Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns (Co-Op) By @Cinabar

What an interesting sounding hybrid, mixing the seasonal treat of the Hot Cross bun with the Carrot Cake. There are quite a few interesting Hot Cross buns out at the minute, many just slight twists on the original (ie using blueberries), others going all out with non-traditional ingredients like white chocolate and caramel. Of all the varieties I have spotted, the ones I most wanted to try are these Co-Op Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns. I do love a nice piece of carrot cake.

 

I split the Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns open and could see the bits of orange carrot blended in, exciting. At some point it dawned on me while the toaster was cooking away that carrot cake is all about the spice (specifically mixed spice), as are regular hot cross buns (again mixed spice). I think what I bought are hot cross bun flavoured hot cross buns, with a small amount of carrot mixed in for good measure.

I finished toasting them and buttered them and gave them a try. They taste nice, sweet, and spicy. I loved the cinnamon from the mixed spice. I’m not going to lie I couldn’t pick up on the carrot. Perhaps I should have filled them with a cream cheese frosting for authenticity? They did taste good, genuinely maybe a tiny bit more spicy than some Hot Cross Buns but unless you see the carrot there isn’t much to tell really.

Random thought, I also add mixed spice to Anzac biscuits, so you know, in many respects, these are Anzac biscuit flavoured Hot Cross Buns too.

Biscakes Mince Pie Oh My (Ocado) By @Cinabar

In the snacking world hybrid snacks are a thing. We started with a Cronut (croissant doughnut) and then they kept on coming. Mixed Bourbon biscuits with Custard Creams followed shortly later, and to be fair most of the hybrids are pretty decent. Today though we combine three things so are entering the big league with our hybrids. We have the Biscake, which is biscuit and cake, but for added fun they mixed in a mince pie too (well it is Christmas). Introducing the Biscakes Mince Pie Oh My.

So we have a biscuit base (which looks suspiciously like something I can’t dunk into a coffee) topped with a spiced cup cake, and on top a portion of mince pie filling, butter cream and decoration. They looked amazing by the way.

I wasn’t sure where to start with the cake so I pulled the biscuit off the base, and munched on that first. It had a good spice flavour and led the introduction perfectly. The sponge tasted liked mixed spice and as a cinnamon fan I rather enjoyed it, it was soft and moist and spot on. The butter cream was creamy and smooth and added contrast to the zingy mincemeat flavour generously dolloped on top. Gosh this Biscakes Mince Pie Oh My really is the perfect seasonal treat with all the flavours of Christmas. I loved every bite and I will certainly look out for other goodies from Biscakes because it turns out they know what they are doing. Seriously though who wouldn’t want a biscuit with their cupcake.

Bourbon Creams (Morrison’s) By @cinabar

There’s new bourbon creams have been doing the rounds on social media as the latest in hybrid snacks of choice. If croissants and donuts make “Cronuts” what do you get if you cross the chocolate Bourbon biscuits with the Custard Cream? The new Bourbon Cream of course. These biscuits have been invented by some clever cookie (pun intended) at Morrison’s where the biscuit is Bourbon but the filling is Custard Cream. As a fan of both biscuits I thought I’d join the hype train and give them a try.

There is no plastic tray inside the biscuit packet, but the biscuits were still in one piece. I pulled one of the biscuits apart and could see the dollop of custard cream inside the darker biscuit. These looked good. I like double layered biscuits because I’m a fan of texture and I like the way they crunch. I gave one a taste test, and I have to admit they were good. They had all the chocolate flavour off Bourbon biscuits but the centre was lovely and creamy and this added something new. The best part of a Custard Cream is the cream, it is good stuff and made these Bourbon Creams very enjoyable, a nice mellow addition. There was still enough chocolate from the biscuit part and the whole thing had a chocolate biscuits with cream kind of vibe. I liked them, I even dunked a couple in hot chocolate which worked like a dream.

Let’s all be honest for a minute though and acknowledge that doing this the other way around (Custard Cream biscuits with a chocolate filling from a Bourbon) wouldn’t have a hope of working, the Bourbon Cream gets the best parts of both.

Easter Cronut - WhyNot? Coffee Bearwood (@Nli10)

 Puddings are yummy.  We miss not being able to eat out in cafe's so occasionally my partner picks up a cake to take away (people getting coffee to take away are doing it wrong) usually from Whynot? Coffee in Bearwood as it's near the good supermarket.

Today we got a cronut - which is a croissant mixed with a fried doughnut.  I'd much rather have one of each - but this is a nice hybrid.

You can tell it's an Easter cronut as they put things on top.

Mmmm - fresh coconut but not Cadbury mini-eggs!

And inside there is an amazing vanilla crème - the highlight of the whole thing!

Luxury puddings should not be a casualty of LockDown, but I'd prefer to sit and eat them there too.

Pressels - Not just a pretzel! [by @NLi10]

Some PR companies send you a few vouchers, and then you struggle to find the product. Others package things badly so you don't get the brand new quality. Others, at the opposite end of the scale, try to wow you with experience design and flair. This is one of those times.

I'm not a fan of over packaging, but getting this in the post is a little bit special! Plus it protected the little crispy circles really well so works on both fronts. It all went in the recycling too so there is no pretzel related guilt.

What we have here is essentially a hybrid between pretzels and bagels called Pressels. They are hard and crisp with either original (salt), sesame (and salt), or everything (salt and pepper and two kinds of seeds). 

They are all rather tasty as the base circles have been cooked really well and give a rich doughy flavour that contrasts nicely with the tangy toppings. They remind me of the edges of home baked pizza, which everyone knows is the best bit. They snap and crunch delightfully and the clear and crisp flavours are a delight.

Apparently they were created "as a reaction to the lack of innovation in the snacking category" which I take issue with. Firstly - Bacon Jam exists, and secondly these are just differently shaped pretzels - not that different at all! The themes and the toppings (inspired by bagels - like the shape) are a good idea and mean they are interesting enough to tempt in first time buyers.

I'd agree that these are healthier than regular fried crisps with a quarter of the fat content per 100g but they do have almost double the salt. Also - they are very very nice so the bags 7 portions is very very optimistic. They stress that they can go in the good for you section of the supermarket, and while I agree I think that these are only a positive step until you eat most of a whole bag for lunch.

Usually I'd try and pick out a favourite flavour but they all exist quite distinctly, with the plain one being best for with other food, the everything one being the best all round snack and the sesame one having a lightness that would suit drinks or a dinner party. 

The office test went very well with people taking handfuls for later and expressing an interest in visiting Waitrose to hunt them down.  I'm sure I'll pick these up again for socialising, I don't tend to buy big bag snacks unless I'm expecting guests, but when I do Waitrose is where I head.

While not the great innovation their creator claims I think these are different enough to stand out, and I hope that more bagel inspired flavours find their way to the UK. I'll certainly be happy to pick those up too.

Scotch Egg Pie (@Tesco) [By @Cinabar]

Following on from the Weirdoughs earlier in the week, Tesco haven’t stopped there when it comes to hybrid snack products.  Yes doughnuts and crisps takes some topping as a combination, but this one is still quite creative. Introducing the Scotch Egg Pie. It comes carefully packed into a neat box, and does look very different. My first impression was that it looks like a Scotch Egg, but a little larger. The coating is pastry, topped with a very light bread crumb which does give the impression of a slightly bald Scotch Egg!

Taste wise it is reminiscent of Ham and Egg pie, except that it is lacking the meat jelly often found within that. The advantage to this over Ham and Pie has to be the fact that you get a guaranteed whole egg! Not just a sliced through one per portion.  The meat layer is nicely spiced, and there is a good hint of pepper that works well with the pork. The pastry is good but fairly thin and not strong in taste. It is quite fragile and broke easily. When I was biting in I had to be careful not to lose any pastry, it is strange to eat a ball of pie so I required a little bit more coordination than normal!

Overall I liked this new product, but felt that the balance of flavours was closer to Ham and Egg pie that it was Scotch Egg. True Scotch Egg fans may well prefer to stick with the original. This is due to the fact the pastry is different and fact that there was more meat. For me though it was the dream “slice” of ham and egg pie, with an egg in its entirety guaranteed! As novelty goes it gets the thumbs up, and I think these will be a popular item if the weather keeps up for summer picnics!

By Cinabar

Weirdoughs Savoury Doughnuts: Salt&Vinegar / Cheese&Onion (@Tesco) [By @Cinabar]

Somebody at Tesco thought it might be an interesting idea to mix mini doughnuts with crisp seasoning. They look like doughnuts, but will taste like savoury flavoured crisps. Obviously this makes for a pretty strange idea, and to the best of my knowledge Tesco is the only supermarket to give it a try. It is the latest of the cake hybrids, and I have no guilt in saying I think it is a bit weird. Tesco agree, that is why they have called them Weirdoughs! There are two flavours, and oh my I couldn’t wait to tuck in…

Salt and Vinegar
For some reason these sounded the tamer of the two varieties. I carefully prised open the paper bag, and took a closer inspection. Yes they looked just like sweet mini doughnuts, but there was an aroma akin to something found in a fish and chip shop and my senses weren’t quite sure what to make of it all.
I carefully took a bite. The doughnut was soft and spongy and has a pleasing texture, but the flavour was distinctly salty with a heavy hit of vinegar, and just to add to the weirdness, slightly sweet too. I spent the first mouthful trying to work out was was going on, by the second I got used to it and the the third (I ate them in three bites) I quite wanted another one! I put this down to my taste buds liking sweet and salty popcorn and just needing to get used to the texture and the vinegar. Odd but nice, far better than I thought it be!

Cheese and Onion
Okay even after my positive experience to the Salt and Vinegar flavour, these ones still took the biscuit for being strange. As I opened up the bag the cheese and onion smell was quite strong, and felt wrong. Cheese and onion, on a doughnut?
I eventually bit in and tried to get used to the flavour. The cheese wasn’t as strong as I’d expected, but the onion was very much present. There was still a hint of sweetness but it seemed milder, as it mingled with the onion it gave them an almost garlic like base flavour. Yet the texture was still soft and cake like. I couldn’t get used to these, the flavour didn’t seem to settle to with me, they felt like doughnuts flavoured like crisps, which I couldn’t get past. Although they didn’t taste as bad as I thought they would, they were surprisingly okay and done as well as Cheese and onion doughnuts could be done.

In conclusion, they are a weird idea but they are quite nice. I preferred the Salt and Vinegar variety because it seemed to work with the texture and base. Sweet and salty is a good combination. I’d buy the Salt and Vinegar again to snack on, but the Cheese and Onion are more for the novelty! I’m looking forward to taking some to work and seeing how the people there get on with them. ;-)

By Cinabar

Greggsnut [Cronut Style] (Greggs) [By @C2L_Eu]

The Cronut™. A croissant-donut hybrid. A dessert gone viral. If you’ve missed this new craze (and we’d forgive you if you had, official Cronuts™ are only available from the Dominique Ansel bakery in New York), do not fear for our Great British High Street bakers, Greggs, are here to save the day. And we’ve had the chance to try both their new, limited edition flavours.

To gain some perspective, the Cronut™ is somewhat high maintenance. They take up to 3 days to make, with laminated dough (we don’t know what that means either), proofed and then fried in grapeseed oil. You have to cut them with a serrated knife. You can’t refrigerate them. We would imagine the Cronut™ is a little bite of light, layered, sugar coated heaven. Heidi Klum wouldn’t have just anything private jetted to her family, surely.

And so what for Greggs’ attempt? The Greggsnut… not quite as catchy in name, granted. We tried both flavours – Summer Berry &  Crème and Caramel Pecan. The first thing we noticed was they are huge. They are dense. Culminating in 1 ½ inches of layered dough and then a small splodge of crème and jam / caramel respectively. A little disappointing and not quite the New York fantasy moment we’d imagined.

Taste wise, the Greggsnut was an odd combination of (almost) savoury pastry giving way to a super sweet sugar glaze and intense filling. It was much more like a ‘Yum Yum’ – though this is a comparable on their website so shouldn't have been a total surprise and it was quite bland and very heavy. The overall experience was just very dry and tasted a little stale. By the end of the experience, jaw ache was mandatory.

Our verdict? More Fauxnut than Cronut™.

Greggsnut are available until 1st Oct in 13 London Stores for £1 each.

By C2L