Kev's Snack Reviews

When I heard that Asda have brought out a new Chocolate Orange Chosen By You cream cheese via their Facebook page yesterday I just had to seek it out. I'm a huge fan of Chocolate and Orange combinations, especially at this time of year, plus I was in the mood to make a creamy dessert...so off to my local Asda I went!

I found it in the chilled section along with a Chocolate Fudge variety, which came as a nice surprise. I popped one of each flavour in my basket which came to £1.50 on a multibuy offer.

Choc Orange Soft Cheese:

The Choc Orange cheese is described as "Full fat soft cheese with orange flavoured chocolate and cocoa powder" and weighs 200g. It tasted delicious; chocolatey, creamy and orangey, pretty much as you'd expect really! It could've done with a stronger orange flavour if I'm being honest, but I'm guessing it had got lost in the tangy flavour of the cream cheese. There was a recipe on the lid for making Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding, which sounds very simple and delicious...I'll definitely be giving that a go in future!

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

Chocolate Fudge Soft Cheese:

The Chocolate Fudge variety is described as "Full fat soft cheese with chocolate fudge" and wasn't as pronounced in flavour as the Choc Orange, but still added a nice buttery, fudgey flavour to the cream cheese. There was a recipe on the lid for making a Chocolate Fudgey Cheese cake, complete with chunks of fudge and an oatie base - sounds delicious!

RATING: 7 out of 10.

Overall, both of these cream cheeses were very tasty and would probably be good spread on crackers or toast. I wasn't too bothered by how they tasted individually though as I wanted to make a recipe of my own...my botched attempt at a Chocolate Orange Cheesecake! (see below).

Kev's Kreamy Kreation (Chocolate Orange cream cheese pie dessert)

To make this dessert, I emptied both packs of cream cheese into a mixing bowl and whipped them with icing sugar and some xanthan gum, before adding the mixture to a part-baked gluten-free pie crust. I baked it for about 30 minutes. I didn't have an egg or any double cream to add to the filling, so ended up with a moussey-cream-cheese-style pie rather than a cheesecake. I've nicknamed it... Kev's Kreamy Kreation! I added some segments of Terry's Chocolate Orange on top (currently on offer for £1 at Asda), which melted somewhat since the filling was still warm from the oven:

As sickly as this combination may sound, it made for a delicious and creamy hot dessert!

So there you have it...Kev's Kreamy Kreation; a cream cheese Chocolate Orange Dessert!

I'm sure there's much better uses for Asda's new Chocolate Orange and Choc Fudge cream cheeses - if you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments! :)

*Apologies for the poor quality photos...there was a serious lack of light in my kitchen!

This is my first review of a product from a national coffee chain, and it's quite appropriate that its Costa as it just so happens to be my favourite! (although I will admit to occasionally flirting with Caffe Nero!)

Whilst stopping by there on a freezing cold day recently I fancied something a bit different from hot chocolate and plumped for this Hot Spiced Apple Drink instead. It's part of Costa's Autumn drinks range which also includes their Chocolate Orange Mocha Latte (see review HERE by Foodstuff Finds). It's advertised as "bewitchingly warm, fearfully fruity" to tie-in with Halloween, but I do hope it will stick around into the Winter months!

I was very impressed with the presentation - the drink comes in a glass complete with a cinnamon stick and some star anise floating in it. I was told by the lady serving me it would taste very strong, and boy was she right. Taking my first sip I was met with an intensely sweet and tart apple flavour which put a huge smile on my face! It tasted delicious; very warming and fruity, and gave me just the energy boost I needed on a freezing cold day. The spice flavours gave it a warming kick and the star anise pods and cinnamon were a nice touch that really added to the autumnal feel. I chewed on the cinnamon stick after finishing my drink...which probably isn't advised, but hey it was fun!

Overall I can't recommend this drink enough; it's perfect for an energy boost on a cold day and I'll definitely be buying it in future! I just hope it won't be discontinued now that Halloween is over...

*Edit: Costa have informed me this will be on the menu until January - yay!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Christmas editition of Ritter Sport containing a caramel and orange flavour cream filling

Many thanks to the fantastic Monster Sweets for sending me this Ritter Sport bar to review recently! This is a new addition to Ritter Sport's 2013 Winter Kreations range, which comprises of Caramel Orange, Kokos-macrone (Coconut Macaroon) and Gebrannte Mandel (Caramelized Almonds).

Do take a moment to check out Monster Sweets newly revamped webstore - they stock a lot of hard-to-find European and American snacks at competitive prices, including an extensive variety of Ritter Sport and Milka bars. I highly recommend them for unique and tasty snacks that you won't find anywhere else in the UK!

A christmas edition of Ritter Sport containing an orange and caramel flavour cream filling

Onto the chocolate then, this Caramel Orange bar had no English writing on the packaging but it roughly translates as "Milk chocolate with caramel and orange flavour cream". I've tried the Ritter Sport Crema Catalana bar before and this Caramel Orange sounded like a very similar proposition, and indeed it was! Infact I would go so far as saying it's better than the Crema Catalana, which is high praise coming from me as I absolutely loved that bar!

The filling combines the rich, buttery flavour of smooth caramel cream with a subtle tang of orange, all coated in creamy milk chocolate. It's the perfect flavour for a Christmas-themed bar as it evokes the taste of Terrys Chocolate Orange, but is much more luxurious. The caramel cream is just delightful and tastes creamy and extremely moreish. I found myself constantly reaching for "just one more" piece, but that's not to say it wasn't satisfying - it's far more filling and substantial than most cheaper chocolates out there!

Overall, this is yet another fantastic creation from Ritter Sport which I can't recommend highly enough. Ritter always come up with some great combinations and this bar is no exception, it's just a shame it's a Christmas limited edition and not easily available in the UK. I would definitely recommend giving one of these as a Christmas gift instead of Terry's Chocolate Orange this year!

Please stay tuned for my review of the Ritter Sport Winter Kreation Coconut Macaroon bar!

Available from: Monster Sweets Online Store.
Price: £1.75 per 100g bar.
Allergy Information: Contains milk and soya. May contain traces of nuts.

RATING: 9 out of 10.

*I was sent this bar for an honest review by Monster Sweets and all opinions expressed are my own.

Whilst in Morrisons recently I spotted this Monty Bojangles Mince Pie flavour Fudge reduced to £1.50 so thought I'd give it a try...but only in the name of research of course!

I've never tried a christmas "spiced" fudge before so was curious how this would work in practice. It's described on the box as "Butter fudge with added mixed fruit and spices made with no artificial colours or flavours". It contains raisins as well as orange and lemon peel.

Whilst it's described as fudge it might have been more accurate to call it "tablet", as it had that hard, crumbly consistency that traditional Scottish tablet has, which personally I'm not a big fan of. I find it to be overly sweet and it usually dominates all other flavours that stand in its way! That was definitely the case here - the fudge was very, very sweet indeed, which is a shame because it it was actually rather nice. The mixed fruit added a realistic mince pie flavour and a nice chewy texture, which made it rather special and unique as fudge goes. There was a delicate flavour from the spices which really complimented the dried fruit.

Overall, this is an interesting fudge flavour for sure and it certainly has that familiar comforting flavour of mince pies....but it's one for the very sweet-toothed!

Price: £1.50 at Morrisons (reduced price - also includes salted caramel fudge).

Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.

Allergy Information: Contains milk. May contain traces of gluten or nuts.

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

Whilst in town recently I was absolutely ravenous and looking for a quick snack for a sugar hit. I was in Poundland at the time and amongst all the cheap chocolates I came across this box of "The Original" Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites, alondside a regular Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough version and a Fudge Brownie version. I didn't hesitate to pop some in my basket, being a fan of anything with peanut butter!

I wish I had hesitated though. These things were AWFUL! I could never have imagined a product with peanut butter in would taste so bad, but these really really did. When I opened the pack I was so hungry I could have eaten a smelly old sock (which would have been gourmet in comparison to these!).

Putting one in my mouth I was met with a stale, rancid tasting paste. I'm not sure how to describe it really other than a waxy mass of staleness! I could only eat one, which is saying something considering I was so hungry, and it's very unusual for me to stop at just one chocolate once I start! There wasn't even any flavour to the chocolate other than staleness. It's not like they were past their best before date either - it's in 2015!

I looked these up online and it seems I'm not the only one who didn't like them - check out the reviews on Amazon. I can understand why Poundland are selling them so cheap now! The company that produces them is called "Taste of Nature", which is a rather odd name for a company that makes junk food... unless of course they mean it's meant to taste like badger poop.

Overall, these are an awful awful product and I would recommend everyone avoid them! Spend your £1 on a bar of Milka instead!

Price: £1 at Poundland.

RATING: 1 out of 10

Have you tried these Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites? Did you think they were as awful as I did? Let me know in the comments!

I bought these Thorntons "The Snowman and The Snowdog" milk chocolate characters whilst looking for a quick chocolatey snack in Morrisons recently. I wanted something I hadn't tried before and cost £1 or less, and these fit the bill perfectly!

As they were Thorntons branded I expected decent quality chocolate, and that's exactly what I got. The chocolates come in shapes themed after The Snowman and The Snowdog, and tasted creamy and milky with a good cocoa flavour (30% cocoa solids min). It was certainly better quality than Cadbury's or Nestlé's chocolate, and for £1 made a good chocolate fix. It would've been nice if there were some caramel-filled chocolates in there for a bit of variety though...

Overall, as Christmas snacks go these are a simple but tasty option. They may not be quite as exciting as the likes of the Maltesers Reindeer or Galaxy Gift For You, but they're good quality chocolates for the price!

Price: 99p at Morrisons.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.

RATING: 7 out of 10.

*No pics of the chocolates I'm afraid as I ate them all before getting a chance to take a photo!

I've been on the lookout for Wall's Funny Feet Ice Creams for a while now. The Grocer ran a competition to "Bring back a brand" earlier in the year which included nostalgic products such as Trio biscuits, Nestlé Toffo, Cabana, Texan, Cresta lemonade, Spangles sweets, Fish & Chips crisps and Funny Feet. Funny Feet were the most popular, receiving almost 6,500 votes and so Wall's have decided to relaunch the ice creams in the UK. See the article HERE with The Grocer which explains how this all came about. There's also a Youtube video about the campaign here:

According to Wall's they will be marketed towards children and their parents who remember them from the 80's, and 10p from every purchase will be donated to Save The Children with the "Share a Smile, Help a Child" campaign.

80's advert for Funny Feet

Considering their apparent popularity in the 80's, and the fact that Wall's saw fit to bring them back again I was very curious to see what all the fuss is about, so when I heard they were available at Asda I dutifully made my way there to purchase a pack. I paid £2 for a box of 4 ice creams, which came to 160g in weight.

Opening the pack I was surprised to discover just how small the ice creams were! It made me wonder if they were this small in the 80's...?

Opening the wrapper I was met with a pale pink coloured foot-shaped ice cream. I cut into one just so you can see what it looks like inside...which is the same as on the outside!:

Taste-wise the ice cream was pleasant enough, but a little one-dimensional and without a particularly strong or distinctive strawberry flavour. It was creamy though and made for a nice snack. Looking at the ingredients I noticed it contains coconut oil, which gets a thumbs up from me since coconut oil is healthier than other oils often used in confectionery. It's a trend I'm noticing a lot more of and one that I hope continues!

Overall, these Wall's Funny Feet are pleasant enough ice creams, but aside from the unique shape I don't really see their appeal - must be a nostalgia thing! I'm not sure if they were this small in the 80's but they're a bit dinky as far as ice creams go nowadays. On that note I'm sure they'll be very suitable for young children.

Price: £2 at Asda. £2.50 at Sainsbury's or 2 boxes for £3.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state.
Allergy Information: Contains milk & whey.
Nutrition (per ice cream): 70 Calories, 3g Fat, 8g Carbs (8g Sugars).

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

Were you a fan of Funny Feet in the 80's? What do you think of the relaunched version? Let me know in the comments!

For other campaigns to bring back retro products, please check out my friend Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar's Facebook Campaign...Banjo was a chocolate and peanut wafer bar made by Mars Foods in the 80's and definitely sounds worthy of being brought back! You can sign the petition for its return HERE.

That's it. I've decided that most of the chocolates and sweets I have fond nostalgic memories of as a kid are now rubbish. Quality Street are too sweet these days, so is Terry's Chocolate Orange...and even Cadbury's, who you could once rely on for good quality products have now made their Roses selection rubbish too!

I'd heard lots of murmurs in comments sections online about them being poor quality nowadays, but didn't pay them any mind. Not until I bought a box recently to see what the new coffee chocolates would taste like...

Prior to this I hadn't eaten Roses for years, since I was a kid infact. Back then we always used to have a tin of Quality Street at Christmas, and I viewed Roses as more luxury in comparison, since Cadbury's chocolate has always tasted better than Nestlé's. Well not any more! They're dire now. They taste like a cheap supermarket brand of chocolates with unimaginative varieties coated in cheap, overly sweet chocolate.

Below are my thoughts on each variety from the latest incarnation of Roses:

Brazillian Darkness:
This one had a dark chocolate coating and so wasn't quite as sickly sweet as the other chocolates in the selection. It contains a hard toffee centre with little pieces of brazil nut. It tasted nice in comparison to the other chocolates, but was a little bland.

Brazillian Darkness

Signature Truffle (new!):
A bland tasting chocolate with a plain truffle filling - this one is obviously meant as a "filler" chocolate.

Signature Truffle

Coffee Escape (new!):
The main reason I bought these Roses is because I'd heard Cadbury were re-introducing a coffee chocolate, but wasn't sure if it would be the coffee cream one they used to do. Alas...it's just a coffee-flavoured chocolate truffle! It tasted okay, but didn't have a very strong coffee flavour.

Coffee Escape

Country Fudge:
I liked the texture of this one, but it was far too sweet and without any real fudge flavour. It didn't even taste as good as the Cadbury Fudge sticks you can get for 20p, which surprised me. In comparison, the fudges in Quality Street taste much nicer.

Country Fudge

Caramel:
This was a bland tasting and overly sweet toffee. I'm not sure why it's called caramel because it's simply a hard toffee. Caramel is supposed to be soft!

Caramel

Hazel Whirl:
This contains a hazelnut encased in milk chocolate. It tasted rather bland - the hazelnut wasn't very fresh and didn't really provide much flavour.

Hazel Whirl

Hazel in Caramel:
This is similar to the "Purple One" in Quality Street, but tastes much inferior. The caramel is overly sweet and bland and the hazelnut didn't taste very fresh or crunchy.

Hazel in Caramel

Golden Barrel:
This one was okay...it was extremely sweet, but I could just about detect a buttery taste of caramel underneath all the sweetness. I remember these tasting much nicer when I tried them as a kid.

Golden Barrel

Strawberry Dream:
Being a fan of the strawberry cremes in Quality Street I was excited to try this...but it tasted very bland. It was overly sweet and didn't have a very strong strawberry flavour.

Strawberry Dream

Tangy Orange Creme:
This had a nice tang of orange, but like the strawberry dream it was overly sweet which ruined the overall flavour.

Tangy Orange Creme

Overall:
Dear oh dear...Roses have deteriorated a lot since I was a kid. Whilst this is true of most chocolates from childhood, it's even more obvious with Cadbury Roses. The quality of the actual chocolate is dire, which is bizarre because when I was a kid Roses were perceived as special chocolates, something you would give as a gift on birthdays or at Christmas...not cheap rubbish crammed full of as much sugar and fat as possible! They just have no value any more, they're the sort of thing a stingy boss buys for their office at Christmas.

Sort it out Cadbury! If this carries on people will stop buying them, no matter how low in price they get each year...

Price: I paid £2 for a 350g box at Asda. Usually about £3.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk, nuts & soya.
Nutrition Information (per 100g): 535 Calories, 31.5g Fat, 56g Sugars.

RATING: 4 out of 10.

Do you think Cadbury Roses have gone downhill in quality? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

There's been a plethora of new products released recently, so much so that it's hard to keep up with them all! Here's a few I've spotted since the Xmas Edition of Spotted In Shops...

Marks & Spencer Percy's Pink Porridge:

What better breakfast for the cold Winter months than pink porridge with the flavour of Percy Pig sweets?! Spotted at Marks & Spencer.

Häagen Dazs Marc De Champagne Truffle (Limited Edition):

haagen dazs vanilla ice cream with marc de champagne truffle swirl and truffle pieces

Häagen Dazs have released this limited edition Marc De Champagne Truffle flavour in time for Christmas. It contains a swirl of marc de champagne sauce and chocolate truffle pieces in vanilla ice cream. It costs £4.45 per tub at Waitrose.

Magnum Chocolate and Raspberry Ice Cream:

magnum ice cream with raspberry sauce and magnum milk and dark chocolate pieces

Also in Waitrose were these new tubs of Magnum chocolate and raspberry ice cream, which contains milk & dark chocolate Magnum pieces, chocolate ice cream and raspberry sauce.

Heston from Waitrose Malted Milk and Marmalade Ice Cream:

malted milk flavour ice cream with marmalade sauce

Waitrose have also added this new variety to their "Heston from Waitrose" range, which contains malted milk flavour ice cream with a seville orange marmalade ripple.

Snowy Puffs:

These Winter limited edition "Snowy Puffs" are a spinoff of Sugar Puffs that contain bits of meringue along with regular sugar puffs. Here's a blurb from honeymonster.co.uk:
"Honey Monster is back with the release of my coolest cereal yet, Snowy Puffs, and there's no better way to get into the spirit of the season than by curling up with a big bowl. Adding a touch of brrrr-illiance to the original Sugar Puffs, Snowy Puffs comes with delicious meringue snowballs."
For a full review see Foodstuff Finds post on them HERE. Spotted at Poundland.

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Squares Cookie Crunch:

cookie crunch flavour kelloggs rice krispies squares

I'm not really a fan of Rice Krispies Squares but this Cookie Crunch variety had a "new" label on and I've not seen them anywhere else, so I thought I'd snap a pic anyway! Spotted at Poundland.

New GU After Dark Zillionaires' Puds:

classic millionaires shortbread - chocolate biscuit crumbs, salted caramel made with sea salt from france, treacle infused cheesecake and our richest ever ganache

These new GU Puds are "A decadent evolution of the classic millionaires’ shortbread: chocolate biscuit crumb, salted caramel made with sea salt from Guérande in western France, treacle-infused cheesecake and our richest ever ganache". Sounds amazing! Spotted at Waitrose.

Divine's Milk Tooth Chocolate:

smooth milk chocolate with delicious chunks of delicately roasted milk teeth

This bizarre Milk Tooth Chocolate from Divine is described as "A smooth milk chocolate, with utterly delicious chunks of delicately roasted milk teeth. Our chocolate is made with only the finest quality molars, gathered by our skilled team of tooth fairies - and children are always paid a fair price for their teeth". Can you guess what it really contains? Spotted in a local department store for £2.50.

Well, that's it for today's Spotted In Shops...if you've tried any of these new products please let me know in the comments!

a drink with the flavour of earl grey tea and frothy milk

Whilst shopping at Sainsbury's recently I came across this new Tea Latte drink from Drink Me Chai. The idea of a "Tea latte" sounded very intriguing so I just had to give it a try!

It's described as "Early Grey tea infused with frothy milk" and contains 90 calories per cup. I emptied the sachet into a mug and made it as directed, and ended up with a pale frothy coloured drink. Apologies for the dark photo...my kitchen had a serious lack of light!:

frothy latte with the flavour of earl grey tea

Taking a sip I was met with a very creamy and smooth tasting latte, with a subtle earl grey tea flavour. It was rather odd at first but after a while I started to enjoy the subtle taste of bergamot with the milkiness of the latte. It's a combination that somehow works.

Overall, I would recommend this to those who are adventurous and fancy something a bit "different" to a regular hot chocolate or cappuccino. Although, if you're someone who thinks earl grey tastes like "perfume" then this probably isn't the drink for you!

Price: 32p per sachet at Sainsbury's.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk.
Nutrition (per 20g serving): 90 Calories, 2.9g Fat, 14g Carbs.

RATING: 7 out of 10.

A big thankyou to James Chocolates who sent me a box of their Popcorn Chocolate Bites to review recently. They're described as "Milk caramel chocolate mixed with natural popcorn, crunchy butterscotch pieces and a little sea salt".

James Chocolates are a company I had never heard of until recently. They make a cool range of luxury handmade chocolates in fun flavours and shapes, including many animal-shaped chocolates. I especially like the sound of their strawberry milkshake cows! You can check out the range HERE.

Onto the chocolates then, I wasn't sure what to expect as the vibrant packaging doesn't really give much away - there's just a little plastic window so you can see the contents. In a world of companies who increasingly use photoshopped images of their chocolates on the packaging, I found this quite refreshing as it allows the chocolate to speak for itself.

Opening the chocolates I was met with a lovely aroma of caramel and popcorn - the fresh kind you get at the cinema. It smelled very enticing! The pieces come in varying sizes, which gives them a nice rustic feel.

Biting into a piece I was amazed by just how delicious it tasted...it was so, so moreish! I've eaten chocolates containing popcorn before but never any that tasted this good. The popcorn tasted fresh and crunchy, almost as if it were freshly popped. The chocolate was very rich and good quality, with the flavour of salty caramel making it ridiculously moreish - I seriously couldn't stop eating it, even though I was full! There were little pieces of crunchy butterscotch in the mix too which just added to the experience even more.The main overriding flavour though was that of the popcorn, making the bites both savoury and sweet at the same time.

Overall, these Popcorn Bites are a seriously addictive creation from James Chocolates and one I can't recommend highly enough. The combination of popcorn, salt and sweet flavours is just amazing and I wish more companies would produce chocolates as tasty as this!

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Allergy Information: Contains milk & soya. May contain nut traces.
Cocoa solids: 36%.

Please stay tuned for my review of James Chocolates Minty Penguins - they look very cute!:

*I was sent these chocolates for an honest review and all views expressed are my own.

Just a quick review of these Haribo Sparkly Stars today as there's not really much to say about them. I found them in Morrisons at 50p for a 100g bag and they're basically just fizzy jellies shaped like stars to fit their festive theme. They're rather similar to Haribo Tangfastics, in fact they didn't taste any different to me. That's not a bad thing though as they were very tasty, with a lovely moreish sour flavour!

Overall these may just be Tangfastics in a different shape, but they look pretty cool and taste great so you can't really grumble! I think they'd go nicely in bowls alongside other festive nibbles at Christmas.

Price: 50p at Morrisons.
Suitable for vegetarians?: No - contains gelatine.

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

After hearing about this new addition to Costa's Christmas Menu for 2013 I just had to give it a try. As well as this variety Costa have also brought back their Black Forest Hot Chocolate, plus Honeycomb & Cream Hot Chocolate, Salted Caramel & Cream Latte, as well as a Gingerbread & Cream Latte complete with a mini gingerbread man! They're also doing festive cakes such as Gingerbread Muffins, Black Forest Fancy, Chocolate Orange Fancy, Mince Tarts, and a gluten-free Christmas cake slice. You can check out the full Christmas Menu HERE.

As much as I wanted to try the Black Forest Hot Chocolate, I went for the White Hot Chocolate instead as white hot chocolate is such a rarity - not many cafes seem to sell it! Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed as they hadn't put any cherry sauce or edible glitter over the cream as advertised. I would have mentioned it to the staff, but I was cold and the drink looked so nice I didn't want to wait any longer!

Despite the lack of cherry sauce and glitter I still thought the hot chocolate was nicely presented. The cream looked really tempting and the dusting of cocoa powder was a nice touch. I do find Costa's saucers a bit of an odd shape though - all the weight is concentrated onto one side, which makes it a bit tricky to balance when carrying it.

Taste-wise the hot chocolate was very creamy and milky, with a nice vanilla flavour. It had an almost "alcoholic" edge to it that I can't quite put my finger on...maybe from the white chocolate syrup? Anyway it was still very comforting and milky, and I really enjoyed digging into the cream on top - very indulgent. In hindsight though I do wish I'd asked for the cherry sauce as it would've quite literally been the cherry on top!

Overall, this made a nice change from Costa's regular hot chocolates and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys white chocolate or milky drinks in general. I'm definitely looking forward to trying the rest of Costa's Christmas Menu!

Price: £2.95.

RATING: 7 out of 10.

When I first saw this new flavour of Yummy Honeycomb Matchmakers in my local Premier store I wasn't all that excited. Mainly because they've already been out years ago, but also because my experience with Nestlé's Honeycomb Yorkie was so disappointing. Luckily these Matchmakers turned out to be very tasty in comparison, and surprised me by tasting of actual honeycomb!

They're described on the box as "Honeycomb flavour chocolates with skimmed milk chocolate, dark chocolate and boiled sugar pieces" and weigh 130g.

Opening the box revealed a paper lid with a Matchmakers game that involves spotting various things on TV. I quickly disposed of it though as I was only interested in the chocolates! They smelled very rich and chocolatey, with a strong honeycomb aroma.

Biting into a stick I was met with a very sweet honeycomb flavour, which had a nice crunch from the boiled sugar pieces. The chocolates were very sweet, yet also quite rich tasting thanks to the dark chocolate. Needless to say they were extremely moreish! Once I started eating I couldn't stop; one stick led to another, which led to another...and so on! Luckily there were plenty in the box!

Overall, these may not be the poshest or most sophisticated chocolates around, but when you want something crunchy to nibble on whilst watching TV they fit the bill perfectly! They're also a nice alternative for those who don't like the Orange and Mint Matchmakers varieties.

Price: £1.25 at Premier Stores on promotional offer. They're also £1.25 at Tesco until 26th November. RRP is £2.50.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk.
Nutrition (per 4 sticks): 72 Calories, 3.1g Fat, 10.2g Carbs.

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Did you know?
Matchmakers have done lots of different varieties over the years, such as Blackcurrant (they tasted awful!), Strawberry (which contained black pepper flavoured sugar pieces), Lemon, Cappuccino, Christmas Orange Spice, Nutty, Coffee, Irish Cream, Brandysnap and White Chocolate!

When I discovered that Nestlé had brought out this new assortment box of Quality Street Fruit Cremes I got very excited, probably more than anyone should be over chocolates! That's because I've always been a fan of the fruit cremes in tins of Quality Street, ever since I as a kid, and have very fond memories of them. There's just something about biting into the rich, dark chocolate to find the soft, sweet fruity creme underneath that has always appealed to me. I even remember when they introduced a "Fruits of the Forest" flavour one year, which I've mourned the loss of ever since!

Sadly, like many of the sweets from my youth I now think Quality Street taste too sweet. This is true of most chocolates I used to love - Milkybar, Kitkat, Dairy Milk, Rolos, Mars Bars...the list goes on. I'm not sure if manufacturers are adding more sugar nowadays or if I've just developed better taste (I seriously doubt it's the latter! ;) )

When I heard these were reduced to £2 at Tesco recently I sought them out straightaway. My sense of "Fruit Creme nostalgia" was just too strong to ignore!

dark chocolate with orange flavoured fondant

Orange Creme

When I bought them I was excited to find they contained a new flavour, one that's never been done by Quality Street before - a lemon creme! This made the big kid in me all giddy and excited. A new variety of Quality Street is always something to celebrate, or at least it was when I was younger...

dark chocolate with lemon flavoured fondant

Lemon Creme

Unfortunately, my excitement was shattered when I tasted them. They're not awful, but they were just too sweet, boring and one-dimensioanl. I couldn't really taste anything other than sugar with a hint of fruit flavouring.

The Orange Creme was a lot sweeter than I remember it used to be, so much so I couldn't eat more than one.

The Strawberry Cream was my favourite as it still retained some of its original charm and had a decent strawberry flavour, although again; it was very sweet.

The Lemon Creme was the big disappointment though...rather than providing a zingy, citrusy hit, it just had a faint whiff of lemon flavour. It was also very sweet, which dominated any faint lemon flavours that might have been there.

dark chocolate with a strawberry flavour fondant

Strawberry Creme

Overall, as someone who used to be a huge fan of the Fruit Cremes in Quality Street, this assortment was a big disappointment. Not only was the new lemon variety a letdown, but the other flavours I used to enjoy seem to have gone downhill in quality too. I will now have to find my fruity chocolate fixes elsewhere... (probably in the direction of Hotel Chocolat!)

For those who prefer the toffees and fudges in Quality Street, they're now available in their very own box too.

Price: I paid £2 on special offer, RRP is £4.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: May contain milk and nuts.
Nutrition (per 3 sweets): 124 Calories, 2.5g Fat, 24.3g Carbs.

RATING: 5 out of 10.

Whilst in Morrisons the other day I spotted these new slices amongst the rest of Mr Kipling's festive range. I don't usually bother with christmas-themed cakes, but the idea of a cake with candy cane in sounded really appealing to me. I was in a rush so I put a box in my basket without reading the description.

Unfortunately when I got home I was a bit disappointed to find these cakes don't contain pieces of candy cane as I had initially thought. Instead they are "Raspberry and vanilla flavour sponge baked with pieces of raspberry (1%), finished with a decorated vanilla flavour topping". No mention of candy cane at all! It turns out they're meant to taste like raspberry flavoured candy canes...so basically of sugar and raspberry.

The slices are twin wrapped in plastic trays, which is a nice idea but it does mean you're more likely to eat both at once! Which is no bad thing if they're tasty...and luckily they were!

Despite my disappointment over the lack of candy cane, I thought the slices looked really pretty with their pink and white icing and raspberry pieces dispersed throughout the cake:

Biting into one I was met with a very sweet raspberry flavour and a pleasant vanilla undertone. It was a little on the artificial side but very nice nonetheless. The cakes were very soft in texture which made them very easy to eat, and they went perfectly with a cup of coffee. Of course, I ate two because once the pack was open I couldn't allow the second one to go stale! ;)

Overall, these are definitely some tasty cake slices, but it's disappointing they don't contain anything resembling candy cane.

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

Price: £1 at Morrisons.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state.
Allergy Information: Contains milk, eggs, wheat, gluten, soya. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per slice): 115 Calories, 4.8g Fat, 11.3g Sugars.

Many thanks to Monster Sweets for sending me some fantastic snacks to review recently; I've already reviewed the Ritter Sport Winter Caramel Orange Bar but this time it's the turn of the White Chocolate Twix, a bar that was available in the UK in the mid-2000's but unfortunately discontinued. It's still available over in Europe though, so many thanks to Monster Sweets for bringing them to the UK!

This bar is a limited edition and weighs 50 grams in total. Opening the wrapper revealed two familiarly shaped Twix fingers coated in white chocolate:

They smelled creamy and enticing. Cutting a finger in half revealed a layer of firm caramel above a shortbread biscuit base:

Biting into a piece I was first met with a creamy, milky sweetness from the white chocolate, and then the chewy buttery caramel and crunchy shortbread base. It's the perfect combination of flavours and textures, and I thought it somehow tasted even nicer than a regular milk chocolate Twix. The white chocolate brings a creaminess to the caramel and shortbread that makes it very moreish indeed! It didn't take me long to scoff both fingers, although I dipped the second one in coffee which made it all melted and gooey - yum!

Overall, this is a delicious variation on the Twix bar and I think it's much nicer than the milk chocolate version - highly recommended!

RATING: 8 out of 10.

This bar is available from the Monster Sweets Online Store HERE.

Price: £1.09.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Not sure.

*I was sent this bar for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

When I was sent these Brain Blasterz sour sweets from Bon Bon Buddies recently I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I've tried Toxic Waste sour sweets in the past which were extremely sour indeed, but I wasn't sure if these would be milder or more sour in comparison. Turns out theyre insanely sour!

The sweets come in 4 different flavours: watermelon, apple, blueberry and lemon. Each one is individually wrapped.

Popping one in my mouth I wasn't quite prepared for the crazy sourness that was unleashed...I practically had a fit it was so sour! It had an almost salty edge to it too, which was extremely weird. After a while the sourness died away and left a sweeter, more pleasant-tasting fruity lemon sweet in my mouth. It was quite a roller coaster ride but I'm glad I stuck it out, rather than spat it out! (as my friend did...)

Since my first "brain blast" I've been using Brain Blasterz to prank unsuspecting friends and family by telling them they're regular fruit sweets, and the results have been very amusing indeed - most people screwed up their faces and couldn't handle them at all! It's made for some very funny moments!

Once again a big thankyou to Brain Blasterz for sending me these sweets - they're a lot of fun!

RRP: 99p.

RATING: 8 out of 10 for novelty and fun.

WARNING: Not for babies, wimps or adults! (from BrainBlasterz.com)

Have you tried Brain Blasterz? Were they too much for you?! Let me know in the comments!

*I was sent these sweets for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

When I saw this new seasonal Hershey bar in a local department store recently I just had to give it a try, despite the fact I'm not really a fan of Hershey's chocolate in general. It's a white chocolate candy bar that also contains mint candy cane "bits", which sounded like a tasty combination!

Opening the wrapper revealed a thin white bar split into sections with the Hershey's name printed on. There were speckles of red candy cane visible throughout the chocolate, which I thought looked really pretty against the white background:

The "white candy" is basically a concoction of vegetable fat, milk fat and corn starch which tasted quite mild and milky, with a pleasant sweet peppermint flavour. It wasn't quite as good as "real" white chocolate but it was a nice carrier for the candy cane bits. They had a pleasant minty crunch to them, and all the flavours worked together really well to make a creamy, minty bar that was very moreish!

Overall, this is a tasty seasonal bar which fits the Christmas theme perfectly, and if you're a fan of white chocolate you should definitely give it a try! I don't know it's been out before in the US; it was recently featured on The Impulsive Buy but it's not clear if it's new or not. If anyone has more info please do get in touch via the comments!

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Price: £1.50 for a 43g bar (also available in a larger bar).
Allergy Information: Contains milk and soya.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state on packaging.

Today I'm reviewing one of the most moreish chocolate snacks I've tried in a long time...Kinder Schoko-Bons Milky Bites! Whilst this bag of chocolates may look like it's only for kids, the contents are very adult-friendly, infact I think Kinder are missing a trick by not marketing these at adults as well as children!

I bought a pack for £2 from Tesco but they're also on a special offer of 2 packs for £3. I found them in the Christmas section and the bag has a fun Christmassy design with a hungry cow - or is it reindeer? - on the front as well as an angry robin. The reindeer appears to be carrying a sledge and looking for schoko-bons...and I can't say I blame him! I'm not sure why the robin looks so angry though...maybe the reindeer stole his schoko-bons?

The chocolates are described as "Fine milk chocolate bonbons with a milky hazelnut filling". Each one is individually wrapped, and looks a bit like a mini chocolate egg:

Taste-wise they're almost exactly like the creamy part in a Kinder Bueno and are very rich and hazelnutty! They're a little firmer in texture but melt in the mouth beautifully, and they reminded me of a creamier, nuttier version of Lindor truffles. They were extremely moreish and I popped one after another in my mouth nonstop...they were so nice!

Overall, I can't praise these Kinder Schoko-Bons enough and would put them on the level of Lindor truffles in terms of indulgence - they're that good! I'm surprised I've never tried them before, they're like an indulgent chocolate secret disguised as a children's product! Very moreish and highly recommended.

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Price: £2 at Tesco, or 2 bags for £3.

Allergy Information: Contains milk and nuts.

Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state.

Nutrition (per 5.8g piece): 33 Calories, 2.1g Fat, 3g Sugar.
Made by: Ferrero.

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