31 July 2015

New Limited Edition BBQ Smokehouse Burger (McDonalds) [By @Cinabar]



I saw from an email McDonalds sent that they had a new summer special burger, so we made an excuse to go at lunch time. The new burger is called the BBQ Smokehouse. To be honest with the weather the way it is, it is at least a dry way to experience the barbecue flavour this year! :-D


The burger consists of a beef patty, salad, onions, cheese, maple smoked bacon and a good dollop of barbecue sauce. When I opened up the card container, I smiled as the bread is also very pretty. It is served in ciabatta but it was soft, easy to eat, rather than a firm version. They can be quite hard if you have ciabatta in restaurants.
I was impressed by how much fresh salad ingredients there were, and that the burger seemed quite large too. As someone who loves different textures, the crisp salad and crunchy onions were a lovely touch in this, but the highlight was the sauce. The flavour was sweet and smoky, and made this feel a bit different. Spectre’s favourite part was the maple smoked bacon. I think he’d happily have bacon as an addition to any burger. I have to admit the ‘maple’ smoked nature of the bacon is hard to pick up, but as smoky bacon goes is works really well. It was an excellent addition to the flavour set. The burger itself was moist and had a good rich beef flavour, and the cheese was nice too, it tasted like a proper cheddar and not indiscriminate burger cheese you sometimes get.
If you like barbecue sauce and bacon I would recommend giving this a try. You will need to catch it while you can though, as it is Limited Edition, and as such only available until 1st September 15.
By Cinabar

30 July 2015

Pepsi Sin Cafeina - Spain (by @NLi10)


Here in the UK we have all manor of diet varieties of drinks, but very few that are varieties that change other aspects. Tab Clear was a great thing - a transparent cola of sorts and didn't have the unnecessary colours. We also lack zero caffeine options, so most of us who are a bit wary gravitate towards the lemonade stand and the fruit juices. 

In Spain I spotted that they did Pepsi without caffeine (Sin Cafiena) and we needed drinks for the hotel so I picked up a 2l bottle - but took a picture of the prettier gold cans.

I was surprised by how similar this tasted to regular UK Pepsi and was really pleased with it. I know that these cola drinks are bad for me and that I'd be better off with a bottle of water, but sometimes on holiday it's nice to be a bit bad and try these things.

If you are used to the lack of buzz from decaf tea then you'll be fine with this, and it seems a suitable alternative to the full caff Pepsi. I didn't try the no sugar no caff version as I'm not familiar enough with the diet Pepsi to tell.

29 July 2015

New Cheetos Twisted Flamin' Hot flavour (Post Office) [By @SpectreUK]


The last time I tried Cheetos was a packet sent by a friend who was living in China at the time. They were cheese puffs with a pork and cheese flavour from being cooked in pork enzymes. Not vegetarian friendly, but I remember they tasted good to me. Now Cheetos have brought out Twisted Flamin' Hot flavour in the UK and these are vegetarian friendly. You can see by the photograph that they are quite large twisted puffs, and rather an angry red hot colour. In fact I said to Cinabar "didn't I try some twisted crisps a while ago?" She agreed but said that they were Smiths. I checked the blog and noticed that the ingredients were exactly the same. I also noticed that they were made at the Walkers / Smiths plant in Leicester. The crisps had the same spicy tomato flavour and the same texture. Very nice though, but still a bit cheeky! ;-)


Information on the packet;
30g packet with 160 calories, 9g of fat and 1.2g of sugar. Ingredients included; maize, rapeseed oil, Flamin' Hot flavour, soya sauce powder, wheat, sugar, monosodium glutamate, disodium 5' - ribonucleotides, fructose, salt, dried onion, hydrolysed soya protein, dried garlic, and colour paprika extract.

28 July 2015

The Licktators - Cinnamon Doughnut Ice Cream (Ocado) [By @Cinabar]


Recently I tried the Marshmallow flavour of the new ice-cream range from The Licktators, as I was interested to try out a new brand. I wasn’t actually much of a fan of the marshmallow flavour, they had made it taste “toasted” and it came across as a bit burnt. I thought that perhaps that was just a misunderstanding about the nature of the flavour and that I would like to give the brand another try. Browsing on the Ocado website I spotted that one of the other flavours was Cinnamon Doughnut, as cinnamon is a favourite spice of mine I knew which flavour I was going for next.
When it arrived it was in a similarly funky tub, it suggested leaving out of the freezer for five minutes before serving. I did this and it was fairly easy to scoop. I could see the ice cram was swirled with cinnamon but it was mostly lightly coloured.


There were nice spongey bits of doughnut mixed in too, they added a nice change of texture, but weren’t quite as plentiful as I had hoped. Flavour wise the ice cream was nice, I quite liked it. The taste was varied, in that it depended on how much sauce you got on each spoon. Sometimes it would be sweet from the ice cream, other times slightly tart. This strange tartness was what lingered a little, and I could quite put my finger on what had been added to give it this. To me the flavour should have been warm, spicy and reminiscent of those sugary topped cinnamon doughnuts and it didn't seem to quite match up to me.
The trouble is although I liked the ice cream I should have loved it. Cinnamon is my thing, and yet this rated merely in the nice pot, not the wow section. Perhaps if I had had it as an accompaniment rather than the centre piece I would have been more forgiving. I tried it straight, in a bowl on its own. Maybe it is better suited to being a melting scoop on hot apple pie?
By Cinabar

27 July 2015

Cosford Food Festival 2015 - My Haul #cosfordfoodfestival [By @Cinabar]


I’ve found as I’ve been blogging about food that London is the place to be. Unfortunately we are based in the Midlands and so rarely get to go to many of the events or product launches going on in the city. When I noticed that there was food festival happening just down the road to us, I knew we had to investigate. Although I missed it last year, this year it stated that there were over 70 stalls, with live music and demonstrations. The setting is at RAF Cosford Museum which is free and holds an impressive number of exhibits ranging from aeroplanes to a Cold War display.
Tickets for the Food Festival within the grounds were £5 per adult, which isn’t too bad given the selection. It was via a wrist band so you could dip in and out all day, if you wanted to break it up look at the planes. We went on the Saturday which was pleasantly dry, and in retrospect the better choice that the Sunday which turned out to be quite wet. I’m sure they kept their spirits up with all the lovely food on offer.
We had a good wander about and bought some fab artisan food products.
My purchases:


A fab soft and moist Olive Bread from Swifts Bakery


A slice of Pistachio Nougat from Toot Sweets Chocolates


Gourmet Sausage Rolls in Barbecue and Piri Piri from Coopers Sausage Rolls


Ginger Spice Cheese from the Snowdonia Cheese Company


Black pudding Scotch Eggs from Apley Farmshop


And a huge tub of olives and bag of Turkish Delight from a company whose name I didn’t catch :-(

Spectre’s purchases seemed altogether more liquidy…


He was very pleased with his stash and meeting all the different store holders.

Cosford Food Festival had an excellent mix of stands, with everything for the beer lover through to those with an adventure for something a bit different. We are all really looking forward to going again next year, as it was a day out in foodie heaven.
By Cinabar

26 July 2015

Jarritos - Tamarind Flavour (by @NLi10)

While in San Sebastian, Spain we found a little Vegan take-away place (via leaflets in our hotel) that did all kinds of delights.  They also had a wide range of Mexican soft drinks that I'd not seen before.  While it contained one of my favourite flavours (mandarin) there was one I'd not seen before - tamarind.  Keen foodies will know that this odd little veggie is one of the reasons that Thai food is so tangy, and as it was such a rare sight I had to go for that.


Garrottes seems to be a Mexican brand and is proud that it's 100% sugar which is culturally up-side-down to the UK where drinks are proud to have no added sugar, or be all sweetener.  My guess is this is to avoid corn-syrups and poor quality artificial substitutes.


The bottle looks good, and it goes well with the little out-door shelf that we ate on.


It's even old-shool enough that you get a refund for the bottle if you take it back to Mexico.  With no caffeine and no brominated vegetable oil (what even is this!!) we are in for a treat.

The flavour is sweeter than I expected, but still has a kind of angular taste that isn't like a UK soft-drink which I thought the tamarind may bring.  There is a hint of sourness and a tangy flavour, which is quite refreshing, and its not unlike the less fizzy end of the pop aisle. Like I guess a tamarind version of Tango Apple I guess, but this was quite nice and easy to finish.

I think for reference I should have picked up a few to go too (other flavours naturally) but I'm sure I'll be back in latin territories soon enough to try more of these.


I did mean to take a picture of the Burrito I had, but as a parade with two of these dancing and twirling went past as I was eating I got a little distracted and didn't remember to!


25 July 2015

Encona Chilli Sauces (@EnconaOfficial) [By @SpectreUK]


I've tried an Encona chilli sauce before and it was hot. Not hot in the sense of "Oh, that's spicy!" Not hot in the sense of "My nose is starting to sweat!" This was hot enough to bring the fire extinguisher. It put a benchmark line firmly in the sand of hot sauces that I haven't dared cross since. I know I'm a wuss, but I know what I like and medium to hot spicy chilli sauces remain in play. So when Cinabar said she had a couple of Encona chilli sauces for me to blog about I admit I winced a little. "Don't worry, they're only quite mild to medium" she said...


Peruvian Amarillo Chilli Sauce

Amarillo is the fourteenth most populous city in the state of Texas (okay, so I just looked it up on Wikipedia). It's also the city named in the Tony Christie song which drove everyone crazy about ten years ago. There's nothing wrong with the song in my humble opinion, it's just once you've heard it you can't get it out of your head (although now I'm being assaulted by Kylie Monogue, although the chance would be a fine thing...). Having said all that this sauce is made from Peruvian Amarillo Chillies. The front label of the sauce bottle states "medium" chilli heat and the sauce is a mellow yellow colour with specks of chilli bobbing around expectantly. I can't quite remember what the last Encona sauce bottle's label stated. I don't think it said "red hot chilli death!" on it, but that's what happened. It was then that I noticed the Encona slogan of "Taste explorers", who I can only assume melted into goop on tasting the last sauce I had and ended up as compost for growing more "doom chillies". "Perfect for dipping" was underneath, which could be akin to poking an angry rattlesnake with a stick. So I decided to have this sauce with chips for that dipping experience. Although my tongue was preparing for a walk on hot coals. On opening this sauce there was a fiery sweetness smell from the yellow concoction. On dipping in my initial chip my first reaction was "Yowsers!" I think this sauce is possibly more than "medium" as the banana coloured sauce burnt through the top of my mouth. It had an almost fruity chilli taste with a sweetness, a hint of onion and it was very tasty indeed. A little hotter than I'm used to and it made my nose start to run, but I like it and I'll definitely savour this bottle.


Mexican Smokey Jalapeño Sauce

I do love Jalapeños. I have them pickled on sandwiches of most kinds (asides banana sandwiches, as I'm not pregnant although you would think it from the belly!). I like them on pizzas and salads also, or just eating plain with nachos. It stated "mild" on the label, which made me wonder a little as jalapeños can often be quite mild in chilli heat, but sometimes can catch me off guard like the "pink death coleslaw" I favour around this time of year. And so from this sauce I'm expecting smokiness, possibly sweetness as many barbecue sauces have that tangy sweetness, and I'm expecting a "mild" chilli burn. Let's see... On dipping in my first chip my first reaction was "Wow!". This sauce is so tasty! Overloaded with smokiness and there was the sweetness following. There is light fire from the jalapeño, but the "mild" marker is trueish here, maybe bordering on medium. Very good, very tasty... And yes perfect for dipping chips, as well as Mexican dishes and fajitas, but also smother your chicken strips, buffalo wings and pork ribs with this sauce. It tastes so good!
By Spectre

24 July 2015

Walkers Sensations Gently Infused Lime With Thai Spices (Sainsburys) [By @Cinabar]



These new crisps from Walkers weren’t necessarily going to be a blog post. Although they said “New Addition” on the bag I thought I’d had them before, or something very similar, and just thought we’d nibble them with some sandwiches one lunch time. Lime and Thai sounded like a nice combination and the Walkers Sensations range and their grab bags are always a big hit.
We shared some out, and the crisps looked nicely seasoned and covered in green specks.
Once I took the first taste there was no doubting these were a bit different. The bag states Gently Infused Lime, well I’d hate to see what strong lime is like because these are very tangy! The first taste to hit you is the sharpness of the lime, which is tart and strange at such a strong level on a crisp. Its fresh and zingy, but you then get a nice hint of the Thai seasoning. The aftertaste is back to that lime, it is the most dominant taste.
The first crisp I ate I wasn’t sure about. It is such a different flavour, and it was unexpected. As I munched on them my palette seemed to adjust and accept this new combination and I became converted. Worth trying as they are so different but the problem with them being in a large sharing bag is that they might be a difficult flavour to share out in a group. I can picture these being a bit hit and miss.
By Cinabar

23 July 2015

Triskys - savoury rice crisps - Spain [by @NLi10]

Sometimes you worry what you are going to get when you buy snacks abroad - but this assured me that it was !Los Auténticos! So my mind was put at ease.


I picked these up for cinema snacks in Spain and took them to see Jurassic World in Spanish. My Spanish is good enough to understand screams and dinosaur names so it was fine.

I did notice that these were gluten free and rice based, but that didn't really influence my decision. These, it turns out, are rather like a savoury breakfast cereal. Let that sink in for a moment - salty chereos, umami cornflakes - it's both disturbing and intriguing at the same time right?

The first few, I wasn't that keen on. I'd just been drinking something quite sweet and the juxtaposition didn't really sit that well. The automatic lizard part of my brain just kept on eating anyway and I was soon rather enjoying them.

The texture is much rougher than hula-hoops, and the crunch a little less because of this, but I'd still rate these as a genuine option. I didn't get to go back and see if there were multiple flavour options (salt and vinegar hopefully) but I'm fairly confident that they wouldn't have let me down.

Another nice supermarket find!

22 July 2015

U. Loveit Instant Tea with Tapioca Pearl (Vanguard Supermarket) [By @SpectreUK]





I wasn't sure of the name of this instant tea with Tapioca Pearl, but from the sugar content I quickly figured it could be the sweetest cup of tea I've ever had. When I pealed off the plastic cover from the cardboard cup and its plastic top I was pretty bemused by the contents (see photograph). The directions pretty much stated dump everything in the cup and add boiling water. A rather helpful warning on the directions mentioned; "contents hot after boiling water." It then went on to say; "When drinking, beware of hot beverage and avoid choking on Tapioca Pearl. Children under 4 and elderly should be under supervision when eating this product." This seemed like a pretty dangerous drink, especially to a sleepyhead who'd just woken up in a hotel room for his first hot drink of the day. Opening the packet's contents I noticed that the Tapioca Pearls were like hardened black peas (see photograph). They didn't look particularly appetising. There was quite a lot of the whitish instant tea powder, but that stirred in well. I suspected that the Tapioca Pearl were languishing somewhere near the bottom of the cup. Part of me regretted even putting them in. At least I had Cinabar close by to supervise me, although I'm not under 4 years old, but I am very close to being 40 (at the time of writing last week... Now 40) and the other students at university were always quick to remind me that is ancient! Although not particularly tasting of traditional tea, this hot drink was sweet (very sweet... VERY) and tasted more of full cream milk powder and sugar, with the mildest hint of black tea. The dried Tapioca Pearls had all sunk to the bottom of the cup but had become squidgy in the hot liquid and were difficult to chew. This drink was like drinking a super sweet hot cream filled with rubber balls. Cinnabar kept telling it was called bubble tea. I'd prefer the name bouncy ball tea. Not for me I'm afraid, I'm sweet enough!


Information on the cup;
Net weight 70g, with water 200g. 437 calories with 12g of fat and 54.3g of sugar.
By Spectre

21 July 2015

New Limited Edition Snickers & Hazelnut [UK Bar] (Post Office) [By @Cinabar]



I spotted this Limited Edition Snickers and Hazelnut bar in our post office, which is not a place I normally associate with Foodstuff Finds, but I always have my eyes open just in case. It is nice to see a new Snickers edition that is actually a bit different with a new component, Snickers and Hazelnut. We seem to have had a few new bars where they have had just “more choc” or “more nuts” and not really played about with the ingredients too much. I accept changing the type of nut might not seem revolutionary, but it was enough to gain my interest as I do like my nuts and chocolate.
I cut the bar open and took a look inside, I had to admit it did look quite similar to the regular peanut edition snickers. The soft nougat was present and there was plenty of caramel too. I couldn’t tell there was a difference in the nuts based just on appearance.
Taste wise the change of nuts was clearly noticeable. The hazelnut has a stronger more wholesome taste, which was a good addition to the bar. There was still a slight hint of saltiness, which gave it that authentic Snickers like flavour. Obviously the carmael and nougat remained unchanged.
All in all I like this version of the Snickers bar a lot, I do love peanuts, but hazelnuts are a favourite too. If you combine them with the nougat and caramel you get a slightly posher version of a Snickers, that gets the thumbs up from me.
By Cinabar

20 July 2015

New Limited Edition Banana Tic Tac Minions (Superdrug) [By @Cinabar]


I was picking up a couple of summer essentials in Superdrug and my eye was drawn to the shelves in the queue line which were attempting to up sell me various goodies. As you can imagine this works quite often with me, and I found my hand reaching over to pick up these New Banana Tic Tacs, in their fancy Minions themed pack.
When I got to the till the cashier caught me looking at the large pack and also had a look "Weird flavour for Tic Tacs, will have to pick up a pack to try for myself" she said, but I agreed with her sentiment, it is an unusual flavour.
The Tic Tacs are bright yellow in colour and come in large packs at 49g. I poured some out and gave one a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavour. It wasn't sickly sweet and artificial as I had feared, it was well balanced and flavoursome. There was a slightly warming hint of something in the aftertaste, which was also really nice. These are very easy to eat sweets, with a good real flavour.
I think they have done the very best they can incorporating the flavour of banana into a sweet and not veered off in the direction of artificial banana foam sweets. These are a pleasant, mild and easy going. I like them for their novelty, the flavour is good and the Minions pack has a nice design, but I still favour the more refreshing flavours.
By Cinabar

19 July 2015

Phoskitos Original - Spain [by @NLi10]

There is clearly only one reason to travel to hot, sunny countries - exploring their supermarkets! While I could read other people's accounts of this, it seems much smarter to hide and do my own research - especially when they usually have great air conditioning.

I picked these up in Spain last week.


A great cartoon box, a familiar product with a twist, and a free toy!


As the box explains - it's basically a slice of Swiss roll covered in chocolate. Here in the UK we have mini rolls which are a full Swiss roll, but on a smaller scale. These sliced ones seem more popular elsewhere.


They come individually wrapped to help with the transport and sharing side of things.


And they look pretty much like the ones on the box - which is increasingly rare these days. The flavour is less sweet and creamy than the UK versions, and the sponge doesn't actually taste of much. It was a welcome snack though and I had enough for four days.

Traveller tip: don't throw the box away - these squashed really easily in the backpack... Whoops.




These did seem a little overpriced, but the reason every child will turn their pester power up to 11 is the toy. This was almost pound shop quality and actually both worked and looked like I expected. Collectors will want this kind of thing. I'll probably give it to a child.

Well worth a wander into the other aisles of the supermarket when you are next abroad - they aren't just for bottles of water and cheap multipacks of ices!




18 July 2015

New Guinness Golden Ale (Sainsbury's) [By @SpectreUK]


This rich golden almost amber ale was brewed as part of the Brewer's Project at St. James's Gate in Dublin, Ireland. They are on a quest at Guinness to investigate new and old recipes. This Guinness Golden Ale was brewed with Irish Barley and a selection of hops and Amber malt. I decided to drink it on my last night on holiday in Brighton this week. Though bereft of my beer mug at home I was left with the pathetic mouth washing glass from the ensuite (see photograph). Still we'd had a good time in Brighton. We walked up the remaining pier, (rather than swam up to the burnt down one) and then Cinabar had a Crepe and we walked back again. For pudding we had 99 ice creams for £2.95, and then Cinabar was mugged by a seagull which landed on her head and nicked her flake! Having said that the Sealife Centre is a must see, Volks Electric Railway was a jolly jaunt, and The Pavillion was beautiful inside and out (albeit a bit nuts). Oh, and I beat Cinabar at Crazy Golf! Lewes Castle and Pevensey Castle were both great to look around, and we had a lovely boat trip around Eastbourne Harbour.
Anyway, I digress... This 4.5% golden ale had a heavy maltiness with a light bitter fruity flavour from the hops, which was mixed well with the malted Irish Barley to produce an almost biscuity flavour throughout. I'd certainly agree with the label where it states that this Guinness Golden Ale has a "refreshingly crisp finish". This is definitely an ale to savour and worked perfectly well whilst I lazily people-watched from the seaview hotel window as sailboats bobbed on a calm sea and folk of all shapes and sizes enjoyed the gravelly beach. Tomorrow we go to Bovington Tank Museum. Te he... That should be a blast!
By Spectre

17 July 2015

Walkers Sensations Crispy Thins - Thai Sweet Chilli. (Sainsburys) [By @cinabar]


The Sensations range seems to have been very popular for Walkers and they are expanding it by introducing these new baked snacks; Crispy Thins made with a mix of wheat and potato. They have been launched in three new flavours Mexican Fiery Sweet Chipotle, Caramelised Onion and Balsamic Vinegar and the variety we are taste testing today Thai Sweet Chilli.


The bag is a bit of an awkward size to share, although it is 100g there isn't enough to share around a group of people like you would expect from a big grab bag, but there are too many for one person. The bag says serves 3 - 4 people, but a quarter of the bag would be a very light portion. We poured them out anyway. A lot of the baked crackers were broken into bits, but a fair few remained square. They are quite fragile, and do break easily in the mouth. I liked the texture, they were surprisingly similar to crisps but did feel a bit more substantial.
The flavour was very good. The Thai Sweet Chilli Crispy Thins had a very full on taste. There was a sweetness to them, and some lovely seasoning, which was very Thai in its feel. As you munched the chilli kind of sneaks up on you and before you realise it your mouth is getting a nice warm tingle and buzz. They are hotter than expected, and did remind of that lovely sticky red sauce you sometimes get with Thai fish cakes. I'm really looking forward to trying the other varieties, and I can see these being a popular addition to the Walkers range.
By Cinabar

16 July 2015

Nestle Gold - Euro Ices (by @NLi10)

We were in Spain last week, and I spotted that nestle has a range of 2 Euro ice creams that we don't get in the UK. As it was rather hot I decided to give them a whirl.


First up we have this immitation Cornetto with both chocolate and fruits of the forest. The jam goes all the way down!


Like the older style cornettos the packaging protects the top and you get something that actually looks like the picture. This was a really nice treat and certainly something to seek out. The ridged swirls of chocolate at the top were a highlight.

There are other flavours in the range to try too!


Also in the range are some immitation Magnums. This one is a white cheesecake and has fruity bits and crispy bits. Possibly not as unique as the first one, but a great flavour and certainly one I'd choose again.

Of course - when on holiday the smarter way to pick up ices is to duck into the local supermarket and buy a box of a few for the price of one from a stall. We all wanted different things though so didn't do that this time. Plus in the 36 degree heat you can't get far with ice creams without them melting!

15 July 2015

Cornae (Pinoy Foods, Birmingham Indoor Market) [By @SpectreUK]


I have to admit I had no idea what these Cornae were when I picked them up in one of my favourite import shops. I did see the phrase "American corn snack" on the front of the packet and instantly thought "how bad can they be?" Well I popped the open the packet today after a certain amount of avoidance and thought the little corn cones were quite smart, so I took a photograph. They have a decent crunch and mainly taste of soy with a hint of paprika. They are moreish, as I just couldn't stop eating them and they didn't distract from the rest of my lunch. The bag was pretty big too so they'd be good in front of a film with a decent fizzy beer or two. This goes to show that an adventurous side to snacking can pay off, so I'd recommend giving import shops a try. Pick up something you fancy, like these Cornae, and I reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Information on the packet;
56g bag with 160 calories, 10g of day and 1g of sugar. Ingredients included; corn starch, palm oil, seasoning, sugar, iodised salt, containing wheat, gluten, soy beans, and milk products.

14 July 2015

New Limited Edition Cocktail Fancies (@MrKiplingCakes Sainsburys) [By @Cinabar]


Yesterdays review was cocktail themed, and quite coincidentally so is tonights. It must be one of the new summer trends? If you have seen a cocktail themed product on the shelves do let me know. I’ll have to keep any eye out.
Now these Fondant Fancies actually impressed me. Firstly there has been many “limited edition” fondant fancies over the years, usually notable for not being that exciting. Usually unflavoured, but with the theming being limited to the colour of the icing. Green ones at Halloween called Frankenstein Fancies but actually just being the usual vanilla in flavour. These new ones though introduce three new varieties, and are smartly packaged in a posh black box. A proper change from Mr Kipling.


The three new varieties are:

Peach Bellini Cocktail Fancies
I had to google the name sake of this Fancy, and its cocktail recipe is apparently peach nectar mixed with champagne or sparkling wine. The flavour of the Fondant Fancy was mild, but there was a distinctive hint of peach, and pleasing wine aftertaste. It was easy going and delicate in taste, with the vanilla it reminded me of peaches and cream.

Pina Colada Cocktail Fancies
I know which flavours should be present in this cocktail and both coconut and pineapple where there in ample amounts. The dominant flavour is the juicy pineapple, which is lovely and fruity, the sweet creamy coconut is present in the aftertaste. The flavours worked really well in Fancy form.

Raspberry Daiquiri Cocktail Fancies
This particular cocktail is made up of raspberries, lemon and rum. The Fancy tastes mostly of raspberry, and I couldn’t quite pick up on anything further but its gentle fruity flavour was still very pleasant. As I like raspberries, I did really enjoy this, it was a shame this was the one of which there were only two in the box. There were three of both the other varieties.

These are a very welcome addition to the Mr Kipling Fondant Fancies range, and I hope we get more variations like these Cocktail ones in the near future. These would be a perfect dessert after a barbecue or picnic, while enjoying a cool drink in the sun. I’ll certainly be snapping up another box or two of these before the summers out.
By Cinabar

13 July 2015

Mocktails-To-Chill @HotelChocolat COMPETITON (By @Cinabar)


Now the weather is warmer chocolate has a tendency to melt in the fingers, but Hotel Chocolat have released a selection of new chocolates to chill. Amongst them are these very seasonal Mocktails-To-Chill, like cocktails but without the alcohol. There are four varieties in the box, and they all look so pretty and colourful, once the lid is off. Make sure you have given them 30 minutes fridge time before tucking in.


Wild Strawberry Daiquiri (Top Left)
This had a soft strawberry taste, and was encased in white chocolate. There was that hint of slight bitterness confirming the “wild” flavour. It was an easy to eat variety, and as strawberries are the official fruit of summer, very seasonal too.

Peached Ice Tea (Top Right)
This chocolate has a milk chocolate shell, and is filled with a remarkably fruity soft centre. The peach is strong and fresh, and works well with the chocolate. There is a lovely delicate aftertaste of tea which just finishes the chocolate nicely.

Spiced Pineapple Punch (Bottom Left)
I think of all the chocolates this one sounded the most interesting, or perhaps that is just me finding the word cinnamon and getting excited it contained my favourite spice. The shell is milk chocolate and the filling has a smooth pineapple taste, it is mild and slightly spicy, the nutmeg and cinnamon giving the flavour a lovely warming edge. It had a good tropical feel.

Virgin Mojito (Bottom Right)
In a white chocolate shell, the filling of this pretty much blasts summer at you. The lime cream inside is mixed with the most wonderful flavour of garden mint, and the zingy taste just ends up being so very fresh.

My favourite was the Peached Ice Tea, I just loved how it could combine a strong fruit taste with a delicate base. Which one is you favourite? If you want to find out, the lovely folks at Hotel Chocolat are also offering a box of these to one Foodstuff Finds reader. Simply enter the Rafflecopter giveaway and you may have the chance to try these Mocktails-To-Chill for yourself.
By Cinabar

a Rafflecopter giveaway