August 18th: 'Bits n Bobs' Cakes, Cereal & Biscuit Chocolate Bars # 3

In the last few weeks my 'Bits n Bobs' reviews seem to have gone down well with readers, so acting on the few requests made in the last B&B post, I today bring you some more quickfire product reviews. In the line of fire today we have offerings from Jacob's biscuits, Kellogg's and my all time favourite food retailer Marks & Spencer ... lets get cracking ...




Kcal 116 Fat 5.8g Fat(sats) 3.7g Carbs 14.5g (per bar)

'Milk chocolate with fruit, chocolate cream and a biscuit base'

In my Jacob's CLUB superpost last month, readers were quick to point out that it wasn't quite so super as I had missed out one of the flavours in the range. Unbeknown to myself the CLUB biscuit also comes in a 'Fruit' flavour which currently isn't included in the 27 bar multipack that I bought to test the other three flavours. After a little hunting down in Tesco I finally found a 9 pack of bars for the price of £1 and brought them in to work for our tea room. For anyone wondering about the fruit content of these bars, it will come as little surprise to you that this came in the form of currants. Upon opening the bar it was particularly nice to see the currants nicely portioned throughout out the biscuit base. This made this 'Fruit' bar look more exciting aesthetically compared to the other variants which have to be said, all looked pretty similar. In regards to taste the milk chocolate and biscuit constituents primarily offered the same experience served up by the rest of the CLUB range, though the currants did manage to enhance the flavour depth. The sugary fruitiness of the currants wasn't anything revolutionary, but it was a welcome addition to the taste and the soft chewy texture of the fruit pieces nicely contrasted with the crunchy biscuit. If I was going to buy CLUB biscuits again in the future I would probably plump for either these or the mint ones.

7.4 out of 10

Kcal 84 Fat 2.5g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 14.0g

'Chocolate toasted rice cereal and milk bar'

I remember this product being one of the first cereal bars to come on the market from the established manufacturers, and it was one of the ones I have become pretty familiar with down the years. As I have said on previous reviews, chocolate cereals have never been a thing that I have particularly enjoyed (apart from the latest Weetabix Chocolate See HERE), neither am I really much of a fan of rice based cereals. Given both of those facts it probably doesn't seem all the sensical that I have a bit of a soft spot when it comes these Coco Pops Chocolate & Milk Cereal Bars. I wouldn't say these are an every week purchase for me, but I do on occasion slip a pack in shopping basket and take them to work for a snack. Taste wise the chocolate payoff isn't as grand as what you get from any average chocolate bar, but the sweet cocoa flavours deliver a decent chocolate flavour hit. Additionally the milk icing that lines the bottom brings a very pleasant additional creaminess to the taste - I just wish they would make it as thick as it used to be! For a low calorie chocolate snack this is one of the best options out there in my opinion.

7.2 out of 10

Kcal 515 Fat 30.8g Fat(sats) 13.5g Carbs 55.5g (per 100.0g)

'Chocolate square with biscuit and honeycomb pieces, topped with a layer of milk chocolate and white chocolate drizzle'

Whilst the other two products have been around for donkeys years, this Marks & Spencer Honeycomb Tiffin is on of the latest additions to M&S's extensive 'food on the go' range. This 45.0g cake set me back a reasonably priced 69p and came in a pack sized similar in size to a box for a jewellery ring (sorry only comparison I could think of haha!). In true English fashion I consumed this alongside a traditional cup of Early Grey tea (stereotypical Englishmen I know!), which proved to be a very fitting eating occassion. Unfortunately for all cakes that feature on this site nowadays, they always come up agaisnt the tought comparator of Heavenly Cakes. Lets get this well out the way from the start, this wasn't as good as the Heavenly Cakes Tiffin cake! I did however still get a a great deal of enjoyment from this M&S offering. The base of the cake was a little crumbly around the edges, but it had a nice denseness to it in the middle where the honeycomb bits really came in to their own. The combination of the buttery biscuit pieces, milky sweet chocolate and honey made for a very interesting and diverse flavour experience. Unfortunately the taste wasn't particularly long lasting, something that I think could have been helped by the chocolate topping had it been a little more substantial and impactful in terms of flavours. It was a decent enough cake, especially when you factor in the price and convenience of it.

7.6 out of 10