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Kcal 86 Fat 5.6g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 8.1g (per shortcake piece)When the request came in from one of my most loyal readers Susanne to review these Throntons Mini Caramel Shortcakes I was really very pleased. Millionaire Shortcake is one of my favourite bakery items and it is often my choice of treat when I find myself in M&S on a Saturday morning. As Susanne had obviously noticed I hadn't yet got around to reviewing Thorntons' widely available version of this delightful treat, so when I saw them on special offer at £1 a pack in Tesco I could no longer resist. On pack they were described as 'crunchy biscuit bases with a thick layer of caramel and Thorntons milk chocolate' which sounded delicious to me - suffice to say I was really looking forward to trying them.
As the photo above shows you these came in a pack 12 mini pieces which at first I thought was a little annoying as they were so small. That aside the presentation was really rather good and I liked the way that the it Incorporated the usual Thorntons designs despite the mass produced nature of the product. The on pack photos of the shortcake pieces gave an accurate and enticing insight to what lay inside, though my anticipation was at its highest when the first chocolate biscuit scents aroused my senses when I opened the packet.
As I have said above at first I was disappointed by the mini size of the shortcake pieces but after tasting my first one my view changed dramatically. The taste was insanely rich but thankfully utterly delicious at the same time. My preferred method of eating these was to eat the caramel and chocolate layer first and then finish off the biscuit base. The combination of the milk chocolate and caramel was in every sense utterly wonderful. The chocolate substantiated a fine cocoa base tone which led nicely into the sweet, butter like flavours of the caramel. The sweetness of the caramel was certainly sharp tasting, though the small serving sizes meant they never verged on what I would say was sickly. The biscuit base was incredibly crumbly in texture which was a mild annoyance, though I couldn't fault it for its divine malty, brown sugar taste that had a glorious lick of salt making it so incredibly moreish. My initial disappointment at the size was quickly allayed when I realised that two pieces at a time were more than enough for a decent snack.
Overall I was glad when this product was requested for a review and having fulfilled that request I am now even more happy. These were utterly fantastic in almost every sense and I savoured each and every one of these across the week that I ate them. The concept of caramel shortcake might not be the most innovative but these were executed almost flawlessly - my only recommendation I would make to the recipe would that I would make the biscuit bases a little firmer to make eating them just a little less crumbly. This Throntons offering offered a great tasting milk chocolate, a wonderful caramel and a fantastic biscuit base ... what more can you ask for!? I think these are a great product to buy and share with the family, at £1 a pack you simply can't complain and these are well worthy of a coveted 9.0 rating.
9.0 out of 10
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19 comments:
I don't visit my local bakery all that often but when I do I can do little to resist a slice if their shortcake.
It just smells so good fresh out the oven I might have to pick these up next weekend on my weekly shop.
Yummy I love caramel shortbread. I can only eat it in small quantities though because it does it get sickly quite fast
Damn you have made me hungry Jim.
I'm glad you enjoyed these as much as I did! I too was disappointed first by the small size, but then I found that they're just right because they're so moreish. These are definitely something I'll buy again and again. Looking forward to your review of the brownies!
I'm having to peel my tongue away from the screen these look so good.
Jim make sure you cover Thorntons cake bars I think someone else said the other day you should also do them. They are very good trust me.
Mmmmm I'm hungry now :)
These are one of my all-time favourites. Ever since they started doing the £1 offer at Asda a few years back I ended up buying some every time I went shopping, and usually eating them as soon as I left the store. They're so damn good! I've made caramel shortcakes myself at home but they never turned out as good as these.
If I had any type of baking skills I would make these all the time. Caramel shortbread does tend to be a bit on the rich side of things but it looks like Thorntons have solved that by making these pretty small.
Pictures look good as they always do Jim.
Ya ya these are melt in the mouth fantastic :-) I can easily get through... half a packet at a time!
These are one of those things that when you first look at you think you eat loads of but after just one the richness catches up with you.
I am more of a Danish pastry fan myself but if these are being offered around I wouldn't turn one down.
I can almost taste that caramel on my tongue right now. It looks LUSH.
Steven, caramel shortcake isn't too hard to make at home actually. If you buy a jar of Nestle Condensed Milk there should be a recipe on the side. Although not as good as these it's still gorgeous but in a different way. I rarely make it now as I always end up eating too much and feeling sick. Once I tried white chocolate as a topping and it was lovely (but sickly)!
These are the biz! My pa is addicted to them, he loses all sense and reason around them, so much so that we now hide them to avoid who-ate-all-the-thorntons-shortbread confrontations(of which there have been many). They are his post-pub snack of choice, if left to his own devices he WILL demolish the pack in its entirity. I swear, my house secretes packs of these in random cupboards and.. behind things. All over the shop they are! It's awesome!
They actually used to be bigger, before they became so widespread and supermarketed. You could buy a twin pack, each one equivilent to about 2 and half of these mini ones. I miss them. They were very transportable.
Brilliant review Jim!
Caramel + biscuits isn't my favourite combination, but the packaging looks amazing... and tempting, of course ;))
I have been a long time lurker (sounds dodgy I know) of this site and the scores seem to be getting higher and higher?
Is he just reviewing better stuff or is he getting easier to please I wonder?
I am a big fan of caramel shortcake but don't have it too often lol you can still buy the other packs of these, in four bigger squares i think, i passed them earlier in the supermarket earlier next to their own version lol
George
The M&S bakery has that affect on me ... when I was at Uni I always used to treat myself to something, I just couldn't help myself.
Rachel
I seem to have a habit for doing that to you :)
Susanne
Sorry I haven't got around to doing the brownies ... will buy some tonight and get the review up soon ...that is a promise.
Anon
Ooop dear I hope the static didn't get you!
David
I think Phil suggested them! That review is due up very soon! Next few days I think.
Phil
I wish I was ambitious enough to try to make my own ... maybe I will one day. For the moment these will do though :D They are fantastic and do the job nicely.
Steven
Thanks for the kind words about the photos ... it is a bit tricky trying to make them look consistent.
Heidi
Half a pack!? Blimey I don't know if I could handle that ... actually scrap that I am sure I could if I tried :) Nice to hear you liked these as much as I did
JT
Danish Pastries huh!? Cinnamon Whirl man? or Vanilla Cornet ;) Both are favourites of my own.
Anon #2
Glad to hear you approve.
Phil
You sound quite the cook chap. I think the idea of white chocolate on the top is a good one but man I can imagine that can get sickly rather quickly.
Lottie
Thanks Lottie. I am not surprised your dad hides these I can imagine in a household these would be finished no sooner after they are opened.
I wish I could find some of these larger ones you and Alan are talking about ... I bet they are all types of awesome :D
Ana
The wrapper is well disgned isn't it ... the product also just happens to look as it does in reality which is also good.
HD
It isn't dodgy at all ...loads of people just read. I don't think I am getting more leniant ... possibly just more choosy in what I tend to review.
Alan
So they are still around? I will have to keep my eyes peeled for them! I can't recall every seeing them myself. What supermarket was it?
Thanks everyone
Jim
I love sweets and if you will visit my house, you'll see different varieties. I can’t think about life without these sweets.
I saw them in Somerfield, but that's part of the CO-Op/Sainsbury's now so I imagine they'll have them in those aswell! They were abit pricy though at £2.47 or something like that.
I adore these! Thornton's is by far my favourite chocolate brand in every sense. However despite there being so beautifully rich I thought the biscuit was just a touch gritty in texture and it would've been improved to have a slightly smoother texture, as well as being firmer. That said, I can't fault the portioning of the caramel - delightfully generous, especially when compared to rivaling products.
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