Review- Tesco Finest The Coconut Egg

All together now! Come on, sing with me! I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts.. There they are, all standing in a row! ..Well, when I say all, what I actually mean is 2. I bought Tesco Finest, The Coconut Egg on Monday and then guess what turned up yesterday? Another one from the Nut to my Coco - Mrs 1T! I'm starting to think she only does these things to get shout outs.. That's 2 in 2 days now!

Belgian white chocolate with toasted coconut, hand decorated with milk chocolate and cocoa powder with coconut truffles. 

Isn't it glorious? £10 I paid at the beginning of the week for the 370g monstrosity of a Coconut accompanied by 5 Coconut Truffles which I thought was fairly reasonable.. But then again, I would probably sell my first born child for a Coconut given my love of the stuff! If you aren't quite as obsessed or don't fancy flogging your offspring, word on the street AKA Instagram is that the Egg is currently on offer for £7 so hopefully there are still a few knocking about!

Coconut Truffles

Starting with the pearlescent Truffles which today, appear to be on a blue background - Please excuse my horrid kitchen lighting! Slightly smaller than a Lindor in size, a crisp, thick, white chocolate shell encased a butter like centre that can only be described as perfect. The melt was exceptional with the most creamy, rich coconut flavour whilst being just the right amount of sweetness - Flawless.

The Coconut Egg

Moving onto the star of the show.. The Coconut Egg! Getting into the thing was a challenge - I bashed it on the table as a whole and it didn't crack as expected. I whacked it on the floor and still nothing. I took the biggest knife I could find and lobbed at it.. Nope, it wasn't going to budge. By this point, my Grandad who was sat at the Dining Room table having Tech Time, started giving me strange looks and thought it was an actual Coconut that I was trying to get into! My last resort was a sawing sort of action which finally did the job.. I was in! The chunky, Belgian white chocolate shell looked most inviting with visible coconut flakes running throughout with the outside most definitely looking the part thanks to a scraped coating of milk chocolate and cocoa powder. Taste wise, it was a case of love at first bite. Creamy and sweet with both vanilla as well as toasty coconut tones, the chocolate certainly didn't falter in terms of flavour or quality. Each piece melted on the tongue with a contrasting soft chew, from all the flakes which felt extra special and quite different! The cocoa went a long way in cutting any chance of things becoming to sweet and was all round, bloomin' marvellous! 

Overall, Tesco really have done a spiffing job here with this Finest, The Coconut Egg - It looks amazing.. It tastes amazing.. That is all I can say! The Coconut Truffles are also out of this world good as well as being far superior to their Lindt Lindor equivalent and I could quite easily eat them by the bucketful - I reckon they would make a fab addition to the all year round, confectionary aisle! 

Please do go seek out this Easter Egg if you are yet to have one (Or even if you do!), you won't be disappointed.. And if you turn out to be so, just send it my way - I am more than happy to have another to add to my collection! Thanks Kirks! It's full marks from me today.. 5 out of 5! 

Have a lovely Easter, Folks and enjoy your Bank Holiday! 

Review- Waitrose Jelly Mini Eggs

Another day, another Easter review and this one is completely down to the joy that is Mrs 1T - The woman literally has a built in sweet detector and finds all the goodies! I daren't copy all her reviews but these I just couldn't pass up.. It's Jelly Mini Eggs from Waitrose!
   

Soft jelly eggs in a crisp sugar shell. 

I actually sent MSW on a mission to locate these Eggs as I know someone who worked in that particular Waitrose store and I didn't want to speak to them (Don't you dare judge me - We've all been there!). She did a marvellous job and returned with not 1 but 2, 125g boxes of multicoloured eggs which cost a rather daylight robbery price of £3.50 a pop!

After a bit of a faff getting into the box, I tipped my gleaming eggs out and cut the slippery fellas in half for picture purpose. The first thing to hit me was how bizarre the texture was! Expecting a Jellybean like chew, it came as a massive surprise that the outer shell was quite solid and took a good chomp to break through. A gritty sugariness was most apparent which once again was a revelation of the best kind with a contrasting, York/Taveners/New Berry Fruit Jellies like texture in the centre. Flavour wise, it was a real mish mash! Starting with the Yellow and what I assumed would be pineapple, it turned out to be not so easily identifiable but I do know it was delicious and really fruity! Orange was up next and as expected, it certainly delivered its namesake - Full on orange and nothing but! I didn't have a clue what the White would be but it transpired that it was the elusive pineapple with a familiar, juicy tropical flavour which I am certain I have experienced before.. Chewits, perhaps? Pink was next and the one I was most looking forward to! Almost jammy in taste with a raspberry kick and what I think was a flash of apricot, this Jelly Egg was also mouthwateringly good and I could have quite easily eaten a whole carton full! Last but by no means least was the Green.. Apple, right? Well, not quite - This bad boy was actually one of my favourite foods.. Pear! The taste was second to none and scarily true to the fruit! Amazing.

Well these Waitrose Jelly Mini Eggs have to be up there with the strangest sweets I've ever had.. And without a shadow of a doubt, the best! They are so different to any Jellybean (Or any other Sweet for that matter), in both terms of texture as well as flavour. If pure sugary, squidgy, juicy, fruity things do it for you, definitely give these a go - They are well worth their price tag and that's not something I say lightly! It's a 4.5 out of 5 from me.  

Review- Waitrose Easter Panettone

Today, the 23rd of March is a very special day. It is Reaching for Refreshment's 1st Birthday! YAY!

I can't quite believe it has been a whole year of reviews.. It seems longer than that and yet at the same time, only yesterday that my first post went up. It's been a journey. There have been some amazing snacks and some I wish to forget, some lovely comments and some that leave quite a bit to be desired! I've met some bloomin' brilliant people who I count just as much, if not more, my buddy chums as people I've known for yonks - This blogging malarky is a beautiful business and I would only encourage anyone considering it to give it a go.. You might just find yourself. Anyways, moving on to the real importance of today.. Easter Panettone! 

Yes, you did read that right - Christmas has merged into Easter with a Hot Cross Bun twist on an festive classic! I figure this is quite a natural progression really.. Despite having very little knowledge on the history of said Italian cake as well as being no expert on the religious connotations of it all, but Jesus, right? Lets just eat the bloody thing (It cost £8 from Waitrose, FYI). 

Italian cake made with butter, sultanas and candied orange peel.

Those are some big sultanas right there, studding the top of the cake which can only be described as perfectly golden brown! As you may be able to see, there is a lighter cross through the centre which is ready for the following.. 

A dusting of spiced icing to be sprinkled on with the help of a handy dandy stencil! 

There was no way I was going to miss the full experience here so did as instructed to get my cross - The stencil was surprisingly effective and produced a neat design.. The same can't be said for the table, unfortunately.  

Oh how I love Panettone. Cutting a wedge was a dream with the knife slicing through super easily thanks to the ridiculously light and airy texture of the bread. The pure buttery flavoured dough melted in the mouth after an initial soft chew to deliver the sweet, rich taste that we all know and love. Dotted throughout was an abundance of both plump sultanas as well as chunky pieces of orange peel - I have never seen such big bits with these here being 10 times the size of any bought "tub" kind! Fruitiness came in every mouthful which as expected, paired beautifully with the cakes flavour and with the ever so subtle spice of cinnamon, thanks to that light sprinkling of icing sugar, it certainly rang distant Hot Cross Bun bells! Delicious! 

Once again when it comes to Panettone, I am lost for words to describe how amazing this Easter offering is - It is everything you could ever want it to be and so much more! If I was to be really  really pernickety, the Hot Cross Bun aspect could be elevated just that little bit as it is quite subtle.. But then again, I didn't pour the entire contents of the spiced icing sachet on so perhaps this is my fault. Sensational - It's a 4.5 out of 5 from me!

Lastly.. Just a quick thank you to all of you who continue to read and support R4R. I appreciate it probably more than one should and most likely more than what is deemed normal, but it really does mean the world to me. You're the best Snack Army a Warrior could ask for and I salute you all. Here's to a fabulous and perhaps, slightly less soppy year 2!

Review- M&S NEW Whippy Eggs

I can't remember the last time I had an Easter Egg Hunt.. Would it be wrong to make MSW hide me a few chocolatey goodies at age 22? I don't think so - You're never to old, right? These NEW Whippy Eggs might actually be perfect for the job.. There really is no excuse!   

I picked up the 6 mallow filled Eggs for a rather pricey £3.50 in M&S where they are situated with all the other Easter items - I highly suggest going having a look even if you don't buy anything.. Some of their big Eggs are like works of art! 

Gosh, how cute is the packaging!? Not only are the eggs sat in their very own plastic egg box but they are beautifully wrapped in shiny foils! So pretty! 

It gets better.. A couple of the eggs have Chick faces and there is one with pink stripes! I can imagine Kiddos will love fighting over which colour they want.

Cracking into an egg, the mallow was clear to see and essentially looked like a standard Walnut Whip really! Taste wise, the chocolate itself wasn't all that to write home about with a fairly generic, mild cocoa sort of taste as well as texture - Nothing premium sadly. Going back to that soft, sticky, whipped mallow filling, it was super sweet with a hint of vanilla and definitely something I would be happy to eat by the bucketful. The two elements went well together to make for a simple yet yummy treat. 

Overall, these M&S NEW Whippy Eggs are what they are - Nice enough if you love soft, whipped Fluff like filling but they do seem a bit over priced for what they are, especially when the chocolate is only just average! I would have thought £2 to be about the right going rate but then again, this is the company that charges £8 for cherries! It's a 3 out of 5 from me. 

Review- Tesco Finest Toffee Fudge & Belgian Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

Hands up who likes traditional Hot Cross Buns.. Hands up if you like them fruity but less traditional.. Hands up those who like them rich and chocolatey.. If you're anything like me, I suspect you've just run out of hands! They are all delicious and as it is Easter this weekend, no doubt a lot will be being consumed of all the different flavours. Here is one option that falls in to the latter category - Toffee Fudge & Belgian Chocolate! 

As usual, said Hot Cross Buns were bought in Tesco where they cost £1.50. For some reason, they weren't available when I reviewed the two other Finest Buns back, at the beginning of February (A January purchase).. But if the fruitier options are more up your street, do go have a read! 

Filled with pieces of toffee fudge & Belgian dark chocolate chips. 

Cutting the Bun in half, lots of chocolate chunks and pockets of toffee were plain to see which I do appreciate as a lack of filling, is good to no one! As expected, the quality of the dough itself was superb - Soft and springy in texture with an ever so slight, molasses sort of taste. The borderline runny morsels of toffee added buttery, sweet tones as well as bringing an always pleasant, gooeyness. A rich depth of cocoa came from the studded, chocolate chips which helped cut the sweetness and were surprisingly dark in taste - A good call as I think a milk chocolate would have been far to sweet. Very decadent and very yummy!

I really can't fault Tesco Hot Cross Buns, be it from their regular range or the Finest - They always deliver on a decent soft dough with a quantity of fillings that no one can complain about.. And todays  Toffee Fudge & Belgian Chocolate are no exception! Definitely get yourself a packet before they disappear off the shelves for another year - It's a 4.5 out of 5 from me! 

Review- The Chocolate Smith's Easter Egg Custard Bizarre

As some of you may already know, it was my Birthday last week.. And boy, was I spoilt! All my lovely fellow blogging buddies went a little mad in showering me with gifts and in turn, are pretty much keeping me fed for the forseeable future. This can only mean one thing.. An influx of shout outs! Kicking things off today, is a chocolate bar from the Hand Selfie Snack King that is Kev and I have only one thing to say..

Bored of Easter Eggs? What about Easter Egg Custard? We've created a delicious hand made Belgian white chocolate bar with runny yellow custard filling to give you an entirely different Easter Egg experience! 

THANK GOD IT ISN'T BACON! I'm still quite traumatised from my very thoughtful, yet DISGUSTING Christmas present so was ever to pleased with this LE Easter Egg Custard Bizarre Bar from The Chocolate Smith's.. Thanks Butty, you done good!  

A picture of this chocolate almost didn't occur as I was so intent on scoffing it.. But I do distinctly recall the stripes of pastel orange running horizontally across the underside of the bar with two blobs, looking suspiciously like egg yolks, on the top. This must be the runny custard filling, right? Well, yes but no - There was no run, ooze or goo in sight with a texture that was more of a thick "dry" fondant than the sauce I envisaged. Taste wise, the chunky white chocolate itself was sweet, vanilla-y and a bit like a better quality MilkyBar with a far superior melt and smoothness. As for the custard element, it was neither here nor there.. Not Birds, not Ambrosia and certainly not anything more "premium" - All I could taste was diabetes from pure sugar.. And I liked it!

Overall and although this Easter Egg Custard Bizarre didn't exactly live up to its name or was the custard it promised, I did enjoy it.. And would happily eat another (Kev, take note!) - Who doesn't love a MilkyBar at the end of the day?! Bump up both the ooze factor and custardy flavour and The Chocolate Smith's would be on to a total winner - It's a 3.5 out of 5 from me! 

Review- Tesco Filled Hot Cross Buns: Citrus & Blueberry and Chocolate & Toffee

We are well into March now and with Easter being only 2 weeks away, it's pretty much a free for all on chocolate and Hot Cross Buns until the Bunny arrives.. Because clearly we need an excuse! Today's review is all down to a picture I saw on Twitter which I would link but given it was just under a month ago, there's no chance of locating it.. Thank you anyways to the person who brought these Filled Buns to my attention!

On one of my many jolly trips to Tesco, I picked up said packs of 2, Citrus & Blueberry and Chocolate & Toffee Filled Hot Cross Buns for £1 each. They can be found in the Bakery aisle with the Scones, Muffins and such but I don't expect you'll miss them with such cute packaging - Look at the adorable woodland animals! 

Citrus & Blueberry

White hot cross bun with blueberry jam filling, fresh and candied citrus peel. 

I cut the Bun.. And there was actual filling! - Naturally, I was dubious about just how filled, "Filled" meant but was pleasantly surprised to see a fairly generous dollop in the centre. Soft and squidgy with a texture that was more of a muffin, bun cross than actual dough, the Bun had a tender feel that wasn't dry in the slightest with a very fruit flavour. The jam was pleasantly sweet and sticky and although I wouldn't have identified it as being Blueberry, the fruitiness went wonderfully with the subtle citrus tones of lemon and orange. Everything went well together and although there was no stand out flavour, it was bloomin' delicious! A 4 out of 5 from me. 

Chocolate & Fudge

White hot cross bun with toffee fudge filling, toffee pieces and dark chocolate chips. 

Aaaaaaand my toffee is MIA because..?

Huzzah! It was hiding in the bottom half which I proceeded to claw at - Turns out, it was quite a good filling despite being miles away from the middle. The neatly crossed Bun itself, this time was a lot more like a traditional "dense" dough and not the spongy muffin texture seen above. Taste wise, it was sweet, buttery toffee thanks to the gooey filling which definitely had a Werthers familiarity. The dark chocolate chips were in abundance and added richer bursts of cocoa to cut some of the sweetness.. Although really, it was never not going to be sweet! Very yummy and hit the spot - Another 4 out of 5 from me. 

Overall, these Tesco Filled Hot Cross Buns get two thumbs up from me - They are sweet, scrummy and make a nice change to the usual Easter treat that you've slathered in butter, yourself.. And by butter, I mean Nutella of course! Having checked the other 2 Buns, I can confirm that both the Citrus & Blueberry and the Chocolate & Toffee had decent fillings with even the latters' being in the correct place this time, so I highly recommend you give them a go.. You won't be disappointed and I can guarantee, Kiddos will love them! Nice one, Tescy! 

Review- Lindt Lindor Spring Collection: Milk, Coconut, Stracciatella and Strawberries & Cream

Continuing with the Easter theme and persistent mentioning of Blogging buddies.. Mrs 1T also included these Spring Collection Lindt Lindor Eggs in the very lovely parcel she sent me a few weeks ago. Having read her shining review of the Milk, White & Dark Irresistible Smooth, I was pretty much excited to give this variation a go! 

Milk & white chocolate eggs with assorted filling 

I am not 100% sure where this Spring Collection can be purchased as I haven't seen them in my home away from home, Tesco but I don't expect they should be to hard to find in the supermarkets - A lot of Lindt does seem to be floating about at the minute!

The box contained 14 individually foil wrapped eggs in which 5 were Milk and 3 each of the Coconut, Stracciatella and Strawberries & Cream. 

L-R Milk, Strawberries & Cream, Coconut, Stracciatella 

Do feel free to face plant the screen of your Tech - No one should resist such glorious looking chocolate! Starting with the Milk, it had the standard Lindt scent that we all know and love with a almost cold feel once having cracked through the shell to reveal the very creamy, silky smooth, rich chocolatey taste within - Perfection! Up next was the Strawberries & Cream - I was slightly concerned that I wasn't going to like this one given how I think the Lindor Balls of the very same flavour taste both artificial and medicinal but thankfully, I had nothing to worry about here.. Very sweet due to the white chocolate with an unmissable strawberry kick from the melt in the mouth, baby pink centre, these eggs were delightful and nothing like the aforementioned! Thirdly and perhaps the one I was the most excited about - Coconut! Once again, the shell had a good snap to it and cocoa flavour which paired perfectly with the pure hit of pure tropical goodness of creamy, heavenly coconut. Last but by no means least, was the Stracciatella with its vanilla-y tones from possibly the best white chocolate known to man, velvety inner with a contrasting crunch from the milk chocolate pieces running throughout the shell. Delicious! 

Overall, this Spring Collection of Lindor Eggs is as expected.. Wonderful! Nothing seems to come close to the quality of Lindt Chocolate - Each here is full of flavour, has a fantastic melt and is dangerously moreish. I highly recommend you treat yourself to some or perhaps sweet talk Mrs 1T into buying you a box! It's a 4.5 out of 5 from me.  

Review- Tesco Finest Hot Cross Buns: Extra Fruity and Bramley Apple & Cinnamon

Easter may be a whole month away but in my house, that doesn't prevent us from buying Hot Cross Buns as soon as they hit the shops - We do like them an awful lot and get through packets and packets! Nowadays you seem to be able to get a smorgasbord of different flavours.. I've seen Cherry ones, St Clement, Ginger, Toffee, Chocolate, Mocha - You name it, you can pretty much get it! 

Some say we are boring but we say we are traditional when it comes to the humble Hot Cross Bun. I picked up these tame Finest offerings from Tesco on a 2 for £2 deal - Extra Fruity and Bramley Apple & Cinnamon.. Oo exotic! 

Extra Fruity

Packed with plump orange juice-soaked raisins, sultanas and Chilean flame raisins. With a touch of honey. 

Extra fruity, plump dried fruit? Hell yes - The bun was packed as you can see! Soft and squidgy, the dough itself was the perfect texture and wasn't remotely dry with pieces of fruit running throughout. The signature taste of the well loved Easter treat was very much apparent with its subtle spice and citrus-y notes from the peel as well as the juice. I personally couldn't taste any honey but naturally, there was a sweetness with a super sticky exterior to match. Sheer perfection - A 4 out of 5 from me. 

Bramley Apple & Cinnamon

Made with Kentish Bramley candied apple, juicy sultanas and spiced with cinnamon.

Moving on to the "exotic" option.. Once again, the Hot Cross Bun was packed to the brim with both plump, squidgy dried fruit as well as apple pieces - Although these claimed to be candied, I found them to be much softer than a citrus peel and would have just assumed they were just chunks of the fruit. The warmth of cinnamon paired with the apple went perfectly together and had a very much Autumnal/Christmassy feel which not so surprisingly was a match made in heaven to all the other elements of the melt in the mouth, springy, moist bun. Another 4 out of 5! 

See, it pays not to break from tradition! These Tesco Finest Hot Cross Buns are very enjoyable indeed and far superior to any supermarket regular line, I've ever had - You don't even need to toast or smother them in butter (Although I understand if you do feel the need) because they are perfect as is! I highly recommend you hop on down to Tesco, buy both now and maybe keep your eyes peeled for the Hot Cross Scones of last year for me, as they were superb.. And I am still in denial over the fact they are no longer doing them. Boo.