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.

NEW! Cadbury Caramel Choc Tarts (ASDA)

New Cadbury products are popping up all over the place at the moment. Of course there's the new Oreo bars, as well as a new giant Peanut Caramel Crisp bar, but there's also a number of Cadbury licensed products too. Only yesterday I spotted the new Cadbury muffins in ASDA (I appreciate that the Co-Op have been selling them for a few months now) as well as the new Choc Tart range at £1.50 per four pack (50p cheaper than Tesco). 

The new pastry based treats are available in Crunchie, Flake, Mini Eggs and Caramel, which all vary slightly in terms of their fillings. Whilst I realise that it would have been more seasonal to opt for the Mini Egg tarts, it was the combination of layers in the Caramel version that appealed most to me. 

"Delicious chocolate flavoured brownie topped with a caramel flavour fondant, baked in a delicate chocolate pasty case with a caramel layer & topped with a milk chocolate with a soft caramel centre." 

It's like a chocoholic was asked to reinvent Mr Kipling's Cherry Bakewell tarts. The components are all there, they've just been naughtified*. It's not just the flavours that are naughty either; remember the boobie buns? Surely these have got to be the tittie tarts?

The "delicate" pastry cases were extremely crumbly, and didn't like being sliced into. I needed to show you what the innards looked like though so I persisted in my mess making. All layers were present and complete, and in decent ratios too! 

Chocolate pastry is difficult to do well, and Premier foods (who make the tarts) haven't really pulled it off. Sure it's crumbly, but the cocoa dries the mix out which means that the butteriness is all but lost. That said, Bert really enjoyed his pastry, so maybe you will too! 

As for the chocolate brownie, it too was dry, lacking the fudginess of a fresh home baked version. Fortunately the Caramel sauce beneath and fondant atop it went somewhat to rectify the issue and prevented the brownie from sticking to the roof of my mouth. On the plus side both the caramel elements were pretty tasty! 

I then had an idea: why not heat the second half? Especially as I was eating it for dessert with ice cream** and Bakewells can be served warm. 

Genius. Pure genius. The Choc Tart transformed from something I wouldn't bother buying again to a treat I'll look forward to enjoying again! The Caramel sauce seeped into the pastry whilst the fondant melted over the brownie, resulting in a much less claggy combination of textures. The flavours also enhanced once warmed - double bonus. 

As an ambient snack these are unexciting, so I highly recommend that if you're planning on trying them that you also heat them up and serve them with a scoop or two of ice cream!

Cold: 5/10

Warm: 8/10 

*will someone please tell the Oxford English Dictionary to add that one in please? And yes, I agree, no food is naughty.

**Oppo's salted caramel was the perfect match.

NEW! Müller Light Cake Shop Inspired Cherry Bakewell & Treacle Tart Yogurts (Iceland)

I almost swore off Müller yogurts. Every time I buy them I end up disappointed by their gelatinous insipidness. But then they went and released Cherry Bakewell & Treacle Tart inspired ones didn't they? My other half was on a diet when the pack of six first came out, and as a fan of both British desserts, was keen to try them. 

The only trouble was they were a consistent £3 in Iceland, and we just weren't prepared to pay that - especially when there are so many other good yogurts on the market. This week they're finally the subject of Iceland's weekly deal and are half price (the offer lasts until Tuesday 7th of Jan) so finally we got around to trying Müller's new offerings.

Cherry Bakewell
If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll appreciate that I'm an avid cherry Bakewell fan. I really hoped that the yogurt would taste of almond as well as cherry.

The bright pink yogurt was very runny, but then I expected that. What I wasn't prepared for was the accurate flavour representation. I could taste the sweet cherry & almond, and was certain that there was a butteriness that resembled pastry -although that might be my wishful thinking. The chunks of cherry that were swimming in the yogurt were a welcome addition too, and I found myself really enjoying this pot.

8/10

Treacle Tart
It might surprise you to hear that as far as desserts go, I'm not a huge treacle tart fan. I find the overwhelming sweetness and claggy texture too cumbersome and so it would never be my first choice on the dessert menu. It's Bert's favourite though and so he was really looking forward to trying this Müller light.

Well it's just a bit odd. There was a generic toffee flavour that barely concealed the taste of artificial sweetener. I didn't really get the connection to golden syrup though, and neither did Bert. To be honest, I'd rather have a standard Müller light.

5/10

At half price, they're not too bad and make a change to the normal flavours (especially if you regularly consume Müller lights) but I wouldn't pay 50p per yogurt -unless they released the Cherry Bakewell as a single. 

Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts (M&S)

There's not many things more satisfying in life than finding a good bargain, particularly if said bargain is found in M&S! One afternoon last week I popped into our local branch and spotted duo packs of their Dessert Menu Dutch Apple Tarts reduced to just 35p! Now I'm not normally a fruity dessert kind of person, opting for chocolate every time, but these looked rather good and I just couldn't turn them down at such a steal -especially as they could be frozen too! 

"Apples with sultanas and cinnamon in an all butter luxury pastry case topped with butter enriched filo."

They didn't pay a lengthy visit to my freezer because I thought that the tarts would make a perfect post-roast Sunday pud. They appeared to be the wonderful love child of a strudel and an apple pie. Could these possibly be the most homely desserts known to man?

The tarts come in individual tin foils, and M&S suggest popping them in the oven for 15 minutes before serving. Whilst they were heating up I contemplated serving them with custard, then ice cream, before remembering I'd got the rest of the Aunt Bessie's custard ice cream left to use -perfect. 

The tarts were hot to touch after quarter of an hour, and were easy to remove from their casings. One had a slightly soggy bottom so I guess it could've done with a few minutes longer, but I was too impatient to wait! 

There was a good mixture of apples and sultanas in the centre of my tart, which were wonderfully sweet and well spiced. The apples were soft but not mushy, retaining just enough texture to provide bite. Talking of texture, the combination of pastries worked wonderfully well together. I can't remember ever having filo and shortcrust pastry together before, but they complimented each other remarkably well.

As they did with their Frangipane Mince Pies (which I so hope will return this year) Marks and Spencer have created perfect buttery shortcrust pastry once again. It's sweet and crumbly, melting in the mouth in the most delicious way. I'm sure I heard Bert groan with pleasure at the simple but ultimately scrummy dessert -I know I did!

I only wish I'd stocked up on these tarts; they're delightful.

9/10

Mince Pie Danish Pastry (The Co-Op)

Hurrah, It's Christmas Eve!!! Before I start with the review, I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you have a lovely celebration, manage to avoid killing the pesky uncle, and enjoy lots of yummy food. 

So..

I often wonder why Bert puts up with me. He's a very good egg and all my friends and family love him too. Not only has he stuck by me through thick and thin but he continues to show more faith in me than I have in myself -I have an awful lot to be grateful for. One of the many ways he supports me is through this blog; many-a-time he's persuaded me not to give it up when I've felt like it, and every evening he waits patiently for me to take photos of my treats for instagram or reviews. I think I almost took the biscuit this week though when I called him at work just before he was due to leave, and asked him to make a detour round grid-locked Hereford to find me a Danish Pastry.

That bleeding orange & cranberry Danish had rekindled my affinity towards the buttery bakery treats -damn you Waitrose!- and since then I'd spotted the ultimate festive pastry creation that I couldn't bear waiting until Christmas morning for: The Mince Pie Danish*. Well, that's not exactly accurate, for I'd seen the price sign in the Co-Op, directing me to where they should have been. I'd since popped into my local branch three times to check if they'd received any, until the manager got sick of me pestering and informed me that they wouldn't be having any more until next Christmas. Boo. 

*Lightbulb moment!* There's a bigger Co-Op the other side of town (where I found the pb&j ice cream and apple crumble doughnuts), and they might have some festive pastries left...
Poor Bert agreed to my mission, and off he pootled to the Co-Op on his way home. He was successful (even snapchatting me the below image to ensure he's got the right pastry!) but it took him an hour (instead of 10 minutes) to get back. The Mince Pie Danish had better be worth it. 

Whereas the Waitrose Danish was a snail/whirl shape, this was cushion style, complete with a generous mincemeat centre and icing drizzle. The oily residue left in the paper back indicated how much greasier this was than the Orange & Cranberry version. 

Texture wise it was softer, but also almost raw. Mary Berry would certainly not be happy with the soggy bottoms here, but I'm a bit partial to under-cooked pastry (and Yorkshire puddings for that matter). The rawness didn't stop there however, for the pastry had large unattractive lumps of suet floating about in it. This was a shame because the flavour of it was good and the combination of super-rich pastry with mincemeat could've been wonderful -after all Eccles cakes are a gift to mankind. I still enjoyed it though, but it wasn't a patch on Waitrose!

So far my experiences with the Co-Op's bakery has been distinctly unsuccessful. Have any of you had better luck? Is there anything you can recommend?

Sorry for the goose chase Bert. 

6/10 

*Yep, still loving the mince pies... 

Black Forest Dome Gateau (Tesco)

Are you a savvy shopper? I certainly think I am. In fact, I'm obsessed with finding a bargain -so much so that I drive poor Bert nuts when doing the weekly shop. If I know a product is cheaper in another supermarket, I won't even consider buying it in the one I'm in. See, told you I'm a pain. I'd like to think that it's because I'm a student, but actually I've always been this way. My mum even managed to buy her (convertible) car entirely through Tesco clubcard points. Yes really. Anyway, the point is, I love to find ways to get things cheaper, and one of the ways I've been doing this for the past few years is through Tesco's Orchard scheme. If you ever shop with Tesco, and fancy trying some of their ranges for free (in exchange for giving them some feedback) then it's definitely worth signing up.

This Christmas Tesco gave me the opportunity to try some of their party food or cakes and desserts for free. No prizes for guessing which option I chose.

Lo and behold, a couple of weeks ago I received £6 worth of vouchers in the post to use on any of Tesco's fresh or frozen cakes and desserts. I'd got my eye on their chocolate and hazelnut stollen, but when I did the Christmas food shop yesterday the store was completely out. No bites, no slices, no chocolatey stollen, in fact no pannetone or pandoro either. Humf. I couldn't complain though really because the vouchers were freebies, so I head to the frozen dessert section instead. 

Christmas day desserts in my house are already sorted: Christmas pud for my dad in-law, and a homemade cheesecake for the non-traditionalists (i.e. everyone else)! This just meant that I got to £6 worth of free desserts and not have to wait until the 25th -double win! 

I still headed towards the Christmas desserts and spotted the most amazing looking Black Forest Dome Gateau, and although it serves 8 (there's just me, Bert and the dog at home), I just had to have it. I'm partial to a sport of the 80's retro flavour combo and have reviewed quite a few black forest foodstuffs this year (muffins, dessert pots, low fat biscuit snacks, and most recently lebkuchen of course if you want to check them out). At just £3 my vouchers more than covered it, so I also picked up some other desserts to try at a later date.

"Dome shaped chocolate sponge cake filled with Kirsch chocolate cream mousse and cherry sauce on a short crust pastry base. Covered with a chocolate flavoured glaze, decorated with chocolate decorations and Morello cherry."

I didn't expect the dome to contain 8 reasonable sized portions, but it certainly did (take note Iceland). I was also impressed by the careful packaging that surrounded the dessert -not good for eco-warriors but it certainly enabled a very clumsy me to get it home in one piece. The packet suggested a defrost time of 3 & 1/2 hours, but I cut out our portions and left it on the side for an hour and it did the trick. 

The centre of the dome looked just as impressive as the photo on the box, and I mentally gave another point to Tesco. My knife easily slid through the layers too, which helped as I'm the worst at plating up, although I imagine it would be messier when defrosted.

The chocolate cake was light and fluffy, lacking the density of a good fudge cake, but admittedly was a good choice to surround the mousse innards. Said mousse however was a bit disappointing, in fact I thought it was just a vapid chocolate mousse until I wrote this review. Tesco seem to have fallen into the same trap as ASDA did with their muffins; neither the chocolate or cherry was dominant and therefore the mousse just tasted odd.

Fortunately the cherry sauce was wonderful, perfectly balanced between sweet and tart, and working well with the central cake layer it sat upon. The pastry base was also good, and added an extra textural element. I also thought the chocolate glaze was tasty too, although to be honest I was just pleased to find that it wasn't the horrid hotel jelly stuff that often graces the buffet table in continental hotels. 

Overall, it's not the most delicious dessert I've ever had -but it's one of the better frozen puds and it looks damn good. If you haven't done your Chrismas food shop yet and are after an alternative centrepiece without the faff of homebaking (or M&S's prices) then I suggest you have a think about picking up Tesco's Black Forest Dome Gateau. 

7/10

NEW! Orange & Cranberry Danish (Waitrose)

What do you eat on Christmas morning? As a child, I remember having croissants and Bucks Fizz after hurriedly opening the stockings, but since leaving home I haven't bothered to make the effort with breakfast and have stuck to cereal or porridge before starting to cook the turkey. Maybe times are about to change... 

I'll be honest, when perusing the bakery section in the supermarket, my eyes tend to automatically land on one or more of three categories: muffins, doughnuts and cookies. Of course I've already reviewed a number of festive versions of these treats*, but when in Waitrose the other day buying the mega marzipan mince pie, I caught sight of their very appetising looking pastries. I instantly noticed my urgent need to try an orange and cranberry Danish at my next given opportunity.

 I wasn't sure exactly what they comprised of given the categorical style of the signage in front of the whirls, but they certainly looked damn tasty! 

Please can you just appreciate my successful effort to get this home intact for a moment? I think I did rather well for once. I hope you'll agree as to how beautiful this particular pastry was; covered with little cranberry gems and orange zest atop a profuse layer of snowy icing.  

It's been a very long time since I last had a Danish, but I was surprised to discover the dough to be more resilient than I remember. Pulling the whirl apart however exposed the golden laminations in all their glory, nestling the occasional ruby coloured cranberry. 

I think I expected the dough to taste of orange. but instead it was a simple and delicious buttery flavour that shone through. The texture melted in the mouth too, and it wasn't half as tough to eat as I had initially feared when handling it. Why oh why don't I have pastries more often? The citrus flavour wasn't forgotten though, for it came from the icing, reminding me of the zingy pockets of flavour imparted into a delicious lemon drizzle cake. The cranberries were squidgy and sweet, harmonising with the other elements to create a true festive flavour that was simply delectable. 

I'm left feeling very tempted to return to Waitrose and pick up another pastry (and some Bucks Fizz) for Sunday morning! 

9/10

*

• Festive muffin reviews: Greggs Christmas Muffin & Morrisons Gingerbread Muffins
• Festive doughnut reviews: Krispy Kreme Melting Snowman & Santa Belly
• Festive cookie review: Morrisons bakery stollen cookies

NEW! Frangipane Mince Pies (M&S)

Are you sick of the mince pies yet? No of course not, I'm sure you've been much more sensible and waited much longer before giving into to the festive treats.

I'm obviously not either, given that this is the fifth review so far this season -and that's excluding yesterday's mince pie ice cream! I'm not sure I'll be up for the Twelfth night mince pie tradition promising of a full year's happiness come Christmas itself though (please let me know if you have the stamina after all the festive feasting and brave it)!

Of course so far we've seen the disappointing individual pie, award winning pies, chocolate orange pies and the salted caramel pies. Today marks the turn of M&S' frangipane mince pies -yes it's yet another twist on the classic! What will they think of next year? I do love a good frangipane tart, but don't buy them often as I find them too moreish and  could easily devour 2 or 3 in one sitting. I knew I'd regret not trying these mince pie versions though, so I stumped up the comparatively pricey sum of £2.50 for 6 (although they are on a 2 for £4 offer). 

"All butter shortcrust pastry cases filled with mincemeat and topped with almond frangipane and flaked almonds."

They looked much smaller than the other mince pies I've tried this year, but I knew I wouldn't mind if the taste was up to scratch. They were attractive too with their smattering of flaked almonds. Helping matters further was the combined bakewell-esque aroma mixed with the mixed spices emanating from the mincemeat within -to me the fusion was utterly enticing.

The instructions refrained to mention whether or not it was possible to heat the pies in the microwave, but the box did say "heat to eat" and informed me to bake them in the oven for 8-10 minutes (gas mark 4/180c). The wait was excruciating, especially as the pies started to fill my house with the most heavenly scent. Mmm. 

After 8 treadmill-like minutes, the wait was up and I retrieved my almond topped pie from the oven. Both the pastry and frangipane was soft and crumbly, which made it rather messy to cut into -especially as the mincemeat oozed out simultaneously. I can't mark M&S down for this though, as I can't imagine many people cut into their pies unless they're silly and photographing them.

The pastry was thin but deliciously buttery, and I imagine it would make for a good traditional lidded mince pie. The mincemeat was well spiced, whilst the currants, sultanas and raisins were plump and juicy. We've heard this story before of course with the Iceland mince pies. Could the frangipane edge the M&S offerings into the extraordinary level of Christmas scrumminess?

Yes, it did. The frangipane was sheer perfection, and complimented the mincemeat and pastry wonderfully. I was pleased to find that the almond tasted completely natural, and shone through despite the spiciness of the filling. It was moist too, which can often be the stumbling block of lesser quality and/or long life frangipanes. The trouble is, I've already mentioned how my self-control is lacking with frangipane tarts -and that I can easily eat multiple mince pies in one go- so I think I'm going to have to ask my fiance to lock these away from me!  

Bravo M&S, true ingenuity! It's another well deserved 10/10 from the premium supermarket this Christmas from me.

10/10

Sweet Mince Pie (Greggs)

I've already reviewed the winners of this years' prestigious Good Housekeeping Institute's prestigious Mince Pie taste tests, and today it's the turn of the 2015 runners up -made by Greggs. For those of you who, like me, live in non-mince-pie eating households, it's always handy to be able to buy a single pastry without committing to a whole box. Unfortunately traditional British bakeries offering freshly baked bread and cakes are somewhat on the decline, but most high streets do offer (at least one) Greggs. In fact their mince pie was the first I tried this season -before I thought sod it, and bought three 6 pack boxes to eat to myself. Hey, it's Christmas, it's traditional to be more stuffed than the Turkey throughout (November and) December, right?

"It's that time of year when you can enjoy our sweet mince pies! 
Deliciously crumbly shortcrust pastry, filled with a sweet mincemeat, made with vine fruits, Bramley apple and candied orange and lemon peel - YUM!"

This was a fairly wide and shallow mince pie, much more akin to the ones I used to make with my Grandma every year (I miss doing that so much) than most of the deeper shop bought varieties. The pastry was a light golden colour and there was a fair amount of caster sugar gracing the top. So far, so good. 

Unfortunately, the taste wasn't fantastic. At the time I wondered whether my tastes had changed (yet again) and I'd just gone off mince pies, but I've since tried Iceland's fabulous luxury versions and ALDI's wacky flavoured offerings, and realised that Greggs just haven't done a great job. The case to filling ratio was off, and the sheer amount of pastry made it rather claggy to eat. Unfortunately it wasn't buttery or shortbread-esque like Iceland's either, which made for a rather cumbersome eating experience. 

Please excuse the nibbled edges - I was eating this on the train!

The mincemeat was pretty standard, on the plus side it was quite heavily spiced but it hadn't been cooked for long enough, resulting in globs of unattractive suet permeating the filling. Humf.

Perhaps this is why the Greggs Mince Pie dropped to number 17 out of 24 in the Good Housekeeping's Taste Test this year. C'mon Greggs, more effort next year please!

5/10

NEW! Festive Menu Chocolatey Banoffee Pie (McDonalds)

I don't make a regular habit of eating at McDonalds, but as soon as their Christmas menu was announced I knew I'd have to make a trip there for my Thursday train dessert night.

There's apparently been a public outcry at the loss of their mincemeat and custard filled Festive Pie" this year but, to be honest, it didn't phase me as id never even bothered to try it. The replacement was far more exciting in my books anyway. I've spoken many a time on this blog about my love of Nutella & banana toasties (as well as my obsession with anything banoffee: peanut butter, biscuits, flapjack, muffins, whey protein, rice pudding...you name it!) so you can imagine my glee when I heard that McDonalds were going to be selling warm chocolatey banoffee pies. This week has certainly been the coldest yet this season, and so I was really looking forward to my treat after lectures last night -especially as I was going to cycle the 2 miles home when I got to the other end at 10pm!

I ordered using the new touch screen menus (since when has McDs been so fancy?) and paid the £1.19 for my chocolatey banoffee pie. Isn't almost everyone scarred from burning their tongue on their hot apple pies as a child? It was certainly something that came into mind when waiting for my order to appear at the collection point.

"A hot crispy pie filled with a thick Banoffee sauce and a delicious chocolatey sauce."

I needn't have worried though, by the time I'd left the fast food restaurant and popped across to the station, the pie was still just about warm  and nowhere near scalding temperature -a good job considering I'd got blisters on my lip thanks to my impatience with molten custard the night before. The train was late and so I got stuck in right there on the platform (hence the awful photos, sorry)! It was smaller than I remember the apple pies being -doesn't everything seem to have shrunk nowadays though?- but just as golden and crispy as ever.

The flaky pastry tasted primarily of oil, although I didn't mind it as it brought back nostalgic memories. The pie was well filled, with two different coloured fillings, which I assumed represented the separate chocolate and banoffee flavours.

Both sauces were yummy in an oddly comforting fashion. The banoffee was more like a sweet banana than actual toffee, although it actually tasted completely natural (I think I expected something reminiscent of foam sweets). As for the chocolate, it wasn't up to Nutella standards, but was thick, gooey and had a good -albeit very sweet- cocoa flavour. Both flavours worked in harmony, and some bites offered more of one sauce than the other, which made it all the more interesting to eat.

The taste, warmth and texture leans towards the perfect winter pick me up; exactly what I needed when starting to flag and in need of a sugar bomb. McDonald's Chocolatey Banoffee Pie isn't the most refined snack, but it is good old fashion junk food at its finest. If you're a chocolate and banana fan it's well worth trying a warm pie before they disappear after Christmas.

8/10

7 Days Peanut Croissant (Polski Sklep)

I naively thought that 7 days is an American baked goods brand -but that's only because I've only come across their spotted their products on American Fizz. I'm not a huge croissant eater, not because I don't like them, but just prefer cinnamon based pastries such as whirls and buns. What's the fillings that could possibly change my mind? Peanut butter or chocolate of course! American Fizz do stock 7 days' PB&J croissant, but I always forget to add it to basket when excitedly making an order. 

Imagine my surprise when I spotted a range of 7 days croissants in one of our local Polish Delis. A bit of research later led me to realise that the brand is in fact International, trading in a number of European countries as well as the States.

Whilst the deli didn't stock the PB&J version (7 Days' website implies that it's only an American release) it did sell something potentially more exciting: Peanut & Cocoa croissants. I was a bit dubious about whether the filling would taste of my beloved peanut butter seeing as the ingredients only listed "peanut paste" and "peanut flavouring" however for 50p it was worth the punt.

If, like me, you become frustrated with the often ridiculous serving sizes on British packets (no one can eat a single twirl finger Cadbury or half an Aero for that matter Nestle) then pay a thought for our Polish cousins. The 60g croissant displays nutrition information for 28g! What the heck? Eat half, save half, give a couple of crumbs to the dog perhaps? Lord knows.

Anyway, the croissant was larger and more voluminous than expected; I assumed that It would have squished on the walk home -the same way I seem to damage most of my purchases recently. Once unwrapped I could smell a sweet, cocoa scent, which became stronger once sliced in two. Paul Hollywood might have even been impressed with the layers, which were multiple and light -another surprise considering that the croissants are a long life product. I was also pleased to discover a generous pocket of pale brown coloured filling in the centre, enrobed in a dark cocoa layer.

The pastry didn't taste as fresh as it looked unfortunately, but was certainly better than I had originally anticipated. The peanut centre was gooey, nutty and sweet -perhaps too much so, as I found the creme lacked the counterbalancing salinity of my favourite peanut butter. In any case, the cocoa was the much more dominant flavour, despite making up only less than a third of the filling (the ingredients list claims that cocoa makes up 7% of the entire croissant whereas the peanut accounts for 16%). This wasn't a problem as I find Nutella often comes to the forefront flavour-wise in my much loved Nutella-PB-&-banana toasties (they're incredible, if you haven't had one before please do, then let me know what you think!)

I was enjoying my first half of the croissant, but then popped the second half in the microwave for a quick blast - after all, croissants are always best served warm! 

Wowsers.

The now melted spread-like centre oozed between the laminated pastry layers, becoming all the more delicious. The texture gap between fresh and long-life became somewhat reduced as a result, and I sat grinning whilst savouring every last morsel.

I'm so glad I decided to try this 7 Days Peanut & Cocoa croissant, and I'm sure they'll become a regular treat! 

8/10

Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Twirls

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

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

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

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

8/10 

American Pop Tarts: Hot Fudge Sundae

OK, I might have a bit of an obsession, because I also bought these Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tarts from B&M.  In the last few weeks I've tried (& reviewed) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Confetti Cupcake, and Cookies & Creme; and so like a Monopoly player I felt the overwhelming need to add to my hoard... which embarrassingly now has it's own Pop Tart shelf in my kitchen.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tarts have the most enticing title to date, and their website describes them as: 

Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae

'With a chocolate crust, smooth vanilla filling, vanilla and fudge icing, and colorful sprinkles, this chompable sundae is a thing of beauty, The good source of calcium and reduced sugar is the cherry on top'

I'm not sure they can extol the virtuousness of these Pop Tarts, because despite having 'reduced sugar' they still have a hyperactive inducing 16g each. However, as we all know sugar tastes damn good- and it keeps me awake and happy- so it doesn't make a difference to me.

The pastry is the same as the Cookies and Creme, and thereby similar in taste to an Oreo/Bourbon biscuit. The filling oozed alluringly once warmed through in the toaster, and was familiarly sweet, which provided a good contrast against the dark borderline bitter cocoa crust.

In fact, it was so similar in taste to the Cookies and Creme flavour I tried a couple of days ago that I don't think I could tell the difference if blindfolded. The only difference from the description should be the fudge flavoured icing, but unfortunately it is indistinguishable and completely lost against the rich chocolate pastry and sugary centre, That's not to say that it's not tasty- because it is. I just think that it's a clever marketing ploy by Kellogg's to attract two different consumer camps, both the 'Hot Fudge Sundae' and the 'Cookies & Creme' fans.

I'm keeping my eye out for something a bit different next time.. like the frosted blueberry, PB & J, and/or Cinnamon Roll Pop Tarts... Mmm... I think I've got an addiction. 

6/10
Simply because I was hoping for a clearer difference in flavour.