The Custom Cupcake Company Ferrero Rocher Cupcake

Product name: The Custom Cupcake Company Ferrero Rocher Cupcake
Purchase details: £2.00 for one cupcake (The Custom Cupcake Company)
Country of origin: England

I treated myself to another cupcake from The Custom Cupcake Company this week. I’d actually bought the Ferrero Rocher Cupcake before as I knew it would be a variety my Mum would like but I didn’t try it for myself on that occasion. However, it was on my wish list for future visits and my Mum had also given it her seal of approval...although she had said it didn’t taste like a Ferrero Rocher!

I had read the product description on the store’s chalkboard but, by the time I got home, I couldn’t remember the details. I did know it involved some kind of hazelnut filling, though, and I was basically expecting a Nutella centre.

Being a fan of the cake’s flavour inspiration, I was slightly surprised by its apparent peanut topping sitting on some kind of chocolate frosting. This was by no means a bad thing in itself but I knew that real Ferrero Rocher chocolates only contain hazelnuts so I wasn’t sure why these hadn’t been used instead. This topping also meant the treat predominantly smelt of peanuts, although there was a slight chocolate cake scent too.

The cake’s sponge was an incredibly dark chocolate colour and I gasped when I cut it open – the filling was so deep and fudgy! I felt I had no choice but to tackle it with a spoon.

On its own, the sponge had felt a little dry and powdery but it had a strong and slightly bitter chocolate flavour that worked well. It turned out this lack of moisture wasn’t an issue when combined with the other components anyway. The really chocolatey frosting was pretty smooth and, despite being lovely and sweet, the wealth of salted peanuts offset this and made the texture feel like that of peanut butter – always a winner!

The inner filling also aided the texture, resulting in an overall feel of chocolate fudge cake with an added crunchiness. It also turned out this wasn’t simply Nutella after all. Whilst it had nice hazelnut hints, its chocolate flavour was particularly strong – much more so than I was expecting.

I definitely agree with my Mum’s conclusion that this cupcake didn’t taste like a Ferrero Rocher, but it was very much a deliciously rich treat. It was so chocolatey that it burnt the back of my throat a little!

Now...what to try next?!

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

Tesco Cupcakes: Chocolate fudge

Product name: Tesco Cupcakes: Chocolate fudge
Purchase details: £1.40 for a pack of two cupcakes or three for two (Tesco)
Calories: 293 per cupcake
Country of origin: UK

So it’s time to review the last of the cupcakes I picked up as part of Tesco’s three for two offer. As much as I love chocolate fudge cake, I normally would have chosen a seemingly more interesting variety, but I’d seen these Tesco Cupcakes: Chocolate fudge on A Review a Day a couple of weeks earlier and they looked and sounded divine!

These new ‘chocolate flavoured sponge cakes filled with chocolate sauce, topped with chocolate fudge flavour frosting and a chocolate decoration’ once again came in a simple but effective plastic box that, this time, featured a purple cardboard sleeve. The frosting that accounted for 39% of each cake was quite basic in appearance but was topped with attractive, marbled chocolate shards. I think these were both meant to be triangular in shape but one of mine had broken! I was particularly pleased when I turned one over to find they were predominantly made of white chocolate. Inside the cake, the dark chocolate-containing sauce (11%) had been deeply injected and looked lovely and stiff.

As soon as I opened the box, a delicious chocolate cake scent wafted up to my nostrils. The sponge tasted like any decent chocolate cake with a good cocoa flavour and moist, soft texture. The thick sauce added a gooey feel and a slight bitterness that, interestingly, had an element of creaminess too. The buttercream was also great – I could taste both the cocoa powder and the butter and there was a slight graininess from the icing sugar without feeling too bitty. The brittle chocolate fragment topped off this bundle of squidgy amazingness nicely with a little extra sweet and creamy flavour.

As far as chocolate fudge cakes go, I didn’t find this cupcake quite as rich as the full-on dessert, although this may partly have been down to the smaller portion size. The cake itself was also a little drier, although not in a negative way. It was definitely a good decision to purchase this fabulous product. I think I might even try my remaining cupcake warm...mmmmmm.

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 8.13/10

Tesco Peanut Butter Style Cupcakes

Product name: Tesco Peanut Butter Style Cupcakes
Purchase details: £1.50 for a pack of two cupcakes or three for two (Tesco)
Calories: 309 per cupcake
Country of origin: UK 

I couldn’t wait to try these peanut butter and jelly themed cupcakes when I spotted them on Tesco's website. They appeared to be part of a new American range and, having seen a review of some of these products over on The Review Addict!, I realised I’d have to leap into action as they’re a limited edition and are only around for 12 weeks – major sad face.

On picking up my pack of Peanut Butter Style Cupcakes in-store, I realised that the key word in the product name was ‘style’. You see, there was no peanut butter in these cupcakes. In fact, the allergy advice simply warned: ‘may contain nuts’ – there weren’t any actually listed on the ingredients list. Instead, the cakes contained ‘peanut butter style toasted soya frosting with jam’, but I remained intrigued.

I loved the simple plastic box that these cupcakes came in as they showed off the beauty of the product within and, most importantly, it kept both cakes firmly in place for transportation. The stars and stripes design on both the cardboard sleeve and paper cases was also a nice touch.

I thought the ‘sponge cakes filled with strawberry jam, topped with soya nut butter frosting and coloured chocolate beans’ looked great. I was delighted that the frosting, being my favourite part of a cupcake, accounted for 42% of the product, and this was a mid-brown colour with a ridged design. The pastel-coloured beans added a nice bit of decoration too. As for the sponge, this was very pale, and I was pleased to see a decent injection of a deep red jam that made up a further 10% of each cake.

I felt like I went on a bit of a journey when it came to consuming the cakes. The frosting, containing soya beans and soya oil, seemed to produce the kind of scent that I simultaneously associated with nut-based vegetarian meals and soy sauce. I guess this was understandable but this savoury aroma was a little unnerving and not really what I wanted from a sweet product!

I’d been a bit alarmed when I first handled a cake as a substantial amount of grease had seeped through the paper case. However, I was relieved that this wasn’t an issue in terms of taste. The cake was very spongy to the extent that it made a noise when cutting or tearing it, and whilst not overly moist, it wasn’t dry either. Its quite stiff texture contrasted well with the beautiful, smooth jam centre that provided a strong berry taste and delicious sweetness.

On its own, the frosting had an initially convincing peanut butter flavour but, unfortunately, the soya taste then became evident. It was pretty oily but also had a thick and slightly spongy texture. Despite not being as dense as peanut butter, it did still stick to the roof of the mouth, and I soon discovered that when eating all elements of the cake together, as intended, the frosting did become convincing as peanut butter again. There was still a slightly odd aftertaste, and the inclusion of icing sugar provided a lighter consistency, but I very quickly adjusted to the soya element. After this point, it stopped being noticeable and I found the cakes very enjoyable, with the jam and icing sugar preventing the flavours becoming too heavy.

If I could change one thing about these cupcakes, I’d get rid of the chocolate beans. Despite the very crispy, sugary shells, the overall chocolatey taste was quite bitter, and I didn’t really like this additional flavour. Whilst it didn’t interfere too much with the overall experience, I also didn’t feel that the added crunch was needed.

However, I did end up enjoying these Peanut Butter Style Cupcakes and I thought it was great that they came with relatively long use-by dates. From my point of view, the ability to store one in an airtight container after I’d consumed the other one was an added bonus!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 5.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

Mrs. Freshley's Swiss Rolls: Peanut butter flavored

Product name: Mrs. Freshley’s Swiss Rolls: Peanut butter flavored
Purchase details: £1.99 for a 79g pack of two cakes (A Quarter of Sweets)
Calories: 360 per pack
Country of origin: USA

I somehow missed these Mrs. Freshley’s Swiss Rolls on a previous visit to A Quarter of Sweets. The clear plastic wrapper had clearly shown off the chocolate-coated cakes but I hadn’t recognised the pale brown drizzle as an indicator that the product was ‘Peanut butter flavored’! I soon rectified this mistake with a return visit to the store, though.

A look here not only provided the calorie information for these Swiss Rolls, but that the very dark and fairly thick inner swirl of peanut butter was actually Reese’s – yay! That said, I didn’t think it looked much like peanut butter against the chocolate cake – its dense and sticky appearance was a bit like a funny-coloured jam.

The scent of these Rolls was very similar to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups but it was less chocolatey and not as strong. The chocolate-flavoured sponge was very soft, if a little dry, but the moist peanut butter allowed each bite to stick to the roof of the mouth a little. The texture was very much like your standard mini roll offering, really, and I liked how the flexible chocolate layer added a bendy crunch that mixed with the innards of each Roll.

The main flavour was like the chocolate element of a Peanut Butter Cup and seemed to come from the chocolate cake. If I’m honest, it wasn’t wonderful, but I could pick up a slight hint of peanut butter, and this provided a salty kick here and there.

These Mrs. Freshley’s Swiss Rolls: Peanut butter flavored were nice enough but I did feel a bit underwhelmed by their taste. I wouldn’t have described them as ‘nutty’ and, bearing in mind the main attraction was the inclusion of peanut butter, this didn’t feel like a dominant feature, in practice. I did love the concept, though, and would love to see more of this kind of thing in the UK!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.25/10