Review: Ben & Jerry's Speculoos? Specu-Love Cookie Core Ice Cream

Ben & Jerry's recently launched a range of Cookie Core ice creams in three biscuit inspired varieties; Speculoos? Specu-Love, What-a-Lotta Chocolate, and Utter Peanut Butter Clutter. Being a fan of all things Speculoos, I had to give the new Ben & Jerry's Speculoos? Specu-Love flavour a try first. 

The Ben & Jerry's Sepculoos? Specu-Love is described as a Caramel Ice Cream with Caramelised Cookies & a Crumbled Caramelised Cookie Core. Interestingly it differs from the recent American version of this ice cream which has two flavours of ice cream, Dark Caramel and Vanilla, (see reviews on The Impulsive Buy and On Second Scoop), whereas our version just has the one Caramel flavour ice cream. 

I couldn't help but delve straight into the centre to try the Cookie Core itself and was quite surprised to find the core has a gritty and crumbly texture rather than being a softer centre. For some reason I had expected the core to be similar to the Biscoff Speculoos Biscuit Spread with it's smoother texture, but it's really nothing at all like that spread. The flavour is quite different too (this is not a Lotus collaboration after all) and the Speculoos biscuits used in the Ben & Jerry's Cookie Core have spicier notes of cinnamon and ginger. The Caramel ice cream has quite a plain brown sugar type of flavour but it does provide a creamy background to the stronger Cookie Core. The added lumps of Speculoos Cookies within the ice cream itself give an extra crunchiness and welcome burst of additional spiced cookie flavour. The whole combination is a pleasing mix of smooth and crunchy, creamy and crumbly, all with the flavours of brown sugar and spiced cookie. 

I'm definitely a 'more is more' type of person when it comes to ice cream, and even though I enjoyed this Ben & Jerry's Speculoos? Specu-Love, I would have preferred if they had added some caramel sauce into the mix (or if the Cookie Core was more like the Speculoos biscuit spread!).

If you've tried any of the new Ben & Jerry's Cookie Core ice creams then please let me know what you thought of them in the comments below.

Grocery Gems Review: Ben & Jerry's Speculoos? Specu-Love Cookie Core Ice Cream

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Maybe but I'll try the other Cookie Core flavours first.
Purchased: Sainsbury's.

Price: £3.00p.

New Instore: Ben & Jerry's Speculoos Ice Cream, Easter Cakes & More!

A round up of new products spotted instore - let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these!

Ben & Jerry's Speculoos? Specu-love Cookie Core: Any regular readers will know how much I love Speculoos as a flavour. I'm barely over the excitement of the Krispy Kreme Biscoff doughnut and along comes another awesome speculoos biscuit inspired product. There are two other new varieties available in this Cookie Core range; What-a-Lotta Chocolate Cookie Core and Utter Peanut Butter Clutter Cookie Core. I'm sure I'll try those last two eventually but look out for my review of the Speculoos variety soon! £3.00p at Sainsbury's.

Limited Edition Fab Tropical: I didn't get the best picture of the box - it shows lots of tropical fruits along the bottom. I'm a fan of the Fab range, especially during the summer, as it's a relatively low calorie choice for an ice cream/lolly and I'm looking forward to trying this new Tropical variety.  Review coming soon! £2.00p at Sainsbury's.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Ice Creams: For some reason I'm not that excited about these ice creams from Cadbury, and I wasn't really tempted to buy them at £4.00p a tub. The flavours above are; Zingy Raspberry Choc Brownie and Jelly Popping Candy. The first one doesn't sound too bad but I think I'll pass on the second one. £4.00p each at Sainsbury's.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Ice Creams: There was also this yellow tub which is a bizarre Salted Caramel & Sour Cherry concoction. I was disappointed that this wasn't a banana ice cream instead! If you try any of these varieties then I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. £4.00p at Sainsbury's.

Magnum Pink Raspberry: I've posted about the new Magnum Pink and Magnum Black before. I had heard that they were available at Tesco but I haven't been able to find them in a Tesco near me. I finally spotted them today in Sainsbury's at £3.40p.

Magnum Mini Pink & Black: I was hoping that the new Magnum Pink & Black would be available as Mini version but I didn't expect to find them both in a Multipack too. I much prefer the mini sized Magnums, as I find the large ones a bit too much to eat in one go, but the smaller sizes are perfect. I picked up a pack of these too - my freezer is now well stocked with ice creams! £2.00p at Sainsbury's.

Walls After School Family Favourites: Not new, but an interesting new rebranding as "after school" snacks for this selection of classic Walls ice creams. £3.00p at Sainsbury's.

Walls Push Up with Haribo Gold Bears; I think these have been available individually in freezer cabinets and from ice cream vans but I don't remember seeing them for sale in a multipack before. I wonder if they are replacing the Walls Haribo Dino Candy Ice Lollies? £2.50p at Sainsbury's.

Walker's Limited Edition Linda's Chicken & Chorizo: I can't find any information about these but they don't seem to be part of any new Walker's flavour competition. I tried these today and they're very tasty with a distinctive smoky chorizo flavour, I'll have a full review soon. £1.50 at Sainsbury's.

Bahlsen Choco Leibniz White: These are white chocolate covered cocoa biscuits. I've tried the Choco Liebniz Milk Chocolate and Caramel varieties before but never this White chocolate version. I picked up a pack while they're on special offer. £1.00p at Sainsbury's.

McVities Marie Biscuits: I was quite surprised to see McVities branded Marie biscuits in the UK. Marie Biscuits (also known as Maria in Spain/Portugal) are the European version of Rich  Tea biscuits. They have a slightly different taste and I always used to pick up a few packs on holiday. At least McVities didn't release their Finger Marie version here in the UK! £1.20 at Sainsbury's.

Mr Kipling Lemon Fancies: Once again there are lots of lemon and orange flavoured cakes for Easter. I'll refer you my post last year "New Instore: Easter Cakes" as I spotted most of the same products - just with different packaging. Also back are the Mr. Kipling Lemon Whirls and Mr Kipling St. Clements Slices. £1.00p at Sainsbury's.

Shape Pineapple & Coconut Special Edition: A tropical inspired 0% fat yogurt with 63 calories per pot. £1.00p at Sainsbury's. 

Müller Light Inspired by Barbados Piña Coloda: This is quite similar to the Müller Light Inspired by Bali yogurt from last year, except with added Rum flavour! £0.70p each at Sainsbury's.

Lidl Jolly Choc Spreads: I'm not sure if these are exactly new but it's certainly the first time I've seen them. These are chocolate spreads with added chocolate drops - basically mini Smarties - in either Chocolate Spread or Milk Spread. They're available this week as part of the Lidl "Taste of the USA" promotion. £1.29 at Lidl. £0.99p each at Lidl.

Don't forget if you spot any new products in store please let me know via email - grocerygems@gmail.com. Thank you!

Review: Krispy Kreme Lotus Caramelised Biscoff Doughnuts

It was exciting enough when the delicious Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Biscuit Spread arrived in the UK in 2012, but this new combination of Biscoff Caramelised Biscuit and Krispy Kreme doughnut is just pure genius. I'm assuming if you're reading this review that you've probably already tried either the Lotus Caramalised biscuits or the delicious spreadable version, and are already familiar with their gorgeous caramelised sugar and cinnamon flavours (if not - try it!). 

Apologies for the next photo, if you've browsed this blog before, then you'll know I usually put time and effort into the photography side, but honestly, would you stop and take more photos when you have one of these in front of you? I took this very quick (and terrible) photo of the filling, but I think I'll have to buy this doughnut again just to take more photos... *any excuse*

The Krispy Kreme Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Biscuit Doughnut is described as being filled with a Kreme infused with Lotus Caramelised biscuit spread filling, iced with more Biscoff spread, and topped with Biscoff biscuit crumbs and white chocolate. The filling is a signature "Kreme" with added Biscoff spread. This gives the smooth and creamy filling a lovely caramelised biscuit edge. It's not too strong, but it's just enough to give the recognisably gorgeous speculoos flavour. Most of the actual Lotus Biscoff flavour, however, comes from the layer of Biscoff spread and extra sprinkling of crushed Biscoff biscuits on top of the doughnut. This provides plenty of the gorgeous caramlised sugar and cinnamon flavour that we all love. 

Overall, the combination is sublime and makes this one of the best flavoured Krispy Kreme doughnuts that I've ever tried. I don't often buy Krispy Kreme doughnuts (the last ones I tried were the Caramel Collection doughnuts in 2013), but I'll certainly be back again in future if they keep the Lotus Caramelised Biscoff doughnut on the menu.

Of course, I couldn't resist getting my kids the new Krispy Kreme Love Bug Hug doughtuts. These adorable heart shaped doughnuts are filled with strawberry jam and topped with a super sweet layer of strawberry icing too. I didn't get to try these but my kids absolutely loved them!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Krispy Kreme Lotus Caramelised Biscoff Doughnuts

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: YES.
Purchased: Tesco (Krispy Kreme stand).
Price: 3 doughnuts for £3.45p.

German Grocery Exchange Part 4 - Christmas Edition!

Followers of my blog may know that I've taken part in some wonderful grocery exchanges with the lovely Steffi from Germany. You can take a look at our previous exchanges posts; the original German Grocery Exchange HERE, Part 2 HERE, and Part 3 (the World Cup Edition!) HERE. I'm delighted that Steffi and I were able to arrange another snack swap (last month), and because it was so close to December we decided to make it Christmas themed. Germany is of course famous for it's Christmas markets and traditional yuletide snacks, so I knew that this was going to be an extra special exchange. Here's a quick run down of the delicious Christmas selection that Steffi sent me:

Haribo Color-Rado Winter Edition: This is a new limited edition of the classic Color-Rado Mix from Haribo. Steffi tells me that there are lots of new flavours in this pack and helpfully provided an explanation of all the flavous listed on the back. I'll have a full review soon. There are some really interesting flavours in here - far more unusual than we get in the UK:

Heiße Zitrone  - which is a hot lemon type drink (sounds like Lemsip!)

Winter Kirshe - literally translates as winter cherry 

Bratapfel - baked apple (yum!)

Vanillekipferl - a classic German Christmas biscuit 

Karamell-Lakritz - Caramel Liquorice

Schneeflöckchen - "Little Snowflakes" (they have a sweet fruity flavour)

Bunte Elche - "Colourful Mooses" - there are different flavours including gingerbread.

Nimm2 Lachgummi: A large bag of fruity gummies. These sweets come in lots of shapes that kids can use to build faces with, and this special limited edition includes Christmas shapes too. If you look closely at the left hand lower corner of the packaging you can see a reindeer made of the fruity pieces. My boys are absolutely loving these sweets - they are so sweet and fruity and the shapes are super fun too!

Yogurette Wintertraum - Bratapfel & Zimt: Yogurette are similar to Ferrero Duplo sticks (and are also made by Ferrero), but are seen as a healthier version as they are made with yogurt flavoured fillings. In our last grocery exchange, Steffi had included the World Cup, Brazil inspired, limited edition Yogurette, which were a tasty white chocolate and lime combination (see HERE). This time there is a lovely "winter dream" edition which is Baked Apple & Cinnamon flavour - doesn't that sound gorgeous? I really wish we could get chocolates with such wonderful flavour combinations here in the UK. These are Steffi's favourites and I can see why, the sweet apple and cinnamon flavours make a delicious pairing with the tangy yogurt filling.

Haribo Weihnachtssterne (Christmas Stars): Another festive treat in the shape of these Haribo Christmas Stars. These are large foam, star shaped sweets in three flavours; cream, vanilla and caramel. The packaging looks wonderful, like a little gift, and would make a lovely stocking filler.

Heilemann Confisene Pralinés: Heilemann is a brand I've never tried before but Steffi tells me their chocolates are delicious. This Christmas selection looks beautiful in it's festive box with a little felt Christmas tree on the front. Inside there are four different chocolates; Gianduja-Nougat, Caramel Crisp, Christmas Nougat, and a marzipan. Each chocolate has a very fine appearance - I'll try to have a review of these soon.

Gewürz Mandeln (Spiced Almonds): These are spiced almonds that are coated in milk chocolate with a Gianduja nougat. The spices in these are described as being not too strong so that even children can enjoy them. These are so delicious! They have a very sweet, almost sugary, cinnamon flavour that is fantastic with the milk chocolate and the crunchy almond inside. I actually found the cinnamon quite strong but these are so sweet that it doesn't become too spicy or overpowering. It's such a simple idea but it works perfectly. And yes, my kids love them too!

Marzipan Kartoffeln: This literally means "marzipan potatoes" and these are a traditional German sweet at Christmas. Not to worry though, they are not actually potato flavoured, just super cute potato shaped marzipan treats. They remind me of potato shaped chocolates that I used to get as a child - anyone else remember those?

Printen - Aachener Schokoladen: Some more traditional treats in the form of these Printen from the German city of Aachen. Steffi gave me lots of interesting information about these which is very useful to share here. Aachen is a city close to both the Dutch and Belgian borders. These Printen are similar to gingerbread, in terms of flavour, but are a bit firmer than Lebkuchen (German gingerbread). There are chocolate coated or plain versions available, and they are described as "spiced cakes" on the packaging but Steffi says that doesn't do them justice. This is one of the treats that I'm saving for Christmas!

Gesüllte Lebkuchenherzen (Filled Gingerbread Hearts): Another traditional treat that I'm saving for Christmas itself are these filled gingerbread hearts. They are coated in dark chocolate and have an apricot jam filling. These are made by a company called Lambertz who are well known for their biscuits. I think they sound really delicious and I'm looking forward to giving these Lebkuchenherzen a try.

Butter Spekulatius: "Spekulatius" is the German version of the speculoos biscuits. There are two kinds available in Germany; Butter or Gewürz (spiced). I have to admit these delicious buttery biscuits were the first to disappear when I opened the parcel from Steffi - everyone wanted to give them a try!

Ritter Sport Winter Editions 2014: Ritter Sport is one of my favourite German chocolate brands and Steffi very kindly included lots of mini sizes of the three new Winter Edition flavours. There is Kaffee & Nuss (Coffee & Hazelnuts - reviewed HERE), Gebrante Mandel (Caramelised Almonds - reviewed HERE), and Vanille Kipferl (Vanilla Crescent Cookie). These mini sizes are adorable!

Ritter Sport Schokowürfel: Steffi tells me this is not a Christmas related product but she had to include it in her parcel because it's new - thank you Steffi! Each selection box is filled with individually wrapped segments of Ritter Sport chocolate. There are three flavours that are all covered in white chocolate; Latte Macchiato, Nut-Almond-Brittle, and Caramel Nut. I love that fact that all the chocolates here are white chocolates - it's such a super sweet collection! Full review coming soon.

I will update here with a photo of the parcel that I sent Steffi in return (once I know she's received it as I don't want to spoil the surprise!). Once it's up I will put "updated" in the title of this post.

In the meantime, I want to send a huge THANK YOU to Steffi for such a special festive Grocery Exchange. I've always wanted to visit Germany at Christmastime (especially for their world famous Christmas markets) and I'm delighted to have so many lovely German Christmas treats to try this year.

Let me know in the comments below if you would like to see any specific reviews for the products above or which one you would like to review first! :)

Review: Belgian Biscuit Butter

As a fan of the Lotus Speculoos biscuit spread (review HERE) I couldn't resist trying out this Belgian Biscuit Butter. It comes in both smooth and crunchy varieties, but I decided to go for the smooth version.

This Biscuit Butter has the delicious caramelised creaminess and hints of cinnamon flavour that you would expect from a speculoos paste. The flavour is different from the Lotus Speculoos spread, I found it to have a slightly lighter taste and texture overall, making it less dense and a bit creamier. It's an absolutely lovely speculoos taste and I have to admit that this jar did not last very long at all!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Biscuit Butter

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: At a food show.
Price: £2.50

Lotus Caramelised Biscuits With Belgian Chocolate (Speculoos)

I love speculoos biscuits, they're a deliciously spiced cinnamon biscuit that is the perfect partner for coffee. I've reviewed a speculoos spread and a speculoos chocolate bar, so when I heard about this new Belgian chocolate biscuit version I had to give them a try. 

Image: Waitrose Magazine

It's not the most original idea, Lotus have simply taken their classic caramelised biscuit and added a layer of milk chocolate - but hey I'm sold!

Inside the pack there are seven individually sealed packets, each containing three biscuits. I much prefer this kind of presentation, it's very practical and more useful. Surprisingly each biscuit has 37 calories, meaning each packet is only 111 calories.

The  biscuits look like regular Lotus from the top, the chocolate is all on the underside of the biscuit, which is slightly unusual. Nevertheless the biscuits look great, and they taste good too!

The initial flavour comes form the golden caramel notes of the biscuit, followed by the deliciously warming cinnamon. However, it doesn't take long for the the Belgian milk chocolate to emerge from the crunchy biscuit base. There is only a relatively thin layer of chocolate but it still provides a lovely smooth and sweet chocolate hit. The combination of chocolate and speculoos biscuit was always going to be a winner and it works very well here to create a very satisfying flavour.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Lotus Caramelised Biscuits with Belgian Chocolate

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably.
Nutrition (per biscuit): 37 calories. 0.4g protein,  5.0g carbohydrates, 1.6g fat.
Vegetarian: Yes, as far as I can tell. 
Purchased: Waitrose.
Price: £1.19p.

Nestlé Galak Speculoos Review

I'm very excited about this review of the Nestlé Galak Speculoos bar from Belgium. Firstly, because the bar has been sent to me for review by Cybercandy, who have kindly invited me to be part of their Blogging Family. Anyone remember my epic Cybercandy haul which was one of my earliest posts? There have been a fair few Cybercandy hauls since then too! Secondly, I'm excited because this bar brings together white chocolate with one of my favourite types of biscuit: the Speculoos biscuit. My review of the Lotus Speculoos biscuit spread sums up my love of these deliciously spiced biscuits. They're a gorgeous combination of cinnamon spice and caramelised sugar - the perfect biscuit to enjoy with coffee. 

I've been wanting to try this Belgian Nestlé Galak Speculoos ever since I saw it on the Cybercandy Facebook page. The "Nestlé Galak" brand is essentially another name for what we in the UK know as the Nestlé Milkybar. The idea of white chocolate and Speculoos combined is certainly one that I find very appealing!

The Nestlé Galak Speculoos is long and thin with six segmented pieces stamped with the Nestlé logo. It has a creamy colouring with visible biscuit flecks within the chocolate.

The Speculoos biscuit pieces are especially visible on the underside of the bar and consist of lots of small bits of biscuit and a few larger pieces. The bar has the sweet smell you would expect from a Nestlé white chocolate with a hint of the cinnamon biscuit too. The chocolate has the familiar Milkybar taste, which I'm not ashamed to admit I'm partial to anyway: it's creamy and sweet with just a hint of vanilla. The biscuit pieces are scattered throughout the chocolate and give the bar a slightly crunchy texture.

The biscuit pieces really do taste like Speculoos, with the distinctive caramelised sugar flavour and a hint of cinnamon coming through. Everyone in my family was eager to try a piece of this bar and it was shared out and eaten in record time. It's been one of the most popular bars I've tried out on my family because, without fail, everyone loved it - even my husband who is not a fan of white chocolate proclaimed it as delicious. It's a very sweet treat but one we all thoroughly enjoyed. I'll definitely be picking up some more of these, they cost 89p, which I think is a bargain for this gem.

The Nestlé Galak Speculoos are available to buy online at Cybercandy. Look out for another Cybercandy review coming up in the next few days!

Cybercandy kindly sent me this product for an honest review and all views expressed are my own. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Nestlé Galak Speculoos

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy it again?: Absolutely.
Nutrition: 195 calories, 2.6g protein, 19.4g carbohydrates. 
Purchased: Available at Cybercandy.
Price: £0.89p.

Lotus Caramelised Biscuit Spread (Speculoos)

Lotus Caramelised Biscuit Spread is finally available in the UK, exclusively at Waitrose, which is fantastic news for foodies and vegans alike. There are two varieties available, Smooth or Crunchy, and being an indecisive person I bought both!

Belgian Caramelised Biscuits, or Speculoos as they are more commonly known, are deliciously simple biscuits flavoured with caramelised sugar and cinnamon. In the past these were my biscuit of choice, especially as they are so delicious with coffee. They taste very sugary, with a warming spicy undertone from the cinnamon.

I was excited to finally get to try the Caramelised Biscuit Spread after so many years of wishing I could visit Belgium just to get my hands on some. I wasn't even sure how I should be eating it but since it's described on the jar as being fantastic on toast, I decided to keep it simple and stick to the advice. At first it tasted a bit odd to be eating a biscuit flavoured spread but I soon discovered that the combination was delicious. It has exactly the same taste as the Caramelised Biscuits but just in spreadable form. The caramelised sugar and cinnamon flavours tasted great with the hot toasted bread, and a decent cup of coffee on the side!

The Crunchy and Smooth varieties both have exactly the same taste so it's just down to whether you prefer the texture to be... crunchy or smooth. They are both yummy alternatiaves to peanut butter or chocolate spread. It's also suitable for vegans and I've already got my vegan brother completely hooked on it! If you have a creative side then it also works as an unusual ingredient to use in baking projects. I've already made a delicious banana bread by adding some of this spread to the mix and it turned out fantastically well. If you've tried and liked the original Lotus Caramelised Biscuits then you will love this spread. The only downside is that the jar's contents will disappear all too quickly!