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.

Lebkuchen

Right before you call me dull, boring or worse still a liar, let me have a chance to defend myself. Yes these are basically ginger biscuits and I did indeed suggest I'd at least take a break from such things; however I have reasons (or excuses). Firstly these are technically Lebkuchen and very traditional. Secondly they are more cakey and iced in chocolate. Lastly they are German and as I mentioned before makes them even more festive.

But before we get to them let us go nuts for well... Nuts! Caramelized almonds to be exact. In the last few months I've discovered a lifelong hatred of nuts was rather unfounded and have since been obsessed with making up for lost time. These things are one of those times that make me weep for such missed opportunities, what’s better than a roasted almond? One coated in sugar and then cooked that’s what.

 

More cake than biscuit

These really are great the outside is crispy and tastes of caramelized sugar, hardly a surprise really considering their name. The nut inside has been cooked and roasted well too. The combination created between sweet and savory is great with an epic crunch too for good measure. Now I have had these freshly roasted at a market and that was an experience I can tell you. These are the supermarket equivalent and despite being slightly smaller and not warm are still a delicious and probably dangerous for your health treat.

Next we have the main event, Lebkuchen. Whilst I started by saying these are more gingerbread cookies I think they are much more like a cake, true even more when you consider they usually come coated in icing. These that I have don't, instead these are covered in dark chocolate and have a rice paper base. All the layers have something in common, the fact that they all melt in the mouth nicely. The dark chocolate isn't the usual plain and bitter taste; instead it tastes nicely sweet and works well. This probably means it isn't a good quality example but that doesn't matter all the time.

Like little pebbles of joy

The cake itself isn't very gingery at all, and at this point I would start complaining. I would that is if it mattered which it doesn't. These are meant to taste fruitier than fiery I think which with the fruit peel mixed in definitely delivers. The peel itself mixes well with the chocolate topping and at times creates a Chocolate orange type of taste. These are great all round and such a shame they will soon be much missed from the shelves. They go well with a cup of tea too, multi-talented guys these.

Lastly is an odd concept, hot chocolate kit for two. Yes, on the face of it that seems a good idea right? It is a season for couples to conspire beneath the fire ECT. I would agree too, except this range comes from Toys'R'Us. Yeah things just got weird.

Overall Lebkuchen is amazing and the nuts too and make me realize I'm going to miss some of these fleeting festive treats. But then if we had them all year round they wouldn't be special.

Score

Lebkuchen - 8 out of 11

Caramelized Almonds - 7.5 out 11

Found

Both were found in Lidl

Final Thoughts

Germany really have this Christmas thing down to a T.

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

Christmas Fete fun

Do you know one of my favourite things about Christmas? You know apart from: gift giving, gift receiving, family time, holiday, turkey, roast, present wrapping. Right this is getting ridiculous! I’ll just tell you, its Christmas fetes. Although even then I prefer summer fetes but that’s mainly because they come with added BBQ.

There’s something about this time of year that churches, town halls, schools and generally any big public hall like space that’s big enough for a few trestle tables. They then fill those tables with second hand goods, toys, gifts, crafts and more importantly food. No wonder my heart starts to flutter when I see glorious signs that inform me of the prestigious events.

Top one is coffee, bottom one plain, as you can plainly see.

That’s what happened the other day when I passed a sign advertising just such an event at my local church. So of course I took a wander in, looked over the wares and took part in the raffle. Then I bought myself some homemade fudge in coffee and plain flavour and headed off to get a tea, where I also had the opportunity to purchase the obligatory shortbread biscuit. Hey presto what do you know I had a review in the making. Not only have that but a review that fits my advent challenged.

Its day three after all and I’m really getting into the festive spirit. In fact as I type this I’m listening to a playlist of Christmas songs and loving every one of them (apart from Cliff Richard of course).  Anyway on to the items. First up the fudge, which I was assured was homemade. It’s an odd colour for fudge this as its pretty much snow white, the texture too is odd very much like fondue filling rather than fudge. It literally melts as you place it on your tongue. Unfortunately the plain one did live up to it’s name a bit and other than a subtle taste of vanilla had little to offer.

It looks nice and the icing tasted great!

The coffee tasted much nicer with a great sweet coffee taste, no bitterness. In fact it was just like eating the centre of a coffee crème, which is great. Until you eat too many and I ended up with a bit of a cloying sensation in my throat. I attempted to combat this with a sip of tea and a bite of biscuit.

The biscuit looks nice, simple but nice you can tell it’s homemade with love. I ate the thick icing star first of course and got a nice hit of royal icing. Then I tried the actual biscuit, it had a great crumbly texture to it as I bit in and it too melted in my mouth. However yet again it was rather plain, with no sugar dusting and not much butter in the recipe it was quite bland. I tried dipping it in my tea which brought out some sweetness but still rather disappointing.

Behind todays (or rather yesterdays) door a drum!

Overall whilst the treats on offer where a bit of a low point the fete itself was great. Also I won the raffle, I won an Antiques Roadshow board game, still can’t complain, a wins a win right? 

Score

Plain fudge - 4 out of 11

Coffee fudge 5 out of 11

Biscuit - 4 out of 11

Fete - 7 out of 11

Found

Ummmm round the corner

Final Thoughts

Who should I inflict the board game on first?

Mr Kipling's Winter Whirls

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Well if we are honest it’s actually been looking like that since late September really. Let’s face it further, the minute the twelfth minute the twelve bell tolls on the 25^th you know stores will be stocking Cadbury Cream eggs. (Ironically just before typing this I was at my local Premier and they already had some by the till. Though knowing them they are probably left over from this year).

               

  Before that though lets rejoice for we are now officially in advent time territory. Which means I get to open my advent calendar, YAAAAAAAYYY! Twenty-five days of tiny cheap chocolate. In celebration of that I’m going to do two things in today’s post, firstly I’m going to announce my December challenge! From now until the glorious festive day itself I will be only reviewing Christmas themed products. I know this isn’t much of a challenge right now but remember theres a lot of tat out for the season too.

              

Festive fun begins

  Secondly and less exciting is that I will be reviewing a product of some kind. Shock, horror I know. I’m starting with a nice branded product to settle me in to this challenge. I’m sure many of you will be hoping that I will find more Murder Motel type dubious items which may kill me. At the very least they could have me reaching for the Brandy butter, and the sherry and Santa’s share too.

                

Todays review should be of my advent calendar really. However tradition for me dictates I open it before I go to bed. Too late for this post then. Have no fear I’ll bring it forth before you tomorrow and anyway I have an item ready anyway.

                

They do look impressive

I bring you a Mr. Kipling Winter Whirls; these are a slight variation on the classic Vienesse whirl. The items not quite a biscuit nor is it quite a cake either. One of those items that find themselves in a teatime limbo, like a Jaffa cake. Anyway he festive difference is that alongside the usual buttercream filling is some mincemeat for good effect. Sounds nice, although I’m not a big fan of usual whirls bit too plain.

I try a bite and the same problem occurs again. The biscuit/cake top and bottom are just too large. This wouldn’t matter except I don’t find them that pleasant. They are very soft and very crumbly with a little bit of a buttery flavour. The outside is dusted with sugar which does its best to add some sweetness. The texture is also quite flaky and has an almost pastry like feel about it.

Separation not so bad here, Yes I pulled a few apart.

The next problem is the amount of filling and as per regular filling tradition it’s rather lacking. Worse still when I opened one up I discovered why there’s little blend of flavour. Partly it’s because the mincemeat rather overpowers the buttercream. But mostly as they appear to have separate sides of the biscuit. I tried some buttercream on its own and found it to be a bit too sweet. It’s odd then that the flavour is so lost.

Overall they aren’t a bad start to this advent challenge, after all at least there edible. Plus these things always impress with guests so I can offload the rest of the pack there.

Score

5 out of 11

Found

Tesco's

Final Thoughts

There are some cool products I've been saving for this challenge!

Dairy Milk Nutty Caramel and Golden Biscuit Crunch

So, most of us have seen the madcap creations that Cadburys have been coming out with recently. Let’s face it I’m fully expecting a chocolate Frankenstein monster to emerge from the factory gates soon. Arms outstretched searching for his bride. Who will probably be made of white chocolate, opposites attract and all.

Yet it is just the creations range that they are trying out some cool combinations. Under their Dairy Milk bar range we have seen new flavours such as Oreo and more recently Daim. Another was the Toffee Popcorn bar I tried in this review HERE. And today I bring you two more newbies to the Dairy Milk range that passed me by for quite some time.

 

Sometimes Photographing chocolate sends me nuts!

The first is a bar of nutty crunch, which seems to be roasted hazelnuts with caramel sauce and wrapped in Dairy milk. Which sounds amazing, and like the toffee popcorn bar is a bit bigger than your standard Cadbury confectionary. I don’t know if these three belong to the same range but all have a beastlier size than your average bar. Not that I’m complaining after all more chocolate and filling right. Though you do pay more for this, these tend to retail for £1 more than the Daim and Oreo bars.

The second bar is another inspired choice on the face of it. A layer of biscuit topped in cream mousse like filling before being smothered in chocolaty goodness. I couldn’t wait to try either of these bars and rather impulsively bought both together. The lady at the till gave me a look of disgust at my gluttony before begrudgingly handing me my receipt. I don’t care who judges me, not when I have chocolate to console me.

 

It wasn't quite golden more like beige

I’ll start with the nutty caramel, sounds the nicest and I needed cheering up. I got the instant taste of the usual smooth and sweet milky chocolate. The as I delved deeper I hit the vein of caramel and the Hazelnut paste. The caramel added a nice sugary hit much like the caramel bars you get, nicely gooey and not too sickly sweet. Unfortunately the nuts were in detectable in taste. Although they do add texture to the bar that could have just been a sticky chewy mess. I think really the hazelnuts should have been flavoured with salt or something in addition to just being roasted.

Unfortunately it was the same story when it came to the biscuit bar too. The milk chocolate overpowered all the other flavours on offer. I did try the cream mousse layer on its own but could still not really detect any discernible flavour. It just tastes sickly sweet and a bit cheap, some kind of vanilla filling may have worked better. The biscuit too had no flavour and was again about adding texture. This bar kind of reminds me of a S’More a bit but not quite as nice.

I kind of mauled this for photography reasons obviously

Overall both were rather disappointing, let down by the sweetness of the chocolate. Whilst not a bad thing considering the inflated price I had hoped for a nicer product. 

Score

Nutty Caramel - 4 out of 11

Golden Biscuit Crunch - 3 out of 11

Found

Sainsbury's

Final Thoughts

I still have hope for their creations brand, I want more madness Cadbury.

Foxes Cherry Cheesecake and Honeycomb-crunch Fingers

Guess what guys! Today's review is back to biscuits, okay wait before you flip your table in uproar at least hear me out. I do have a reason for going back on my statements from yesterdays review. Basically these two items are either on sale right now or limited edition. (coincidental tumbleweed of uncaring happens)

Fine! I know it is a feeble excuse for going back on my word, but you know what? I don't care, I love biscuits. Hell, I bet you love biscuits and anyway they aren't ginger biscuits again so at least there is some variety here.

 

Vinnie looks mighty proud of his "bisquits" (Advert reference)

The two items in question are completely different in their use too. One is aimed at snacking, pretty much to be shared in a group type function like an ambassador ball (or more likely film night). The other is more along the line of my usual biscuit binge, as an accompaniment to my caffeinated beverage at lunch.

I'll start with he biscuit that was on offer, mainly because it's not new just on offer so I get a sweet treat at a discount price. Win, win in my eyes. These are a sharing bag of Cadbury's mini fingers and not just any mini fingers but HONEYCOMB CRUNCH fingers. I know your excited now right. So without further ado or cup in hand I chomp down on these bizarre biscuit. They are definitely crunchy too, a great taste too when bitten into. The milk chocolate is sweet but not too sweet that the subtle honey flavour underneath can't get through. It has a nice toffee taste to it and is similar to the chocolate coated cinder toffee I tried before.

If left to melt you can fully enjoy the great Cabury's milk chocolate but with an added biscuit tinge. It's not quite as sweet as usual but this is as I've said good as it allows the honeycomb to step in. The biscuit beneath doesn't really do much on the tongue and isn't absorbent in any useful way for it to be dunked. Still a really nice biscuit great for sharing, especially with the re-seal able bag aspect. Although I doubt you will need it!

Next up with have one of Foxes new American orientated biscuits. Four limited edition flavours that Vinnie the Panda (Don't ask) hopes will invoke a taste of the Atlantic in our mouths. This is the flavour that most appealed to me and is Cherry cheesecake Jammy Dodgers. Which is odd as Jammy Dodgers are one of my least favorite biscuit around. Too much biscuit not enough filling. However, the idea of cherry cheesecake definitely appeals to me.

 

Amazingly exercised cross section display here... perfect separation

Am I glad it did catch my eye? You be I am! These taste great and I hope that they keep the range gong for a while or even add to them. The cream filling doesn't really taste cheesy, more like a vanilla butter-cream flavour. A bit too sweet on it's own. The jam has a very powerful and nicely tart cherry taste that compliments the creams sweetness. The digestive biscuit doesn't really have flavour of it's own but that's not a bad thing considering the mix already on offer.

Overall both of these biscuits are great. I would definitely recommend the American range whilst it is available. As for the fingers if you have a party coming up then these are bound to be favorites and enough to go around too.

Score 

Finger's 5 out of 11

Cherry Pie 8 out of 11

Found

Sainsbury's

Final Thoughts

Why does a Panda have an American gangster character type? Also why is a Panda the mascot for Foxe's bisquits?

Ringtons Gingersnaps

It's one of those reviews again, by that I mean a biscuit review. Don't be put off by that line' 
after rereading that I've realized it sounds a bit negative. I more meant that I do quite lot of these 
reviews. Mainly because biscuit are a big part of my day (wow I have an exciting life) and if I'm 
honest something I look forward to in my day.

Free Teas always tantalizing

Each day just as I'm flagging that cup of coffee and sweet treat give me the boost I need to 
carry me through. Today the choice is even better as the biscuit I have, here to try was a FREE 
SAMPLE!!! Picture the scene, I'm fighting my way through the hordes of Christmas shoppers. 
Feeling scared, claustrophobic and generally in need of some personal space. Then as I walk past 
someone I had just perceived to be 'some guy' I found a bag thrust toward me.

Funny how sometimes you don't realize something magical has happened until your too far to 
give proper thanks. For it turns out that 'some guy' was actually my savour and the bag contained 
the magical happening. Two free samples, a heavenly combination of a new tea brand and a 
gingersnap biscuit. Did he know when he handed me this bag how appropriate it was? Two of my 
favourite essentials (for they are indeed) in one coveniant carrier. So when today as I dropped my 
pick me up was completely Gratis!

They have the look of the biscuits you get in hotel rooms... good ones

These both come from a company called Ringtons, after a quick check of their website I can 
assume that these guys kind of know teatime. This gives me reassurance in the likely outcome of 
these products. After all if they choose to specialise in my favourite time of the day I need to know 
that experience falls to experts. Not only that but the biscuits in question are Gingersnaps, lets 
face it this blog has a bit of a record with gingery goodness. These are mainly due to my exacting 
standards but hey it's a personal issue to work through.

The tea itself is Assam and smells amazingly potent which is a great sign of a strong brew. In my 
opinion for my enjoyment the tea mus have strength. It needs to knock some sense into me, and 
believe me that takes some power. Unfortunately I can't review these today because of lacking in 
the kettle department. But I can still try the biscuit with a compulsory cup of Starbucks.
As I open the pack I'm immediately hit by a powerful ginger aroma one that sends me chills of 
anticipation at the prospect of finally having a taste fiery enough for me. I bite down and so seems 
does it. This thing is certainly solid, great crunch and an intensely ginger taste that improves if left 
on the tongue.

Certainly looks as solid as it feels!

I try dunking it in my coffee and try the biscuit as nature intended. Warm, softened and infused 
with bitter back coffee. The result creates a great combination where the sweetness of my treat 
blends with the bitterness of the coffee. Ringtons have this combination nailed. The sting in this 
tail is this, however, it would seem for more supplies I'm going to need to order directly from 
them. Something I don't like doing, complications right?

Score
9 out of 11

Found
In an awesome most importantly free sample bag

Final Thoughts
I may have to go shopping more often!

Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread

Expectations are a funny thing aren’t they? Build them up and quite often they knock you down. Take today’s blog post for example if you go into reading this with the low expectations you’ve come to it with you may just enjoy it. Then again no matter how you approach my blog you’re going to love it, after all its awesomeness is a reflection of my own and I just can’t help that.

It’s a true point, however, that often when we build ideas up in our mind they can never truly live up to all the hype. It’s why I try to live as spontaneously as I can, if we don’t think too much not only will we be surprised more but you can never really be disappointed when something doesn’t live up to your standards. Take today’s item, a Nestle Millionaires Shortbread Wonka bar. When I heard that Nestle were re-launching the Wonka brand over here after a seven or so year hiatus I was excited like a small puppy. I remembered the amazing tasting bars that were released to coincide with the Tim Burton film and thought of the possibilities for crazy combinations.

 

Definitely an air of madness about it

Then they came out with the new flavours and immediately I was less jubilant, they weren’t the same and part of me knew that the flavours were variants of other Nestle products. This bar for instance is very similar in taste to a limited edition product that snuck out the back, as these jumped through the door. On the outside these do meet my hopes with the same crazy Wonka feeling design as the Nice Cream I tried Here. The colour and design are brilliantly chaotic that I’m sure Dahl would approve of. Once unwrapped, I found the shape to be rather a let-down. The last bar had a nice print of an ice cream sundae on it; this one is plain except for a monogram W in the corner.

Undeterred too much as usual by aesthetics alone I try a chunk, immediately I notice the chocolate yet again isn’t the usual quality Nestle taste. It’s clearly less cocoa more sweeteners, possibly with all the flavours being thrown around Nestle thought they be sneaky well I got you. It doesn't taste bad with a caramel paste inside with tiny chunks of crumbly biscuit for bite. I would have thought however if they were aiming to emulate millionaire’s shortbread that a solid layer of biscuit topped with caramel and then layered in chocolate would have been closer.

 

Just rather plain in comparison

Then it hit me what I was really eating and my hopes for the future of innovation fell ever more! This is essentially just a re-packaged Kit-Kat caramel, the limited edition bar that always seems to be around. Except unlike them the chocolate coating isn't as thick or even as nice. Whilst the Nice Cream was good and a great idea this one was disappointing. It just feels a bit cheap, the caramel paste itself shows this, and surely a nice coating of normal Mars like caramel would have felt less manufactured.

Overall I was disappointed by round two of the Wonka bar saga; I do blame my expectations in part. I’m looking forward to the final assault when I buy a bar of the Crème Brule although I will try to be neutral… TRY!

Score

4 out of 11

Found

Sainsburys

Final Thoughts

Todays review is rather serious clearly disappointment has aged me.

Hellish Halloween Hamper

Right I'm back from the mystical Isle of Wight, slightly earlier than I had hoped but safe at least which I guess is what matters. I almost didn't make it! I could have been stuck there for eternity without hope, without escape and without internet! It doesn't bear thinking about really.

The reason I had to rush home is that if you believe the weather reports the UK is about to be blown away by a coming storm. Considering how I needed a ferry to return home I thought it would be best to beat said storm, turn tail and run. I don't feel like a sissy because at least it allows me to bring more reviews to you my adoring

fan (no plural needed).

I seem to remember before leaving that I'd do a bumper review in return for my absence so here we go. This could get quite intense hope you can keep up!

First up lets consider some cookies, I have a terrible trio here for your delights. Another pumpkin shaped ginger biscuit from the folks at Costa coffee. Now it wasn't too bad but a bit bland and lacking in fire as usual. Nowhere near as bad as This, but certainly not as good as This. The biscuit itself was overall nice however the incing has no taste in itself and is a bit hard. When dunked it added a little sweetness but little else.

We have a chocolate cookie from Morrison's with a weirdly worried looking marshmallow skeleton. It has a nice chocolate hint to it and tastes quite fresh despite not being part of their freshly baked range. It dunks really well and the chocolate is brought out quite nicely when it's slightly damp. The marshmallow is a nice chewy offering, good level of sweetness and a subtle hint of vanilla. 

Lastly we have a cool idea from McVities in these snaptastic biscuits. basically one big chocolate digestive that you snap into individual characters. The chocolate layer is good quality and tastes superb with the dreggs of my coffee. The biscuit underneath is nicely oaty and has it's own distinct flavour once the chocolate has melted away.

With the biscuits and their crumbs brushed under the carpet let's have a blast from the past in the form of the last treat from Mark's and Spark's. These are called Super Scary Skulls, basically little jelly sweets. When I pulled one out the bag I was slightly unnerved as they have a weird ancient Mayan look about them in my opinion and one of the freakish things I've tried so far. I popped it in my mouth regardless and was pleasantly surprised. They taste rather nice, a good subtle blackcurrant and raspberry taste to them. Not too sweet and definitely not artificial tasting. I was disappointed that the jelly inside wasn't runny as it was the impression I got from the packets description.

The last product in this bonanza is some weird little chocolate critters. I can't actually remember where I found these however I'm afraid, clearly more of an impulse buy than usual. They are kinda cute although they lose points for using redundant cardboard just to add to their design. The chocolate itself is quite nice not quality as I clearly got these from a cheap store somewhere. They have the look and smell of advent chocolate and my tummy turned at this thought. However when I actually tried one  I found it tasted rather nice. Not amazing quality by any means but nicely chocolaty and milky, it didn't taste like sweetener or additives which is always nice.

Overall most of these Halloween goodies are good. Clearly my brief and slightly shortened holiday weekend has subdued my cynical and critical side. Now how will I write reviews, The world sucks like that doesn't it!

Score

Costa Biscuit- 5 out of 11

Morisson's Skeleton- 6 out of 11

McVitie's gang- 8 out of 11

Jelly skellies- 7 out of 11

Creepy critters- 5 out of 11

Found

Numerous places some I don't even remember!

Final Thoughts

I'm tired out, still have a lot of stock left too!