Costa UK Clementine Drizzle Loaf Cake review

In amongst all of the last minute Christmas shopping chaos, I was in dire need of a festive pick me up and so I headed towards the bright any shiny Costa sign in the hopes of a sugary treat. Having already over indulged in chocolate this year, I decided to try something a little more delicate sounding so I opted for this clementine drizzle loaf. This sponge is made with a clementine compote and is topped with cream cheese and orange curd frosting as well as chopped pistachio's.

I find Costa's cakes can be a bit hit and miss in terms of freshness and on this occasion it was a definite miss. The sponge was incredible dry and actually inedible. I hate making a fuss or taking things back but on this occasion I had to and it was replaced with another loaf which in all honesty wasn't much better. The sponge itself had a tangy clementine flavour that made for an interesting change but I couldn't get past the dry texture. The sharp orange curd frosting worked really well against the sweet cream cheese and I liked the addition of the crunchy pistachio's and so it is a real shame about the dry sponge. Had I had this cake on a different occasion I may have felt differently as I liked a lot of elements about it, however this visit has put me off trying this clementine loaf again.

Iceland Stonebaked Ultra Thin BBQ Pulled Pork & Pineapple Pizza review

It is very rare that I buy a bake at home pizza and this is purely because as a general rule they are no where near as good as a proper take-away pizza. Having said that this ultra thin pizza from Iceland caught my eye due to the combination of pulled pork, BBQ sauce and pineapple which is a pretty interesting combination. Seeing as I love all elements of this pizza I thought that I would give it a go and I also enjoy a very thin pizza so this was an added bonus. At only £1.59 and taking only 12-16 minutes to cook, this is also a pretty cheap and easy dinner choice.

I cooked the pizza for the recommended time and this was the result. The pizza wasn't the largest in size but I would say that it is perfect for just one. The pizza was indeed ultra thin and it was very crispy in parts and even though I turned it throughout cooking, some parts seemed almost burnt in places whereas other parts were only just cooked. There was a tang from the BBQ sauce but all in all the BBQ flavour was very mild. There was plenty of pineapple and I was impressed with the amount of tender chunks of pulled pork however I personally would have liked a little more cheese on top.

This was a decent enough meal, especially considering the price and I was more than happy to finish it off. Having said that however, this is far from the best pizza that I have ever and I wont be rushing out to get it again, in fact I think I will stick with a takeaway and splurge out a little more next time that pizza craving hits!

Shaken Udder Salted Caramel Milkshake review

Salted caramel is probably the new go-to flavour for most companies and I for one have no objection to this! I love the sharp edge that salt adds to the sweet and sugary flavour of caramel and so this milkshake from the shaken udder company was something I have had my eye on for a while. Made from Maldon sea salt and containing no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, with less than 5% fat, I picked this up when I had a craving for something sweet. This can also be enjoyed by vegetarians and those with a gluten intolerance.

I was worried that this would be a little too sickly since caramel flavoured milk can often have a slightly artificial taste but I took a sip never the less. I soon learnt that there was no need to be concerned and this was absolutely delicious! The main thing that I noticed is that this was genuinely a "salted" caramel and I could taste the tang from the Maldon sea salt. The overall flavour was still very sweet but I didn't find it too sickly by any means. This was a creamy and refreshing drink that I would definitely recommend trying if you enjoy salted caramel as much as me.

Revolution de Cuba Baked Fish review.

Having recently moved house, there have been a serious lack of posts recently but now that things are settling down, I decided to start back up with this new dish from Revolution de Cuba. I cant say that this Latin American bar is somewhere that I would typically go for food, however after a few cocktails I was pretty easily persuaded. I opted for this baked hake served with spinach, paella rice and asparagus topped with pico de gallo and lemon wrapped up in a banana leaf.

I will start by saying that I am not into this recent trend of serving food in banana leafs as it just gets in the way and I end up making a mess when trying to get at my food! Putting this aside, I tucked into the dish and was very pleasantly surprised. The hake was cooked perfectly meaning that is was soft, flaky and fell apart in my mouth. It also had a lovely flavour which was really enhanced by the lemon. The paella rice was also cooked well and was very flavoursome without being too heavily spiced and therefore overwhelming the fish. The tangy and sharp flavour of the pico de gallo also added to the spice level and so I was glad that the hake and paella rice had not been too heavily seasoned.The portion size was also just right and so filling without being so large that you cant manage a few cheeky drinks afterwards. The spinach and asparagus were a nice addition to the dish and I am happy to say that I really enjoyed this meal and would definitely consider eating here again in the future.