Review: Cadbury Dairy Milk Egg 'n' Spoon Oreo

It's the start of a new year so that only means one thing - it's time for Easter! Amongst all the usual Easter products that are now appearing in the supermarkets is this new gem - the Cadbury Dairy Milk Egg 'n' Spoon Oreo. 

Just like previous products in the Cadbury Dairy Milk Egg 'n' Spoon range, there are four mousse-filled chocolate eggs in a purple carton. 

Inside the Oreo egg is a soft vanilla mousse filling with Oreo Biscuit pieces. The mousse has quite a thick texture but it's still soft enough to be spoonable. The biscuit pieces add plenty of crunch to the texture and work perfectly with the sweet and creamy flavour. It's all extremely sugary, especially with the Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate outer egg, but the creaminess balances out the flavours and creates a lovely sweet treat. 

As a fan of the Cadbury Dairy Milk with Oreo chocolate bar (which is one of the few Cadbury products I buy anymore), I'll definitely be buying a few more packs of the Egg 'n' Spoon Oreo closer to Easter. I'd take these over a  Cadbury Creme Egg anyday! 

Grocery Gems Review: Cadbury Egg 'n' Spoon Oreo

RATING: 7 out of 10
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (per egg 34g): 191 calories.
Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians symbol on pack.
Purchased: Co-Op.
Price: £2.00p.

Spotted Instore: Easter at Marks & Spencer

I've been meaning to post these photos for ages but I hope they're still useful for anyone who's left their Easter shopping until the last minute. I was in my local M&S yesterday and they still had most of these products available (actually all apart from the Disney ones). I realise some people are eating Easter chocolates already but I'm a bit of a traditionalist so for me it isn't time for chocolate eggs until Easter Sunday!

Percy, Penny & Piglets - £10.00p (above): This one is so cute, from the pigs holding hands to the bright packaging! There are two medium shaped chocolate characters and a bag of Piglets sweets too. 

The Orange Carrot - £6.00p: A large carrot shaped white chocolate, orange flavoured egg. This is such a simple idea but it's still a very striking looking egg.

M&S Hen House - £10.00p: This one is really cute too - although it's a bit pricey for the size. It's a white and milk chocolate hen house with hollow milk chocolate chicks. 

M&S Eggsplosion - £6.00p: This is a fun and colourful new Easter egg from M&S. It features two of their new Crazy One chocolate bars with a matching medium egg containing popping candy and popcorn.

Star Wars R2D2 - £7.00p: The Disney tie-in Easter eggs are just perfection this year. This R2D2 is a medium sized milk chocolate figure and is fully detailed and decorated with white chocolate highlights. 

Disney Frozen Arundelle Castle - £8.00p: This white chocolate castle is so pretty. I love all the little details and the blue colouring for the turrets and door. Perfect for any fans of the Disney Frozen movie.

  

Spiketail The Dinosaur - £6.00p: Again, this is such a gorgeously detailed chocolate figure, even though this dinosaur is menacing rather than cute! I love the fact that it comes with speckled 'dinosaur eggs' too. 

Colin the Caterpillar, Colin's Apple - £8.00p: How cute is this? My kids are far too old for this one but it would be my number one choice for any younger kids. The large milk chocolate apple is decorated with a green leaf on top and holes for the caterpillar jelly sweets. 

Chirpy Charlie Chick - £12.00p: A large white chocolate egg. This one looks quite simple and plain so I'm not sure why it's so expensive. 

Beehive Honeycomb Egg - £8.00p: I love the fact that so many of the M&S Easter eggs are not actually egg shaped. This one features a whole beehive shaped chocolate with chocolate bees and  8 smaller eggs filled with Scottish honey. 

M&S Coffee Lovers Egg - £8.00p: Of course M&S also has a range of elegant, grown up Easter eggs too. I'll be honest I find the brighter, fun ones much more interesting! This Coffee Lovers Egg is certainly majestic looking.

M&S Single Origin Cocoa Pod - £12.00p: A distinctive chocolate that is shaped as a giant cocoa pod. It's a hand painted dark chocolate made with cocoa from the Dominican Republic. 

M&S Sculptured Column Egg: Not sure on the price for this one. It's more of a traditional looking Easter egg but with a sculptural twist. I like the gold decoration and the fact that the chocolate looks super thick!

M&S A Constellation of Assorted Eggs: M&S has an awesome range of space themed Easter eggs. This constellation set is my favourite Easter product I've seen so far and the whole reason I'm even doing this post (I couldn't find any photos of it online!). It's an assortment of hollow and filled eggs featuring milk, white and dark chocolates. I'll hopefully have a review soon. 

M&S Saturn Egg with Marc de Champagne Chocolates - £18.00p: This egg is simply stunning! I actually would have been tempted to buy this one, despite the pricetag, if it was a different flavour. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate or Marc de Champagne so I was able to resist!

M&S The Giant Cosmic Egg - £40.00p: Funnily enough, the most expensive egg in the space-themed range, is also the least impressive to me. Yes, it's very large but each one in my local store looked quite ropey with half the smaller eggs falling out of their holes in the large egg. I much prefer the look of the previous two sets above. 

If you've tried any of these M&S Easter eggs then I'd love to know whether you enjoyed them in the comments below - thank you!

New Instore: Butterkist Hot Cross Bun Popcorn

A big thank you to Richard W. who sent me this photo via Twitter.

Butterkist Limited Edition Hot Cross Bun Popcorn: Butterkist released a Gingerbread Popcorn at Christmas (which I have to admit I never got around to trying) and have followed it up with this cheerful Easter edition. It's a limited edition so give it a try while you can! Purchased at the Cadbury outlet in Braintree, Essex but should be in supermarkets soon!

If you spot this one instores then let us know where it's available in the comments below. Also, if you've tried it then I'd love to know whether you whether you enjoyed it. Thank you :) 

Review: Galaxy Golden Eggs

I bought these a few weeks ago having been enchanted by the idea of golden coloured eggs - this really is a great idea from Galaxy. Of course, I fully intended to keep these under wraps until Easter, but my willpower clearly had other ideas. 

And wow, do these Golden Eggs live up to their name. They look gorgeous, in fact they're so aesthetically pleasing that I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to eat them. I was tempted to just keep them in a bowl for decoration.

Inside the Galaxy Golden Eggs are filled with Galaxy chocolate and crunchy caramel pieces. There's not really too much to say about the flavour here, it's the Galaxy chocolate that we all know with the caramel pieces just adding a bit of crunch. They're certainly tasty enough but not really anything new in terms of flavour. These are clearly all about the bling. I mean, seriously how good are these going to look for decorating Easter bakes or treats. I can't wait to make some simple cereal chocolate nests with these Golden Eggs inside. I'll definitely be buying a few more packs before Easter!

Grocery Gems Review: Galaxy Golden Eggs

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Tesco
Price: £1.00p for 80g (about 17 eggs in the pack).

New Instore: Easter at Aldi

A quick round up of the new Easter selection at Aldi. 

Dairy Fine Super Minis Easter Egg: If your looking for something a bit different from the same old Cadbury or Mars selection egg then this Super Minis Easter Egg might just be a fun replacement. It contains mini versions of Aldi chocolates such as Jive, Titan, Dreamy (which are very similar to Twis, Mars and Milky Way). £2.79p at Aldi for 347g.

Choceur Eggjoyables: These look so cute, I had to buy both packs (let's see if they last until Easter!). The Aldi Eggjoyables consist of egg carton boxes containing four cream filled eggs (and two spoons) in two varieties; Chocolate or Vanilla. They look similar to the Cadbury Egg N' Spoon, but of course, a little cheaper. £1.49p per box at Aldi.

Dairy Fine Mini Beanie Eggs: Apologies for the terrible photo but these also looked interesting. Each 100g bag is filled with 8 quite big chocolate bean filled eggs. They remind me of those little Smarties filled chicks that usually cost something like 2 for £1.00p. I picked up a few bags of the Dairy Fine Mini Beanie Eggs instead - very useful for Easter egg hunts. £0.99p each bag at Aldi.

Dairy Fine Choccies Medium Egg: On the subject of chocolate beans I was also tempted by this colourful Choccies filled egg at the bargain price of 79p. If you've tried it then let me know in the comments below - thanks! £0.79p at Aldi.

Moser Roth Easter Eggs: They had quite a few impressive looking Easter Eggs in the more upmarket Moser Roth range. I saw four varieties: Banoffee Pie, Dark Fudge Brownie, Pink Delight or Chocolate Wonder. Not sure on the price but I think they were around the £3.49p mark. Will update.

Easter Marshmallows: I'm a sucker for a novelty shaped marshmallow and I couldn't resist picking up these Bunny & Chick Shaped Marshmallows. £0.99p for 225g at Aldi.

Star Wars Sweet Popcorn: And lastly, I couldn't resist including this non-Easter item. Perhaps stretching the boundaries of acceptable merchandising, but this multipack of popcorn is actually quite impressive looking. Each of the bags features a solid R2-D2 design on the front which looks really cool. Also available in a Disney Frozen version. £1.49p at Aldi.

As always if you've spotted any new products instore then I'd love to hear from you - email grocerygems@gmail.com or tweet me @grocerygems.

Review: Cadbury Eggciting Layers of Joy

The new Cadbury Eggciting Layers of Joy is a fun looking dessert that is made up of several different layers. There's a milk chocolate mouse at the bottom, a thin layer of sponge cake in the middle, all topped with a fondant layer that looks just like an egg.

The overall dessert is certainly very impressive looking, especially the 'egg' on top!

The fondant layer on top is actually much firmer than it looks and  holds it's shape well. The flavour here is extra sugary and sweet, which is balanced out by the plainer sponge layer below. The whole thing is finished off nicely with the creamy and fluffy chocolate mousse at the bottom. It all combines to create a very satisfying sweet treat and it's even more enjoyable than the smaller Cadbury Creme Egg Pots of Joy.

Grocery Gems Review: Cadbury Eggciting Layers of Joy

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (per 90g serving): 204 calories.

Purchased: Co-Op.
Price: £1.00p per pack (two pots).

Review: Kinder Joy (UK Release)

 

A quick review of this new release for the UK. I previously reviewed Kinder Joy in a post about German candies a couple of years ago and it's great to finally see this product available here. 

The Kinder Joy is quite different to the more familiar Kinder Surprise chocolate egg. Instead of a foil wrapped chocolate, the Kinder Joy is made up of two plastic halves, that are individually sealed. 

The foil covered side contains a sweet treat of creamy and milk chocolate layers with two crispy chocolate and wafer balls There's even a little plastic scoop included to make it easier to eat. The other half contains a toy that is usually a bit bigger than the ones you'd find in a Kinder Surprise. Ours had a little tennis set with two little rackets and ball. (UPDATE: In our second Kinder Joy, the surprise was a kids plastic ring (like costume jewellery) with a large colourful flower). Overall, the Kinder Joy is a nice treat for the kids and I'm sure it will be a popular product over Easter.

Grocery Gems Review: Kinder Joy

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.

Purchased: Co-Op.
Price (updated): £1.00p each or 2 for £1.60p.

Review: Lindt Gold Bunny Story Book

I was lucky enough to be sent a delightful Lindt Gold Bunny Story Book (and a Lindt Gold Bunny too!) via the lovely people at Degustabox. Lindt is often featured in the monthly Degustabox foodie parcels with the recent March Degustabox including two bags of Lindt Lindor Mini Eggs. 

The Lindt Gold Bunny Story Book is a large rectangular box with 11 "doors" to open. Inside there is a sweet story all about the Gold Bunny on one side, with a meadow to explore on the other side where all the Easter treats have been hidden. It's such a cute idea - basically a cross between an Easter egg hunt and an advent calendar.

It's just so adorable! There are 3 x Gold Bunny, 2 x Lamb, 2 x Chick, 3 x Hollow Eggs and 5 x Solid Mini Eggs chocolates hidden behind the doors. We've opened up a few of the doors so far, but we haven't actually eaten any of the chocolates yet. The whole thing is so special that I'm saving it for Easter Sunday. 

Whilst on the subject of Lindt Easter products I just have to mention the Lindt Hazelnut Bunny (with the green ribbons above). I thought I had reviewed one of these last year but it must have eaten before I could take any photos! Anyway, the Lindt Hazelnut Bunny is one of my favourite Easter treats, it's just so delicious. The smooth milk chocolate is filled with crunchy and flavourful hazelnut pieces - complete chocolate perfection! I bought these in Waitrose for £2.50p each.

I don't think I have ever seen the Lindt Gold Bunny Story Book before in the shops, but having a quick look online it's actually available from Ocado for only £4.00p (special offer price). Let me know if you've tried any of the Lindt Easter range!

New Instore: Asda Jaffa Cake Ice Creams & A Hidden Surprise Easter Cake!

Asda Jaffa Cake Ice Creams: Many thanks to Ash via Twitter for this fab photo and find. These Jaffa Cake Ice Creams are described as having layers of zesty ice cream, orange jelly and soft sponge, all wrapped in a milk chocolate flavour shell. I really have to try these! £2.00p at Asda. 

Image: Asda

Asda Egg-Splat Surprise Chocolate Cake: I couldn't resist sharing this fun looking cake that I spotted on the Asda website. It's a chocolate sponge cake with a hidden surprise gooey fondant centre - basically it's a Creme Egg in cake form!

It really does look like a great cake - I'll definitely be heading to Asda to buy one for the Easter weekend! £8.00 at Asda.

As always, if you've spotted or bought any interesting new products then I'd love to hear from you too - grocerygems@gmail.com or @grocerygems.

Review: Limited Edition Müller Kids Corner Easter Eggs Yogurt

There have been so many new Müller yogurts released in the last few weeks and I was especially curious about the Limited Edition Kids Corner Easter Eggs. The packaging is vibrant and fun, and looks like a cute product for Easter time. 

The Müller Kids Corner Easter Eggs are vanilla flavoured yogurts with a side portion of white chocolate coated cereal pieces - not chocolate mini eggs!

Even though the egg shaped cereal balls are brightly coloured, their appearance is still slightly disappointing. I was expecting them to look a bit more like Easter eggs on the packaging, perhaps with a speckled pattern. These look more like sweets or jelly beans rather than Easter eggs. Having said that, my kids enjoyed these yogurts and they liked the fun egg shapes (even though they are both too old for these things!). 

The vanilla yogurt and white chocolate cereal balls combination has been used in many of the other Müller Kids Corner range, such as the Müller Kids Footballs and Blast Off yogurts, and is a popular one with my kids. The cereal balls have a lovely sweet crunch and taste delicious with the creamy vanilla yogurt. 

There is also a new Müller Kids Corner Butterflies variety available with a strawberry flavour yogurt and white chocolate coated cereal butterfly shapes.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Müller Kids Corner Easter Eggs Yogurts

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (per 100g): 146 calories. 
Purchased: Asda. 
Price: £0.95p for multipack of 4 (introductory offer).

Review: M&S Berries & Cherries Hot Cross Buns

A quick review of the new Berries & Cherries Hot Cross Buns from Marks & Spencer. I'm not actually sure if these are new for 2015 or if they are a returning product from previous years. There are lots of different flavours of hot cross buns available nowadays, such as the Tesco Double Chocolate and the M&S Toffee Fudge, and I was keen to try this Berries & Cherries variety too.

They're described as hot cross buns with raspberries, cranberries, blackberries and cherries. Looking at the ingredients the fruits listed are; Vostizza currants, Turkish sultanas, dried mixed berries and glacé cherries. The buns themselves look delicious, with lots of fruity pieces visible.

Initially the Berries & Cherries have the same spiced flavour as regular hot cross buns. However, the combination of sweetened dried fruits and glacé cherries gives the buns a much sweeter flavour overall. There was a strong raspberry flavour coming through in these buns, which I particularly enjoyed, aswell as secondary flavours of cherry and blackberry. I'm not usually a fan of the texture and taste of glacé cherries but the relatively small pieces meant they didn't dominate the other fruits. Overall, these are an interesting twist on traditional hot cross buns from Marks & Spencer and I'd definitely buy them again.

Grocery Gems Verdict: M&S Berries & Cherries Hot Cross Buns

Rating: 8 out of 10

Nutrition: 186 calories per bun.

Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians. 

Purchased: Marks & Spencer.
Price: £1.50p.