Viennetta Selection: Red Berries [Special Edition] (Waitrose) [By @Cinabar]

Well the Spring equinox is upon us, and there is very clearly a change in season. This too is bringing with it new ice creams, and other fresh and fruity sounding delights. Viennetta have brought out this Red Berries edition for the season, although the Christmassy sounding Choco Nut still seems to be available, if only for now!
The first thing that struck me when I took this out of the box was the colour. It is pinker than a pink thing. A quick scan of the box shows that it proudly states that it doesn’t contain artificial flavours, but there is no such obvious label for colourings. I had a read of the small print and it seems that the pink colour if from carmine and beetroot. Normal Viennetta can quite easily be served up at any meal time without a worry, but this particular pink version does seem to be heading its way toward the feminine market, and frankly pushing “girl’s birthday party” in design.
I am female though, and Spectre likes fruity ice cream – so what the heck. The flavour is lovely. The pink parts of the ice cream adds a lovely mixed berry flavour, with a good hint of both strawberry and raspberry. The white ice cream added that lovely creamy vanilla flavour, that balanced out the taste. The best thing about Viennetta though is the texture, and this doesn’t disappoint. The layers of (pink coloured) white chocolate flavoured crack wonderfully when you dig the spoon in, and add a nice texture to the mix. There is a layer of red sauce that’s flavour is more raspberry than anything else, but it has a slightly zingy note to it, natural and not over sweet, that works well with the main bulk of the ice cream. The final layer is a sugary sweet biscuit on the base, which is quite thin. It added the most lovely buttery crunch, and I do really wish there was more of this in the cake as it was just so flavoursome! All in all the new Vienetta works remarkably well.
I was pleased to discover that this was not as sickly as I feared it might be from the vivid colour. It was actually a really well balanced ice cream cake, having a natural fruit taste, with a good hint of white chocolate and vanilla. I hope the appearance doesn’t put many people off, because underneath that is a clever and tasty addition to the Viennetta range.

By Cinabar