RECENT ADDITION: M&S Scottish All Butter Heather Honey & Oats Shortbread Rounds

The other day I reviewed M&S's Eton Mess Shortbread Rounds (see here) as a Scottish instalment in the brand's growing 'Taste of..." promotion. Two problems I had with this offering were that the Eton Mess twist wasn't at all Scottish and, in the tasting, didn't really come through. That said, the core shortbread was lovely and I thought the range still had promise in it so I turned to this much more Scottish sounding oats and Heather Honey variant.

As with the Eton Mess rounds, the packaging for this offering is lovely.  Refined type, tartan strip and delightful photography come together in a mature design that reinforces the quality and provenance of the product. The rounds themselves aren't quite as visually interesting as the Eton Mess ones; however, they are still nicely baked with a slightly knobbly top thanks to the oats. 

Taste-wise, thankfully, these are a step up from the Eton Mess ones. The oats supports the lovely buttery shortbread with their coarser texture whilst the Heather honey comes through gently with its distinctive flavour appreciable. Indeed, there's a bit of the flapjack about these that's hard to resist. 

In summary, these shortbread rounds boast the strong basic packaging that's shared across the accompanying range. Moreover, they deliver on flavour with the character of the Heather honey evident and working in almost flapjack-like concert with the oats. Simple yet effective stuff that gets another recommend from me. 

RECENT ADDITION: M&S 'Taste of Wales' Welsh Cakes

Baked on a griddle and served either hot or cold, the traditional Welsh Cake is a simple yet delicious treat that complements a cup of tea beautifully. That said, when I saw packets of them in M&S the other day as a 'Taste of Wales' product, I struggled to remember the last time I had one. Needless to say, I took the moment as the perfect opportunity to remedy the situation.

The packaging employs a large area of clear plastic to show off the Welsh Cakes's lovely, golden exterior. The card packaging that is used appropriately sports the red of Wales and, in keeping with the quality of the product, features refined type and smart-looking product imagery.

The Welsh Cakes themselves look the job with their browned exteriors temptingly dusted with sugar and studded with currants. Biting in, the cake's soft body is delightfully punctuated by the chew of the currants, the slightly sweet edge of the dusting and, finally, the gentle wave of nutmeg. Indeed, the inclusion of spice elevates these cakes to another level and delivers an incredibly moreish teatime treat.

All in all, the packaging may be no-frills but it delivers the basics well to help reinforce the product's quality and provenance. As for the cakes, they prove a reasonably light, flavoursome offering with a beautifully spiced edge to them. Recommended. 

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.

RECENT ADDITION: M&S Battenberg Biscuits

Some months back, M&S launched a wave of retro-inspired products. All sporting a 'Tastes of the British Isles' banner, the offerings spanned sweet and savoury and aimed to celebrate the best of traditional foods - something GBD wholeheartedly supports. One particularly fun element came in the form of biscuits based on classic British cakes and puddings, including, as featured here, good old Battenberg cake. Admittedly, at the time, I missed out on all of this as M&S wasn't terribly accessible where I lived; however, a store has recently opened in my local town and, seeing these biscuits still knocking around, I knew I had to give them a go.

Presentation-wise, I liked these. The imagery was clean and fresh conveying a distinctly summery feel. The product name text sported fine, unfussy lettering that stood out elegantly against the pink background. The accompanying bit of historical text was a nice touch and provided insight in to the source of inspiration. As for the biscuits themselves, I thought they looked great with that classic square, checkerboard design certainly bringing something different to the biscuit tin. 

With regards to taste, I will start by saying that, as a cake, Battenberg is something I'm slightly wary of. Shop-bought versions all too often reduce this offering to a barrage of sweetness leaving all but quirky looks and nostalgia to redeem things. Indeed, homemade Battenberg should burst with flavour from the nuttiness of the marzipan to the light sponge punctuated with sweet jam. To that end, I was really hoping this biscuit spin-off would shine were others have faltered.   

Digging in, the almonds immediately shone through and the initial hit was pleasant. However, unfortunately, things almost immediately went downhill as the almond flavour became really quite bitter. First, I thought the biscuits just lacked a touch of sweetness but, on reflection, I'm confident too much 'flavouring' - what I assume to be something like almond essence - has been added.  I suppose you could pair these with sweet tea to offset the taste but, at the end of the day, the almonds really need to reigned in to balance things and allow other flavours to express themselves.

To sum up, these Battenberg biscuits looked the part with a quirky, colourful appearance. Moreover, for a product purporting to represent the best of British, kudos to M&S for using an all butter recipe and not resorting to cheap vegetable oils. However, I have to admit that I found the almond flavour overdone and really quite bitter. There were elements of promise but, ultimately, these didn't work for me.

BRAND LINKS
M&S Website - Food & Wine Page

RECENT ADDITION: M&S Dessert Menu Tiramisu

Simply put, I adore tiramisu. The mature combination of cream, sponge, coffee and alcohol of some kind is one to be savoured. To that end, I didn't need much convincing on this offering from Marks & Spencer with its promise of a rather delicious sounding amaretto-flavoured cream layer. 

The packaging was pretty attractive with the sleek black and gold presentation box communicating a classy, sophisticated feel. The little window was also a nice touch with the dessert temptingly on view.   

As for the look of the dessert itself, the plastic container come shot glass was fun and showed off the nicely defined layers well. Of course, the presentation was a bit less impressive than the product shot with the whiteness of the cream slightly 'muddied' in areas and the chocolate shards not quite as voluminous. That said, they've tried to have some fun with it and I've certainly seen a lot worse.

Tucking in, the cream shone immediately thanks to the punchy amaretto. With coffee-soaked sponge soon weighing in and bits of chocolate punctuating the experience, the flavours and textures were wonderfully varied and complementary. Admittedly, it would have been nice to have had two coffee-soaked sponge layers so you didn't have to dig down so far to get a spoonful of both components but, all things considered, these were delicious. 

Costing £3 for the two desserts (or £10 as part of a very economical 'dinner for two' deal), these tiramisus were presented in a fun way and delivered bags of flavour - the amaretto cream was beautiful. These get a definite GBD thumbs up.

BRAND LINKS

Marks & Spencer Website - Food and Wine Page

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