Category Archives: Product Reviews

My July Favourites

Having been M.I.A recently with blogging, I realised I was a good few days late doing my ‘Monthly Favourites‘ blog post! *slaps wrist*

So what have I been doing all this time? Nothing much and nothing exciting but I’ve been enjoying the ‘summer’ [even if it’s rained  nearly every day!], I’ve enjoyed the Olympics, getting out more, meeting friends, enjoying beer gardens and I also got to see my friend Sophie who I hardly ever see since she’s moved to Spain!

Right… on to my July favourites!

Genius Croissants & Pain Au Chocolats

 

 

I honestly thought I’d never see the day when I, a coeliac, would be happily eating a croissant and pain au chocolat! Genius answered our prayers and brought out these beauties which are amazing! All I did was heat them up in an oven and smeared a little butter in the middle! I’ve written a more in-depth review about them here  and they’re becoming an all time favourite of mine - thank you Genius!

HaveCake Brownies 

 

As we all know, nothing beats a good brownie, especially when they come in huge boxes and are the size of house bricks! The only brownies I’d eaten prior to these delightfuls, were Asda’s own free from brownies which were pretty bland, tiny and quite dry! I’ve written a more indepth review about them here 

Home Sweet Home, Manchester 

 

Home Sweet Home in Manchester is a cute and retro bake house and coffee bar in the heart of the Northern Quarter. Many of my friends had been before me and told me about these amazing toasties they do, not realising they do gluten free toasties too! So you can imagine my excitement when I finally got to have my very own gluten free toastie! Honestly, they were AMAZING! Please excuse my shoddy iphone picture above because it doesn’t give it justice! I highly recommend going if you’re ever in the area!

Asda Free From Instant Porridge

 

When I was little [and obviously before my gluten free days] I would have chocolate flavoured ready break for breakfast every day [makes me feel sick just thinking about it!]  which then morphed into an obsession with Oats So Simple golden syrup instant porridge. I obviously had to give that up when I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. It was so painful watching my house mate ‘Wheat Pete‘ devour bowl after bowl of the stuff … until Asda came to the rescue with their instant gluten free golden syrup flavoured porridge! I absolutely love the stuff! Some people may find it a little too sweet, but I honestly don’t mind this [then again this is coming from a girl who’s trying to ween herself off 3 sugars in her coffee!]

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HaveCake Gluten Free & Vegan Brownies [Review]

I was really excited to review HaveCakes gluten free and vegan brownies!

One thing you should know about me is that I love, love, LOVE my brownies but it’s sometimes hard to find those gluten free brownies that have that ‘home baked’ taste. I’m lucky that my local supermarket, Asda, produce their own gluten free brownies, but I find they lack that ‘home made’ taste and are actually quite dry!

So, when the huge box of brownies arrived at my door, I was quite surprised at how big the box was! I did pause for a moment to think whether I’d inadvertently ordered myself new shoes! I just loved the way the brownies were packaged. With coloured tissue paper and a cute bow, this made them ideal as a gift for your coeliac and free from chums!

 

I was also impressed at the size of the brownies!

 

As you can see you get your moneys worth and because you get 9 whole brownies in a box it also explains why the box was so huge - great value for money!

So What Did They Taste Like? 

 

They had that ‘home made’ taste that I adore from gluten free bakes! They were chocolatey, light, moist without that horrible crumbly texture that tends to plague gluten free baked foods! What’s more, because I shared them with my family, they couldn’t believe that they were gluten, dairy and egg free! Even my ever so fickle brother loved them and trust me when I say this - he’s very fussy with his food. In fact he’s the one who ate most of the brownies and wants to order more!

Plus don’t take my word for it, if you check the HaveCake Brownies website, you’ll find amazing and glowing reviews from coeliac and  free from peeps who have been lucky enough to try these amazing brownies!

So Who Are HaveCake? 

 

HaveCake is run by the lovely Louise  who has been a passionate baker from a very young age. She started baking traditional recipes for friends and family who encouraged her to set up her own business selling her own cakes and brownies. So when a friend with coeliac disease asked Louise if she could make gluten free brownies as everything she had tried was bland,  too sweet, or too dry, Louise set about experimenting with all recipes until she came up with one her friend could enjoy - and I think she definitely succeeded, they’re amazing!

How Do I Get These Amazing Brownies? 

 

You can order a box of 9 gluten free or gluten free & vegan brownies directly from the HaveCake website. They also come with free delivery and if you order before the 30th September 2012 you’ll also receive 5% discount using the code: “GFSTUDENTCOOK”

  • HaveCake Website
  • HaveCake Twitter
  • Louise’s Blog

 

 

 

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Genius Gluten Free Croissants & Pain Au Chocolat Review

I always remember having a ‘tweet-versation’ [that’s a conversation on twitter!] amongst my coeliac friends discussing which product we’d love to see on the market as gluten free. One of the things that was mentioned over and over again was the need for gluten free croissants and pain au chocolats!

We missed not being able to indulge on some warm, buttery croissants on a Sunday morning and most, if not all, of us missed those buttery,  flaky viennoiserie bread rolls! Now fast forwards a couple of months to the month of June when I noticed Genius had uploaded a picture of the most spectular thing I’d seen. So spectacular that it made me stop what I was doing and stare at the screen with my mouth agape. There staring at me was a picture of their latest gluten free product: gluten free croissants and gluten free pain au chocolats!

 They’re available from Tesco and and retail at £2.10 for the gluten free croissants [for a pack of 2] and £2.70 for gluten free pain au chocolats [for a pack of 2]

What Do They Taste Like? 

 

I was lucky enough to be able to taste these beauties and I can honestly say… they’re the nicest things I’ve ever tasted! It’s hard to believe they’re gluten free and the pastry is everything that I remember; flaky and buttery!

The croissants basically arrive pre baked. You have to bake them in the oven for 10 minutes which is the only downside. You see, I was so excited to taste these that those 10 measly minutes felt like a lifetime! But on the plus side, once baked, the kitchen is filled with that sweet aroma of freshly baked croissants!

Once baked, I cut them in half and smeared a little butter in the middle, made myself a fresh brew and polished them off in record time. Even my ‘fussy with food’ brother tried one [who’s lucky enough to be able to eat anything] and couldn’t believe how nice they were. We both agreed that they tasted just like the ‘normal’ croissants out there!

My personal favourites have to be the gluten free pain au chocolats! Before my diagnosis, I would always have pain au chocolats for my Sunday breakfast [as a treat of course!] and these, in my opinion, taste like the real thing! Just like the gluten free croissants, these have to be baked in the oven for 10 minutes. What you get at the end is a soft and flaky pastry and warm, melted chocolate in the middle [even typing this is making my mouth water]. It’s hard to believe they’re gluten free!

Verdict? 

 

I give both the gluten free croissants and gluten free pain au chocolats 9 and a  1/2 out of 10. They’d get a 10 if there was 3 in each pack, but that’s because I’m greedy! Although the croissants taste just as nice plain, I do recommend heating them in the oven and smearing a little butter in the middle! I’m just praying to the Coeliac God that Genius will start bringing out more of these pastries, especially Pecan and Maple Danish Pastry!! [pretty please Genius!!! *flutters eyelashes*!]

 

  • Genius Website
  • Genius Facebook
  • Genius Twitter
  • The Gluten Free Student Cookbook Facebook
  • The Gluten Free Student Cookbook Twitter 

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