Review- M&S NEW Spirit of Summer: Very Berry Cheesecake

I've said it before and I'll say it again.. Cheesecake is up there, if not number 1 when it comes to my favourite desserts. When done well, it's hard to find anything better - The biscuit base, the creamy centre, the never ending list of flavour options and toppings.. Cheesecake is an amazing thing and I'll dispute anyone who says otherwise!  

Thankfully, there are no arguments in my house as we all love it and were pretty thrilled to see MSW had bought a Spirit of Summer Very Berry Cheesecake from M&S. Part of a 2 for £6 offer, the 560g chilled dessert which is designed to feed 6, costs £4 when bought individually and is happy to be consumed by the Vegetarians of this world as well as popping into the freezer for a later date. 

A creamy baked Madagascan vanilla cheesecake on a digestive biscuit base with a fruity summer berry topping. 

As instructed, I ran a sharp knife around the inside of the plastic container and pushed the cheesecake up through the centre hole of the base. Much to my delight, I managed not to send the whole thing for a purler and it came out in one piece, albeit a bit snagged around the edges.

The cheesecake cut well into pretty, picture perfect slices, staying completely intact as well as smelling super summery. Taking a forkful, the layers were all plenty thick with the biscuit base being crisp and densely packed, the cheesecake robust yet soft and the berry topping, jelly like with a cool feel. Flavour wise, the tang of fresh berry was the initial hit in being surprisingly tart with very little sweetness.. The taste actually reminded me a bit of the kids Frube/Choob, Forest Fruit (Or whatever they were called!) yoghurts from back in the day! The middle layer was as expected - Extremely creamy and rich with tones of vanilla throughout and far superior to a non baked cheesecake. As for the biscuit, this was where most of the sweetness came into play with the signature digestive taste that just paired up beautifully with the other elements. Yum! 

Overall, this Spirit of Summer Very Berry Cheesecake is a seriously good dessert from M&S! I can find very little fault in it apart from maybe the lack of overall sweetness not being to everyones taste.. I however wasn't fussed in the slightest! I will most definitely be having to try the Sunken Caramel/Dulce de Leche Cheesecake now too! It's a 4.5 out of 5 from me today! 

Review- Tesco NEW Jaffa Cake

I have fond memories of myself and BSW scoffing packets and packets of Jaffa Cakes when we were little.. I hate to think how many boxes MSW actually bought as no matter how many we seemed to get through, there was always more in the cupboard! We still love them to this day but now that we are big (Or at least pretend to be), we are broadening our horizons, branching out, being bold.. Eating Jaffa Desserts! 

I picked up this 430g frozen cake in Tesco for £2 after eyeing it up for a good couple of months - I was lured in by the spongey, orangey, moussey, chocolate and couldn't refuse any longer! As it contains Beef gelatine, it's not suitable to Veggies, I'm afraid.. But I am sure there is something that is, given the extent of the Dessert section! 

Baked orange filling on a sponge base, topped with orange flavoured cream cheese mousse and flooded with a chocolate flavour topping. 

As instructed, I left the Cake to defrost at room temperature for about 2 hours although it was soft and squidgy long before - Perfect if you're in a hurry. As for the "wet" thawed topping.. I did try to dab it to get a lovely glossy finish but that failed. Clearly. Never mind! 

Cutting a slice, the knife went through the soft layers a dream to produce a really quite neat wedge! A squidgy cakey base kicked things off nicely with a melt in the mouth texture thanks to being extremely light and fluffy. Jelly like pieces were the first thing to deliver a whiff of orangey with the pillow-y mousse layer adding both creamy and further citrus tones - I didn't find the flavour to be artificial nor real but just about right and certainly that of a Jaffa Cake! The thick chocolate on top paired up with the orange well as expected but alone tasted uncanny to the Askeys Crackin' Ice Cream Sauce which I just so happen to love! Good proportions and surprisingly moreish! 

Overall, this Tesco Jaffa Cake is really quite a delight! It's orangey but not overly so with lovely fillings to compliment, whilst being quick and relatively cheap! One thing to note though is that it doesn't deliver any hint of Cheesecake despite being listed as one on the Tesco website so if you were hoping for a tang.. You ain't going to get one! Oh and you best buy 2 as this is one Dessert that is all to easy to eat - I don't know on what planet that it would feed half a dozen! - A solid, 4 out of 5 from me today!