Mr Kipling Caramel Tart Ice Cream (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

I usually associate new ice creams with the summer season, but we still enjoy them in autumn and winter. This one is from Mr Kipling and is based on one of his classic desserts: the Caramel Tart.

I have to admit, I don’t often buy caramel tarts. It’s not that I don’t like them, I’m just usually swayed by apple pies or mince pies instead. I have had them though, and they are lovely.

This ice cream is mostly caramel, which feels like a recipe for success, it’s one of those flavours that most people enjoy. It also includes caramel sauce and pastry pieces throughout, which give it that proper tart and pastry feel.

The tub isn’t too big, but when we opened it up, it scooped easily after a couple of minutes at room temperature. The ice cream has plenty of goodies mixed in, the sauce and pastry bits, which keep it interesting. The combination of textures works nicely, and the caramel base flavour is sweet, rich and full of that lovely burnt sugar taste.

It was an absolute delight, and I’m now thinking a scoop of this on a hot apple pie might just be the perfect autumn dessert. I really need to give that a try.

McDonald's World Menu Heist - International Disappointments [@NLi10]

 McDonalds have a lot of adverts at the moment for all kinds of exciting things.  And as I had a green Sprite there a month or so ago that was quite nice I let work talk me into a visit one lunchtime for their new (at the time) World Heist menu.

It was so exciting I forgot to write a review...

The gimmick is this was stuff they already had, that you'd see on holiday.

What's this - Polish fries?

Oh - it's salt-&-shake, but pepper and odd cream flavour.  And surprisingly it works - they are essentially turned into KFC fries.  These were a win.

The Pink Drink is cherry blossom, and its fine.  The green one was great, this is a solid 5/10 and you'd not be fussed if they forgot and gave you a normal Sprite

And the main event! It's a le big mac but with some bacon and some sauce

And it was absolutely terrible! The issue with these is the cheap meat and sweet buns are designed to be chewed easily and then you leave faster - but if the idea is to enjoy the texture and flavours then this is not the target.  Not one part of this improved the original, and if anything it was just a mess of flavours.

Overall then - for £11 - this was a massive disappointment and would put me off agreeing to the lunch time trips for the cheap wrap and iced tea.

Walkers Succulent Beef Wellington Crisps (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

I haven't had Beef Wellington for quite sometime. This is mainly because there is only two of us, and Beef Wellingtons are generally huge and packed full of calories. Beef Wellington is beef covered with mushroom pate and coated with pastry. It's very traditional at Christmas time.

I'm sure Cinabar will search the shops for a sharing one closer to Christmas. I know we picked up some Picky-Bits that were flavoured with Beef Wellington around last Christmas time.

So, here is Walkers seasonal limited edition Succulent Beef Wellington Crisps. On opening the packet, there was indeed a Beef Wellington aroma. On first crunchy taste, the beefy flavour definitely had more than a reminiscence of Beef Wellington, and there was also a pastry flavour to go very well with it. Yum.

Information on the packet: Each 25g packet contained 127 calories, with 7.2g of fat, 0.3g of sugar, and 0.12g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

TAKE 4 Chocolate Bar (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

Very sadly our nearest Marks and Spencer closed this year, and my favourite part of that shop was always the food hall. On our way back from a road trip, we stopped at a service station and I was very pleased to spot a small M&S Food Hall inside. Naturally, I couldn’t resist having an impulsive look around to see what I could pick up.

This TAKE 4 chocolate bar immediately caught my eye with its striking packaging. The red and blue design is wonderfully retro and really stands out. I bought this along with a few other goodies, and when the assistant scanned it, he smiled and said, “Remember, this isn’t a Kit Kat,” before chuckling to himself.

It turns out this is a re-release of an old Marks and Spencer chocolate bar from the 1980s. I don’t quite remember it from the first time around, I would have been quite young and probably eating actual Kit Kats whenever I got the chance.

When I opened the wrapper (plastic, not foil and paper like a proper 1980s chocolate bar would have been), I found four sticks joined together, each designed to break into four smaller bite-sized pieces.

The sticks are thinner than a Kit Kat, if we’re comparing, but the flavour more than makes up for it. The chocolate is rich and smooth, with a lovely depth of cocoa that really shines through. The wafer has a satisfying snap, and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this bar. It’s one I’d happily pick up again, perfect as a little treat with an afternoon coffee, especially with that nostalgic retro look and full flavour.

Butter Pecan Cookie Latte (Costa) By @Cinabar

Costa’s Butter Pecan Cookie Latte is topped with light whip and a sprinkling of butter cookie pieces, giving it a cozy, seasonal look. I enjoyed mine in my reusable cup, as we always take these on road trips, it’s a small but satisfying way to be kinder to the environment. The drink started well with the cream and cookie crumble on top. It looked appealing and was a good start to the new drink. The flavour itself was sweet but subtle, there was not a lot of nut. It was more like a gentle vanilla latte than a bold butter pecan. As someone who enjoys sweet vanilla lattes, I still found it nice.

Towards the end, I found some of the cookie bits had sank to the bottom, leaving a residue reminiscent of dunking biscuits in coffee. I clearly didn’t eat them quickly enough, but it added a biscuit feel to the drink.

Overall, this is a nice, easygoing latte for the season. It’s comforting and sweet, though not particularly adventurous in terms of flavour. A solid choice if you’re looking for something simple to sip on during the cooler months.