Turkish Delight time

So last week marked the start of lent. I myself am giving something up, not out of any religious belief. No, I give up something because I am rather stubborn and enjoy a good challenge.

What have I given up? Well I hope you’re sitting down for this… I’m giving up the sweet cocoa ambrosia itself, chocolate! Shocking I know and many of you may shout impossible or fear for my wellbeing. Fear not friends, this is my fourth year of giving up the smooth stuff that pretty much flows through my veins. Two of these three previous attempts have been successful. The first time in fact went so well it stretched until Christmas! Last year was the failure and I only lasted a week before caving to my craving. It wasn’t my fault a friend made me do it. Honest!

So what can I possibly be reviewing as a result? Well not chocolate clearly as that’s well and truly out the window for the time being. But fear not I present to you some uncoated Turkish delight.  Weirdly though a firm lover of jelly and general gummy-ness I have never given it the time of day, until now that is. Before I have often been a bit turned off by the perfume aroma, it smelled a bit too much like soap or Grandma. Neither of which were really that mouth-watering as prospects go.

However due to recent developments I found and purchased this box thinking it’s time to take a dive into Turkish territory (should probably rephrase that as it’s rather controversial topic that!). Anyway this box doesn’t just contain the regular Rose flavour, No! It has lemon too! So without further ado and a lack of sugar I pop one in my mouth, pausing only to take in the soapy smell.

I take a Rose one first and am immediately surprised at the gummy texture. It’s quite pleasant and an odd mixture of gummy bear and rubber. Whilst this doesn’t exactly sound nice I kind of like it. Perhaps the chocolate shortage has caused me to go mad… madder. People have told me in the past that the texture is the turn off, too rubbery but I find it’s rather like a slightly warm wine gum. Not too chewy either as it melts really quickly and smoothly in the mouth. The taste isn’t too bad either with a nice Rose hint without being over powering or like swallowing washing powder. The lemon was just as great with a nice subtle sweet taste unlike the usual bitterness.

Overall both were nice, a reason I like to break the odd habit every now and then. You never know what you’re missing out on.

Score
Rose - 6 out of 11
Lemon - 6 out of 11

Found
Lidl

Final Thoughts
Sorry for the late post, still rather busy and lacking the usual chocolate sugar rushes.

Cadbury Combinations

I know, I know once again I haven't posted in an age. Fear not I haven't given up blogging. It's just been a combination of being snowed over by University essays and a lack of Internet in my house for about a week. As I say have no fear as I will keep trying to post and hopefully there will be something exciting on the horizon for my blog.
But before I divulge too much information I will talk about some new products I have tried recently. Once again Cadbury seems to be having some kind of crazy inspiration phase and have released a lot of new products. Two of which I have tracked down and tried recently. These are the Ritz and Lu cracker combinations that have been released. I found these rather easily after hearing about them and they immediately surprised me in a few ways. Firstly their price at fifty pence for four rather large squares I was impressed by the quality for my moneys worth. They come in a nifty snack size packet that can also be resealed, which is awesome in two ways.
Taste wise I was mostly impressed by the Ritz version which has a nice salty Ritz cracker taste that's quickly followed by the usual Cadbury milk chocolate sweetness. Which is where I found a problem, namely that the chocolate is rather overpowering. Worse still is that the Lu cracker has no discernible flavour of it's own and really only adds a crunch to the slab of chocolate.

The tiny crackers are soooo cute 

Perhaps there is indeed a problem with how sweet the Cadbury milk chocolate is. The UK version is well known for being much sweeter than it's continental counter parts but usually I have no quams with it. I love how creamy and intense the flavour is alone but in combination bars it would be nice if they could reign it in somewhat. It feels a bit pointless in bars such as these and the other combo ranges, when all you really can taste is the chocolate. Perhaps I'm expecting too much.


Overall these are nice bars and at a good size/price, but perhaps it's time we reigned in the sweetness.

May have been a bit disappointing but it didn't go down the (snigger) loo!

Score
Ritz - 6 out of 11
Lu - 5 out of 11

Found
One Stop convenience minishop

Final Thoughts
Something wickedly exciting this way comes!

Frantic Festivities!

Well I hope that like me by now you have Christmas pretty much wrapped up! Sorry about that pun but I have just literally finished my wrapping and quite proud of the parcels beneath the tree. I know it seems like I've left it to the last minute but have no fear I spread my workload over the last week. Meaning no rushing and panicking at the last minute, in theory.

In reality I was having to frantically finish a few of them due to running out of paper and doing a mad dash down town before they shut. Seems I wasn't the only one too as I had a hard time finding any suitable paper. Luckily I found a few Disney themed rolls that were just about gender neutral enough to do for everyone. But at least now it's done and I can relax indoors and take shelter until the boxing day sales are well underway. Much safer especially when you factor in the town shaking weather we had last night.

Festive feces... I mean faces, festive faces

Now I am safely inside I can curl up eat some treats and tell you about them. I have a fair few too. We have biscuits, chocolates, bread and pies. I know a hectic post for you today, but it is the festive season and I thought I'd make the effort. So without further ado the first item is a McVitie's festive face. The reason for this is that on returning I was in desperate need for Tea and therefore a biscuit too. I wasn't expecting much from these if I'm honest, really I only bought them because they scared/amused me. They are pretty much BN's (if you remember those!) I think but with the shape of a jammy dodger. Basically a double copycat and fiend then. They taste like the old BN biscuits too, the biscuit base and lid is a vanilla tasting rich tea type affair and the jam and cream taste sweet and chewy. They aren't bad just a bit boring, to me at least. Let's face it the only reason people liked the BN biscuits was because of the advert and the chocolate version. These have neither and their expressions are terrifying!

This will forever haunt my dreams!

Next American chocolate with a Reeces snowman and Christmas tree and a Butter fingers coin. The tree and snowman are the same as the Pumpkin version I reviewed for Halloween. Delicious Reeces milk chocolate covering a beautiful peanut butter paste. A perfect mix of sweet and salty as always. The Snowman is a beast too, I had expected him to be like a hollow Easter egg but no it is all chocolate and paste no air at all. By the time I finish this I'll be so full I won't have room for turkey. Seriously though this thing weighs 141 grams and is nice to see dedication from a company. The Butterfinger coin achieves a similar balance but the milk chocolate isn't quite so sweet. The peanut in this is also small crispy flakes of peanut paste that creates the effect similar to a chocolate bar with cereal pieces like crunch. But with a great nutty taste to it.

All looking rather... cool

Now we visit Italy in the form of a traditional festive treat called Pannetone. Which is a fruity bread similar to Brioche or a hot cross bun. As I bit into it I found it a bit hard and dry but this soon changed as I began to detect the fruit that was mixed in. The taste as I say is very similar to other fruit breads with orange seeming to be the dominant flavour. The combination of fruit peel and raisins gives it a nice texture mix. It goes really nicely with some tea and coated in butter.

Lastly as you can see this has been a long post, it has been a bit of work for me and I now need something to fortify my nerves. Which calls for alcohol and in particular a festive liquor, Brandy. Thankfully MrKipling was kind enough to oblige in these deep fill Brandy mince pies. Now as I have mentioned I'm not a fan of mince pies, especially when they arn't homemade. But these are different enough to peak my interest. They arn't too bad but still suffer from the soft waxy pastry problem that mass produced pies have. Aside from that though they taste pretty good. The Brandy isn't too sharp and the filling isn't too sweet. The flvours mix to some extent not amazingly however.

Overall it's been a hectic day and a hectic challenge. With one final post before completion I'll be glad when I ca stop eating tinsel!

Score
Festive Faces - 4 out of 11
Reeces - 9 out of 11 plus 1 for effort
Butterfingerz - 8 out of 11
Brandy Mince pie - 6 out of 11

Found 
Festive faces in Poundland
Reeces and Butterfingerz in American import stor (although the snowman was Tesco)
Brandy mince pies in Sainsburys

Final Thoughts
I'm so full of merriment it hurts, damn yuletide!

Peep's tree mallows and Cadbury Praline Fingers

I hate humanity, there I said it!  I know that sounds rather depressing but if you knew what I have just been through you would understand. For prior to writing these very words I was knee deep in Christmas carnage. Worse still I did nothing to warrant the treatment I experienced.

Picture the scene, me innocently realizing that I needed milk and deciding I'd just pop to the shops for a pint. Then at said shop I became involved in the hell and madness that is pre-Christmas food shoppers. How could I have been so foolish to not realize the world and his wife would be out today getting their trimmings before Christmas Eve. I really don't know what was worse the fight I had to reach the milk aisle or the time i took to que for the till. By the time I was ready to pay I went straight for the self service to avoid the personal touch of humanity.

As much as I love times like these when we all come together as society to celebrate, I do wish we hadn't come together in my local Sainsbury's. The holidays have a nasty habit of bringing out a nasty side to us in the last few weeks when we panic and descend upon food stores like locusts. Sadly this makes us tired and fed up with each other around an event with the purpose of doing the exact opposite. I believe they call it irony.

So these look plain but taste nice...

Anyway whilst there I took the opportunity to grab some last minute deals in the confectionery aisle and thought I may as well blog them whilst I attempt to relax. Now I know these are Christmassy themselves but the idea that you buy a box to share is, so in my eyes they count. They are Cadbury Fabulous Praline Fingers, part of their fabulous range which are meant to be up-market chocolate digits. I've had the honey comb versionand enjoyed them. They were really crunchy and had a great burnt honey taste to them. These are somewhat disappointing. The praline taste is just too subtle and barely comes through over the chocolate. They taste just like a slightly nutty plain finger and to be fair I love them so it's not really that disappointing. Except these tend to cost double the regulars so I do feel a little short changed.

Next I bring two appropriately themed and linked marshmallow items. One I picked up whilst visiting Macarons and more and another from an American import shop. I'll give you three guesses as to which one I prefer. The first one is a beautifully light and fluffy marshmallow with some mince pie filling mixed in. It tastes literally like eating a mince pie cloud. It melts practically before it enters your mouth a bit like candy floss.

and these look nice but taste plain. What is life?

The second mallow is a Christmas tree shaped Peep's marshmallow. Now I had heard of peeps before and have been eager to track down a box. So upon finding a few and some that fit my current challenge at that was a godsend. However this doesn't extent to the product itself as they are horrible. With an unpleasant chewy, cheap texture and literally no taste. I was really disappointed as you can imagine never has there been such build up for such dis bare since a tried a Twinky bar. I've had pound town mallows that are leagues ahead of these.

Overall it was a rather somber post today lets hope it gets better. For tomorrow is Christmas Eve itself, if I don't perk up I run the risk of being visited by three ghosts as is tradition.

Score
Fingers - 6 out of 11
Mince pie mallow  8 out of 11
Peep's mallow - 2 out of 11

Found
Sainsbury's
Tim's macarons and more
American import shop

Final Thoughts
How have Americans allowed Peep's and Twinkies to continue existing? 

Late night snacking!

You may have noticed yesterdays post was rather short and a bit late. Once again don't get ahead of yourself and think I have some kind of hectic social life, I wish I did. No the post was slightly postponed due to having to travel halfway down the country. Despite asserting they provide a good (one that comes at a good price) it wasn't until I got home until I could post.

Was it worth it? In one way yes in another no, I am glad to be in my hometown for the holidays but considering I left my special someone behind I'm not. Still mustn't dwell on down thoughts, I had a great time visiting her and her family. A quick Christmas week before Christmas week, who doesn't want to celebrate the day twice? I got to get some last minute late night shopping done in Norwich too. Including getting to go to castle Mall a shopping center built beneath a friggin castle! Of course I took the chance to purchase many sweet things for myself and the blog. The highlight of such was a look in at Macaroons and more where I found their mince pie flavour.

But before we get to that lets look at some bread. No don't worry I haven't gone mad again and purchased something that may be savory and worse still possibly healthy. No, don't be foolish dear reader of course this isn't going to be good for me. Well I could argue that whilst it may not be good health wise it is beneficial for my well being. This bread is Morrison's Rudolph bread, a orange brioche type bread with chocolate chips baked in for love. The result a lovely breakfast feeling bread with a festive chocolate orange taste. The bread isn't soft which is my only issue. Texture wise its more like a giant hot cross bun, but reindeer shape. Still it is nice and goes lovely slightly toasted and smothered in butter.

Kind of looks like he is struggling to wink... worrying.

Then we get to the climax of today's tale the aforementioned Macaron (the French kind not the coconut monstrosity). Specifically one made by Tim, the guy who won Master chef and started a chain of biscuit shops, so much respect. I had been in last time I was in Norwich at which time I was a Macaron virgin, that soon changed with a salted caramel offering and since I have been a bit obsessed! Unfortunately I did start with the best and since nothing has quite lived up to it. So when I saw they had a festive edition in wild horses or rather donkeys (beach donkeys are provided on tap in Gt Yarmouth!) couldn't keep me away.

Sadly it was not a happy tasting as once again it paled in comparison to my first time. The quality was still there, the top and bottom shell is crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. The paste in the middle melts wonderfully releasing the flavour and generally it was amazing as biscuits go. It didn't quite taste of mince pie to me, the almond flavour over powered all other flavour somewhat. But seen as how I love the taste of almonds I can't exactly complain. Have no fear though I also purchased my one and only, my muse, my obsession, my salted caramel. Which lived up once again to all my needs and more. With a beautifully sweet caramel and subtly salty combination that takes you to sickly sweet before bringing you back down. A real treat  and I was smitten once more.

So sorry for misjudgment!

Before I end there I want to mention something I found the other day that isn't quite so special.  A super Mario Noel selection box, yeah you already know this isn't going to be good. But after seeing it I could hardly not purchase it just to revel in it's terribleness. And after all it does contain a whole NINE items (that's like one more than eight). You could just tell by the box this screamed cheap calendar chocolate. But I was wrong and whilst it doesn't taste of what you'd call quality it does taste pretty good. nice and milky and not overly sweetened. At the price it was being sold at nine items suddenly looks good. I feel rather bad for mocking it.

I felt as guilty as Donkey Kong here does!

Overall it was a great mini holiday and all the goodies I gathered were pretty decent, I'm sorry Mario I misjudged you.. again!

Score
Rudolph bread - 7 out of 11
Mince pie Macaron - 6 out of 11
Salted Caramel macaron - 10 out of 11
Mario - 5 out of 11

Found
Rudolphe - Morrison's
Macaron's - Tim's Macarons and More
Mario Box - Toys'R'Us

Final Thoughts
Only three more excitement disturbed sleeps till XMAS.

Curious Christmas combination

I know what you’re wondering, what could possibly have STOLLEN my attention today? Well I have a plethora of pleasantries for pursuing. I know that alliteration there was so good right, it really took the CAKE. Okay I’m going to stop with the terrible hint puns before you think me a right PUDDING. I must be driving you NUTS.

                

Definitely stopping after that one as in all honesty the one the nuts pun refers to isn’t too nut centric. Moving swiftly on for we have a few to get through today I’ll begin with the Stollen. Probably the most traditional of the four as not only is it festive but it is also German. As I have talked about before Germany is where most of our holiday hang ups originate from. Surely that makes this cake about as festive as you can get.

Thankfully it was only a small slice

 It’s an odd one too the cakes themselves are an amalgamation of soft pastry, fruit and marzipan. An odd combination that actually tastes rather nice, and like this one if made well creates an interesting cooling sensation in the mouth befitting of the season. The pastry is soft and moist and melts nicely on the tongue. The marzipan tastes of sweetened almonds and gives the pastry a nice sugary kick. Then the fruit and spice mixture brings the usual festive tastes that are ever present on our tongues right now. Altogether it creates a great Christmas treat that in my opinion I nicer than what we have adopted.

               

 Over here in England we have Christmas cake, not as fun to say and nowhere near as nice to eat. A combination of fruit, suit and breadcrumbs creating an often dry fruit cake base topped with marzipan and the royal icing. I’m really not a fan, usually when presented with these cakes I tend to eat the icing and marzipan and little else. I find it too dry and dull for my likings. To me, cake has to be sweet, moist and mostly chocolate. The version I tried is from Costa and whilst quite nice and more importantly very small still had the dryness and lack of interesting flavours for me.

                

Puddings in disguise

Next we have a deceiver in our midst for this may look like the traditional festive pud topped with sauce and holly, but take a closer look and that holly looks a bit too perfect. Another give away is that it is clearly made from Rice Krispys and chocolate. It’s a cool little thing I saw in local bakery and had to try, after all it is festively themed. However when I got home I was a little worried. The Krispys were falling off a rapid rate and they seemed a bit dull in colour. I realized that the chocolate in the mixture may have been lacking in aid of a batch bake. Undeterred however I tried a chunk and was pleasantly surprised. The cereal at first tasted a bit stale, but that was to be expected. The surprise was how the chocolate mixture tasted rather chocolaty and quite buttery. The combination worked well and tasted of sweet chocolate butter. I can tell you it didn’t last much longer and crumbled away to nothing.

                

With these Raffaellos I am really being spoiled

Lastly we have some snowball like Ferrero Roche’s, or rather their white chocolate coconut brother Raffaello. I never really eat Ferrero Roche’s that much; they aren’t the sort of thing you buy when you want a quick chocolate fix. I also don’t get invited to many Ambassador Balls and so don’t see many of the pyramid offerings of them either. Yet the fact that these versions only appear this time of year made me eager to buy a box just to try. Am I glad I did? Yes, Yes I am. These taste great with a crispy coconut outside a creamy nutty inside and a whole Almond all offered in one hit. They taste very luxurious without being too rich and filling as the regular ones have in the past. These have a great coconut and milky chocolate taste that ends with a great nutty crunch.

                

Overall I love most of today’s products except ironically the one we hold dearest to our hearts in this country. I say we adopt more German traditions and take on the Stollen.

Score

Christmas Stollen -  8 out of 11

Christmas cake - 4 out of 11

Rice Krispy pudding - 6 out of 11

Raffaelo - 9 out of 11

Final Thoughts

Only eight more days left, I can't believe it!

McVitie's gineger bread biscuits

Ok I know you guys are probably fed up of me reviewing ginger biscuits but lets face it gingers pretty abundant this season. I wonder why certain spices have become known as festive. I'm guessing because they each create a warming feeling. They all do really, Nutmeg, Cinnamon and ginger, to be honest I'm clutching at straws on that one. I was going to mention allspice in that list but as the name suggests it's not really a spice more an amalgamation.

I'M going to move on as I fear I'm rather out of my depth here. Clearly my spice knowledge is rather lacking. I'm fine on the practical side (as in tasting) but the theory sides above me. Anyway I have three ginger based biscuits for your reading pleasure. One is a Costa coffee ginger bread man, one a Mcvities gingerman and one is a locally made red robin cookie.

 

Ohhhh Shiny

First let’s look at the Costa Coffee offering. I know what you’re thinking, why aren’t I reviewing the gingerbread latte that comes served with this drink? Well you see I didn't need to purchase the drink in order to get this guy. All I did was walk in the store say I was the one and only Roy Saxon and was offered anything I wished. Ok so that’s not true, although I was rather crafty in my procurement of it. I did the age old technique of flirting with the server. I wasn't even the initiator of said measures, so I got both a biscuit and an ego boost all in one visit. I know what you’re thinking again, Roy shame on you for flirting back. You have a stunning and beautiful girlfriend don't you? Well yes I do, she was with me and got half the gingerbread man.

Not that it was very gingery and yes I know I always say this. Also I realize I am rather harsh on any biscuit that doesn't meet my standards. But this time not only was it lacking in ginger fiery-ness, it was also rather stale. They do rather worryingly keep these in an airtight container but often they keep the lid off for easy access. Seems a bit futile in the long run. Then again I doubt many of their customers complain about the free addition with their drinks. Well I do, except mine was just free.

Next we have a very similar looking McVitie version the only difference being a layer of chocolate on the bottom. So similar in look is it similar in taste (or lack thereof). No, not at all, in fact these little guys pack a bit of a kick to them. Finally a ginger biscuit that's got a decent amount of fire to them. The chocolate is quite nice too but the spice is where the actions at. They have a nice solid crunch to them too. They even dunk well in coffee and their sweetness really comes through especially with the chocolate underbelly. I was really surprised how nice these were considering the usual mass produced cookies that are themed for holidays.

Lastly we have the red robin, the design on this thing is really nice and the sparkling red belly is the icing on the... well ginger biscuit. This has a weird very soft texture to it, not crumbly and not solid a bit like cold but not quite solid icing. In contrast the icing on top is hard and creates the crunch to this biscuit. It has a nice ginger taste to it but really the taste of icing is the prevalent flavor. It actually works quite nicely. I'm willing to overlook the lack of ginger because of how nice these look.

Overall only the Costa one was a disappointment and that's mainly down to how they are stored. I hope if any Costa people are reading, hell if anyone even reads, they start leaving the lid on. Remember please the customer and all that.

Score

Costa Gingerbread man - 2 out of 11

McVitie's ginger man - 7 out of 11

Red Robin Biscuit - 6 out of 11

Found

Costa (surprisingly)

Tesco

Local cafe

Final Thoughts

 I will try and steer clear of ginger biscuits for a while, for your sanity and mine!

Cadbury's Make A Wish and Lindt's Stars

So yes I survived yesterday, the infamous Friday the Thirteenth. I think the worst thing that happened was a slight scolding from not waiting long enough for my coffee to cool down. Even then I think I almost got a free coffee as the staff immediately saw a possible lawsuit. Though seeing as it was my own impatience I can't really complain, plus it was a coffee.

I have four items for you today so I'll get this prelude out the way. We have linked items so it shouldn't be too hard, we have two Christmas biscuits and two Christmas stars. First up the two festive biscuits, before you jump to conclusions, no I didn't have it with the aforementioned burner beverage. These two are great looking versions of the old favourite shortbread topped with marshmallow. One as a Snowman and one as a Reindeer, they are rather cute.

Damn it isn't really Rudolph

The chocolate button hat looks nice, tasted waxy and cheap

First we have Rudolph, the mallow is slightly unique as it tastes a lot of brown sugar. It's a pleasant change from the usual vanilla varieties which is on the snowman. Although it does come across as a bit sickly, both bases are a bit lacking in flavour apart from the sugar dusting. The real show comes when you reach the centre of these two and you hit a nice slab of raspberry jam. The combination created in both is great and the biscuits lack of flavour doesn't matter because it adds texture and crunch.

Next we have a Cadbury wish star, a returning product from yule tides gone past. It's a solid milk chocolate star filled with a bubbly milk chocolate mousse centre. My first impression was surprise really. The outside shell is pretty beefy which is a lovely surprise considering most hollow type items have a shell thinner than tissue paper. It does rather then overshadow the inside a bit and I didn't notice that I'd hit the middle without looking. It does melt perfectly as good aerated chocolate should, however they still don't actually give Aero a run for their money. One nice point is that a percentage of the sale of these stars goes to the Make a Wish Foundation. Written on each star is a message too saying 'Together we can make wishes come true'. A nice sentiment and one befitting of this time of year.

 

These are pretty big for a treat

The we have Lindors Lindt star, which while lacking in charity certainly makes up for it in decadence. With the usual Lindor feeling of extravagance and luxury, which while they are nice often feel a bit too indulgent. So luckily this star comes ready to be divided and easily split apart. Clearly they know that it is the season for sharing or that no one person can eat too much Lindor and not feel floaty.

The outside shell is again milk chocolate and inside is the signature Lindor filling. This filling rather conflicts with me somewhat it tastes so nice, so rich and so creamy that I love it and the fact that it melts with such ease helps too. Yet this also brings the problem with Lindor, this filling is often too rich, too sweet and ends up being a bit too sickly. Unfortunately that's how I feel about this product it's too indulgent for me and I did indeed share the other half, mainly for my own safety.

 

A lovely snowflake

Overall these products were nice although none felt that special, I think my favourite has to be the snowman. The charity side of the Cadbury's wish was a nice sentiment.

Score

Biscuits - 5 out of 11

Wishing star - 6 out of 11

Lindt - 5 out of 11

Found

Biscuit in a local shop, stars can be found anywhere pretty much.

Final Thoughts

Have any of you had an unlucky experience on the 13th I haven't. Comment below

German Christmas market sweets!

            I'm going to admit outright one of today’s products isn't technically Christmas themed. Wait though dear reader, don't pick up your pitchfork just yet let me at least explain. You never know once you have heard of its origins you may well forgive me. You see I bought both of today’s products at a rather festive event.

            Much like the fete phenomena I talked about the other day another increase in social gathers occur at this time of year. Markets, specifically German markets. Now I know that technically most of the traditions we hold dear and sacred (the tree especially) does come from Germany and other European countries. But really why every Christmas market is desperate to make sure you know its German themed. It's not like once you’re in the market everyone acts German, No in fact your lucky if you get a sausage stall at all.

It looks rather luxurious 

 But this market did just that called itself German in pretty much name alone, though there is Bratwurst on offer. I'm not complaining, I loved my time at the market and I'm a bit afraid this may turn into another rant rather than a review so let’s move on.

           

First up the non- Christmas item, chocolate coated marzipan. Thinking about it however marzipan and almonds do have a bit of resurgence in this festive time, so we're not so far away. This item looks amazing with the marbled multi-chocolate look. The chocolate shell is mostly dark chocolate and is surprisingly thick. Which is great as the bitter chocolate offsets the marzipans sweetness. The only problem is it didn’t melt very well in my mouth but the quality really made up for it.

Doesn't look too appealing but it is.

            The next items definitely more festively themed, its Christmas pudding fudge. A nice mixture of traditional pudding and an item I don't necessary with this time of year. Yet it really worked well. Cleverly the fudge itself was great tasting rum fudge. It was soft and crumbly and melted on my tongue. It was rather potent in the alcohol taste and was worried I may slur the rest of this post if I have anymore. In the fudge it is little pieces of fruit cake and raisins. The combination is very similar to having a Christmas pudding more than liberally covered in Brandy sauce. Basically the stuff the 25th is made of.

Either a shepherd or a nun

Overall both of these items were great and Christmas markets in general are lovely. My trip almost sent me back in time to the Victorian era seeing simple crafts and gifts on sale. I even went ice-skating!

Score

Marzipan Chocolate - 6 out of 11

Christmas Fudge - 7 out of 11

Found

Local 'German' Christmas market.

Final Thoughts

I'm being rather ranty lately.

I rant about something small

So I’ve pretty much been able to avoid this problem until now, but it's day seven so I’m going to tackle a subject that I’ve ranted about before. No, not cheap tasting chocolate or how I believe all chocolate from my childhood is somehow smaller. Not even wondering why it’s always the toffee left in the Roses tin never the creams (though that one does annoy me and keep me up at night). No, these are common complaints and by now surely you readers know there is nothing common about me.

On reflection that last line seems a bit pretentious, makes it sound like I believe I have blue blood running through my veins (the royal kind, not the cold kind. Though pretty much the same I guess #burn). No what I meant was that the things that annoy me usually don’t appear on a sane person's radar, probably goes to show how small my problems actually are. What annoys me is the repackaging of old products as new or different for holiday periods. We saw it for Halloween and once again we get it for Christmas.

At least the woollen design will keep them warm in these chilly times.

I’ve noticed the worst for this is probably Cadbury who have released a few cardboard tube share boxes. Now I know you’ve adopted that lovely woollen look for your packaging but it doesn’t make it new. The worst so far has been the tubes of Buttons and Fredo Faces I show you today. Neither is very good as share boxes go either. They contain individual bags of the sweets which isn’t exactly very share friendly. You’re more likely to have a bag to yourself than if they were loose in the tube. The Buttons are even just their usual mini bags; it just comes off as rather lazy.

Surely a better idea would be a big bag of them inside the tube that you could tip out into a bowl or something. Instead I would have to open each individual bag and pathetically fill the bowl in small quantities. Then you have the added disappointment that they are all the same flavour. One product does understand however, that’s the Terry chocolate Orange segsational boxes. These are great as there are all six different flavours of the orange without having to buy their bigger brother versions. Great, if like me you want to try all the different varieties but don’t want the guilt of six whole oranges to yourself.

Sample sizes are always welcome, all the taste non of the guilt!

Lastly we have Kinder bar minis, got to be a bit of a hypocrite on this one and say I actually like these. Firstly they are loose in the tube so you can just tip them out in an impressive sharing display. Plus they are rather new as you can’t get the Kinder bars in this size. Each piece is like a mini snack and you don’t get the problem with the larger bar that often feels sickly sweet and provide the unnecessary guilt trip. No, two blocks of gorgeous kinder white and milk chocolate is the right amount as far as I’m concerned.

Not quite sure where this post has gone really. The main idea is that often around this time of year we get the usual share boxes panic buy. A concept that should have been left to variety chocolates like Roses or Heroes, yet companies decided we needed the creation of tubes filled with the same product. This is just rather dull after you’ve had a few of the same tasting Dairy Milk button. Perhaps I’m the problem; I do get bored very quickly after all. I guess it does get rid of the problem I alluded to earlier when you go hunting for the Purple One only to find some bugger has nicked them all!

I'm guessing a Reindeer, but honestly could be a goat

Overall, whilst the idea of share boxes is great and all can we please ensure we respect the tradition of variety in these boxes. Cadburys shame on you!

Score (of effort put in)

Cadburys - 4 out of 11

Segsationals - 8 out of 11

Kinder - 6 out of 11

Found

Variety boxes are everywhere at the moment as are share boxes.

Final Thought

Wasn't really a review at all, more like a full on rant... sorry!

Cherry Cordial m&m's and other balls

            What’s an iconic Christmas shape? One, that’s also very happy dangling from your Christmas tree,. That’s right I'm talking about spheres, or to most of us balls. Today’s review deals with all kinds balls, in three whole varieties.

            Okay so once again that opening is perhaps a bit more innuendo filled than I would have hoped. However I bet all those balls caught your attention. Wait; scratch that, although they do kind of stick out innuendos, that is. What does that say about the human mind, I wonder?

            So moving on the point is todays review concerns three sugar coated spheroids. Also as this is day four of my Christmas advent challenge so they are all festively themed too. We have Cherry Cordial m&m's, Reindeer noses and some white chocolate type sugar candy.

          

Wish I had a fetching pair of tights like those.

  So first up let’s look at Cherry Cordial m&m's. Yet another case of a favorite brand not releasing all available versions in the UK. I know it’s a small point but seriously it does bother me. Over here we only really have three types and even then we only got crispy in the last year or so. I had to order these from Ebay and a guy shipping isn’t cheap.

          

  Although I'm glad I did, as these are very nice. Unlike the Pumpkin spice ones these actually have a bit of a flavor to them. As soon as you reach the center you get an intense taste of cherry. Then again this does overpower the chocolate taste slightly, leaving the cocoa as more of an afterthought. If you give these a chance for this to melt in your mouth you do get the best of both worlds.

          

I think the crispiness is about all they had going for them!

  Next up the White chocolate drops that I found at a local market. They caught my eye quickly as you don't often get sugar coated white chocolate (unless your American and you can buy Candy Corn m&m's, Not bitter at all). The white chocolate itself tastes nice, almost like a Milky bar nicely sweet and milky. The shell itself adds well too, as if you erode the shell away the insides warmed to a point that melts perfectly.

        

    Lastly we have Reindeer noses; I've seen the usual 'hilarious' Reindeer droppings (chocolate covered raisins). But these are new to me, and perhaps that’s not a bad thing. The chocolate tastes very cheap and the sugar shell just adds to this. Not much I can say except these were disappointing.

          

Behind today's door was a melting snowman, how festive.

  Overall I enjoyed most of these, except the noses, although the idea was there. The worst thing here is the reminder of the m&m's I miss because I don't live in candy central.  

Score

White Chocolate drops - 6 out of 11

Reindeer Noses - 3 out of 11

Cherry Cordial m&m's - 8 out of 11

Found

Local market

Co-operative food store

and EBAY

Final Thought

 I really don't want to now have to try Reindeer droppings!

Pringles - festive varieties!

Tastes  funny thing, apparently you can't account for it. That's what "they" say anyway, although, I'm not quite sure who "they" are. "They" do say a lot I must say and not all of it's so true or insightful. It seems on this occasion whats said is correct, especially in the case of today's review items. Thinking on it a bit more if we did all have the same taste, the world would be a dull place really.

Whats made me all philosophical and sage like? Well today's product, which seem to have a rather polarizing effect on people. Much like how Marmite often comes down to love it or hate it. These seem to be the same, if that is people make it past the first hurdle which is the concept of the items themselves. Those I offered them to often stared at me perplexed as though they needed a moment to figure out if what I was extending there way was real. They are believe me. These are the two limited edition flavoured Pringles available

this festive season. One is sweet cinnamon and the other is mint chocolate.

They look the same from the outside, it's only the dusting that's different!

Sounds weird doesn't it? Why should it though, think about it. The only reason people immediately disregard these as Yack, is because we are used to savory Pringles. That is how I viewed it and was much more open minded to the experience than most who I prof erred them to. I tried them both and didn't think too hard as I ate them, through this I hope you'll see me as unbiased in my reviews. Check me out being all professional right?

First we will tackle the one most people had trouble with, the mint chocolate. Now don't get me wrong the idea is odd even to me. However remember that the flavour of mint choc has been a firm favorite in many other forms for years. I must admit that I don't like the combination myself but I didn't let that stop me. It's the crisp format that is throwing people but hey I just think that gives them a nice crisp crunch! So without too much hesitation I tried one. It was odd at first, I noticed a weird powdery dusting that you don't usually get, perhaps more seasoning has to be added to achieve the taste. Which is rather minty, and quite chocolatey too. The taste lingers for a bit before being replaced by the Pringle/crispy aftertaste of potato product. It certainly is odd thought not unpleasant to me.

Seems this sight put people off even trying

The experience is a bit akin to having dessert quickly followed by savory. OK well not really but you get the idea. Both the initial minty chocolate and the potato taste are nice... just a bit odd when combined. I think a lot of people had trouble with this as out of about fifteen people brave enough to try these only me and one other liked them. Not good odds then. The second, sweet cinnamon, weirdly had more favourability. Not sure why people are more open about the flavour they just are.

I have to say of the two these are my favorite, the initial taste is much weaker but blends much better with the fried aftertaste. The combination here ends up tasting rather like a sugar and cinnamon doughnut. Really quite nice and much more moreish than the others. If anything more of the sweet cinnamon flavouring is needed as it's rather subtle and quickly replaced by the aftertaste.

This one appeared more pleasing

Overall the mint choc is ok but the sweet cinnamon shines brighter. I think the real story is that people need to be more open minded about new tastes... Or as mad as me!

Score
Mint Choc - 3 out of 11
Sweet Cinnamon - 6 out of 11

Found
Sainsbury's conveniently on offer when bought together!

Final Thoughts
Next up perhaps we will have bakewell tart! Bring it on!

Toffee Time Troubles

Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, treason and plot. If your English this phrase will be a clear sign of something for you, that Autumn is well and truly upon us. You know as if the Christmas stock banaza that begins in June hasn't already given you clues.If your American I don't know what your reminder is perhaps giant inflatables floating past your window or every product incorporating pumpkin.

Apples wrapped in anything, another tradition

Well what ever your idea of what it means to be Autumnal, I have a couple of appropriate products today ready for review. Both of these products are traditional firework night treats here in Britain, toffee. To those who don't know fireworks night is when we celebrate a man who failed to kill our king and government, I don't know why everyone views us British as a cynical bunch. I understand how we choose to celebrate with fireworks, there is a clear link there to the attempt to blow up Parliament. Not quite sure why Toffees traditional candy for the day though, surely it should be popping candy.

Anyway so today's item is a British tradition and tomorrow I'l do some American traditions for Autumn, see I'm not biased. The toffee in question is rather special too and comes from my recent trip to Cumbria, where I found a shop called 'The Toffee Shop' in Penrith (know your product well I guess). According to the tourist information this was the place to go for toffee treats. Disappointingly the shop only does two types of toffee and three types of fudge. Although by the signs of the fudge samplers I had I was in for a treat.

It's all in the name

The first type is your typical treacle toffee, handmade on the premises they proudly proclaim. I'm not a big fan of treacle but when in Penrith do as the... Penrithians do? I found the chunks to be very sweet and very hard. Exactly what you want in toffee really, it had a great bite and it didn't take too long to soften enough to be chewed. The taste was very much treacle but it managed to be the right level of sweetness throughout and I saw why these guys were experts in their craft.

They don't really look appetizing, but they are!

The next piece was some of their butter toffee and this is when their love of toffee clearly lies. Again these chunks are pretty solid and my dentist was on hand ready to fix breakages. The taste was amazing at first I got a kick of sugar. This was soon complimented by a creamy, salty butter taste that created a sublime combination. Again it's no wonder these guys have a name for themselves, even if it is rather product restricting.

Overall these were nice, although the fudges they make were to me much nicer. I did buy rather a lot of fudge to keep me stocked if I'm honest. See you tomorrow for Pumpkins galore!
Score
Treacle Toffee- 6 out of 11
Butter Toffee- 9 out of 11

Found
The Toffee Shop, Penrith

Final Thoughts
Hope everyone's celebrations went off with a bang over the weekend!

Hark how the bell gets ready to toll!

Really isn't long left folks until Halloween. I am fully prepared I believe now, I have a pumpkin for carving. I have a costume for treating and some friends for surviving. I hope you guys have this much planning or plotting in place. Of course the most important aspect is candy.

Today we have a few products themed towards Halloween as part of my spooktacular challenge. We have a spooky Cadbury's cinder toffee cake bar. I like the sound of this flavor and haven't seen it offered before. We have a skeleton chocolate lolly from Thornton's, Something for the luxuriously spoilt kids. For the cheap kids like moi we have a milky bar ghost whom was on offer when I snatched it up.

Don't know what qualifies cake to be spooky if I'm honest

First up the cake bar, according to the packet each is wrapped by mummies. Now I'm not certain but judging by the packaging it's the hammer horror kind not the maternal. Not sure this is that reassuring because I don't particularly think Egyptian mummies were big on hygiene. This aside I venture inside the tomb to try one of these "frightfully good" (slightly better than mediocre then eh Cadbury's?) cake bars.
Now I'm not normally a fan of cake bars but I'll try regardless.

As soon as I did I was pleased the chocolate coating was up to the usual milk chocolate standards but that's not what hit me. I was really hit by the toffee it was fangtastic, a beautifully rich taste and a nice fluffy sponge. However I found as I ventured further I found the toffee became rather sickly. Thankfully the sponge is light and unflavoured so there is slight balance. But not enough and I came out feeling a bit over indulged. the chocolate coating was good, melted well with a subtly sweetness.

At least he has that look of someone who's long time dead and not like...

Next the chocolate lolly, I like the design they have done a cool idea in using white chocolate as a picture on milk chocolate. Not a new idea but welcome never the less, unfortunately this often means the white chocolate passes unnoticed by the tongue. As I bit into it I recognized that same reoccurring them along with the Gothic themes. Cheaper blends of chocolate, I noticed the usual quality of Thorton's chocolate but with added sweetener and less cocoa. The was a nice subtle nutty aftertaste but I don't now if I was just seeking for excitement. I had noticed half the bar had bloomed, now I'd stored this with everything else and only bought it the other day so this was a concerning sign.

This guy who looks too happy and hyper and being deceased!

But I moved on to the last item a milkybar ghost. Not much to say really it is exactly the same chocolate we all know and love but in a spectral form. Although rather lazy at least they aren't scrimping on quality.

Overall I think the milky bar was the nicest although I could have just bought a regular version and been just as happy. The cake bar started so well I'm rather disappointed that it was a bit too much sweetness. However I may try the other one before it skulks off for another year.

Score
Cinder Toffee cakes- 6 out of 11
Skeleton Lolly- 5 out of 11
Milky bar Ghost- 6 out of 11

Found
Sainsbury's for the cake bars, Thornton's for the skeleton and Superdrug for the ghosty

Final Thoughts
What happens to all the shops Halloween items?

Lemon and Slime- bad pun time!

Ok, so yesterday proved two things. One that I have built up a rather impressive stash of Halloween treats for you guys. Two thankfully I can and will be reviewing several of them in one post from now on in order to catch up with myself. Today we have two items that have both been waiting for their time in the spotlight for a while and deserve to be heard.

They are both however Halloween varieties of Halloween items so sadly I’m not expecting much from either of them. Although both have some differences that may make a difference but nothing unique or new on show here. That seems to be a running theme at the moment; it’s a great opportunity for a company is Halloween. We don’t care about the holiday enough over here to justify totally new ideas, so brands can just alter their packaging to suit the season and little else.

Bit disappointing the plain outside!

Thankfully with Christmas we are a bit pickier and new products seem to arrive, or old ones reappear that get the dust brushed off them when the festivities take them. For instance Cadbury snow bites a chocolate treat I love but only get to experience once the snow starts a dropping.

The first item up today however is something I don’t actually mind they don’t change too much as I love the regular item anyway. It’s a Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin, it’s by Reese’s so I already know I’ll love it and the less they mess with their formula the happier I am. As soon as I take it out the packet I’m a happy undead bunny (if I were alive it might be too much like Easter!). I’m greeted by a lovely chocolate and peanut butter aroma and the chocolate on the outside is slightly melted and gooey, both are very good signs.

Though the sheer amount of filling makes up for looks

I snap it in half to judge the chocolate to peanut ratio is on offer here and I am surprised instantly. The peanut butter seems to make up the majority of this much thicker than their usual cups. My mouth starts a watering at this and I can’t keep myself from it for too long. I bite in and find the chocolate has great fudge like texture although a disappointing lack of flavour. This is made up immediately however by the amazing as always peanut butter. A lovely nutty sweet, yet salty taste that takes over the chocolate flavour immediately. No wonder with such a thick slab too, it’s not been blended too fine either so you get tiny little nutty bits for added texture.

It’s good but I’m not sure it’s up to their usual quality and nowhere near as amazing as my favourite white chocolate cups. I think they have definitely sacrificed some of the chocolate quality and quantity here. On the flipside the peanut butter is better and more than usual so it kind of balances out. At least they haven’t scrimped on quality too much here. One thing I am slightly disappointed about however is the lack of design on the item itself. I was expecting a jack-o’-lantern type face to be on the surface but unfortunately it’s rather plain.

Impromptu photographic skills required in the field

The next item I have is a festive edition of much loved Jaffa cakes. By the way in case you wondered these are definitely cakes and not biscuits as many believe (Biscuits go soft when stale, these like cakes go hard #science). These are quite a cool idea as these Halloween editions have a different flavoured jelly, instead of the normal orange we have lemon and lime (sorry SLIME, get it) on offer here. McVities are really impressing me with the effort they are making towards Halloween as there digestives yesterday did well too. These taste great the new flavour really compliments the basic formula well and the flavour seems to have infused with the sponge. I hope this isn’t a passing visit as I’d like this to become a regular variety. Having said that if it did it would make the product no better than the other products I chastise for not changing.

Overall I was happy with both of these products, although if we are honest the Reese’s was the same basic cup but I didn’t complain because of favouritism. Secondly my thought on the new flavour becoming available all year round would create the problem I complain about. Can we ever truly be happy?

 Score

Pumpkin- 6 out of 11

Jaffa CAKE- 8 out of 11

Found

Pumpkin is from a local sweet shop that sells American sweets, the Jaffa Cakes I got from Sainsbury's but are widely available.

Final Thoughts

Wow I am a bit of a hypocrite this week aren't I?