden, and a quick glance at their website made me very envious of the selection that the Swede's get to choose from!The pots contain no added sugar and are suitable for vegetarians. 

Raspberry
First up was the raspberry, and when I peeled back the lid I uncovered a pale pink substance so thick that the individual peaks had remained intact.

Delving my spoon into the Quark revealed a dense mousse like appearance, which simply melted away in the mouth. Instantly I was reminded of the Petit Filous fromage frais pots I enjoyed as a child. Despite the lack of sugar the Quark was sweet enough (more so than the ARLA pots), and I enjoyed every last morsel. Delicious.

9/10

Vanilla
When it comes to Skyr, nothing beats Icelandic Skyr's Vanilla pots. I only wish I had more money so that I could buy them on a regular basis. My love of the vanilla Skyr made me all the more excited to try this Lindahl's Quark version.

The pot had the same consistency and creaminess of the raspberry, although it wasn't as flavourful. The vanilla was less pronounced, and sat delicately in the background. Still delicious, but just not quite as good as my beloved Skyr I'm afraid.

9/10

Summary
These are the perfect snack or light dessert for those looking to up their protein intake and/or eat healthily this January. At only 90Kcal per 150g pot* they're filling and delicious. They're also only on an introductory offer -so if you also like them then stock up pronto like I plan to! Also, if we all buy enough then maybe *just maybe* Waitrose will start selling Lindahl's white chocolate Quark. Please Waitrose?


*Macros P:16.5/C:5.3/F:0.3

Chocolate Swirl Topped Waffle Cones (Co-Op)

As you should know by now, I'm a sucker for ice cream and a sucker for chocolate. I'm also easily swayed by anything that looks pretty. So when I spotted these Chocolate Swirl Topped Waffle Cones in the larger Co-Op -that I purposely visited to buy the Peanut Butter & Chocolate Monkeys Ice Cream- I just *had* to have them. The box cost £1.50 for four, which I din't think was too bad considering that each cone was substantially bigger than your normal supermarket versions (140ml compared to 110ml).

"Chocolate and vanilla flavour ice creams with a chocolate sauce topped with chocolate coated puff rice balls in a waffle cone."

Congratulations Co-Op for the smart packaging- there was no smooshed tops here thanks to their plastic crowns. For once, the treats actually looked as good as the photo too -mine had loads of little chocolatey balls on top. My other half had less however, but then I always somehow come up trumps with the ice cream toppings!

Unfortunately, the Co-Op have opted for style over substance. The chocolate flavour was insipid; mild to begin with it blended with the vanilla and became somewhat lost. The sauce was fairly standard, and added a little flavour boost -particularly the large pocket of it nestled right at the bottom of the cone. I actually found I preferred the vanilla ice cream, which didn't taste luxurious but did remind me of Mr Whippy. The waffle caused further disappointment as it had lost its crunch and become soft. Cone failure of the almost* worst kind.

I'm sure the kids would be impressed by these ice creams, if only for their generous size! Me? I won't bother with them again, there's far nicer cones out there.

6/10

*the top spot remains with the cones I once had from Tesco, where every single one was snapped in two!

NEW Haribo Little Cupcakes

It turns out that the Frenzy Carnival range isn't the only new addition to Haribo's extensive sweetie range -there's room for a super cute product in 2016 too. I saw the Haribo Little Cupcakes on instagram a couple of months back, but they've proven extremely hard to track down. I tried all of the pound stores, discount stores, WHSmith, all of the supermarkets... and eventually discovered them in Superdrug of all places! Who'd a thunked it?

"Create your own delicious cupcake creations with a caramel or lemon biscuit base, finishing it off with either a blueberry, orange, lemon, cherry, vanilla or strawberry topping!" 

I was pleased to find such a mixture of flavours, although there seemed to be a far greater ratio of cakey bottoms to frosting tops in my bag. 

I tried the lemon base first; expecting to not like it as I find that lemony sweets are so hit and miss. I was delighted therefore to discover a sweet citrussy kick, followed by a surprising ginger aftertaste. Lemon and ginger works so well together in cheesecake form, and it seems to harmonise in Haribo's foam candy too. 

The caramel base was less exciting. Sure it had a super sweet toffee flavour, but the ginger from the lemon version had leeched its way into the caramel. There's less to say about the toppings: each was well flavoured, soft, squidgy and awfully moreish. My favourites were the blueberry and cherry, but none will be left lingering in the packet for very long. 

Fellow sweet-o-holic? Make the effort to pop to Superdrug and get yourself a pack of the new Haribo Little Cupcakes -if only for the novelty. At £1, they're not likely to bankrupt you either. 

8/10

NEW! Lumberjack Protein Packed Flapjacks (Online)

If you follow me on Instagram you may already know that I have recently returned to the gym after a break of a few years. With my mission to tone up and gain muscle mass, one of my concerns is how to get enough protein into my diet. I don't eat a huge amount of meat, and often prefer to have peanut butter at lunchtime instead of something more sensible. Fortunately there are a veritable plethora of high protein products available on the market now; some of which I've found to be utterly delicious (the vanilla and fruity Icelandic Skyr pots for example) and others I've found inedible (such as the B'Jammin PB&J and Protein Active Peanut Chia Blast bars). 

I was thrilled to recently receive a huge box of Blackfriars Bakery treats to review, which included a trio of Lumberjack Protein Packed Flapjacks. I'd never heard of Lumberjack before, but then I read the attached note and discovered that they are a new branch of the Leicester based company. I was a bit dubious about the flapjacks as I'd had such a bad experience with the PhD Protein+ Peanut Butter flapjack -so bad was it that it ended up in the bin! Would these be the same? I hoped not, especially as they came in such interesting sounding flavours.. Each of the flapjacks contains between 22-23% protein, are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians.

Ginger, Orange & Dark Chocolate

I love the packaging of all of these bars, they look really colourful and I imagine that they would really stand out on the shelf against their competitors.

As you can see, there was a decently thick layer of dark chocolate topping. It smelt like a normal flapjack, which sounds silly, but I was expecting the pungent chemical/whey protein odour that I'd experienced in the past. 

Biting into it, I would have been forgiven for thinking I was eating a regular flapjack. It was soft, squidgy and buttery -thanks to the inclusion of real butter. Thank the lord! The chocolate wasn't particularly dark, but I preferred it that way. Combined with the orange flavour which infused the oats, the flapjack tasted remarkably jaffa cake-esque. That was until I hit the ginger, which didn't enter every mouthful but occasionally injected it's warm, spicy tones into the bar. 

I was impressed.

8/10

Vanilla Flavour Fudge With Chia & Hemp Seeds

I was a bit surprised when I peeled back the wrapping and discovered the naked bar beneath, Where oh where was the fudgy topping I expected?

Once I had bitten off my first chunk, I forgave Lumberjack entirely. I'm not the world's biggest advocate of chia seeds (they seem a bit tasteless and therefore pointless to me) but the flavour and texture of the bar was amazing! The delightfully sweet vanilla fudge was omnipresent, and the crunchy texture from the seeds kept the bar just as interesting as the ginger did in the first flapjack. 

Another winner!

9/10

Yoghurt Flavour & Mixed Berries

I was actually a little concerned by the time I tried this last flavour in case it was disappointing in comparison to the others. I was therefore pleased when I unwrapped the flapjack and saw a thick yoghurt-y topping. This was looking good.

Sweet bejesus! One of my best friends makes the most incredible white chocolate and cranberry flapjacks, and I kid you not, these tasted so darn similar! I think I'm going to have to check that she's not Mrs Lumberjack in disguise. The tart cranberries and sweetened dried blueberries worked perfectly with the raspberry flavoured oats, offering the ultimate in dried fruit symphony. What made the flapjack taste even more indulgent was the yogurt topping, but that's pretty self explanatory seeing as yogurt coated raisins are one of the best snacks known to man. Note to self: must buy some ASAP.  

10/10

Conclusion

I've been mightily impressed with this new range of protein flapjacks from Lumberjack. They taste less like a health product and more like an indulgent treat. If I were you I'd head on over to Blackfriars' website ASAP -where you can get 10% off until the end of July by using the code 'LUMBERJACK10'.

Many thanks to Lumberjack for the free samples.

KitKat Ice Cream Cones (Tesco)

I've had my eye on these Kit Kat cones for a while now, but every time I think about buying them I spot a better ice cream offer and they end up being demoted down the wish list. 

Tesco have got some cracking deals in their freezer aisles at the moment, including half price Haagen Daaz, Soleros and four packs of Cornetto peanut butter cones for just £1! Amongst the bargains are the Kit Kat cones, half price at £1.49 per box. I couldn't think of a better time to purchase.

"Biscuit cone with chocolate and vanilla flavour ice cream rippled and topped with chocolate sauce and a chocolate coated wafer finger."

I was pleased to find that Nestle had been sensible with their packaging choices; each cone was not only wrapped with cardboard, but topped with a plastic cone to protect the KitKat fingers poking out of the ice creams' peak. The non-ecologically-friendly casing did the trick though, the cones looked impeccable with their swirls of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. 

I'm afraid that once again this was a case of style over substance. The 'vanilla' ice cream really meant 'devoid of flavour', and the chocolate ice cream didn't fare any better. I can't remember ever having tasted a chocolate ice cream so horribly insipid before. As for the chocolate sauce? Well I didn't even know there was meant to be any until I typed out the product description. ALDI's chocolate brownie ice creams would seem like the creme de la creme after these. Yuck.

The situation got worse with the KitKat. Whilst I thought I would pleased to find that it was a full size finger, I really wish it wasn't. The biscuit had gone limp and soggy, tasting rather rancid. Not good at all.The ice cream's only saving grace came from the biscuit cone which -unlike the KiKat- had retained its crispness. 

Put it this way: I certainly wouldn't buy these cones again and I don't even think you could persuade me to eat another one in future, even if it was free.

2/10