NEW PRODUCT: M&S 'Taste of the British Isles' British Treat Cakes

Strolling around my local M&S the other day I happened on this newly launched offering consisting of six dainty cakes. Made in the UK and falling under M&S's 'Taste of the British Isles' promotion, I was quickly sold on the joyfulness of the presentation. Admittedly, I did wonder for a second whether they would end up looking better than they tasted but, with their tried-and-tested combinations of ingredients, I thought I was probably on safe ground.

Presentation-wise, as already alluded to, I liked these a lot. The cakes looked fun and the large area of clear plastic allowed them to be shown off well. The card packaging that was employed sported white type with relatively low stroke weight to give a sense of refinement, whilst serif font added a touch of sophistication. Moreover, smart photography accented the design nicely and helped reinforce the idea of a quality product made with real ingredients.

As for the taste, well I started off with the Cherry and Almond Bakewell. Biting in, a beautiful almond flavour came through that was neither too mild nor too strong. The cherry provided a welcome textural contrast whilst the buttercream seemed to work well in bringing together the flavours. Not a bad start at all. 

Second up was the Summer Berry Eton Mess. The sponge was flavoured with what, according to the packaging, was a product of concentrated fruit juices (strawberry, cherry, raspberry and blackberry). The red berries were particularly evident and, on reflection, these flavours could have been more pronounced but, still, it was all very pleasant. The meringue component wasn't overdone in quantity and, again, provided welcome textural contrast with the buttercream bringing everything together on the palate. 

Lastly, the Dark Chocolate and Orange. Akin to a Jaffa Cake, some orange-flavoured jelly hid under the top chocolate layer; indeed, just the smell of this offering reminded me of McVitie's famous creation. Suspecting I would enjoy what I tasted, I merrily tucked in and I have to say it was as delightful as imagined with well balanced measures of dark chocolate and orange carried along by the sponge layers beautifully. 

All in all, the cakes were fun in presentation, their individual components were well proportioned and the core flavours, whilst nothing remarkable, are one's many palates will take great comfort in. For me, the chocolate and orange probably just pipped the others to post simply because I'm a sucker for the flavour combination but, to be honest, I enjoyed all the cakes. A big GBD thumbs up to M&S on this one and a definite recommend.