NEW! Soft Centre Chocolate Macaroons (M&S)

M&S updated their 'Dessert Menu' collection this week. Well there's got to be an upside to the darker mornings and chillier days hasn't there? You might've noticed that most of the supermarkets have also launched Christmas sections too - but don't worry, I've not been struck by mince pie mania like last year. Yet. Giant chocolate macaroons though? Count me in!

"French almond chocolate macaroons - just warm for a soft chocolate ganache centre."

The new desserts in the range are all part of a 20% introductory offer. This double pack was still a pricey £3.20 though. Macaroons are always expensive but can they be spectacular enough to warrant the £3.80 (non-offer) price tag? Let's find out...

Each macaroon was about 10cm ish in diameter, and could be eaten warm or cold. To be honest, it was the idea of the molten middle that persuaded me to prise apart my usually tight purse strings. Call me simple but I really don't understand the fascination with macaroons. 25 seconds in the microwave and it was ready to go.

Microwaves have a habit of making crispy food soggy but the shell remained crispy on the outside and soft on the insider. There was a fair amount of cocoa flavour to it too, with the almond aftertaste following through. As for the ganache, it was, of course, undeniably decadent due to the dark chocolate (11%) and whipping cream (19%) and once warmed became more like a sauce. In fact, the whole experience was like eating a lighter warm chocolate fudge cake. 

The new giant Macaroons are great for the novelty factor, however  I can't help but feel they pale in comparison to the Gold Bullion bars in terms of creativity and innovation. That said, I'd happily pick them up as part of the Dine In for £10 meal deal (if and when they're ever included) but would never pay the full price for them. 

8/10. 

Banoffee Cheesecake Slices (M&S)

My sister and I were talking about how good the banoffee digestives are again the other day when she asked me why no-one does banoffee cheesecake. I then reminded her of the M&S banoffee cheesecakes that used to be part of the dine in meal deal. "You know, the ones that were designed for two that you used to munch by yourself." "Ah... yes, I remember." 

This jogged my memory back to a conversation I had with a lady called Zoe following the Sicilian Lemon & Ricotta cheesecake slice review. I remember Zoe asking me if I had got the M&S Banoffee cheesecakes to review, but I hadn't - thinking that they had been out for years, and that I'd had them many times before. What I hadn't realised (until Zoe informed me) was that they've been re-imagined. I put them on my mental list of items to review... and then promptly forgot all about them. The banoffee chat with my sister prompted me to pop into Marks & Spencer on my way home from the train station on Sunday afternoon, where I found a packet with a yellow reduced sticker on. It was fate!

"A baked banana and muscovado sugar cheesecake topped with a Belgian chocolate ganache and toffee mousse on a digestive biscuit base."

One of the cheesecakes looked a little worse for wear, which was unusual for M&S, who are normally very thoughtful with their packaging.

First up, I sampled the mousse, which was beautifully light, with a sweet toffee flavour to it. I still think that a mousse topping is an odd (and unnecessary) choice, but admittedly it worked better here than in Waitrose's new mocha cheesecakes.

Underneath this layer was the chocolate ganache, but I'd be hard pressed to comment on the flavour of it as it was so thin. In fact, I hadn't properly read the product description until I came to type this, and until a few moments ago I thought it was another toffee layer. This may sound like a complaint, but actually it's not. You see, I can see why M&S would want to provide a barrier between mousse and cheesecake (and it served that purpose well) yet I'm glad it didn't overpower either of the more traditional banoffee elements that the ganache was sandwiched by.  

As for that banana and muscovado mousse... well. It was a work of art. It was fluffy like their chocolate orange cheesecake, lacking the stodginess that 90%+ of supermarket cheesecakes suffer from. The banana flavour was authentic and omnipresent (as it had been with the Banoffee Semifreddos), shining through the toffee mousse layer to take centre stage. A delicious caramel undertone followed the banana; which was every bit as delightful as you can imagine. 

As for that biscuit base, it was thick, buttery and utterly scrumptious. You'd think that would be an aspect that is easy to perfect, when actually so many cheesecakes fall (and fail) on that final hurdle. 

There is very little, if anything, that I'd change about this dessert. It's the best banoffee cheesecake* I've ever had, and one of the best cheesecakes I've had in a long time. Bravo M&S, and thanks Zoe for giving me the nudge to try this new formula! They're worth every penny, full price** of not!

10/10

*I'm sure that will change when I get to try this one day.... (fingers crossed!).

**I can't remember the exact price, but it was less than £3.

NEW! Dessert Menu Banoffee Semifreddos (M&S)

Banoffee pie is absolutely up there as one of my all time favourite desserts (with tiramisu and my mum-in-law-to-be's apple crumble). The trouble is, most of the supermarket versions are pretty poor, and most of them come in large sized pies (I can't deal with that amount of temptation in the house, the same reason I don't make it very often). Cue M&S. Thank the lord. Their frozen dessert collection now contains a double pack of banoffee semifreddos. But there's a catch -they're £4 a time, yes, ouch. I struggle with spending £3 on a couple of cheesecake slices, but then I reconsidered...

1)  I'd heard resoundingly positive feedback on the semifreddos from fellow dessert fanatics Nat and Sian.
&
2) I'd pay more than that for a single dessert at a restaurant.

But then I had a brainwave anyway. The dine in for £10 meal deal. That says it includes selected ice creams. It usually contains some of M&S' dessert collection free desserts. I wonder... would the banoffee semifreddos be secretly part of the fortnightly deal? There was no offer ticket to suggest it was, but I did used to work at the Hereford branch and so I cheekily asked the lovely Maria to check it through the till...

BINGO!

It worked. I managed to buy two rump steaks, 4 potato rostis, a bottle of wine and the semifreddos for just a tenner. Bargain.

"Banana and vanilla custard cream with Dulce De Leche caramel sauce on a digestive biscuit crumb base, finished with cocoa powder and a dark chocolate plaque."

Chuffed with myself, I got them home and opened them up, to find that M&S had done a rather marvellous job of packaging them carefully in separate little brown boxes. First brownie point awarded to Marks, they were impeccable, despite my persistent clumsiness; anyone remember this doughnut pancake?

The topping was well flavoured with an authentic flavour (M&S have used real bananas - 6% of the ingredients) and it was creamy whilst remaining fairly light. I couldn't get my head around the consistency though; after the 20 minutes suggested defrosting time I had a soft moussey outer edge and a frozen inside. I get that's what its meant to be, but it made me think that I hadn't left it out of the freezer for long enough. 

The biscuit bottom was a lovely digestive affair, and although it was on the crumbly, fall-apart end of the cheesecake base spectrum, it was delicious nonetheless. 

It was the caramel centre that I was most excited about, and as I started to dig in, I thought M&S had been fairly stingy. In reality, it simply turned out that it was mostly pooled down one end, and the golden treasure was worth the wait. It was thick, gooey, and sweet with the buttery richness that I had hoped for. 

M&S Banoffee Semifreddos will never beat a fresh, homemade banoffee pie -especially as they understandably* lack the slices of fresh banana. At £4 for two, they're expensive too, but are well worth picking up as part of the Dine in Offer. As such, I'd happily have them again. 

8/10

*no-one wants slimy, black defrosted bananas gracing their dessert after all!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3/10 

*

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

Rhubarb & Custard Iced Buns (M&S)

M&S' rhubarb and custard buns have been around for a couple of summers now, but I hadn't brought myself to buy any thanks to the unimpressive reviews I'd read on them. To be honest, it's only in the past six months that I've learned how great M&S filled buns can be. If you'll recall, the Christmas boobie buns kicked things off, followed by the lemon Whitby buns, and I well and truly fell in love with the carrot cake & cream cheese hot cross buns -which I've only just run out of thanks to my excessive hoarding. It was these discoveries that got me wondering about the rhubarb buns, and praying that they'd return once again this year. Alas! When the summer products started to grace M&S' shelves, the rhubarb buns were missing, but thankfully they were just a little late to the table. The rhubarb & custard buns are £1.35 for two, but of course a I waited to find them reduced. 

"Vanilla custard flavoured buns filled with a tangy rhubarb jam."

I also managed to buy them during the heatwave, which means that they were difficult to retrieve from their cardboard wrap without smearing the icing everywhere. To be fair, I was impressed that the topping had stayed as intact as it had. 

Slicing the bun in half revealed the generous pocket of oozy pink sauce. It was much looser than normal jam, and had a hard time staying within the bun -as you can see from the photo below. I felt that Rhubarb and custard was a bit of a marketing ploy on M&S' part, for the 'custard flavoured bun' didn't taste any different to their normal sweet dough. I mean, it was light, fluffy and scrummy, but it wouldn't live up to Ronseal's standards. 

As for that oozy rhubarb sauce, it was very sweet, lacked the promised tang and was just too thin. I'd have really like to have seen a chunky, slightly tangy, soft-set conserve here instead. Well, actually, if it was me designing the buns I would have filled the buns with both rhubarb jam and custard (or Creme patisserie). The consistency and abundance (which I'm certainly not complaining about) of the filling means that it's a bun best reserved to eat at home. Especially if you're even remotely in the clumsy club, and never eat one in a white shirt. 

The final disappointment came from the icing. I'd have liked to have seen a rhubarb flavoured topping as per the Greggs ring doughnuts (which have made a reappearance this year). M&S have been lazy though, and just used a standard unflavoured icing. 

Despite my complaints about them not being really rhubarb and custard-y, these are yummy buns and so If you imagine them to be big, sticky, raspberry filled finger buns you won't be disappointed. I will point out though that the Lemon buns are far more exciting, and well worth a try if you haven't yet. 

7/10. 

NEW! Sicilian Lemon & Ricotta Cheesecake Slices (M&S)

Occasionally I find myself craving cheesecake that's not chocolate based. I know. Shocker. In fact I'm quite partial to the odd lemony pud -be it a drizzle cake, meringue pie, tarte au citron or cheesecake- but only if it offers a balanced juxtaposition of sweet and tart. It's for this reason that I'm fond of Gü's citrus cheesecake and steer clear of Aldi's version. The former is delightfully light and zingy whilst the latter is acidic and barely enjoyable. Given my recent experiences with M&S' Spirit Of Summer desserts I believed I could depend upon them to deliver a refreshing, summery cheesecake. 

"Sicilian lemon and ricotta baked cheesecake on a digestive biscuit base topped with a Sicilian lemon glaze and candies lemon peel."

At 110g each they were larger than your usual cheesecake slice, which especially pleased me as I'd only paid 95p for the pack because I'd been lucky enough to pop in at reducing time (I believe they're normally £2.75). 

The consistency of the cheesecake was surprisingly fluffy. It wasn't moussey like M&S' sunken Chocolate & Valencian Orange cheesecake, but it wasn't gelatinous like most other mass produced cheesecakes either. In fact, texturally the cheesecake was pretty damn perfect. It was just the flavour that ruined it. Instead of the sweet tang that I'd hoped for, all I could taste was the bitter lemon pith that you'll find if you ever zest a lemon too far. The resulting flavour wasn't great. I mean it was edible, but I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. 

Against the acidic cheesecake the flavour of the glaze was lost. I tried a little on its own, and it seemed fairly tasty, but it offered little in the way of redemption. Come on biscuit base! Please be better... 

But it wasn't. It was of decent thickness, I'll give M&S that, but what's the point when it was utterly soggy? I can't help but think that an amaretti biscuit would've worked well here, both in terms of flavour and texture. 

Oh dear M&S. 

5/10

NEW! Spirit of Summer: Summer Macaroon Selection (M&S)

I was truly on the bargain hunt yesterday. I started the day at the Malvern Giant Flea Fair (a must for antique lovers nationwide) and found myself in Marks & Sparks just before close. The trouble is, those yellow stickers are just too appealing, and despite not being initially tempted by the summer macaroons, the 65p sticker was irresistible. My last experience with M&S macaroons wasn't that great, and so I felt annoyed with my lack of self-restraint. 65p wasn't too much money to waste I suppose...

"A selection of French almond macaroons in 3 flavours -1 peach and apricot, 1 lemon and 1 cherry."

At least I could tell which macaroon was which this time around thanks to their bright colourings. I couldn't see much in the way of fillings peeping out, so split them in half for a better look. The centres seemed to be saucy as opposed to cream based like the Festive ganache filled macaroons. 

Wow, I was impressed. I didn't think I was a massive macaroon fan, but I indulged in the delicate texture but bold flavours of these miniature French-style treats. The macaroons were light, with a crunchy exterior and fluffy centre. I loved the prominence of the almond, which came through in all of the three flavours. 

The centres were like a solid jam, and were wonderfully well-flavoured. I'm not sure I could pick a favourite because apricot conserve is usually my favourite, but I also adore cherry Bakewell and am going through a lemon-loving phase at the moment. 

I can't believe that I thought I might be wasting my 65p! M&S have created a sensational summer treat here that simply screams of sunshine.  I'll be certainly sure to buy another pack  if I'm lucky enough to find them reduced again, and may even treat myself to them at their full price.

9/10

NEW! Sunken Chocolate & Valencian Orange Cheesecake (M&S)

I knew I had my work cut out on Friday afternoon when I rang my sister after her law accountancy exam and she was giving me one word answers -she's usually a chatterbox like me. Apparently it hadn't gone so well, and she was just about to get the train to Hereford to stay with me for the night. How could I cheer her up? Food. Alcohol. That's bound to work, right? I tried my best to encourage her that we would have a pleasant evening in the garden by telling her we were that we were christening our new BBQ, and gave her the option of cheesecake or ice cream and wine or Pimms. "Cheesecake". "Pimms". She muttered. 

Hmm, this was going to have to be good cheesecake to pull her out of this mood. Who could I trust to create a winning cheesecake? It was going to have to be something special. Who does special desserts? I know... Marks and Spencer! I had spotted a smaller version the new sunken chocolate & Valencian orange cheesecake in the Dine In for £10 meal deal a couple of days previously and hoped that they had some left on a Friday evening.

Bugger. 

Fortunately they'd got one of the larger six portion cheesecakes left and as a bonus it was reduced! Perfect. This meant that Bert could have some too, even though he's not the biggest chocolate orange fan -unless he's eating Jaffa cakes  because apparently they don't count, go figure. 

"Baked chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate biscuit base with Valencian orange cements centre and a Valencia orange glaze decorated with a white chocolate drizzle."

I was pleased that the cheesecake was well protected and in one of those pop out cases, making it relatively easy to retrieve. The cheesecake is also freezable, which meant that I could save the remaining slice for another day -yes, we had bigger slices than the recommended portion, don't judge!

Ive said numerous times that my biggest issue with supermarket cheesecakes is the horrible gelatinous wobble that they often have. M&S however have worked their magic on this dessert; the texture was whipped, light and therefore much more like a fresh homemade version. Flavour-wise the chocolate was perfect, it's dark and rich, tasting utterly indulgent. The resulting combination of flavour and consistency made this cheesecake an absolute winner in my eyes. The only trouble was that it wasn't particularly citrusy. The only source of orange came from the centre, and although the glaze was delicious, it would have been better if it had topped the entire cheesecake (although Bert disagrees with me on this, he thought it was delicious). 

The chocolate base was also scrumptious; it was short, crumbly and sweet. Most mass produced chocolate-bottomed cheesecakes feature a bourbon/oreo-esque base, but this tasted more like chocolate digestives and it was all the more delicious for it. 

This new M&S Spirit of Summer dessert was one of the best supermarket chocolate cheesecakes I've ever had. It's so good that I'm dreaming of that last slice. I'd go as far as giving it full marks but the orange just wasn't quite strong enough.

9.5/10

NEW! Spirit of Summer Tiramisu Cupcakes (M&S)

Given how successful my first dip into Marks & Spencer's 2018 Spirit of Summer range went, it wasn't long before I was back down the stairs into Hereford's food hall on the hunt for more goodies. Specifically the tiramisu cupcakes. Now I've mentioned before that I much prefer filled muffins to cupcakes, but label anything tiramisu and I'm there. Unfortunately, my wallet might take a bit of a hammering over the coming months considering the amount of tiramisu-esque products that have just arrived in M&S stores. Admittedly the cupcakes weren't extortionate however, at £2 for a box of two.

"Sponge cupcake, with a dark chocolate and intense coffee centre, topped with a delicious mascarpone and chocolate frosting and delicate coffee dusting."

They looked splendiferous! Ok, so the frosting might be slightly off centre, but the double coloured ripples are sheer perfection. The robust coffee scent that emanated from the box the second I unwrapped it heightened my taste-buds in anticipation.

They were a pain to retrieve from their wrappers though, the cake refused to come out without a fight, meaning that I ended up scrapping the case with a knife so as not to waste any. Slicing my first cake in two revealed an off-centre dark core and very dense sponge.

Hmm, I'm sure Mary Bezzer would have something to say about the cake's lack of fluffiness. The sponge was extremely doughy and under-risen, whilst the flavour was simply plain -certainly nothing to shout about. I'm not sure whether I could tell you that the frosting contained marscarpone either to be honest, for it just tasted like a standard mild chocolate buttercream.The lack of flavour is unsurprising considering that I've just read the ingredients and discovered that mascarpone only makes up a measly 1.5% of the ingredients. To add insult to injury the sheer amount of frosting made the cupcake unbearably sweet too, but that's why I'd argue that muffins are superior.

I placed the last of my expectations on the 'intense' flavour hit that M&S promised of within the cake's centre, and yes it tasted of coffee and chocolate, but it wasn't anywhere near as punchy as it could've been. In fact I was sure the cake was almost completely devoid of flavour until I made Bert try a smidgen and he spat it out -he detests coffee. I wondered If it was perhaps because I was drinking a (mild decaf) cup of coffee alongside the cake, so the next evening I tried it with a serving of Jude's Flat White ice cream (review to follow) but it still paled in flavour comparison.

I'm not sure that M&S can really call this a tiramisu cupcake considering the complete lack of Marsala and scarce mascarpone. It certainly doesn't deserve the label. Come on M&S you can do better than this!

6/10

NEW! Spirit of Summer Lamb Kofte Flatbread (M&S)

It's a rare savoury review from me today, and no doubt the first of many in M&S' Spirit of Summer line up. Yes guys it's back! Last year there was a definite South American feel to it, with a heavy emphasis on salted caramel. 2017's range seems to be more Mediterranean with plenty of coffee-based and citrus flavours popping up. Put it this way: I can only hack the food hall for a limited amount of time at the moment, the new treats are both drool-inducing and dangerous for the wallet. 

As you can guess from the theme of this blog, its a scarce occasion when savoury food tickles my tastebuds, but yesterday lunchtime M&S' sammies bore into my brain. And so after I'd eaten my packed lunch followed by a dull lecture, I found myself de-touring on the way home in the hope of finding some bargains. It just so happened that I found this Lamb Kofte flatbread reduced, and with that, my dinner plans went out of the window. 

"Flatbread layered with lamb meatballs, vine ripened tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, cucumber, Greek style yogurt dressing, crumbled feta cheese, pickled red onions and spinach."

Oof. There's one main reason why this flatbread particularly appealed - it reminded me of the best dinner I've ever had...

Ten years ago my best friends and I went on a post a-level requisite booze filled holiday to Zante. On the last night, having lived off a diet of pasta (made in our grubby apartment kitchen in an effort to preserve maximum funds for alcohol) we decided to splash out and visit a restaurant on the beach that we'd passed every night on our way to the strip. The menu was entirely in Greek and so we each took a punt and pointed to something illegible, whilst hoping for the best. My dish turned up wrapped in foil and contained an utterly delicious lamb, feta and potato stew. It may have partly down to my poor alcohol flooded body that I enjoyed it so much, but to this very day anything containing feta and lamb has grabs my attention. Anyway, enough of the side-tracking, get back to the damn flatbread Amy. 

Oh, I expected two halves, kind of like a pitta, but instead it was more like a flatbread club. The bottom layer contained the roasted tomatoes and 'meatballs' (the least round balls I've ever seen*)....

...whilst the top deck contained the salad, tzatziki and feta. It was flimsy and clumsy to manage; I don't know how anyone could eat this on the go -a plate is definitely required. 

The first flavours to greet my tastebuds were the flatbread and minty yogurt dressing. As expected, it was a refreshing combination, especially with the salad too. The next bite heralded a wonderful combination of lamb, feta, bread, roasted tomatoes and dressing. At first I couldn't distinguish much flavour from the meat and thought I'd been short-changed as the other (albeit scrummy) flavours came to the fore. That soon changed though as I continued on in and the warming cumin and cayenne pepper came through. The lamb, it turns out, was spot on. The gentle spiciness perfectly complemented the rich feta and cool yogurt. Sheer heaven. 

Half way through I took a risk and decided to see if it would taste even better warmed up. I snuck out the cucumber and tomatoes, and popped the remaining flatbread in the microwave until piping. Mmm. Yes it worked. Just writing about it is making my stomach rumble at the memory. 

If it was easier to eat on the go then this new Lamb Kofte Flatbread would be granted full marks. If you want little taste of Greece on even the greyest of British days -and have a plate handy- then pop down to Marks and Spencer. Even at full price (£3.50) its much cheaper than a flight.

9/10

*dont be rude, I can see you smirking.

NEW! Dessert Menu Milk Chocolate & Peanut Ice Creams (M&S)

Peanut butter, chocolate and ice cream are my three favourite foods, so a product that combines all three just screams to be tried. These new ice cream sticks at M&S form part of their "Dessert Menu", which I've had success with in the past*. I think they're approximately £3 per pack, but my local store had messed up the labels and so I was lucky enough to buy my box of three for the price of a single, at just £1.20. I do love a good bargain.

"Peanut butter ice cream with a toffee ripple 8% coated in Belgian milk chocolate (3%) and roasted peanut pieces (3.5%)"

There was none of the so-thin-you-can-see-through-it chocolate to be found here. Cough. Iceland. Cough. The Belgian milk chocolate was generously flecked with sizeable peanut chunks too - looking good Marks & Sparks! 

The chocolate was damn delicious. It's luxuriously rich with a good melt, and it's thick enough to crack pleasingly when you bite into it. The larger nut pieces worked well too; they were big enough to administer a robust flavour as well as the added texture. 

Unfortunately the peanut flavoured ice cream didn't pack the same punch. The nuttiness was mild at best, and was overpowered by the sweet toffee sauce, reminding me of the issues with the Magnum Double Peanut Butter. It's a shame really because the quality of the ice cream is good - it just requires more peanut! 

As far as peanut butter ice cream sticks go Marks & Spencer's don't rival ASDAs, which I guess is a bonus for my bank balance! 

7/10

*you can find my review of their hazelnut sticks here & their salted caramel sticks here! 

NEW! Spiced Carrot Muffins (M&S)

So we've established that the Tesco carrot cake muffins are a bit pathetic and that the M&S carrot cake hot cross buns are the biz*. The carrot cake trend looks set to continue (&/or Marks' bakery team are running out of ideas) as they've recently launched carrot cake muffins into their four pack range. Now their muffins have been hit and miss of late; the banana chocolate chip four packs were decidedly disappointing, as were the rhubarb, strawberry & custard filled affairs,  but let's not forget how good their chocolate oranges were -there's hope yet.

"Light and delicately spiced carrot muffin studded with plump sultanas, a cooling cream cheese centre topped wth granola and pumpkin seeds."

We can even pretend that they're healthy too, what with their fruit and vegetable content and granola & seed topping and all! At £1.50 per pack they're not likely to break the bank either.

Ok, so I might've squished them on the cycle home. I could've cried when I opened my backpack, what a clutz I am. I promise you they looked rustic to begin with, just maybe not this rustic. 

A corner broke off as I sliced the muffin in two, but as I'm not sure whose fault that was, I won't mark M&S down for that. I do remember that before I mistreated the muffins the topping was scattered everywhere though. Once bisected, the pale pocket of filling was visible, and it was a pleasing sight -central and adequately proportionate- just as it should be.

The warming notes of cinnamon were well balanced, not overshadowing the earthiness from the carrot, but instead complimenting it. An abundance of plump, juicy sultanas added extra little bursts of flavour. The cake was a little on the dry side, and more like a country cake, but strangely this didn't detract from the enjoyment given the wet filling within.

The topping was ingenious too. The crunchy seeds offered a joyous textural contrast against the cake combined with a welcome gentle nuttiness. If I was being pernickety I'd point out that the 'granola' was really just oats given its lack of cluster formation, but I enjoyed it so lets forget that.  

The make or break moment comes with the filling though surely. I found the cream cheese to be more akin to traditional frosting than the centre of M&S' carrot cake hot cross buns. That is to say that it's sweeter and fluffier. I'm not sure if the gooeier, sauce like innards used within the buns would've worked better against the sweetness of the cake, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

Please don't bother buying Tesco's carrot cake muffins, pay the extra 50p and treat yourself to Marks & Sparks' spiced carrot muffins instead.

9/10

* I'm going to re-score the buns as a 10 given my 'currant' 😉 addiction to them and the amount of cream cheese I've had in every bun since writing the review.

Chocolate & Orange Muffins (M&S)

If you'll remember, back in September I got overly excited about M&S' Strawberry, Rhubarb & Custard Muffins and Banana & Chocolate Chip Muffins which both turned out to be disappointing. Simultaneously Sparks also released a chocolate orange variety, but I couldn't bring myself to waste yet more money on their disappointing cakes. Cut to six months later when my disgruntlement has faded, I spot a pack reduced to just 60p and suddenly I'm giving M&S' muffins another go. Third time lucky right? Surely they've got to be better than their new mini chocolate orange hot cross buns...

"Rich chocolate muffins, studded with milk chocolate chunks, and filled with an indulgent orange sauce, topped with a delicate chocolate drizzle."

The ebony coloured cakes smelt invitingly of cocoa -indeed much more so than their mini Hot Xs. I couldn't detect any hints of citrus, but quickly forgave Marks & Spencer given the ample supply of chocolate chips that graced the top of each.

My knife sliced through the muffin easily, revealing the central core of sticky filling that stayed put (unlike the oozing middle of Greggs' new Jaffa Cake-esque doughnut). The cake was dense and moist too - a good sign from the off. 

Hallelujah! M&S have made a chocolate cake that delivers in being soft, squidgy and extremely chocolatey. In fact it was almost fudgy, and struck the perfect balance between dark and sweet. As for the central orange jam, it was good, but there wasn't enough of it to give the cake a truly citrussy taste. I didn't mind that chocolate was the dominant flavour, given the quality of it, but perhaps some zest through the batter would've given the cake a better zing. 

I'm not sure I'd pay the full £1.60 for these muffins (ASDA's Toffee Fudge still reign supreme in my books) but I'd happily buy them reduced again -especially as they freeze well despite the packaging claiming otherwise.

8/10

NEW! Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns (M&S)

Did you have Easter Egg hunts as a child? We did, it was my favourite part of Easter. In fact I think I enjoyed it more than actually eating the chocolate (hard to believe, I know) because I'm so damn unrelenting and love a good puzzle. Sod the fact the cousins were round, I revelled in the joy of finding an egg when or where I least expected to. Perhaps that's part of the reason I love writing this blog so much, I revel in the thrill of finding a new product and then telling you all about it. That's certainly been the case this week after both Sarah (baking extraordinaire of Waffly Versatile) and Nat (chocolate expert at Lot-O-Choc) notified me to an instagram post from writer Felicity Spector. Cream Cheese Carrot Cake hot cross buns? Jeepers. They sounded rather good, and if they're anything like M&S's ingenius Boobie Buns... Needless to say, the Hot Cross Bun Hunt was on.

Monday afternoon: none in Worcester, but they did have a ticket out. Humf. I popped into Hereford store on the way home, who incidentally thought I had lost the plot and didn't know what on earth I was on about. Carrot cake? Yes! Hot Cross buns? Yes! Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns however...?

Tuesday afternoon: the ticket is out in Hereford! But no stock as yet...









By Wednesday I'm having kittens every time someone posts a picture on instagram of their Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns. How is everyone else so much better at this Easter hunt than me? I call the store and speaks to a helpful assistant, who kindly advises me that not all stock goes to all stores and it's unlikely that Hereford will receive them first. But then, he finds them. Jackpot! Reserve me two packs please...

"2 Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns with pieces of carrot, sunflower seeds, a hint of cinnamon and filled with cream cheese frosting."

[At this point I'd like to congratulate you for sticking with me and my strangeness. It's the small wins in life ok?]

I really hoped that they would be worth the effort. Aesthetically the buns appeared indifferent to your normal fruited variety -save for the odd slither of grated carrot- and the scent was very similar too. Unlike your normal hot crosses however, these can't be toasted or frozen.

I sliced the buns in half, anticipating a similar oozy centre to the brandy sauced filled Boobie buns. Oh.

Was that it?

Hmm M&S, that's a bit stingy and very lopsided. Still I tried to look for the positives; at least I'd have the opportunity to taste the dough on its own.

It was scrummy too, with a good strength of mixed spice and plenty of juicy raisins and date pieces, meaning the texture was very moist. The flavour didn't particularly scream of carrot cake, and I think I wouldn't have noticed that it was any different to a traditional bun If I wasn't aware that it was meant to resemble one. That said, what is the flavour of carrot cake? For me it's a moist cake with plenty of spice and dried fruit, so I guess M&S ticked all the boxes. I can't say I noticed the sunflower seeds, but I didn't miss them either. 

On to the cream cheese frosting: AKA the best bit of a carrot cake (or red velvet/cinnamon bun for that matter). I wondered how a traditionally refrigerated dairy based would fair within an ambient product.

Very well it turns out! The wizards at M&S have done it again; they've mastered the balance so that the frosting was primarily sweet with just enough tang to take the edge off. It's a genius filling for a hot cross bun, although I did find myself craving strawberry jam for the non-filled side.

Hats off to Marks & Sparks for their Hot Cross Buns this year (let's just forget the chocolate orange minis never existed, eh?). They've bent the boundaries and created two cracking versions. I'll happily enjoy these and their Savoury Cheese Hot Cross Buns right through to Easter -especially whilst they're both in the 2 for £2.50 bakery offer.

9/10 (it would be a 10 if the filling was more consistent).

On a side note, I spotted Waitrose's new luxury Heston buns today at long last, but I can't say they're anywhere near as inspiring...

Didn't he do Earl Grey stollen bites at Christmas too? C'mon Heston, that's plain lazy.