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Kcal 494 Fat 25.6g Fat(sats) 3.2g Carbs 64.2gFor the past few days I have been inundated with readers e-mailing me asking me who Heavenly Cakes are, and how they are associated with ChocolateMission. Well I can reveal that Heavenly Cakes (run by the very friendly Nigel & Maeve) are an online, homemade cakes company established only this year, originating in Hertfordshire, England. If you take a look at their site you will see photos of their products which can only be classified as foodporn (See HERE), but if you sit tight for just a minute I will take you through my review of their Millionaire Shortbread offering. As many of you will know, it is a very poorly kept secret of mine that Millionaire Shortbread (if it is good quality!) sends me weak a the knees. I guess it was no surprise then when Nigel and Maeve decided to make their ChocolateMission debut by sending along some of their freshly made 'all-butter shortbread, covered in Dulce de Leche caramel, smothered in Belgian milk chocolate'.
Being the nice people that that they are, Nigel and Maeve sent me a 'gift pack' sized serving of this Millionaire Shortbread, which weighed in at hefty 725.0g (about 15 man sized servings). As I have said I am huge fan of Millionaire Shortbread, but not even I could possibly justify saving this all to myself, so conducted the usual acid test of sharing with my work colleagues. The packaging and presentation was obviously the first thing I took notice of, and I have to say that it came to my relative surprise that it was very good. The outer cardboard box wasn't anything overly amazing design wise, though it does have to be said that the vinyl finished cardboard used was very smart, and the transparent window at the front allowed ample opportunity to see what was inside. If you have taken the effort to take a peek at the Heavenly Cakes website it most likely that you will have noticed the amazing pictures they have of their cakes. Being the pessimistic person I am, I thought these photos would be too good to be true, but a quick dig in to the silver foil try and the first slice revealed itself to be just as tempting as the pictures on the website, with the chocolate and caramel layers looking just as thick and plentiful.
Once all marvelling at how good the cake slices looked was over, the next thing I took notice of was the buttery, biscuit smells that were being emanated. I can't quite say they were bakery fresh, but they still managed to further increase anticipation for my first bite. As is plain to see in the pictures, these cakes were very thick in terms of depth, so just small little helpings at a time made for the richest of chocolate, caramel fixes. One thing that was playing on my mind before I tasted these, was that no matter how thick and plentiful the chocolate and caramel layers were, there was going to be little point in them being so if they were of a poor standard. It only took one bite to lay all these fears to rest - both the chocolate and the caramel were absolutely delicious! Starting off with the chocolate layer it had nice cream based taste which reminded me of softer Galaxy chocolate with it's sweet finish and loving feel on the tongue. The caramel was equally as good and brought all the desired toffee, brown sugar and minor salt notes to the taste with it's soft chewiness. Lastly the biscuit base was similarly enjoyable, with the shortbread buttery wheat flavours and bursts of white sugar and further salt notes rounding off what was a sinfully rich taste.
Overall these were nothing short of the finest Millionaire Shortbread cakes I have ever tasted, and I certainly wasn't alone in this thinking as a number of my work colleagues agreed. The previous product to hold this title was of course the Thorntons Mini Millionaire Shortbreads, and I can still see myself buying them on occasion as they are still very good in their own right and are a fraction of the cost. Frankly though, when it comes to quality these Heavenly Cakes are in a league of their own, with everything about them making for a nigh on perfect Millionaire Shortbread. Exceeding even my own expectations the chocolate and (especially) caramel layers stood out as being nothing less than 100% delicious. They were packed full of creamy sweet flavours, were insanely rich, and most notably were so wonderfully fresh tasting. The people I shared these with are pretty used to me bringing sweet treats in to the office, though never before have so many of them asked where I bought/obtained something from. For the sake of your health and your wallet and I wouldn't encourage anyone to be making these an everyday purchase, but as a treat or a special occasion I can promise you that you can't go wrong here. Coming from a guy that never promises anything, you will hopefully get some understanding as to how much I rate these. More Heavenly Cakes coming soon!
9.1 out of 10
Posts
34 comments:
Oh my god these look amazing. The chocolate looks so much thicker than you normally get.
Are you sure these are better than the thorntons ones? I didn't think we would ever see a millionaire shortcake that is better but I have been proven wrong hey?
I can't stop looking at all their photographs on their site - must stop.
Dx
I wasn't convinced when you said you would be reviewing cakes from people who made them fresh but sold them online. At first I couldn't see how that could work? Isn't the whole idea of them being fresh that you sell them straight away and not have them spend days in the post? hmmmmmm those are my thoughts anyway. By the sounds of it they don't suffer at all from being sent this way.
Look at the calories :O :O :O that would be a bonkers amount if you kept them to yourself Lmao.
Gosh Jim you have been drooling here and it isn't even 9am lol.
I also love millionaires (the cakes lol) so I'm pretty confident I would love these. Looking at their site they don't appear to be cheap but I think I can justify treating myself sometime in the near future :-) Great review
Rxxx
Do they ship abroad or only UK?
Mother of god these look naughty :> Eugh I knew I shouldn't have looked on here this morning my stomach is rumbling already and it's ages until lunch.
I think I may have to go find some shortbread during my break. I bet whatever I find wont be as good as this though. These sound different class.
Now these I have to try. Its been a while since you last reviewed something that I have felt the need to try straight away but these look fantastic. @GOLDEN I see what you are saying about the ordering cakes through the post thing, but if Jim is right it doesn't sound like you can even tell.
Either you liked these a lot or you have been paid to say this. I hope it is the former.
Heavenly Cakes look the real deal. I think I am going to buy some for the weekend. Are there any other cakes of theirs you suggest Jim? I like the look of their brownies.
Finally got around to posting the review :D. Hehe these are on my order list for later this week.
Last week i had the Millionaires Tiffin cake and o-m-g its soooo good, shame on you though for not having a whole portion :D thats why they cut it for 1 persons :D hahaha ive been having to hit the gym hard to work off my 3 blocks of that badboy.
On the weekend I ordered some of the Chunky brownie and the Coconut and cherry flapjack, you had these yet?.
Im just more impressed by the packaging of these things, i ordered the 6No. of the individually wrapped ones and they came so well packed with cooling blocks etc etc. Needless to say I have recommended alot of people so far to this shop.
10/10 from me :D
These do look delicious and I do love Caramel Shortbread - the price still makes me shudder though! lol I might have to treat myself if I can persuade myself I can justify the cost lol
@ Chris - well we all know that Jim hasn't been paid, hasn't this been done to death by now? lol. If Jim likes them they must be good! :D
Chris I think that is a silly thing to say. Jim has proven in the past that he isn't afraid of criticsing things that get sent to him. I don't see why he would start changing things now do you?
It would be interesting to get a second opinion from someone who has tried them to see if they thik they are as good as he says, but for the minute I don't think we should doubt him.
I'm not really a lover of caramel shortbread but these sound yummy. The layers of chocolate and caramel look soooooooo thick. You must be able to feel the sugar running through your veins after eating one lol. Great review Jim. I can't wait to see what you try of theirs next.
Can I put in a request for you to try some of their brownies please. I think I am going to have to pop an order in if they are just as good. Chris I wouldn't worry about Jim overstating these. I think if you have been around long enough you know you can trust the reviews.
Jim in your pictures it looks like they have cut the entire lot in to 6 bits. Wouldn't that make each one over a hundred grams. Lol that is an insane amount of calories I don't think I could handle it.
I think you should make your next competition a challenge to eat a whole family sized pack. People would have to supply evidence of cours :)
Holy moly these sound awesome. Excuse me whilst I wipe the drool off my keyboard. Heavely Cakes FTW.
This would be the perfect way to round of this boring boring lunch I am eating right now. It might be a little less healthy than my apple though lol.
Review the flapjacks next please. I am getting a little addicted to them at the moment. My favourite ones so far are the ones you can buy from the Tescos bakery but I haven't found the Thorntons ones that you had up a while ago. This is a a bit of a random question but do Heavenly Cakes have normal shops?
The photos on their site make you think they are too good to be true but by the looks of it your own pictures Jim seems to confirm that they do indeed look that good.
It is nice to see that they also taste as good as they look. It would be pointless otherwise lol.
Wow, these sound amazing. They have to be seriously good to beat the Thorntons caramel shortcakes! I like the sound of their other cakes too particularly the Billionaires Brownie. Can't wait for a review of that one.
All i am saying is that it seems a bit convenient that Jim posts a review heralding them the best shortbread god ever created and then has their logo plastered on his site. It is a little suspect don't you think?
Chris, why dont you order some and try them out :P.
As someone who has already sampled of of their products i can confirm they are infact AMAZING, good quality and seem very reasonable.
Ive got 3 more batches on the way (just got the dispatched note)
Oh btw Jim how did you get the nutrional values for these? my single packets didnt have anything on (thankgod or ill proberly cry eating whole slabs of the stuff haha)
@Chris - Suspect? no. Jim has other sponsors on the site and theres plenty of reviews of products from sponsors, that havent come up to scratch in the slightest. Theres also been lots that have happily been great, like this Heavenly Cakes Shortbread. All longstanding readers know well enough by now that Jim seriously doesn't hold back if really dislikes a product, and certainly wont rate it good just to please a sponsor!
LMAO Chris are you for real? This guy has been blogging for over two years if he was being paid to write about things to say they're good I people would have picked up on that by now.
I can't stop looking at this review. I think I might have to go buy some shortbread tonight to feed my craving. It might not be as good as this shortbread but anything will do for the minute lol.
Great review!
Soooooooo I can't be the only one thinking that Jim needs to run a Heavenly Cakes competition am I? *looks around nervously* that would be epic times a million.
These cakes must be brilliant. I think this is the highest score Jim has given something all year so they have to be good.
It's day like these I wish I wasn't on a diet. The day I finish I think I will be paying the Heavenly Cakes site a visit to reward myself. Although saying that it seems a little self defeating.
@Chris - Jim often gets sent Thorntons products and had their banner on his site over Christmas, yet if you look at his reviews for them they aren't always that positive. Also what we all have to remember is that the opinion of one person isn't the law on anything, it's upto us to try things and see for ourselves.
(Not sure my post made it through the first time): why should we be surprised these rated so highly, since they share the same initials as those wizards Hotel Chocolat? :D seriously, this site is messing with my mind..the other day I saw H/C on a faucet and the first thing that sprang to mind was chocolate, lol!!
Aaah, I do love a good caramel shortbread. I am quite fond of the Waitrose ones but will certainly try these out if / when I see them around!
I so wish we had some shortbread in our house. Its really annoying because I specifically asked my mum to buy some from Tesco weekend just gone. I think we have some Twixs somewhere so I will have to make do with them tonight.
Woah - so many comments today! Apologies if my replies are short but I could be here all night :D
PART 1
Nick
Indeed the chocolate layer was thicker than I have ever seen before on a MSB.
Daisy
They are quite different to be honest as the Thorntons ones are more suited for really small snacks. In my opinion these are better - they taste bakery fresh!
Golden
They honestly taste as fresh as you can get. Since they are packaged you obviously don't get the same bakery smells, but taste wise you can't tell the difference.
Anon #1
I wouldn't recommend anyone eat a whole giftpack :D That would be seriosuly gross.
Rachel
You are right. They aren't the cheapest - but they are definitely worth treating yourself to soon/
JT
I'm not sure to be honest. I will have to contact M&N and ask them.
David
Well I hope you found a reasonable substitute. I don't think you were the only one to buy some MSB today :D
Chris
Reading your comments I have to admit I am disappointed.
Indeed it may look 'convenient' that I post a very positive review when they have just started sponsoring the site, but I genuinely thought these were nothing less than delicious.
I would never mislead my readership - it would stupid to do so considering all it would take is one person to try the product and reveal what I had recommended was actually poor.
I am sorry you feel this way, but please in future if you have nothing positive to contribute please don't comment.
Lucy
If you do buy some please let me know what you think.
Duncan
I would like to tell you some more of their range I suggest but I don't want to ruin the other reviews :D put it this way ... if you go for the brownies you are safe
Matthew
Haha I will try man up next time and try one of the portion sizes they suggest :D the upcoming reviews I have from them are Chocolate Flapjack, Toffee Tiffin and Billionaire's Brownie.
Good to hear that I am not alone thinking that these were great. Thanks for your nice words and support today - much appreciated.
Alan
As I said in the review I could never recommend these as an everyday/week purchase because of the price ... but as the odd treat I would seriosuly say they are worth it. Thank you also for your support! There are some people I always know I can rely on to speak sense. Thank you!
Justin
Thanks Justin. Every company/person who chooses to sponsor or advertise on this blog does so under the agreement that I get to say what I want about their products. There is plenty of evidence from products from J-List, Hotel Chocolat and Thorntons which prove this is the case.
Lauren
These are amazingly rich due to the thickness of the caramel and the chocolate. You wont have to wait that long for my next reviews! There will be one Heavenly Cakes review a week for the next month.
PART 2
Sally
Request recieved loud and clear! I already have some of them If I am honest :D I am glad you trust my reviews - thank you!
Marshall
I don't think it would be wise of me to have a competition that verges on being an eating contest :D I wouldn't want to ask people to do something I couldn't do myself :D I am glad you liked the review.
Mysterio
It appears you approve :D
Selina
I think you could be right, I don't think this MSB would be as healthy as your apple. Every so often it wouldn't be bad for a treat though would it?
Chloe
Nope Heavenly Cakes just sell online at the moment. Who knows what the future will bring eh?
Don't worry I have some of their flapjacks lined up to review soon (review posted next week actually!!)
Kim
Nigel & Maeve told me today that those photos were done by a professional photographer, but they were photos of actual stock (not mock ups like other food companies do!!)
It would be pointless if they didn't taste as good as they looked wouldn't it.
Phil
Thanks for your nice words today chap! Again I knew there were some people I could rely on to speak up - thank you!
Regarding the Billionaires Brownies you wont have to wait long for that review. IT should be up in the coming weeks!
Matutu
The nutritional information was on the back of the giftpacks I got sent ... they give it in 100.0g and at total giftpack values ... the total giftpacks values are just scary looking :D
Alan
Thanks again chap.
Ganesh
Thank you also. I am glad you know my reviews are genuine. I hope you were successful in finding some MSB to tie you over this evening.
Gamer
Perhaps this will happen in the future. That would have to be at the discretion of HC though.
Estelle
I think the Hotel Gianduja scored higher, but yes they are up as there as one of the best scoring products.
Good luck with the diet :D These would definitely ruin it.
Phil
Thanks again Phil! I really appreciate what you have put.
Thea
I am trying to think of a crappy company with the initials HC but I can't think of one :D It must mean that these manufactures have special powers eh!? Either that or they both make damn good products and it's coincedence :D
Amanda
Waitrose ones!? I will have to give them a try one day.
Anon
Your mum seems to have failed you this week huh!? Have a word haha! To be honest a Twix isn't a bad substitute. You could be worse off :D
Thanks everyone - I hope you are all aware that my views are always 100% impartial no matter the product or the manufacturer. More Heavenly Cakes reviews coming soon.
JIM
These sound positively gorgeous. Yum Yum.
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