Review: New Krispy Kreme Smores, Chocolate Firecracker & Maple Crunch Doughnuts

Krispy Kreme has released several new varieties recently, with a few more on the horizon in the coming weeks. The 'New Season' doughnuts are; Smores, Maple Crunch, Chocolate Firecracker and a Salted Caramel Cheesecake (which I wasn't able to find). 

There is also a series of  'Vintage Krispy Kreme' flavours which are being released one by one during September and October. The vintage doughnut flavours planned are; Glazed Kreme (from 5th - 18th Sept), Powdered Blueberry (from 19th Sept - 2nd Oct), Cruller (from 3rd Oct - 16th Oct) and  a Pumpkin Spice (from 17th Oct to 31st Oct). I'm looking forward to the Powdered Blueberry and the Pumpkin Spice!

Smores Doughnut: The Smores is a milk chocolate covered doughnut topped with mini marshmallows, shortcake crumble and a while chocolate drizzle. It also features a mallow filling in the centre. I thought the flavours here all worked really well. The inner mallow filling tasted just like marshmallow fluff, it's super sweet and sugary but with a real marshmallowy flavour. The chocolate icing and toppings add a little extra flavour and texture. Overall it's a fun doughnut, and even though the flavours are not super exciting, I would still buy this one again. Rating: 7 out of 10.

Chocolate Firecracker Doughnut: The Chocolate Firecracker is described as a doughnut dipped in chilli-infused chocolate icing, with a chocolate truffle kreme filling and topped with gold sugar stars. As you can see in my photo my doughnut was missing the gold stars although the icing did look very appealing with a gold glittery appearance. I do appreciate that Krispy Kreme, unlike many other food brands, have not forgotten that there is another season in between summer and Christmas, and the Chocolate Firecracker is a great looking doughnut for autumn. Unfortunately the flavour was not for me at all and I could only take one bite of this one. Even Mr. Grocery Gems found it totally inedible. The chilli heat in the icing does not work with the sweet and greasy nature of the doughnut and the whole effect is rather nauseating. Sorry Krispy Kreme but this one is not for us! Rating: 2 out of 10 (scoring points for looks only). 

Maple Crunch Doughnut: Thankfully the Maple Crunch doughnut was much more appealing to our tastes. Mr. Grocery Gems in particular is a big fan of anything Maple Syrup flavoured. He's also not too too keen on filled doughnuts, so this simple ring doughnut is exactly to his tastes. The maple flavour here is exactly what he was expecting with a distinctive maple syrupy flavour coming through. The crunch on top adds a little extra interest but on the whole this simple doughnut is a flavour winner. Rating: 8 out of 10.

Have you tried any of the New Season Doughnuts at Krispy Kreme? If so I'd love to know what you thought in the comments below. Thanks!

Review: Krispy Kreme Reese's Peanut Butter Doughnut

It was only a few weeks ago that Krispy Kreme teamed up with a popular spread, Lotus Biscoff, to release the Caramelised Biscoff doughnut. This time Krispy Kreme has joined one of the most iconic peanut butter brands to create the Reese's Peanut Butter Doughnut. It's a chocolate iced doughnut, filled with Reese's peanut butter, and topped with hazelnuts and extra Reese's peanut butter drops.

I was pleased to find that the filling in the Krispy Kreme Reese's doughnut is pure peanut butter, rather than a "kreme infused with peanut butter" (which makes it different to the peanut butter doughnut that is usually available at Krispy Kreme). Not only that, but this peanut butter is recognisably Reese's - with an extra salty and sweet peanut flavour. The Reese's peanut butter chips on top are not easy to find in the UK so it's great to see them included on this doughnut - each one adds an extra kick of peanut butter goodness. I don't usually like the chocolate icing that Krispy Kreme uses, but here the chocolate icing, and the dark chocolate drizzle, provides a welcome sweetness to soften the strong peanut butter flavour. Chocolate and peanut butter is always a winning combination in my opinion and it certainly works perfectly in these doughnuts.

I didn't think these Krispy Kreme Reese's Peanut Butter Doughnuts could overtake the recent Lotus Caramelised Biscoff doughnuts as my favourites, but I think the stronger flavoured filling just edges it for me. 

Have you tried the new Krispy Kreme Reese's Peanut Butter doughnut yet? I'd love to know what you thought of it. Also, if anyone spots these available in the Tesco Krispy Kreme stands then let me know in the comments below - thanks!

Grocery Gems Review: Krispy Kreme Reese's Peanut Butter Doughnut

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: YES.
Purchased: Krispy Kreme shop (Westfield Stratford).
Price: 3 doughnuts for £4.50p.

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.

New Instore: Krispy Kreme Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Biscuit Doughnut & More!

Krispy Kreme Biscoff Caramelised Biscuit Doughnut: Apparently this masterpiece has been available since last week (why didn't I know?). I couldn't help noticing the Krispy Kreme cabinet in my local Tesco today, with their new bright red Valentine's doughnuts, and sitting oh-so-innocently beside them - the Krispy Kreme Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Biscuit Doughnut. It's a doughnut filled with a Kreme infused with Lotus Caramelised biscuit spread, iced with more Biscoff spread, and topped with Biscoff biscuit crumbs and white chocolate. Review coming soon! 3 for £3.45p at Tesco.

Haribo Bear Buddies: If you remember the super cute Haribo Bärchen Päachen from this German Grocery Exchange, then you'll be pleased to know that they have released the same product in the UK as Bear Buddies. These clever sweets feature two bears holding hands, with one bear being a sweet flavour and the other a sour flavour. Thank you to the reader who spotted them in Sainsbury's awhile ago (I finally found them!). £1.00p at Sainsbury's. 

Haribo Happy Cola Cherry Liquid Centre: I also reviewed the original German release of these Haribo Cherry Cola - check out the liquid filling here! Another thank you to the commentator who let me know a few weeks ago that these had been spotted in the UK. I would never have noticed these myself, as they were hidden away on the bottom shelf, but I'm really pleased to see these available here! £1.00p at Sainsbury's. 

Müller Corner American Cheesecake Inspired Multipack: An American inspired rebranding for the Lemon Cheesecake and Strawberry Cheesecake corner yogurts. I'm sure these flavours aren't new but I think they were called "Dessert Inspired" (I can't remember though!). Half price offer £1.92p at Tesco for multipack of 6.

Tesco Limited Edition Caramel Milkshake Mix: I really like the fact that Tesco go beyond the standard banana, strawberry and chocolate flavours for their milkshakes mixes. My kids enjoyed the Vanilla milkshake mix last year and I'm sure I'll pick up this new Caramel variety for them to try soon. £1.49p at Tesco.

Asda Heart Cake: It always seems that the UK supermarkets go straight from Christmas products to Easter eggs. However, there is always a few weeks inbetween when the seasonal aisles are taken over by Valentine's Day. There are plenty of novelty products in the bakery department at the moment, I spotted heart shaped waffles and crumpets in Tesco, and these cute "Love is a Piece of Raspberry & White Chocolate Cake" cakes in Asda. I STILL haven't managed to find the new Red Velvet Doughnuts in Tesco though!

Tassimo Limited Edition Costa Vanilla Latte: I know these are available online from Tassimo but I didn't realise they were also available instore. They're quite expensive so I'll probably stick to using vanilla coffee syrup if I fancy a vanilla latte. £5.29p at Asda.

Pop Tarts in Poundland!: Not a new product of course, but I thought it was interesting that Pop Tarts Apple Blast and Very Cherry have been spotted at Poundland, especially since they usually cost upwards of £2.68p in the supermarkets. I wonder if it means these flavours are discontinued? £1.00p at Poundland.

Kellogg's Coco Pops Mini Crocs: My kids tried these and gave them the thumbs up. The actual cereal tastes the same as the previous Coco Pops varients such as Croco Copters and Croc Prints. The Mini Crocs is simply the latest shape in this range but the flavour seems to be exactly the same. £2.79p at Sainsbury's.

Tesco Chinese New Year Display: My local Tesco (which is only a medium sized store) had a cute display of products for Chinese new year, from Lucky Cats (really these are Japanese Maneki-Neko) to Red Money Envelopes and Dragon Mask craft sets. For some reason I was tempted to buy the pretty blue and white cat napkins! From £1.50p at Tesco.

I'm guessing that most people didn't read past the words "Krispy Kreme Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Biscuit Doughnut" but if you made it this far then I hope you enjoyed this round up. Let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these products. 

As always if you spot any new products instore then let me know via email grocerygems@gmail.com or contact me on Twitter @grocerygems. Thanks!

Krispy Kreme Caramel Collection Doughnuts

The Caramel Collection is the latest range of doughnuts from Krispy Kreme UK. There are three varieties in this range; Caramel Iced, Caramel Crunch, and Sticky Toffee Cake.

The Caramel Iced, a simple ring doughnut with a sweet caramel topping, was my absolute favourite of the three. The caramel icing had a lovely buttery caramel flavour and tasted wonderful on the original glazed doughnut.

The Sticky Toffee Cake features a toffee flavoured cake style doughnut (these have a slightly denser texture than there original doughnuts), and is drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with extra toffee pieces. This was all a bit too much for me, especially from a sweetness aspect - a sugar overkill. However, the toffee flavour in the cake doughnut itself is absolutely delicious.

The Caramel Crunch is a classic Krispy Kreme filled doughnut. It features a caramel "kreme" centre, and is topped with a caramel icing and crunchy cookie and honeycomb pieces.

Surprisingly this doughnut was not overly sweet, perhaps because of the lightly whipped nature of the inner cream. There was only a small amount of the crunchy toppings, although they still added plenty of extra sweetness and crunch. Again, I did love the caramel icing on top, which is the same as on the Caramel Iced doughnut.

Find these for a limited time at Krispy Kreme in the UK.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Krispy Kreme Caramel Collection

RATING: 8.5/10 (Caramel Iced), 7/10 (Sticky Toffee Cake), 8/10 (Caramel Crunch).
Buy them again?: Worth a try!
Purchased: Krispy Kreme Store.
Price: Approx. £1.70 each.

Krispy Kreme Coconut Ice & Lemon Drizzle Cake Doughnuts

It's been almost a year since I last had a Krispy Kreme doughnut but the lure of this latest Doughnut of the Month, the Coconut Ice, was too appealing for me to resist. It's described as being filled with a smooth coconut filling & hand dipped in the Krispy Kreme signature glaze, and sprinkled with coconut flakes.

I haven't always been a fan of Krispy Kreme's flavoured doughnuts, and most of the time prefer to keep to the delicious simplicity of the Original Glazed doughnut. Coconut is also an easy flavour to get wrong and can be quite disgusting if it's too artificial tasting, so I was equally interested and worried about trying this Coconut Ice doughnut. Luckily there was nothing to be concerned about here, this doughnut is pure coconut dreaminess. The coconut flavour is not overpowering but is still flavourful enough to satisfy any coconut fan. The filling is creamy but not too much so. It's actually quite light, with lots of sweet and satisfying coconut flavour. The super soft doughnut and sugary icing on top finish things off perfectly.

The Lemon Drizzle Cake doughnut is also a new variety for the summer, so of course I couldn't leave without purchasing one of these too. It's not the most attractive of doughnuts, I don't think that the sprinkles in that particular shade of green were such a good idea... Regardless, it's actually a very tasty doughnut. The base is a classic Original Glazed ring doughnut, topped with a creamy lemon frosting, a tangy lemon curd, and lime flavoured sprinkles. The topping is very thick and creamy, and is full of sweet lemon flavour. I didn't expect to like this doughnut but turned out to be absolutely delicious. It's not really like a lemon drizzle cake though, it's more like a rich lemon buttercream cake.

Find these for a limited time at Krispy Kreme in the UK.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Krispy Kreme Coconut Ice & Lemon Drizzle Cake

RATING: 9 out of 10 (Coconut Ice) 8.5 out of 10 (Lemon Drizzle Cake).
Buy them again?: I won't buy them again - but I definitely want to!
Purchased: Krispy Kreme Store.
Price: Approx. £1.70 each.

New Krispy Kreme Doughnuts: Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake and Pistachio & White Chocolate Nougat.

Even though I had hotfooted it to Krispy Kreme purely to try their new Salted Caramel doughnut I also couldn't resist buying the other two new doughnuts in this range. I officially have no self-control when it comes to doughnuts.

To be fair the Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake doughnut (is it a cake or a doughnut?) looked delicious and quite irresistible. The doughnut is covered in a rich milk chocolate with golden coloured nuts around the edge. Underneath all that lovely chocolate coating the actual doughnut is not the usual Krispy Kreme but one of their denser chocolate doughnuts.

I hadn't actually read the description of this doughnut online but judging by it's name I was expecting it to taste like a chocolate fudge cake with some nuts on it. I haven't liked many of Krispy Kreme's chocolate doughnuts in the past so I thought this would be vastly inferior to the new Salted Caramel doughnut. I'm happy to admit I was completely wrong in my assumption that the Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake would taste of chocolate fudge cake. Silly me.

Instead I would like you to imagine Nutella in the form of a doughnut. Imagine that the lightly chocolate flavoured doughnut is covered in a rich hazelnut chocolate, with added hazelnut praline pieces along the edges. Congratulations you have now imagined exactly what the Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake tastes like and it's just as delicious as it sounds.

If I had read the description of this doughnut online then all would have been revealed sooner. It's described as "covered in a rich milk chocolate hazelnut sauce, hand rolled in caramelised hazelnuts and drizzled with dark chocolate icing". The clue to the Nutella taste is in the word hazelnut. I'm still not sure how this is the same as a fudge cake but I'll forgive Krispy Kreme because this doughnut is friggin' gorgeous. I might even have preferred it to the Salted Caramel doughnut - sssh don't tell anyone!

Would I buy this doughnut again? Hell yes, and just try to stop me. I almost don't want to know if my local Tesco starts to stock these because then I will find myself nipping out for "milk" quite regularly.

The same cannot be said for the third and final new doughnut from Krispy Kreme, the Pistachio & White Chocolate Nougat. It's not that I had high hopes for this doughnut. In fact I went against all my inner feelings, based on what it looked like, and just bought it because it's new. I do that quite a lot.

Now there might be some people that would look at this doughnut and think "ooh that looks nice" but I'm not one of them. It just looks a bit busy and almost chintzy. If Laura Ashley made doughnuts this is how they would look. The doughnut is lavishly decorated, almost with abandon, with a variety of toppings. It looks like a veritable fruit and nut basket atop a doughnut.

Inside there is what Krispy Kreme describe as a "smooth pistachio praline Kreme". It has a nice pale green colour but that's the best thing I can say about how it looks. Although in the end the look of this doughnut turned out to be the best thing about it.

The fruity bits on top are actually "honey and raspberry flakes" which have an oddly slimy and sticky texture. They are tangy and fruity but are not something that I would want to eat again. The white chocolate drizzle doesn't taste of chocolate at all. If it hadn't been described as white chocolate I would never have guessed it from the taste. It's simply a sugary icing, that's it. Even the pistachio pieces on top of the doughnut are disappointing and don't have much flavour. Similarly, the inner pistachio cream doesn't taste of pistachio, it's just a very sweet creamy, quite bland filling. There is very little taste to it at all. Maybe I tried one from a bad batch but there was nothing about this doughnut that lived up to it's name. It doesn't taste of white chocolate, nor pistachio and where the word "nougat" fits into all this completely baffles me.

I don't want to leave this on a negative note though, the other two doughnuts in this new range are delicious - so two out of three being doughnut perfection is not bad at all! If you've tried any of these doughnuts then let me know how you got on. If not, which one would you choose?

You may also be interested in:
New Krispy Kreme Salted Caramel Doughnut

New Krispy Kreme Salted Caramel Doughnut

When I heard about this new Salted Caramel doughnut by Krispy Kreme I knew I wouldn't be able to resist giving it a try. My local Tesco's has a Krispy Kreme cabinet so I didn't think it would be too hard for me to get my hands on one. Unfortunately Tesco didn't have them and I was quite disappointed. Luckily for me I just happened *cough* to find myself at a branch of Krispy Kreme in central London and I decided it would be rude not the give the new doughnuts a try.

Krispy Kreme's autumn collection, which features three new doughnuts, is called "Kreme de la Kreme", and it's easy to see why. The doughnuts have a sophisticated design and quite ambitious flavour combinations. Salted Caramel is a very popular and trendy flavour at the moment and has almost become a national obsession. It seems such an obvious choice to put it in a doughnut that I'm surprised it hasn't been done before.

As I cut the doughnut in half I was met with an extremely generous amount of caramel filling with a pleasing rich auburn colour. I couldn't resist a quick taste of the caramel before biting into the doughnut itself. It's just the kind of caramel I love, full of dulce de leche creaminess. There is no burnt taste that you often get with caramel, just a lovely smooth and creamy sweetness. This is wonderfully offset by the subtle saltiness which kicks in just as the caramel is starting to melt in your mouth. I have to admit that I haven't had too many salted caramel products in the past but if they are half as delicious as this then I am a convert. I think Krispy Kreme have got the level of salt just right, it's not overly salted but neither is it bland. I'm not always a fan of Krispy Kreme's filled doughnuts, I usually prefer the original glazed doughnut, but this Salted Caramel filling is the best I've ever tried from them.

The actual doughnut part tastes the same as any Krispy Kreme. It is much lighter in texture than a usual doughnut, especially the supermarket ones which are so heavy they taste like deep fried bread dipped in sugar. The Krispy Kreme doughnuts have a melt in the mouth lightness and this Salted Caramel one is no different. It seems to disappear all too quickly!

The one part I assumed would ruin the overall flavour was the chocolate coating on top. I have never liked any chocolate doughnut from Krispy Kreme before. They usually have an awful chocolate icing on top which can barely be described as chocolate. It's more like a brown coloured icing that tastes cheap and gritty. Thankfully this chocolate covering on the Salted Caramel is completely different. It's described as "Belgian dark chocolate icing" and I was pleased to find that it has an intense dark chocolate flavour. It complements the sweet and salty filling perfectly. It's certainly a step up from the usual Krispy Kreme chocolate offering.

The other two varieties in the new range are; Chocolate Praline Fudge cake (top right in my photo), a must for chocolate lovers, and the extravagant sounding Pistachio & White Chocolate Nougat (top left). A full review of these will be coming up soon!

If you've tried any of these new doughnuts (or can't wait to try them!) then please add to this review by leaving your comments below.