Marks & Spencer Best of British Baking: Toffee fudge & Belgian chocolate hot cross buns

Product name: Marks & Spencer Best of British Baking: Toffee fudge & Belgian chocolate hot cross buns
Purchase details: Two packs of four buns for £2.50 (Marks & Spencer Simply Food)
Calories: 207 per 68g bun
Country of origin: UK 

I’ve been wanting to try a more exciting hot cross bun for a while but I’m from a more traditional family who just don’t do things like that at Easter. Imagine my delight, then, when I found this packet of new Marks & Spencer Best of British Baking: Toffee fudge & Belgian chocolate hot cross buns in the freezer! I know these were purchased on a multibuy offer but, since I didn’t get them myself, I don’t know how much they would have cost for a single pack. 

These hot cross buns contained 8% ‘dark Belgian chocolate chips’ and 17% fudge and toffee pieces. They were presented on a cardboard tray in a simple clear plastic wrapper which allowed their standard appearance to be viewed clearly. Whilst these looked like ordinary hot cross buns, though, the dark bits were the chocolate chips rather than raisins. The buns’ outer appearance was mid-brown with a sticky-looking gloss and, inside, they were like brown bread rolls that had been flecked with chocolate.

The buns were sticky and moist to the touch and had a cinnamon cake scent that was strengthened when heated. There weren’t actually any serving instructions on the packaging and, whilst I enjoy microwaved hot cross buns, I know a lot of people toast them, so I decided to try them both ways. I also wasn’t sure whether or not to add butter (they already contained 2% unsalted butter and I expected the chocolate and fudge to be luxurious enough!) so I had each bun ‘half and half’. (This additional butter obviously wasn’t included in the above calorie count but I wasn’t worried about that on this occasion!)

I found it difficult to fit a bun’s halves into my toaster but their doughy texture did mean I could squish them in – they did get a bit stuck when I tried to remove them again though! I toasted them on the second lowest setting which resulted in a slightly burnt chocolate smell and, I thought, a hint of sweet raisins. However, I think this may have been my brain making a connection with the presence of cinnamon. The chocolate pieces looked a little burnt rather than melted but I could see where the toffee and fudge pieces had become molten.

The plain toasted half bun had remained surprisingly doughy and moist but had an added crisp too. Its flavour was familiar and not dissimilar to standard hot cross buns but there was an extra sweetness that was more like brioche. I definitely could have eaten a whole bun like this but I just had to go the whole hog in the name of research! The only downside was that I didn’t find either the chocolate or toffee fudge flavours were very noticeable as distinct elements.

On spreading the other half of the toasted bun with unsalted butter, its surface felt a little crispy, like actual toast. The butter melted in quickly and, understandably, added an extra level of flavour to the bun. However, this seemed to go beyond the butter itself, and actually brought the dark chocolate’s flavour out a little more – possible due to providing a greater contrast for the slight bitterness.

I microwaved my other bun on full power for 20 seconds. This made the chocolate look a lot more melted than burnt (you can see the mess it made on the plate!) and the dough just tore apart. This texture was just as enjoyable in the mouth – it was so soft and doughy that it stuck to the roof of the mouth beautifully. I still didn’t find the toffee fudge’s presence to be obvious but I did find the chocolate’s flavour more noticeable in this format. The bun was very sweet but this chocolate added a welcome undertone.

The butter melted in even more quickly on the microwaved bun and this was my favourite method of consumption. The texture was truly incredible. It was the same as the plain microwaved half, really, but it was just that little bit more special due to the butter making it slightly more dense. The chocolate’s flavour remained relatively subtle but it did add an enjoyable warmth too.

One thing I really don’t like about standard hot cross buns is the presence of mixed peel so the absence of this in these buns was an added bonus. Aside from that, these hot cross buns were very pleasant in their own right. The flavours weren’t as powerful as I’d expected (particularly the toffee and fudge pieces) but the separate elements presumably added to the overall warming sweetness on offer.

I probably enjoyed these more than normal hot cross buns but I know this was down to personal preference (more so than normal). My Dad also tried one of these buns and didn’t really enjoy it at all. He felt it lacked the spicier flavours that are present in the traditional version and, since this variety did taste very similar to brioche, he felt he may as well have been eating one of those instead. However, I would argue that the superb texture provided by these buns made them superior to brioche!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 10/10
Overall score: 8.13/10

McVitie's Galaxy: Slices (cookie crumble)

Product name: McVitie’s Galaxy: Slices (cookie crumble)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of six slices (tesco.com)
Calories: 150 per slice
Country of origin: UK

I recently spotted these McVitie’s Galaxy: Slices (cookie crumble) online and I just had to give them a go as Galaxy is my favourite chocolate. I’d not seen or heard of these before and the image on the website had the word ‘new’ on the packaging. However, this pack didn’t, so I don’t know if these have been around for a while or not!

These individually wrapped slices were baked for Mars UK and came in a packet that featured the usual Galaxy branding with purple features. It contained mouth-watering photographs of moist-looking biscuit bases topped with a smooth and thick milk chocolate topping. 

Pleasingly, the reality was exactly the same – always a bonus! The deep brown ‘crumbly cookie base’ looked a bit like tiffin, and I couldn’t help but agree with the description of ‘a generous layer of Galaxy milk chocolate’. It contributed to 23% of each 27.5g bar, in fact!

I’ve had the Galaxy Cookie Crumble chocolate bar before but I was interested to see how the combination worked with the biscuit being the dominant feature (46% of the product was simply ‘crushed cookies’). 

The slices had a really buttery scent with a hint of creamy Galaxy, and the texture was soft with a crunchy resistance. There was a lovely sweet and syrupy biscuit taste which mixed well with the cooling chocolate. I was particularly pleased that the creaminess of Galaxy’s unique flavour, whilst not overpowering, was still very noticeable.

I thoroughly enjoyed these McVitie’s Galaxy: Slices (cookie crumble) – much more so than similar products I’ve tried!

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

Shaken Udder Banana!

Product name: Shaken Udder Banana!
Purchase details: £0.39 for a 200ml carton or three for £1.00 (Home Bargains)
Calories: 136 per carton
Country of origin: England 

Tonight’s review is my last of the Shaken Udder range designed for kids: Banana!

The concept and health claims of this product were the same as the Chocolate! and Strawberry! versions, and it came in a bright yellow carton.

The drink was made from ‘real banana’ and contained 94% semi-skimmed milk and 1% banana puree. The liquid pretty much looked like standard milk but it did have a very, very slight yellow tinge to it, and I noticed that it had been coloured by pumpkin and apple concentrates. Unusually, I found the scent of the milk itself to be stronger than the banana, but there was still a slight aroma of the latter present too.

As always, I chilled and shook the carton before opening. The milkshake still wasn’t quite as thick as I’d like but it did have a lovely creamy smooth texture. I somehow managed to lose the straw from my carton so I was unable to try drinking it in this way but, presumably, this would have made it feel a little thicker.

The banana flavour was noticeable but quite subtle – it tasted sweet and almost vanilla-like. I did think there was a slightly artificial element to the taste, too, but this was almost not worth mentioning compared to many other milkshakes I’ve had in my time.

What I enjoyed most about this Shaken Udder Banana! drink was just how refreshing it was. It was obviously more of a treat than a standard glass of milk but it didn’t provide the heaviness or sickliness that so many other flavoured milks and shakes do. As a result, this will be my variety of choice in future.

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

Fox's Crunch Creams: Key lime pie

Product name: Fox’s Crunch Creams: Key lime pie
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 168g pack or two for £1.00 (Poundworld)
Calories: 78 per biscuit
Country of origin: UK

I was really excited when I first heard about Vinnie’s Tastes of America range of Fox’s biscuits. I bought all of the varieties a few months ago but it’s only now that I’ve got around to opening a pack!

I’ve never had a key lime pie before but I’ve always wanted to try it so I figured I’d start with a biscuit version instead. Described as ‘oat biscuits sandwiched with a key lime flavour cream’, they came in a wrapper that featured an American flag and pictures of the biscuits. There was also an image of Vinnie the panda from the advertising campaign but this actually put me off slightly as I don’t like to look at or think about animals when I’m eating. It may not have been a real panda but he just didn’t look very hygienic – sorry Vinnie!

 

Although I’d not tried these biscuits before, I had actually seen them at a meeting in work. I was quite amused at the time because a lot of people were reluctant to try them because of the pale green appearance of the cream filling. Once I’d told them that I thought they were this specific brand, people were more willing to give them a go, and they did go down well. I admit that, for the simple reason that it was just such an unusual colour to associate with a biscuit, the green shade was a little distracting, but it certainly wasn’t ugly, and I loved the golden appearance of the fat, oat-flecked biscuits themselves.

On opening the pack, I found that the lime scent floated towards my nose, reminding me of Starburst. The aroma was sweet and tangy and, whilst pleasant, wasn’t really what I like my biscuits to smell like!

The biscuits contained 3% rolled oats and were very crunchy with a slight chewiness thrown in – they were very much like ginger nuts in texture. In comparison, the cream was soft and a little grainy, providing a cheesecake-like tang. This lime filling had quite a mellow sweetness to it but also had a citrus kick. The buttery biscuit flavour went really well with the tangy centre and there were times where the combination really did make it feel like I was eating a biscuit-based pie. The only down-side was, when dunked in tea, the outer biscuit went soft whilst the middle was a little chewy, so the resulting stale effect wasn’t wonderful. Straight out of the packet, though, these were a lovely change!

I really enjoyed these Fox’s Crunch Creams: Key lime pie. I won’t pretend they’d be my flavour of choice, generally speaking, as I tend to opt for more sweetness and less tang, but I would definitely buy these again.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.38/10