Mr Kipling Birthday Cake Tarts (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

Birthday cake is quite the trending flavour at the moment, with the added bonus that you don’t need it to be your birthday to enjoy it. The flavour generally means vanilla paired with something like strawberry or raspberry to replicate jam, along with a good hit of sugar for the icing element. Having a strong sweet tooth and missing mince pies post-Christmas, it’s no surprise I picked up a box of Mr Kipling Birthday Cake Tarts.

 

Each box contains four tarts, featuring pastry, raspberry jam, a layer of vanilla sponge, white icing, and colourful candy sprinkles. They look very appealing, and I enjoyed one alongside a nice afternoon cup of coffee.

These tarts are incredibly sweet, a proper sugary indulgence. If you’re not a fan of sweet treats, these might not be for you. The filling is predominantly icing and vanilla, with just enough raspberry jam to evoke the flavour of birthday cake. The different layers create a lovely texture, with the thick icing and crunchy candy sprinkles on top being particularly enjoyable.

Mr Kipling Birthday Cake Tarts are fun, cheerful, and a delightful treat for an afternoon break. No birthday required, I’d happily buy them again!

Pukka Chicken Balti Pie (not Pork) [@NLi10]

 Tonight we are off to the football, without leaving the house!  At Bromsgrove Sporting back when I went we used to get the Balti pies - and they were hot and satisfying. Pukka has realised we'd quite like to try these at home too.

It's barely spicy so suitable for all the family (except maybe nanna) and doesn't contain pork - but putting it in the title will still cause the bots on X to reply to this with vegan replacement ideas.

Looks like all the other Pukka pies

And the inside is decently meaty and smells great.

Add a few veggies and this is a decent meal to watch live sports, or in our case tea-time quizzes.

Pub Originals Pork Crunch (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I've been a fan of all things Pork Crunch ever since I broke a tooth on Pork Scratchings a few years back. Of course, they're not the same. They don't taste as good, especially when Pork Scratchings are particularly salty, and they don't have the same texture, but they don't have the risk of an expensive visit to the dentist. Oh my, dentists are expensive now.

These Pub Originals Pork Crunch are the best quality pork cuts flash fried for a better crunch. Each packet has around 19g of protein in it, which will help to fix my muscles after my weights session today. I decided to try them with a tuna and Cholula Hot Sauce sandwich.

On opening the packet you can see from the photograph that these Pub Originals Pork Crunch were neat lightly seasoned pork puffs. They smelt like lightly salted fried pork. These Pork Crunch were easy on my teeth with a decent crunch, and were mildly salted. My spicy tuna sandwich dominated my lunch a little, however, I certainly felt pumped full of protein to fix my tired muscles after my daily workout. High in protein and low in calories, I'd certainly have these Pub Originals Pork Crunch again.

Information on the packet; The 27g packet has 491 calories per 100g, with 24.2g of fat, 0.8g of sugar, 4.08g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Branston Pickle Topped Pork Pies (Asda) By @Cinabar

I have to admit, we’re rather missing the ‘picky bits’ selection that Asda had before and during Christmas. We sampled lots of the trays of nibbles, from spicy crispy prawns to cocktail sausages. It was a sad day when we realised all the interesting party food had disappeared for another year. So, we decided to have a look at the regular deli section to see what we could find. That’s where I spotted these Branston Pickle Topped Pork Pies and thought we’d give them a try.

The tricky part of this snack is definitely the topping. It looks lovely but makes transporting it home in a bag or car a bit precarious. They looked much neater in-store, but to be fair, the pickle was still on top when we got home. I gave them a little smoothing out before serving.

When I tried one, I absolutely loved the flavour. The pork is firm, with just the right amount of jelly, i.e. not too much. The pastry is savoury and delicious, and the pickle topping is what really sets these pies apart. The combination of flavours worked so well, adding a lovely spicy, fruity kick. I usually enjoy Branston Pickle with cheese, but this has inspired me to pair it with other foods too.

That said, for easier transport, I think they could’ve put the pickle inside the pastry, though perhaps that would’ve made the pies soggy. Either way, we’ll definitely be picking these BBranston Pickle Topped Pork Pies up again!

Spanish Latte (Costa) By @Cinabar

During a long journey, we stopped at a motorway services and popped into Costa for some coffee. Naturally, I went for the current special, Spanish Latte, and then had to ask what it actually was! The lady behind the counter explained it was made with condensed milk flavour syrup. Intrigued, I decided to give it a go.

The coffee looked lovely once prepared, decorated with cocoa sprinkles in wavy lines, a nice touch.

Now, an interesting fact about me: I don’t put sugar in coffee. I do enjoy flavoured syrups when I’m at a coffee shop, though. I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth and love caramel, hazelnut, most of them, really. But 99% of the coffee I drink isn’t sweetened, and I never add regular sugar.

Taking my first sip, I noticed the coffee’s sweetness and a slightly creamier texture than usual. The first half of the drink was alright, a sweet, creamy coffee. However, it was a bit nondescript. I’d been hoping for a custard or vanilla-like flavour, but that might have been wishful thinking.

As I drank more, the sweetness became overwhelming. Despite my sweet tooth, it felt cloying, like someone had added cream and sugar to my coffee, not how I typically drink it. Looking back, I realise the syrup had likely settled at the bottom of the cup, and stirring it might have made the flavour more consistent. Still, this isn’t a drink I’d order again.

If you like cream and sugar in your coffee, it’s probably the perfect indulgence. Personally, I’d rather stick to hazelnut syrup any day.