McVitie's Dessert Inspirations...:Sticky toffee cake bars

Product name: McVitie’s Dessert Inspirations...: Sticky toffee cake bars
Purchase details: £0.79 for a pack of five bars (Home Bargains)
Calories: 144 per bar
Country of origin: UK

These new McVitie’s Dessert Inspirations...:Sticky toffee cake bars were another product that caught my eye because, like the Milky Way: Cake bars, they made use of a non-chocolate sponge. The sticky toffee flavour also attracted me, of course, but I still nearly left them on the shelf. It was only when I spotted the pale, gooey cream on the mouth-watering picture that I read the description that finally twisted my arm: ‘moist sponge topped with a toffee flavour cream, a layer of sticky toffee and covered in a smooth milk chocolate’.

Made by United Biscuits, I loved the rich chocolate colour of the packaging, and the individually wrapped bars were a decent size to boot. The sponge was clearly a little more than your standard Madeira cake with some added colour that brought its appearance more in-line with a less-aerated bread. This was topped with a generous layer of fudge-coloured cream, a slightly thinner layer of a much darker caramel sauce (13%), all encased in a chocolate shell (35%).

The bars emitted a sweet chocolate scent through which a slight hint of caramel also made itself known. The latter was much more apparent in the taste. For starters, whilst not as moist as the Milky Way: Cake bars, the sponge had an added brown sugar element. The silky smooth cream then provided a lovely, deep caramel flavour, and the sauce was even richer. Combined, there was almost a smokiness to the experience.

There’s no pretending that these bars were like an actual sticky toffee pudding, but I didn’t expect them to be! Instead, like their name suggested, they had simply been inspired by the dessert. They were much lighter and had a gentler flavour, but they also added something positively different to the cake bar market. The best thing for me, though, was the fantastic way the toffee sauce oozed out as I took each bite of the treat...fabulous. 

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.88/10

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 Cupcakes: Salted caramel

Product name: Tesco Cupcakes: Salted caramel
Purchase details: £1.40 for a pack of two cupcakes or three for two (Tesco)
Calories: 297 per cupcake
Country of origin: UK

When I bought my Tesco Peanut Butter Style Cupcakes on a three for two offer, it took me ages to decide what other sweet treats to get! I’m aware that salted caramel products seem to be everywhere at the moment but, in the end, this was one of the other new cupcake varieties I plumped for.

Once again, the cakes came in a simple but well-designed clear box. The cardboard sleeve was caramel-coloured to add to the ‘caramel flavoured sponge with salted caramel sauce and rich caramel frosting’. I must admit that I found the prospect of a caramel sponge particularly exciting!

 

The golden sponges looked incredibly moist and were filled with a deep shade of amber sauce which, despite only contributing to 1.5% of each cake, seemed plentiful. The swirled frosting was a fudgy colour, accounted for another 43% of the product, and was finished off with a mini puddle of more salted caramel sauce and a small ‘chocolate decoration’.

Despite being subtle, the cupcakes emitted a lovely scent that was like treacle sponge. I tried some of the sauce first and found this to have a deep and surprisingly creamy, brown sugary taste, with the salt coming through at the end – I was definitely grateful that the latter wasn’t too strong. The frosting had a great buttercream taste but felt a bit more grown-up due to the inclusion of the caramel. In the meantime, the incredibly soft sponge provided a sweet flavour with a subtle caramel hint, making the chocolate curls taste particularly dark in comparison (although these weren't that noticeable).

Possibly because I’m used to salted caramel being paired with chocolate, I expected these Tesco Cupcakes: Salted caramel to be quite intense. However, they were sweeter and less salty than I’d prepared myself for...and absolutely beautiful. I’m a fan of basic shop-bought birthday cakes (the ones consisting of plain sponge, jam and buttercream) and these cupcakes were like that but with deeper flavours and a much moister texture. They were also a lot more sophisticated!

I certainly wasn’t disappointed with this choice. 

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 9.5/10
Overall score: 8.38/10

The Custom Cupcake Company Chocolate Decadence Cupcake (white chocolate)

Product name: The Custom Cupcake Company Chocolate Decadence Cupcake (white chocolate)
Purchase details: £2.00 for one cupcake (The Custom Cupcake Company)
Country of origin: England 

I think The Custom Cupcake Company has become my guilty pleasure – as soon as I have a non-diet day, I’m there!

Two of the apparently staple varieties that have been available on all my visits so far are the Chocolate Decadence Cupcakes that come in both milk and white chocolate. Since I’m a white chocolate fiend, I thought I’d opt for the latter on this occasion.

This cake was quite simply decorated but still looked beautiful. The yellow sponge was topped with a thick, swirled cream-coloured frosting and finished with three giant white chocolate buttons, a drizzle of melted white chocolate, and a sprinkling of edible glitter. The girl in the shop had told me that the treat was filled with a white chocolate ganache and this pale filling flowed almost seamlessly into the frosting.

As much as I love white chocolate, I often find that when it’s used in other things, its own flavour gets lost. However, on opening the carry box, I was surprised to be greeted by a white chocolatey scent. Having actually bought the cake two days in advance, I was also delighted to discover that the sponge wasn’t dry, and its sweet and creamy taste led me to believe that white chocolate had actually been incorporated into the mixture.

The generous frosting had a slightly crispy outer layer which gave way to a soft, grainy depth. As I’ve found previously, it was very sweet but, combined with the mellower elements of the Cupcake, I didn’t find this as extreme as the Berries & Cream Cupcake. The frosting and inner ganache also provided a lovely moisture, with the latter tasting gorgeously of white chocolate and having a fantastic smooth and partly solidified texture.

I’d definitely say that this was another treat for the sweet-toothed but the inner creaminess did offset this. As I’ve said, the subtle white chocolate flavour can be hard to pull off, and the sugary frosting did take away from this at times, but the desired taste was never completely lost and I think the addition of the fantastically sweet, creamy and chunky buttons played a part in this.

If I were to suggest an improvement, it would be to make the ganache a bigger feature – it was so delicious that it was a shame there wasn’t more of it! However, there is no denying that this was an indulgent treat exactly as it was.

I can’t wait for my next visit!

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.75/10