Tag: Christmas treats

Egg Free Cake Box – Red Velvet Dubai Chocolate Cake

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Winter, Women

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review but all thoughts and opinions are our own.

With Christmas just around the corner, the shops are full of festive treats. While there will always be a place for a traditional Christmas cake or pudding, it’s rather lovely to discover something a little different – and this Red Velvet Dubai Chocolate Cake from Egg Free Cake Box is just that.

The cake is a beautifully light and moist red velvet sponge, generously layered with a silky pistachio cream and Egg Free Cake Box’s signature Dubai mix, which brings a gentle nuttiness and a pleasing sweetness. The sides are neatly finished with classic red velvet crumbs there’s also the option to personalise your cake; ours simply read “Enjoy”, but you can choose your own message when ordering.

On top of the cake is delicate creamy piping, adorned with a light sprinkle of suter pheni and crunchy pistachio pieces, while fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries add a cheerful splash of colour. It’s decorative without being fussy and my husband especially enjoyed the lighter topping as he finds cakes full of buttercream much too sweet.  

I must confess I hadn’t come across Egg Free Cake Box before, so I was surprised to discover several shops within a short distance of home. With over 250 locations nationwide, their impressive Click & Collect service means you can order a cake and collect it within just an hour – perfect for last-minute get togethers.  The company started back in 2008 with a single shop in East London and has grown steadily, always placing an emphasis on quality ingredients and careful craftsmanship.

All of their cakes are completely egg free, reflecting the founders’ strict lacto-vegetarian diet. When I was eating the cake I really couldn’t tell that it was egg free – there’s certainly no compromise when it comes to flavour or texture – which also makes these cakes a reassuring choice for parties where egg allergies may be a concern.

Our cake was delivered by a man in a car and it was well packaged in a large cake box. When I opened the box, it looked even more delicious than I’d hoped! The red velvet sponge had a lovely depth of flavour and wasn’t too sweet, while the pistachio and Dubai cream brought a luxurious nuttiness that worked incredibly well and make the cake incredibly moreish!

While it’s at its best within 24 hours, we popped it in the fridge for an extra day and the sponge stayed beautifully light and soft and was just as tasty as it was on the first day.

This is the sort of cake that would sit proudly on a Christmas Day table, perfect for sharing with family, and it makes a cracking alternative to the usual Christmas pudding – or a very good excuse to have both. We all thought it was absolutely delicious and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Egg Free Cake Box. With my birthday landing at the end of December, I can already tell you where my cake will be coming from this year.

RRP from £32.99 for a 6” cake



Higgidy’s Christmas Range

Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, snacks, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Higgidy snacks are starting to play more of a role in the Christmas feasts and this year they have a limited edition selection for the festive period.  So, if you’re pecking before dinner, or picking something up at work that’s different compared to your normal sandwich, Higgidy have something for you. Don’t worry if you’re vegetarian too, there’s some lovely veggie options that anyone can enjoy.

Starting with the rolls, there’s the twin pack Pigs In Blankets Inspired Sausage Rolls with bacon jam.  These are sausage rolls with a hint of bacon flavour from the bacon jam.  They’re topped with extra mature cheddar, a touch of parsley and delicious beetroot crumbs. This is the pigs in blanket hit you didn’t know you needed as it requires no cooking, but like all of the Higgidy range, you can heat them if you prefer.

There’s also the Beechwood Smoked Ham Hock & Mature Cheddar Sausage Rolls with Dijon Mustard. This pack of 6 rolls can also be heated for 6-8 minutes or eaten cold, which is what I preferred to do as part of a weekday lunch.  The puff pastry is especially puff and reminds me of Christmas with the fresh mince pies of a similar texture. There’s also poppy seeds on top and a light sprinkling of sea salt to compliment the ham hock. 

For the vegetarians, there’s the two pack of French Brie and Cranberry Rolls. These are also puff pastry and topped with extra mature Cheddar and Emmenthal cheese, millet seeds and dried beetroot crumb. I really liked the flavour of these, and they’re just as filling as the sausage rolls where you can taste the Brie and cranberry side-by-side.

If you know the Higgidy range then you’ll know they also do mini muffins.  This Christmas season’s mini muffins are the Extra Mature Cheddar & Spinach Mini Muffins which are a cross between a baked muffin and a crustless quiche. They contain wheat, but they’re big on cheese and eggs too. You can really taste the turmeric and chilli powder which makes them great party bites as well as snacks.  They can also be heated for 3-6 minutes or left open in the fridge for the family to help themselves at Christmas time!

Lastly, my favourite; the Beechwood Smoked Bacon & Extra Mature Cheddar Quiche with Bechamel.  Bechamel always feels like a luxurious treat to me so when it’s part of this delicious Higgidy quiche it brings me back to Christmas and works particularly well with the smoked bacon. There’s a lot of mixture in this quiche which provides the flavour and the Extra Mature Cheddar is a great bed-mate of the Beechwood Smoked Bacon. I loved this to eat straight out of the box and with some olives, coleslaw or as a piece on its own. It has a beautiful texture too and the pastry is thin and quite light, so you don’t get full up on the stodgy edges.

Lovely snacks, lovely lunches and a great shortcut this Christmas to not having to cook but to be able to bring a few more festive flavours to the table.

All items available at Tesco and Sainsbury’s with the two packs also available at Boots on the Food To Go counters.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/higgidy-smoked-english-bacon—mature-cheddar-quiche-400g

Fatso Chocolate

Birthday Gifts, chocolate, Christmas, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Vegan

Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

I’m a real chocoholic and it doesn’t take much of an excuse for me to reach for a bar of chocolate, so with Christmas around the corner, I’m really enjoying “researching” the festive chocolate selection.

This year, my taste buds have been utterly spoiled by FATSO, a brand that never fails to surprise with its inventive and indulgent flavours. Their chocolate is rich, bold, and just a little bit cheeky – just what you want when the nights draw in and you fancy something comforting (and possibly a little naughty). FATSO chocolate is sourced exclusively from Luker, a family-owned, Colombian co-operative that champions ethical, sustainable cocoa farming. Their beans have earned the prestigious Fino de Aroma classification – a mark of exceptional quality and their work supports local communities, biodiversity, and better farming practices. So, every bite not only tastes good but it does good too!

Top of my Christmas list this year is FATSO’s Drunk’n Monkey (RRP £7.25), a gloriously grown-up combination of spiced rum, banana chips, and salted crackers, all covered in FATSO’s signature dark Colombian chocolate. It’s a real tipsy treat and just as delicious as it sounds.

If you haven’t tasted FATSO chocolate before then the FATSO Foursome (RRP £15) is the perfect introduction. The giftset contains four individually boxed 40g bars –

Sweet Tart – a wonderful combination of cherry, almond and shortbread that balances sweetness and crunch beautifully.

King’s Ransom – for mint chocolate lovers. It contains mint, pistachio and cocoa nib and is minty without being overpowering. The pistachio and cocoa nibs add a nice crunch.

Home Run – 60% cacao chocolate with generous chunks of salted pretzels, whole almonds and honeycomb. The saltiness of the pretzel takes away some of the bitterness of the dark chocolate and sweetness comes from the honeycomb. Nuts add a satisfying crunch to this bar making it impossible to stop at just one bite.

Nan’s Stash – this contains peanut, toffee and digestive biscuit and is incredibly moreish – I challenge anyone to stop after only one piece!!

FATSO has set the Christmas chocolate bar (quite literally) high this year, and I can honestly say it’s the best chocolate I’ve tasted in quite a while. If you’re a fellow chocoholic – or shopping for one – FATSO should definitely be making an appearance this Christmas!

Jade & Joy Collagen Protein Bars

Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, health, snacks, Women

Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

We always seem to be hungry at The Review Studio, so when Jade & Joy sent us these chocolate bars, we decided to tuck in and enjoy the vast selection of bars they sent us. 

Collagen is needed for skin, hair and nail growth and is often credited for keeping skin in good condition.  As we get older, we lose collagen in the skin and don’t make as much of it so taking a supplement has its benefits. Jade & Joy have a range of different chocolate bars which contain collagen as well as other added vitamins and minerals. I was amazed at the range of flavours the bars were, from Salted Caramel to Cookie Crumb, Caramel Blondie and Marshmallow biscuit. They don’t taste like ‘health’ bars at all because they’re mostly chocolate and still have the sweet taste to them, with no bitterness like some alternative products have.

Jade & Joy were also kind enough to send us a selection of the plant based Yubi Bars in a Variety Pack which also includes some Christmas seasonal flavours.  Great for stockings, Secret Santa as well as a daily snack, there are flavours such as Yule Log, Gingerbread and Choc Orange.  All of them contain 10 grams of protein, 99 calories and 0.3 grams of sugar. These bars are pocket sized for snacks after school but as they’re high in protein, they’re also great for after the gym. The festive flavours are fabulous though, with gooey centres. The Mint Choc bar was probably my favourite but all of them were yummy with a few quiet minutes in the afternoon.

Various boxes available online from £21 at: https://jadeandjoy.co.uk/vegan-collagen/vegan-collagen-selection-box/

You can shop the whole range (including the pick n mix) here: https://www.yubibar.com/collections/vegan-protein-bars

Yubi Bar christmas bars will be available here in the festive period: https://www.yubibar.com/products/christmas-protein-bar-selection-box