M&S Blackcurrant Sundaes

These blackcurrant sundaes looked delicious and consist of a pastry tart, filled with a blackcurrant filling, a swirl of buttercream and a sponge disc on top. Although I really liked the blackcurrant filling, which was the right combination of tangy and sweet, the buttercream tasted of margarine and was very sickly and cloying. The pastry was nice enough, but overall they don't taste as good as they look.

Price: £2.00 for four

Rating: 3/5

M&S Spirit of Summer Lemon and Ricotta Cheesecake Slices

These cheesecake slices consist of a digestive biscuit base, a creamy ricotta cheese filling and a zesty lemon topping, complete with a sprinkle of candied lemon peel. These are a little tricky to get out of the packaging, I had to tip them upside down to get them out. Surprisingly they held their shape really well. 

The biscuit base was nice, not overly sweet but just right. The ricotta cheese filling was delicious, silky smooth and creamy. The tangy lemon topping was spot on; a perfect combination of sweetness against the zesty lemon. This is a beautiful summery cheesecake that I would highly recommend.

Price: £2.60 for two

Rating: 5/5

M&S Spanish New Potatoes

These potatoes had a nice flavour, although not quite what I was expecting. The marinade was quite oily and tasted very much like chilli, although it wasn't spicy. As with most things, they are much nicer when they have cooled down as the flavours really come through. All in all, nothing special.

Price: £2.00

Rating: 3/5

M&S All Butter Triple Belgian Chocolate Chunk Cookies

The smell of chocolate hit me as soon as I opened these delicious buttery cookies. Each cookie is studded with white, milk and dark chocolate chunks. The texture is about right – crunchy and slightly soft in the centre. They are so moreish and buttery with just the right amount of chocolate. I'll definitely be buying these again!

Price: £2.00 for ten cookies

Rating: 5/5

M&S Spirit of Summer Banana and Dulce de Leche Slices

Part of the “Spirit of Summer” range, these Banana and dulce de leche slices have a cookie dough biscuit base, banana mousse with splodges of dulce de leche, chocolate sponge soaked in banana liqueur and finally, a dark chocolate and vanilla mousse, hand finished with a decorative glaze.

After taking my first bite, I noticed a rather overwhelming, artificial banana flavour, with hints of cinnamon. I couldn't taste any of the other flavours as the banana flavour was so dominant and overwhelming. I thought that the chocolate and dulce de leche would break it up a bit, but the dulce de leche also tasted strongly of banana and cinnamon. The texture of the vanilla mousse and decorative glaze were very strange and gloopy. Overall, a very disappointing dessert by M&S.

Price: £3.50 for two

Rating: 1/5

M&S Mandarin Orange Pancakes

After previously reviewing the Strawberry and Dorset clotted cream pancakes, I wasn't expecting much from these Mandarin Orange pancakes. How wrong I was! As soon as I opened the packet, I was met with a lovely fresh, zesty orange smell. The pancakes were much more moist and fluffy than the strawberry ones, and the pieces of orange zest throughout the pancake were delicious. I ate mine with a little butter spread over the top, but these are so fresh and tasty that they can be eaten on their own. I will be buying these again and again!

Price: £1.10 for six

Rating: 5/5

M&S "Spirit of Summer" Dirty Fries

These dirty fries are part of the “Spirit of Summer” range and consist of thickly cut fries, topped with Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese, bacon sauce, mozzarella and jalapenos. The portion size was generous and could easily feed two people. This was in the pizza meal deal as a 'side' but they were very filling as a meal on their own. 

I have to say, I'm not a fan of spicy food but I still really enjoyed these. The thickly cut fries had a delicious coating, the tangy bacon sauce tasted very much like bbq sauce and was very nice. The cheese was a bit too much though, as was the garlic oil that I could taste. The garlic and cheese flavours were quite overpowering at times. Overall, a very filling meal/side with a spicy kick. 

Price: £3.00

Rating: 4/5

M&S Chicken and Broccoli pie

One thing I really like about M&S ready meals is that they don't scrimp on the meat. This chicken and broccoli pie was a lovely, comforting meal with a generous amount of chicken. The chicken was smothered in a creamy white sauce, with a layer of broccoli florets and a creamy mash topping with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. This meal is highly recommended for something easy and comforting.

Price: £2.50

Rating: 5/5

M&S Salted Caramel and Custard Slices

I really love custard slices – especially the ones with icing and huge amounts of thick, vanilla custard. I saw these at my local M&S and thought I'd give them a try as they sounded divine. These caramel custard slices have two layers of both salted caramel and custard filling, with a demerara sugar topping on the top layer of pastry. 

The custard was lovely – creamy, thick with a hint of vanilla. The salted caramel was a let down. It had a strange bitter taste which I assume was from the molasses they had used to make the caramel. I also couldn't taste any of the salt. The pastry was lovely and flaky, and the demerara sugar topping was beautiful. Unfortunately, the bitterness of the caramel filling spoiled it.

Price: £2.50 for two

Rating: 3/5

M&S Spirit of Summer Lightly salted Carnival mix crisps

I loved the look of these colourful crisps which are made with various vegetables (beetroot, plantain, orange and purple sweet potato) giving them a natural vibrant colour. I didn't really notice the different flavours that much. I could taste the sweetness of the plantain and the sweet potato and a very subtle beetroot flavour. They weren't as full of flavour as I thought they'd be, which was a slight disappointment.

Price: £2.00

Rating: 3/5

M&S Strawberry and Dorest clotted cream pancakes

This is another product from the 'Tastes of the British Isles' range. I noticed they had quite a few different pancake flavours at M&S , but this particular one caught my eye. 

These pancakes are dotted with sweet, juicy strawberry pieces which worked quite well, although the pancake was rather dry and stale and I couldn't taste any of the cream. Quite a disappointment overall and I wouldn't buy them again.

Price: £1.10 for six

Rating: 2/5

M&S Baby Charlotte potato salad

Tender chunks of Charlotte baby potatoes, a beautiful, rich, creamy indulgent potato salad with a generous amount of creamy mayonnaise. I loved the flavour of the chives and onions which had infused the mayonnaise. This potato salad tasted as good as homemade, making it perfect to accompany a barbeque! 

Price: £1.30

Rating: 5/5

M&S Belgian dark and milk chocolate covered marzipan balls

I love marzipan and anything Almond flavoured, so I was really excited to try these marzipan balls. They were slightly bigger than expected, around the size of a malteaser. The milk and dark chocolate contrast beautifully against the gritty, nutty texture of the marzipan. There was a rather generous amount in the bag, and I'd definitely be buying these again.

Price: £1.30

Rating: 5/5

M&S Spirit of Summer double cheese and ham pizza

This pizza is another “Spirit of Summer” product, but again, I'm unsure if this is a new product or if it has just been re-branded. This crispy stonebaked pizza has tender pieces of ham and generous handfuls of both cheddar and mozzarella scattered over the pizza. The mozzarella was creamy and plentiful and the base was nice and crisp. I was probably expecting a little more from M&S but again, it was nothing special, just your ordinary ham and cheese pizza. 

Price: £3.00

Rating: 3/5

M&S St Clement's cake

I've had my eye on this cake for quite a while now, along with the St Clement's sunken cheesecake which I'll hopefully be reviewing later. This cake was lovely and light, with a buttery orange sponge with orange and lemon curd, orange buttercream and candied orange peel scattered over the top. This cake was perfect and I'd definitely buy it again.

Price: £2.70

Rating: 5/5