Review- Mr Kipling NEW Cupcakes: Angel, Cherry Bakewell and Apple Pie

NEW Mr Kipling products? Yes! Everyone's childhood favourite treat supplier has recently and very quietly I might add, released 3 NEW Cupcakes into the world.. Well actually they've only made it as far as Tesco given that they are exclusive to the store but times are exciting nevertheless with Angel, Cherry Bakewell and Apple Pie!

As I was never not going to get the full set, I picked up the trio of 68g each, Cupcakes for £1 a pop, in the Cake aisle where they were situated with all the other Mr Kipling products. Now, I don't know if the company think we are dense or if they are just so use to selling multipacks but it states both on the front and back of the box that there is "1 Cupcake" inside.. Just incase you were thinking the dinky cube was a Tardis and would contain more than a single portion. Naturally. 

Popping the Cupcakes out, I was pleased to see the use of plastic hinged pots to prevent any squishing action and loss of frosting - There is nothing worse than losing half of your topping! 

Angel

Pink and yellow vanilla flavoured sponge with a raspberry jam filling (9%), topped with a decorated pink and yellow buttercream frosting (47%). 

Erm.. Someone's nicked my jam. 

Found it! I tried my upmost to cut the little cake directly down the centre so unless I was totally off.. I'd say the sponges weren't equal and the jam was most definitely hiding in the right half! I also thought it smelt of banana initially (It didn't) so a real mish mash of first impressions! Starting with the sponge, it was light enough although not exactly the same in texture or taste to a Angel Cake loaf, with a sweet fruity sort of flavour even before hitting the jam. The off centre blob of the dark red sticky stuff was as expected, very sweet with a sort of Tutti Fruity flavour rather than raspberry - I enjoyed it whatever it was! Vanilla-y and extremely thick sums up the frosting on top which left indentations when bitten.. It certainly wasn't a soft and pillow-y buttercream that's for sure! It's a 3.5 out of 5 from me! 

Cherry Bakewell

Almond flavour sponge with a raspberry jam filling (9%), topped with almond flavour buttercream frosting (44%), decorated with half a glacè cherry (3%) and a dusting of fruit powder. 

Huzzah - The jam wasn't hidding from me in this Cupcake and was much more of a generous blob than above. Texture wise, the sponge was soft, tender and essentially, like any other mass produced cake - Not exactly moist but is what it is. The almond aspect really shone and was plenty potent for something of the size - Having tasted the cake and the frosting seperately, I can confirm that both elements had the Bakewell flavour which wasn't artificial in the slightest. Once again, the jam wasn't identifiable as being cherry flavour but it was tart and counteracted the sweetness from the creamy mound it lay beneath. I have a feeling the percentage of buttercream is off in the description as even by eye, you can see there is more than the Angel version - It's a good job it wasn't throat burningly sweet and tasted amazing! A 4 out of 5. 

Apple Pie

Apple flavour sponge with a Bramley apple filling (11%) topped with a buttercream frosting (27%), Bramley apple sauce (14%) and soft crumble pieces (3%). 

Last up is the Apple Cupcake which I am happy to admit to not cutting straight - I did try my best! Similar to the first delight, the amount of filling wasn't all that abundant but was forgivable given the extra sauce on top. Super fruity apple hit immediately when taking a bite and it really was uncanny to that of the jarred stuff. This went well with the vanilla sponge although I found it to be slightly drier than the Bakewell for whatever reason. As seen throughout, the buttercream was super dense, smooth, creamy and delicious with a nice subtle crunch from the crumble, sprinkled on top.. I do however think it would have been nicer to have a Cream Cheese frosting instead but perhaps I was just sick of buttercream by this point - It does happen, believe it or not. It's another 3.5 out of 5 from me!

Overall, these NEW Cupcakes by Mr Kipling aren't bad additions to the range - They are far cheaper than a "gourmet" Cupcake and will perfectly suffice for when you need something sweet. No, the sponge itself won't change your world and the buttercream might clag you up a bit but they are worth a whirl, especially if baking isn't your thing.. Yes, I am a broken record and yes, that was a dig at non-bakers - Release the Mr/Mrs Kipling within! ..Or just go to Tesco. Fine. Whatever. Is anyone even still here?

Review- Mr Kipling NEW Fabulous Fancy Cake

Cor, the return of the Giant French Fancy.. This is something I've been waiting for what seems like forever for! The Big Pink French Fancy Cake from a few years back was a thing that dreams are made of - I was devastated to see it go. Thankfully, Mr Kipling has got his head screwed on and recently released this rather more modestly sized, Fabulous Fancy Cake. 

As soon as I knew this thing had hit the shops, I rushed on down to Tesco to pick one up for £5 - Never mind the fact I had literally just got back from my Holiday!

Golden sponge with a layer of raspberry jam and a vanilla flavour filling, finished with a soft mallow topping and covered with decorated pink fondant icing. 

I was so excited to see that this cake was exactly the same as its mini equivalent, paper case and all! I peeled back the edges and the icing crumbled slightly just as it would with the original. A knife cut through the sponge easily to reveal the layers and mallowy top - I am not sure how you would get the suggested 8, 62g portions out of the cake with everyone having some of the centre though! 

I made sure my slice had plenty of mallow.. For a fair test, obviously. The sponge itself was a lot like a standard Madeira Birthday Cake, light with a soft and squidgy feel yet solid enough to not fall apart. A good fruitiness came from the Raspberry jam layer which was a pleasant surprise as more often than not, companies use the cheap wishy washy stuff - I would have liked a little more to go with the smooth vanilla-y filling, though. The outside icing was the exact same that you find on a normal French Fancy and as expected, was super sweet with a sugary crunch before dissolving on the tongue. A blob of sweet and pillowy marshmallow was the perfect topping to the cake but once again, I wish Mr Kipling hadn't of scrimped - It was exactly like the inside of a Tunnock's Teacake which just so happen to be one of my favourites although the amount here wouldn't be enough in anyones world! 

Overall, I am in Limbo over this NEW Fabulous Fancy Cake.. I did enjoy it but the proportions all seem a little off. Its a lot like the previous Big Pink French Fancy Birthday Cake which had mounds and mounds of mallow to the point where it was almost to much whereas this time they've done the opposite and there isn't enough by any stretch of the imagination - A happy medium needs to be reached! That aside, if you like super sweet, vanilla-y marshmallow, cakey goodness, you can't go wrong with this.. Just don't expect it to feed 8 people, generously! Its a 4 out of 5 from me.