Kev's Snack Reviews

It's always nice to get new white chocolate variations, especially if they involve coffee, so today's review is dedicated to none other than Aldi who brought out this Coffee & Cream Choceur white chocolate recently. They also do Coconut Crunch and White Crisp varieties, which I can't eat since they contain gluten. Boo! If you're a fan of the coffee chocolates from Merci this may be a bar you'll enjoy... The bar has a layer of coffee flavour milk chocolate on the bottom and a thicker layer of white chocolate above it. The blocks are very chunky indeed; just the way I like my chocolate! It tastes pretty good. The white chocolate is creamy and super sweet, although it somewhat overpowers the coffee milk chocolate layer. It's a nice bar but a bit too mild on the coffee front for my liking. Overall, not a bad variation from Aldi, but I'd definitely like to see a more upmarket version. Something like the coffee chocolate from Merci in bar form...

Today's review is a slight switch-up from the usual snacks - I'm reviewing cheese...vegan cheese to be precise! Yes, in honor of my vegan friends and #veganuary I thought I would see what a gluten free pizza tastes like with this Violife Original on it. This isn't any regular vegan cheese with soya added, it's made with a mixture of coconut oil and starch, making it suitable for legume allergy sufferers too. I found this in the chilled Free From section of Tesco costing £2.30 or so for a 200g block. I also purchased some Tesco Free From Gluten & Dairy Dough Mix, to make my own vegan and gluten free pizza. I tried some of the cheese by itself before melting it. It tastes okay; it's similar to the rubbery Dairylea style cheese slices used in burgers or sandwiches. I hoped it would be much improved when melted on a pizza...I added tomato puree, as well as herbs and sweetcorn. A simple, classic but tasty combination! It turned out quite well... ...

I'm always game to try an unusual chocolate flavour, so when this Dark chocolate with liquorice and blackcurrant appeared in Marks and Spencer's newly revamped range recently, straight into my basket it went! The bar contains 52% cocoa solids, is fairtrade, and dairy and gluten free although not suitable for those with dairy or nut allergies due to manufacturing methods. It costs £2 for a 100g bar and is described as "Dark chocolate with liquorice and blackcurrant flavour". I do like the blocks on M&S bars, they always look so clean and sleek with the M&S logo printed on. I popped a piece in my mouth not knowing what to expect. Firstly I noticed the chocolate; it's sweet and quite smooth for a darker chocolate, and you could easily mistake it for milk chocolate. The flavour from the crunchy blackcurrant pieces is subtle but very nice, and really enhances the chocolate. The liquorice creeps in behind it, at first I couldn't even taste it ...

It wouldn't be January without several new ice creams to tempt us away from our New Year diet resolutions, now would it? Yes, not content with a new range of Magnum Ice Cream Tubs (the white chocolate one is particularly amazing!), they've also brought out a new Magnum Double Coconut and Double Raspberry. The Double Coconut was a bit of a letdown for me, so how does the Raspberry aka "Lampone" or "Frambuesa" compare? Described as "Raspberry ice cream with a chocolate flavour coating, raspberry sauce and milk chocolate", these are currently £3 at Tesco, and are suitable for vegetarians as well as gluten free. Well, these surprised me as I found them a lot nicer than the Double Coconut variety! Biting into one, the raspberry sauce oozes out immediately, giving way to the pink raspberry ice cream below... The combination of flavours is spot on; the raspberry ice cream is subtle and tangy, with the sauce enhancing it and adding some gooey...

Following on from the new Magnum Ice Cream Tubs , today's review is one that had me very excited indeed when I saw it. I found this Double Coconut or "Cocco" variety in my local Tesco a mere hour after hearing about it online; fate was calling to me, I MUST have it! Into my basket it went without even a glance at the price, along with the new Raspberry variety too. Priced at £3 a box (working out at £1 per ice cream!) these are gluten free, suitable for vegetarians and described as "Coconut ice cream with a chocolate flavour coating, chocolate sauce and milk chocolate". Having fond memories of the Walls Carte D'or Coconut Ice Cream of years past, I was hoping for a similar luxurious, tropical taste experience with these. The bars looked pretty snazzy with their "Dare to go double" wrappers I have to say... Unwrapping one I bit in; the chocolate shell is very thick and the chocolate sauce oozes out straight away. It's gooey and sweet, y...

As well as the new White Chocolate Magnum Tub Ice Cream I reviewed the other day, Unilever have brought out a Classic Milk Chocolate variety, and this - Almond Milk Chocolate, all of which are available from Iceland for £3.89 a tub. This is suitable for vegetarians and is described as "Vanilla ice cream, almond pieces and milk chocolate shards in a cracking milk chocolate shell". There's a thick layer of milk chocolate above the ice cream, containing bits of almond embedded within. Luckily it was the perfect temperature to crack open with a spoon, which I didn't hesitate in doing! The chocolate has a very full on rich, creamy flavour, with the savoury nuttiness of the almond mixing well with it. It compliments the vanilla ice cream nicely, and there's also extra shards of milk chocolate within the ice cream for extra enjoyment. As nice as this variety is, it paled in comparison to the White Chocolate version in my opinion. The white chocolate one ...

Today's review is for something new and very exciting indeed; not content with regular Magnums Unilever have now launched the classic ice cream sticks into tubs...complete with shards of cracking chocolate! There's three varieties; Classic Milk Chocolate, Almond and White Chocolate. I'm starting off with the white chocolate variety, which is available in Iceland and described as "Vanilla ice cream and white chocolate shards in a cracking white chocolate shell". It's suitable for vegetarians and has an indentation on the side of the tub stating "press to crack". Apparently this breaks the shell coating the inner tub, so you can enjoy the shards of white chocolate that crack off. As well as that there's a thick disc of white chocolate on top of the ice cream. It didn't take me long to smash into it with a spoon, and luckily it was just the right temperature for cracking...no waiting necessary! It tasted incredible, perhaps even nicer ...