The Coconut Collab - Plant-based Double Cre&m [@NLi10]

 All hail the vegans - for they have made it effortless to reduce the amount of dairy in my diet and still have a great time.  Take this for example - we want summer puddings - I want to not have too much dairy.  Here is a double cream (spelt cre&m) but it's all plants. I can enjoy my Wimbledon strawberries and no cream.

This means that a left over banana fritter from the takeaway can happily bathe in thick coconut goo, and become a proper pudding

Happy as can be.

If anything it's a bit too white and photogenic.  It looks great with red fruit and especially goes well with pineapple as it's like eating a Pina colada.

The coconut isn't strong, but it's present enough to enjoy.  I can see why this won taste awards, it's much more interesting than some of the other brands and begs to be tried with everything - only we finished it so now I need some more.

Sainsbury's Pistachio Tiramisu [@NLi10]

 We love puddings, so when the supermarket is near closing and clearly isn't going to sell all of the reduced but exciting puddings on offer it feels rude not to try a new one.

As it's Eurovision week TV puddings are especially welcome - this Pistachio Tiramisu is a little alcoholic but a lot tempting

It looks much better like this

And it's a pain to serve so doesn't look great in the bowl - maybe a fish slice required not a serving spoon!

The taste is great, there isn't enough coffee and the alcohol is a bit fumy (probably better after it's sat for a bit) but it's got a lovely mix of flavours and textures and is something I'd try again.

Does feel like it needs a sauce pouring over the top to elevate it - but I'm already planning seconds tonight!

COOK - Rhubarb & Custard Pudding [@NLi10]

 When we picked up some Cook ready meals for our Nanna we dicided to get a big pudding for when we had friends round.

It's Rhubarb and custard cake - and super luxury!

We smartly thought that as there are only two of us we would cut and cook a small portion - not thinking that as it cooks it's going to defrost and then get runny.

Ok - zero points for presentation then!

As it happens - it still cooked ok although it went a bit crispy where it had leaked on to the pan.  Still tasted divine, and had all the fruity textures I love.

Can't wait to have the rest, but we will put it in a smaller baking tray so that it doesn't ooze out of the already cut end.

Gu - $ Zillionaire $ (and Wild Strawberry) [@NLi10]

 What could make Gu puddings better? GOLD!

These little, luxury puddings have taken the supermarkets by storm - and are probably the most accessible premium desert - and the reason most kitchens have a few little glass ramekin floating about.

We picked up a couple of them to take to Nanna's and she'd never had them before.  She had (both) of the strawberry ones so we didn't write those up (although she did declare them to be better than  supermarket trifles and replaced them on her weekly shopping order 😼)

The Zillionaire is 'just' a millionaire shortbread with gold coloured flakes added to the top to impress the influencers.

But with the many, many layers beneath it's easy to see this becoming a repeat buy (while they are still £2.75 for two at Tesco)

Not too sweet, not too salty, and with enough texture variety to make every bite special.  Another Gu classic and one to tempt the nannas into next time.

Gatorade & creme brûlée [@NLi10]

 We were on the way to a family meal for a birthday and had to pick up some last minute bits and bobs from Sainsbury’s so I got a Gatorade to help with the heat.

This used to be a big go-to drink for me in the early 2000s but these days I just don’t see it around anymore - this was in the import aisle, but it’s the Britvic version made in Hemel Hampstead.

As a brand it’s still the number 1 sports drink, but Prime has to be almost overtaking that now.

This has things that just aren’t as fashionable anymore, sugar for one, and while it is nicely hydrating it’s veRy much a relic of the power & muscle era of sports nutrition. I think it’s been neutered to fit the sugar tax too as it just didn’t have that memorable hit.

The meal was great - no one wants to see a picture of a plate of meat so here instead is my lovely creme brûlée pudding. Like a layer of toffee apple on top. Yum!

Good Mother Purple Goop - Bonne Maman Blackcurrant Mousse (@NLi10)

The online shopping gauntlet is hard.  Sometimes expensive but lovely thinks pop into the basket - like these very purple mousses.

I am reliably told that the brand means good/beautiful Mother, which suggests that its a French idea.  And the strength of the flavours here certainly agree - it puts undiluted Ribena to shame!

The lighting appears to be a bit off today - no Instagram likes for me.  The cat isn't even clearly in shot.  Mainly this was to show how small they are.

They are just purple goop, with actual berries in there too.  If you could find a way to serve this presentably I think you could say this is restaurant quality stuff.  Pop it next to a tiny ornate pastry and charge away.  Maybe not the best way to hit your 5-a-day but a lovely way to finish a meal at home.

Little Dessert Shop (Lichfield) by @NLi10 @LittleDessertSh

When out and about in England it's fun to try all the little cafes and eateries that have cropped up.  Some like Devo-Teas are very much independent and nice cosy places to hide away.  Others like the Little Dessert Shop are chains, but well meaning ones with a nice variety on offer and act as a noisy, bright place for other people to gravitate towards.

I prefer my restaurants indy and snug, but for a massive sugar hit you can't really go wrong here.

Glossy menus and well photographed food

And lots of fabulous options that you can add too if you choose.

Sam had this - it's exploded Maltesers on a waffle.  It was very nice.

I had the white chocolate cookie dough and then paid 65p to add 8 whole raspberries to the top.  I'm not sure I got good value there...

It was all very nice though, and the addition of both cream and ice-cream meant that you could get a variety of textures and bites.

I did like the little arty wafers.  I mean - I know those are easy enough to do, but it does add flair.

And it's gooey all the way to the last bite.  I'm really glad I got a glass of tap-water on the side - it's quite sweet!!

We basically had this as an afternoon treat and then skipped dinner.  Yum!

I'm often disappointed by dessert places, but here I think we got our money's worth and the food was of a high quality.  I can see us looking for more local branches to sneak in and nibble away at.  And they do have a Halloween special menu at the moment...

Gu - Pots of Chocolate with a splash of caramel (@NLi10)

What seems like an age ago Gu sent us some vouchers and said "go out and buy our new mousse range" and as it looked fabulous we tried. And tried. And tried...  Whether Birmingham just wasn't a good market for them, or we missed the window they were in the trial stores I'm not sure - but we never found them.

This appears to be the next new Gu product, with perfect timing for Christmas so with the vouchers still in hand we picked up a box of these.

The idea is simple - sometimes a Gu pudding is a little too large - so here are six smaller ones!

There isn't as much fancy nonsense going on - no glass ramekins just a gloriously well designed box and six little plastic pots.

The blurb is pretty simple, you are getting chocolate pudding and paying about 66p a pot for it.

They don't look big enough to satisfy, but as anyone who has tried this brand before knows it's always going to be big on quality.

Look at that luxurious chocolate! It's pretty hard to capture on camera - no wonder they used pictures of it on the spoon!  The choc is fab and reminiscent of their other puddings, and the caramel is all at the bottom and tastes like a Rolo only runnier.  It's a great blend, and even for someone like me that chooses their fruity puddings every time this is a treat. The notion of sharing these is easily laughed off as they are individually sealed and will keep fresh for another day.

One couple, six pots, three wonderful mini puddings to enjoy with the TV dinner.  Tip out of the pots and add edible sparkle and you could easily serve these to guests too.  Fab.

Will still continue to hunt for those elusive mousse though.

Snowy Lodge - Belgian Chocolate and Gold (by @NLi10) from @Lidluk

I don't like Christmas Pudding. This is because I'm not a fan of raisins, sultanas and generally dried fruit.  This means I tend to buy, eat and review alternate Christmas puddings.  I found one such offering in Lidl.

It's full title is Snowy Lodge - Belgian Chocolate Sponge with a Shimmering Clementine Centre. 

Let's blame TV for all the adjectives and call it choc pud.

The choc pud also comes with a large packet of gold glitter, as if the house didn't already sparkle enough now your intestines can too!

 

You can steam the pudding, but frankly 2 mins in the microwave for the whole thing works too and you get this.

 

This looks brown, and very curvy, and smells amazing, but let's take them at their word and decorate.

 

Boom. A great centrepiece for any table, a sprig of gold holly would have set this off perfectly.

Inside the golden goo is similarly sparkly and runs fantastically when hot, but soon sets on contact with the ice-cream that we chose to mix it with. It's much lighter than it looks, but still the 4 portions on the box is very accurate - you won't manage this one solo. We had just under a third each and there are portions to be had after dinner tonight,

The taste is that of a lovely steamed (ish) chocolate pudding.  It's just sweet enough with the help of the clementine goo and ice-cream to be indulgent without being too sickly. It certainly passes the dinner party test, and it tasted amazing and certainly filled us up. I'd be very happy if Lidl have more of these left to pick up!

Passion Fruit Eclairs (Marks & Spencer) [By @Cinabar]

We popped into Marks and Spencer with the hope of finding a treat for dessert. We were looking for something fresh and summery, and of course Marks didn’t disappoint. They had many lovely looking goodies to choose from, but I decided on these Passion Fruit Eclairs. They sounded like they had a nice twist on a classic pastry treat.

The icing on them is yellow, and they are ornately decorated with a mini swirl of white chocolate on the choux pastry which makes them look quite smart. I took my first bite, and the flavours weren’t quite what I was expecting. There was definitely a lot of passion fruit, but if anything it was slightly tart and not the sweet treat I’d been hoping for. I investigated a bit further, the icing on the top was sweet, but it was the fluffy creme filling was what added the acidic sharpness. It was flavoured with passion fruit, but not in a fun sweet fruity way.
The pastry itself was a nice texture, soft but firm enough to hold it's filling. The icing on top was soft enough for your teeth to sink straight into it, the filling was lovely and light and soft, the flavour was a bit more full on.
After a couple of mouthfuls I found the flavour was growing on me, it was zingy and fresh, and probably a good dessert for a hot day. You just need to keep in mind the expected sugary blast was countered by some strong fruity flavours.

By Cinabar

New After Eight Desserts (Tesco) [By @cinabar]

Last month Brian Sollit died. It’s a name you may not immediately recognise, but you will have sampled his work. He spent the majority of his working life as head confectioner at Rowntree’s, and during his career he developed Matchmakers, Drifters, Yorkie bars and amongst the other goodies; After Eight chocolate mints. It seems fitting then to spare a thought for how he influenced the British chocolate market with his confectionary skills, while we try the latest After Eight delight.
The new dessert, based on the famous chocolates, is dual layer, with a minty base with a dark chocolate topping. The packaging keeps the After Eight themeing, with its dark green card and gold clock logo and actually looks rather posh.
I do like mint, and to be honest it isn’t the easiest flavour to find when it comes to puddings, so I was really keen to give these new ones a try. The minty base has lots of peppermint flavour, and is sweet but refreshing and clean tasting. The mint balance is right, it’s strong and zingy, but is soothed by the chocolaty coating. The topping has the richer darker chocolate taste, and it does bring balance to the dessert. Both layers are very smooth and creamy, and easy to eat. I found myself scraping the last bits out of the pot, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I love that this great British traditional chocolate has been bought to us in a new format, it’s a decadent way to finish a meal. Do I think Brian Sollit would be impressed? Oh yes, and long may his legacy live on.

By Cinabar

Muller de Luxe Corner - Creme Praline [by @NLi10]

Muller de Luxe Corner - Creme Praline [by @NLi10]

Muller have a new range of slightly posher corners.  These ones come as a pack of two banded together, and have black plastic containers so you know they are Deluxe (or de Luxe as the trademark says).

I took my half of this to work to have as a nice pudding at lunch time. It got quite a few comments, as it stands out on your tray and isn't the kind of thing that a hospital stocks.

The corner is basically giant rice crispies covered in rough chocolate.  These are very nice and add the texture but the flavour individually isn't much.  The white stuff is a sweet creamy substance.  I worried it would be a bit trifley but actually is was really nice - it's made with whipping cream and it definitely shows.  Underneath this is a thick chocolate substance which is stickier and thicker than the cream so even during the trip to work everything was where it was supposed to be.

I'm not a fan of the sickly sweet M&S style pudding portions, but this has just enough balance to make it nicely edible.  I liked the cream the best, but at the end I had a lovely marbled mixture of swirls with the balls floating in it which I guess is the intention.  Very much worth a look.