The Custom Cupcake Company Peanut Butter Brownie

Product name: The Custom Cupcake Company Peanut Butter Brownie
Purchase details: £2.50 for a 165g brownie (The Custom Cupcake Company)
Country of origin: England

On Saturday, I was introduced to The Custom Cupcake Company for the first time, and treated to an incredible Snickers Cupcake. Over an hour after leaving (when I was nearly home), I realised I’d left behind my shopping bag that contained my Mum’s Mothers’ Day present, so I gave the shop a call. To my delight, the lady on the phone confirmed that they had the bag and that they’d keep it safe for me until I was able to collect it. I agreed to return the next day and decided it would be rude not to buy more treats while I was there!

On my original visit, the man behind the till had been extremely helpful in explaining the contents of each cupcake (they have a whopping 130+ varieties on rotation), so I knew what I was going to buy as treats for my family before I’d arrived for my second visit.

For myself, though, I knew I just had to have their Peanut Butter Brownie. I mean, just look at it!

Is that not just one of the most beautiful things you have ever seen? Not only was it huge, but the dense wodge of chocolatey goodness had been lovingly topped with peanuts, chocolate pieces, peanut butter, a chocolate frosting, caramel and edible glitter. Now, I love my homemade peanut butter brownies – they make me reluctant to try others – but this seemed to take the concept to a whole new level. I must also express my gratitude to the guy who served me on Sunday since, completely unprompted (and having no knowledge of my review), he served me what I thought was the biggest and best-looking brownie from the middle of the selection, rather than just grabbing the nearest one to him. ‘Someone’s got to have it’, he said...and that someone was me – yay! (For the record, they did all look good, this one just had the edge.)

The brownie had a cakey peanut butter scent and, cutting through it, it felt very moist and gooey. I couldn’t resist trying each part of the topping individually – the peanuts were salty, the chocolate was fantastically chunky, the caramel drizzle was nice and sweet, whilst the chocolate frosting seemed to be like a tasty buttercream.

Since one side of my brownie was an outer edge, I started here first, expecting it to be slightly dry. Whilst this wasn’t the case in itself, it was more like a standard chocolate sponge here, albeit a slightly moister and heavier one. As I got nearer to the centre, though...oh...my...days. This was like a brownie proper – it didn’t have the slightly crispy outer shell that I love but, other than that, the texture was spot on. It was so dense and stiff and, with the pockets of peanut butter throughout, it stuck to the roof the mouth in a way I really enjoyed. There were also a few actual peanuts scattered through this mixture which added a bit of crunch here and there.

In terms of taste, this brownie was extremely chocolatey. I felt that the peanut butter’s flavour in the brownie itself was quite subtle, but there was certainly a bit of saltiness. However, it was the topping that made the brownie so special – it was where the main peanut flavours came from and its rugged texture really mixed things up a bit too.

In case you were in any doubt, I thoroughly enjoyed this Peanut Butter Brownie, and it went superbly with a glass of milk. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be returning to The Custom Cupcake Company – there are a lot of treats for me to work my way through!

Appearance: 9.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 8.5/10

Maryland Big & Chunky (white choc chunk brownie)

Product name: Maryland Big & Chunky (white choc chunk brownie)
Calories: 127 for a 25g cookie
Country of origin: UK 

I was recently given a goodie bag as a thank you gift and, amongst other things, it contained this white choc chunk brownie Maryland Big & Chunky cookie.  

As a ‘snack pack’, I know that this individually wrapped biscuit was from a larger multipack, but it was still very well presented in a pretty, metallic purple wrapper that contained a photograph of the cookie. 

Made by Burton’s Biscuits Company, I was pleased to see that the cookie contained both white chocolate (15%) and milk chocolate (13%) ‘chunks’ rather than the slightly less satisfying ‘chips’. Although these appeared to be relatively sparse (there were far fewer than the packaging suggested!), the white chunks in particular, were visibly mixed into the cocoa-coloured biscuit. The chocolate cookie looked quite hard and dry but, on breaking it in two, there was a slight flexibility there, and it was slightly darker on the inside which suggested it might have been a bit more moist than it initially appeared. 

I noticed a chocolatey aroma on opening the wrapper and, up close, the quality of this reminded me of ginger. It wasn’t the most amazing scent in the world but it had something about it that caught in the back of the throat. 

The biscuit was generally crunchy but, as suspected, it was slightly softer in the middle. I think this was to make it seem a bit like a brownie but it wasn’t nearly soft enough for this and, unfortunately, it gave the impression of being a bit stale instead. I also found the milk chocolate chunks to be quite soft and crumbly but, thankfully, the white chocolate seemed to have a bit more substance to it and improved the overall texture considerably.

The cookie itself had quite a bitter chocolate taste which the white chocolate broke up a bit. It was pretty pleasant and chocolatey but there just wasn’t nearly enough white chocolate in there for my liking. However, I definitely found this Big & Chunky product to be more interesting than basic cookies – it just wasn’t as good as other biscuits on the market. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Frijj Fudge Brownie

Product name: Frijj Fudge Brownie
Purchase details: £0.50 for a 471ml bottle (Asda)
Calories: 367 per bottle
Country of origin: UK 

A few days ago I saw, via Asda’s Twitter page, that their bottles of Frijj ‘thick and smooth’ milkshakes have been reduced to an amazing £0.50 each. I only rarely buy indulgent drinks but I couldn’t turn my nose up at that price so I decided to make a special trip to buy a couple of the more interesting flavours that I’ve not previously had before. 

Initially, I thought this Fudge Brownie flavour was boasting about containing less than 12% fat, but then I noticed the decimal point – 1.2% was much better! In addition, it contained no artificial flavours or colours, and contained a lot of ‘fresh milk’ (69% skimmed and 22% whole) which meant the product was a source of calcium (132mg) and vitamin B12. Other ingredients included sugar (12.9g), buttermilk powder, cocoa powder and natural flavourings.

Made my Dairy Crest, this bottle of Frijj had a basic white and black theme and was covered in splodges, to mimic a cow, but these splodges were a shade of mid-brown to represent the brownie variety. There was also a nice caramelly swirl at the bottom of the bottle and I loved the funky zip design at the side which drew attention to where the label could be torn off in order to recycle the bottle itself.

As recommended, I enjoyed the Fudge Brownie version of ‘Britain’s favourite milkshake’ shaken and chilled. It had a chocolate milk smell and it certainly looked thick – not as thick as ice cream-containing shakes but thicker than normal milk.

To drink, the liquid was very milky and smooth. It had more of a fudge element than I’d expected and this depth went well with the chocolate flavour. I didn’t find the latter had a specific brownie taste but it was very similar to a caramel chocolate. I found the consistency to be good, although I did think it would have had a more fudgy feel if it could have been a little thicker. However, this probably wouldn’t be possible with the ingredients used!

Overall, I enjoyed this milkshake. It was very rich, and a bit sickly, but it was nearly half a litre of milk so I’m not really surprised! I would happily drink it again. 

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.63/10

Lenny & Larry's Muscle Brownie: Peanut butter

Product name: Lenny & Larry’s Muscle Brownie: Peanut butter
Purchase details: £2.50 for an 80g brownie (Americandy) 

Calories: 170 per 40g serving (340 per brownie) 

Country of origin: USA 

This is an unusual review for me in that, whilst I strive to maintain my ideal weight, I have absolutely no interest in becoming some kind of bodybuilding fanatic. The slogan on this Lenny & Larry’s Muscle Brownie: Peanut butter – ‘Eat Brownies, Get Muscles!’ – was slightly off-putting for me, then, since I wanted to eat brownies (who doesn’t?!) but I didn’t want the muscles.

You may well have guessed that it was the lure of peanut butter that caused me to buy this product but closer inspection of the wrapper also helped – the brownie  was ‘all natural’ and contained 20g of protein, and it was this that the brand focused on, since protein ‘combined with regular exercise and balanced nutrition’ could help build muscles. Since I’m not exactly a gym-goer, I decided I’d be safe eating this without running the risk of waking up with huge arms!

Lenny & Larry’s is a brand that has been going since 1993, but it is only recently that I’ve heard of them and, I suspected, their speciality was protein-rich foods rather than quality baked items. That said, the wrapper did promise a product that was freshly baked, and it was reassuring that it was also low in cholesterol and contained no trans fats.

The brownie’s wrapper had a nice colour scheme that reflected the peanut butter flavour but, looking at the image and ingredients list, I was disappointed to see that this flavour only came from peanut butter chips and a ‘coating’ – there wasn’t any mixed into the brownie mix. This set alarm bells off for me since I knew that my homemade peanut butter brownies are only so amazing because the peanut butter that’s incorporated into the brownie itself is the key to both the taste and the texture. 

This brownie was very square and uniform in appearance. It consisted of a very dark cake that was drizzled with the aforementioned peanut butter coating (this looks orange in my pictures but it was brown!) and filled with large peanut butter chips. I was actually pleased that the presentation of the coating wasn’t perfect as it made the product seem a bit more authentic since, otherwise, it looked pretty processed.

I felt the brownie was pretty small for the number of calories it contained but I thought it was even more stingy that a portion was only meant to be half of one! I, of course, ate the whole thing.

As I’ve mentioned with other American mass-produced baked goods, this brownie had an odd chocolatey smell, but there was also a slight hint of peanut butter. Texturally, the cake felt rubbery, and I couldn’t believe how hard I had to press to cut it with a knife – it was unbelievably dense.

Before I took the plunge with a full bite, I tried a bit of the peanut butter coating and found it went some way to achieving its desired flavour, but it certainly wasn’t peanut butter in its pure form and it had been sweetened.

Moving on to the product’s overall taste, it was a bit chocolatey and it did offer vague hints of peanut butter, but there was an additional flavour that was really weird. It almost tasted like raisins which, in itself, wasn’t a bad thing, but it was just completely out of place in a brownie. Unfortunately, it also left quite a strong aftertaste in the mouth.

Texturally, the brownie was hard and chewy with an occasional slight crisp that seemed to come from the peanut butter coating. The chips didn’t add any texture which was a shame as I think it would have benefitted from some kind of chunks to break up the density. The texture was acceptable in itself but, for a brownie, it wasn’t right at all.

I wasn’t expecting this Muscle Brownie: Peanut butter to be great but I’m afraid to say it was actually worse than I expected. That’s not to say it was out-and-out and horrible (it wasn’t) but when I eat my evening snacks, I want a tasty treat, and this didn’t deliver. I guess that’s the point, though – this brand exists to provide more interesting ways to pump protein into people on big health kicks. If that was my aim then, sure, this would be more enjoyable than some of the alternatives, but would I buy a Muscle Brownie again purely for pleasure? Sorry, but no. 

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 6/10
Taste: 6/10
Texture: 6/10
Overall score: 6.25/10