NEW! Rolo Crack'It Desserts

The new Rolo and Yorkie 'Crack'It' dessert pots came out a few weeks ago now, but I patiently waited for them to come on offer before trying them (£1 for 2 in ASDA). I say them but, as I never buy a standard Yorkie bar, I knew I'd only ever purchase the Rolo pots. The newish Rolo mousses have become a staple in my household, and I really like the original Rolo pots so I had high hopes for these Crack'Its!

"Caramel creme dessert with a cracking chocolate layer."

I was fortunate to find that all of the caramel layer in my pot had faithfully stayed in place below the chocolate disk. My fiance hadn't been so lucky however, and told me that his had suffered in his lunchbox -which meant he didn't have to 'crack' the chocolate to get to the golden treasure. 

He wasn't missing out on much anyway. The chocolate did snap easily -but that was about its only redeeming feature. How Nestle can describe it as chocolate I'll never know, for it was gritty, bitter, and far from the quality I expected. Put it this way, I'm sure that if Rolo chocolates could talk they'd be shouting about how they were no relation to the Crack'Its. 

I hoped that the caramel layer would be akin to the delicious, silken ganache-like caramel substance used in the original Rolo pots. It wasn't. It was insipid, and thin enough to run off my spoon. The flavour was alright, but its texture meant it reminded me of cold, watery custard. Not good.

I won't be buying these again. Good idea, terrible execution Nestle.

3/10   

Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Twirls

Thank goodness the proposed cinnamon ban never came into place. Well as far as I'm aware it hasn't! Nothing has stopped me enjoying my favourite spice anyway, whether it be in cereal, ice cream, biscuits, desserts, popcorn, waffles, yogurt, pretzels , protein bars or flapjack. Sod the potential risks involved, there are also many proven health benefits associated with consuming cinnamon, and -lets be honest- it tastes just so damn good! 

Is there any better way to use the spice then rolling it in dough? Seeing as I'm *still* longing after the IKEA Kanelbullar I couldn't resist recently ordering these Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Twirls. 

Despite their lengthy journey and lack of best before date printed on the packet, they were super soft. So doughy were they that presented with the Twirls out of their wrappers I'm sure most people would be hard pressed to determine them as long-life. A lovely warming familiar scent immediately welcomed my nostrils thanks to the Twirls' generous coating in 'Cinnabon' cinnamon. 

Taste wise, they were somehow better than expected. The combination of fluffy dough and ample spice was spot on, leaving me feeling rather impressed. The only trouble came when you compared them to the fresh bakery buns (or indeed the bake at home IKEA ones). Without that external crust, cream cheese frosting, or warm from the oven comfort to give them the edge they became the poor man's version. Seeing as there's a Tesco express less than 500m from my house, I think I'll stick to their bigger buns in future.

8/10 

NEW! Godiva Double Chocolate Bar (B&M)

As you may be aware, today is World Chocolate Day! Isn't every day chocolate day? Still, I can't think of a better excuse to review this double chocolate Godiva bar. What I hadn't realised when I reviewed the Chocolate & Creme version was that both products are in fact new to the USA. 

"Layer of Cocoa Biscuit & Chocolate Ganache in Milk Chocolate."

The chocolate and creme bar was simply divine, and so I imagined that a double chocolate version would taste even better. From the outside they looked identical, but slicing it in half revealed both chocolate flavoured layers. 

Once again the quality of the chocolate casing was impeccable, and the biscuit was short and delicious.

I expected high quality ganache from luxury chocolatiers Godiva, but that's unfortunately not what I tasted. Perhaps I should blame Gü puds for setting the standards so high; instead of the silky soft ganache that I've come to love so much, I found a chalky, super sweet, almost gritty substance. It wasn't unpleasant -just not what I was hoping for. 

The sickly nature of the second chocolatey layer also knocked the flavours off balance, and I wished that I'd just bought two of the creme bars. Oh well. Lesson learned.

7/10

Milka Bubbly Caramel

Del Boy did it again, this week he was selling Milka chocolates that I've not seen before. The cute little 44g bar seemed to be an Italian import, but as I'm not au fait with the language, I can't promise of its origin. All I know was that it was a bargain at just 20p, cheers Mr market man! 

I hold Milka chocolate in high esteem -especially Happy Cows- so I imagined this bubbly bar would taste like an upmarket version of the Aero Mousse Caramel. 

The first thing that struck me was the unusual design. As a fan of order and logic, it threw me slightly. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised seeing as Milka is made by the same company as Cadbury -who have of course experimented with all sorts of crazy shaped bars as part of their 'Marvellous Creations' range. The second shock came when I snapped off a couple of bubbles: where oh where was the caramel? I couldn't find any!

Fortunately the promised caramel was hiding in the top of the bigger domes. It was a bog standard sauce, lacking any depth of flavour and wasn't a patch on my beloved Galaxy. 

A third anticlimax came from the quality of the chocolate, which tasted like the cheap Christmas calender stuff. I found the Bubbly Milka to be so contrasting against my previous experiences with their products -perhaps Mondelez is now meddling with their recipes too? Either way it wasn't a patch on the caramel mousse Aero bar. 

5/10

Mrs Freshley's Peanut Butter Brownie (American Fizz)

Yesterday called for celebrations (and not to mention a day off!) on the other side of the Atlantic. I might not be American but I thought I'd contribute towards Independence Day by enjoying a treat that had travelled all the way from the USA. 

This wasn't my first Mrs Freshley's goody, as I tried the banana pudding cupcakes way back in March. At the time I was relatively impressed by the cakes and mentioned that I fancied the look of their peanut butter brownies and cinnamon twirls (a review for another day). In fact the Mrs Freshley's peanut butter brownie is a relatively new addition to their extensive range of baked products as it only came out in February. 

What I stupidly hadn't realised when I bought the bar was that the brownie itself wasn't peanut butter flavoured -only the icing was. Still, at 85g it was a substantial snack and at £1.31 American Fizz offered pretty good value for money.

The brownie was moister than expected, and had a good fudgy flavour. The chocolate was rich, and although  sweet, it was far less sickly than the Oreo brownie . As far as mass manufactured brownies go, it was tasty... BUT... I didn't want a chocolate brownie, I wanted a peanut butter brownie. Unfortunately the generous layer of icing didn't inject much nuttiness into the bar and the flavour was totally overpowered by the (admittedly yummy) chocolate. My pb cravings weren't fulfilled and I was sorely tempted to whack out my jar of Skippy and slather a spoonful or two on top. 

As a chocolate brownie: 8/10

As a peanut butter brownie 4/10 

NEW! Moser Roth Rhubarb & Strawberry White Chocolate (ALDI)

Rhubarb and strawberry is a combination that is utterly underrated in the UK. In fact I hadn't really come across it until I was in hospital a couple of years ago and was served a steaming bowl of rhubarb and strawberry crumble with custard. I could've cried with delight at how good it tasted. Admittedly that might have been down to the fact that NHS grub is normally pretty damn awful, but I have made said dessert from scratch on many an occasion since -and still love it. 

It was this connection with the flavour combo that made me jump for joy when I spotted this new white chocolate bar in ALDI. The vows I had made to not buy any more food until I'd got through at least some of my recent snack hauls were instantly forgotten, and into my basket it went. The 100g bar cost 99p, and for your information there is also a forest fruits version.

As soon as I unwrapped the foil I was greeted with the strong scent of freeze dried strawberries. The bar snapped easily and I noticed that it was starting to melt slightly. 

Oh. What a disappointment! The chocolate was chalky and cheap tasting -worlds apart from the glorious Madagascan Vanilla Moser Roth bar. To make matters worse, the strawberry that I could smell totally overpowered any hints of rhubarb, that may or may not have been there. I expected there to be some balance of sweetness but instead the chocolate was super-sweet and very sickly. Gah. 

The bar was edible, but nowhere near as good as I've experienced previously with Moser Roth chocolate. I certainly won't buy it again.

4/10

Kellogg's Jif PB & J Cereal (American Fizz)

As you may or may not recall, I have been trying to track down this cereal for ages whilst growing increasingly envious of the ample array of peanut buttery products available across the pond. Why can't any of the cereal manufacturers produce a pb flavoured cereal in England? I'm certainly not the only British nut butter addict. I bought the box from American Fizz for £4.99.

I had high hopes for Kellogg's; after all they're arguably one of the best know cereal brands in the world. The 'naturally and artificially flavoured' label on the front didn't phase me either as it's seemingly proudly displayed on all of their pop tart boxes, and they're pretty darn tasty.

The box contained a good mixture of two different cereal types: golden squares with holes in, and little pink balls. As soon as it was opened I noticed an overwhelmingly artificial, chemically smell... Oh dear. 

I  poured myself a bowl anyway and attempted to ignore the odour. I decided to try the peanut buttery cereal first, but all I could taste was fake strawberry. The flavour from the pink balls had leeched its way into every mouthful, and unfortunately it wasn't pleasant. In fact it reminded me of the fake flavour of the protein+ peanut butter flapjack I was unimpressed by back in March.

What a disappointment! I'll have to stick to the co-op's fantastic ice cream to satisfy my pb&j cravings and Reese's Puffs for my cereal needs from now on. 

3/10