We tried five Halloween themed treats from M&S, Cadbury and Mr Kipling
Halloween is nearly upon us, and for those planning a spooky party to mark the occasion thoughts will be turning towards what to serve your guests. A buffet is always the easier route to go, taking the fear out of having to sit down and plan a menu.
The shops have been filled for a few weeks now with bags of sweets and chocolate to hand out to trick or treaters when they come knocking at your door. But there's also been sweeter treats, namely cakes, which you can happily serve up on a creepy paper plate to your party guests.
From bespoke cakes made especially for the spooky season, to traditional favourites given a Halloween makeover none would look out of place at a eerily good party. With so many options available, we decided to taste test a few supermarket bought cakes to see which are worth spending your money on.
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M&S 9 Halloween Mini Cupcakes - £5
Edward Barnes: The bat looked cute and the chocolate and icing had a nice consistency. However there was definitely a bit of a funny aftertaste. 2.5/5
Gary Stewart: I had one of the eyeballs. It had a nice infected look thanks to the oozing jam leaking out from behind the iris which actually lifted the whole flavour with its sweetness and there was pleasingly crunchy sensation as I bit through the pupil as opposed to the softness of the rest of the cake. It's only a mouthful but would recommend. 5/5
Ryan Paton: The perfect Halloween treat is a fine balancing act of creating a spooky aesthetic while delivering on the tasty flavour. The eyeball cupcake was the perfect blend of the two with it's decorative topping being the ideal way to get in the spirit of the scary season. The cupcake was wonderfully moist and dangerously moreish. 4/5
Steve Graves: I'm always suspicious of spooky treats. Too often they're simply bland cakes and chocs rebranded, with nothing especially scary going on. However the M&S ghost cupcake might have changed my mind. More cute than terrifying, the design was eye-catching, while the cupcake icing wasn't overdone. It complemented the cake texture well and overall this was a really solid effort 4/5
M&S spine-tingling Colin the Caterpillar mini rolls - £3.75
Alice Walker: I loved the details on this treat, from the fact that Colin was baring his scary teeth, to the fact that the insides were a creepy red colour. The miniature bones on top were a great touch! I don't usually eat white chocolate but I think that Colin's face had to be the exception. A delicious cake makes up his innards, so it ended up being not scary at all and, in fact, really delicious! I don't think I could eat more than one in a sitting, as it is quite rich in flavour, but I can't fault it as a sweet snack! If children are getting these in trick or treat then it is a treat indeed!!! 5/5
Kate McMullin: Though only small, the Halloween Colin Caterpillar did not disappoint. It was packed with flavour with every bite. The white chocolate caterpillar face was thick and the quality of the chocolate was really good. I did think the inside of the cake, which had a red filling, would be jam or something similar, however it was a red buttercream, which actually complimented the chocolate very well. 4/5
Cheryl Mullin: Having been a bit disappointed with M&S's festive version of the mini-roll Colin's last year, I was a bit concerned the 'bones' along the spine would be the same hard candy as the Christmas sprinkles. However, I couldn't have been more wrong. They were a creamy, white chocolate that enhanced the flavour of the milk chocolate coating. The red buttercream was a nice touch, and as ever, I kept Colin's face until the very end - a delicious - if slightly sickly - chocolatey treat. 4/5
Ryan Paton: This seasonal twist on the classic treat definitely delivers on the spooky aesthetic needed from a Halloween sweet. However, the thick chocolate was slightly too sweet for my liking and made me feel slightly sick afterwards. More trick than treat. 2/5
Liam Thorp: These fiendish fancies very much lived up to their name for this dieting reporter. I've been trying my level best to avoid the seemingly never-ending supply of snacks that make their way into our office. I was doing ok until I laid my eyes on these fiendish snacks. Light, zesty and delightfully moreish, I think we can now consider the diet finished. Happy Halloween. 4/5
Mr Kipling Fiendish Fancies - £2.10
Alice Walker: I am a French fancy fiend so I was really pleased with the Halloween version - a lovely orange flavour and the orange and brown icing is a great take on the usual colours - also not too rich and VERY moreish 5/5
Gary Stewart: It was exactly the same as a French Fancy except it was Halloween Orange with dark brown icing stripes - just like my nan used to give us kids except orange. 5/5
Ryan Paton: This had the best flavour from all the spooky treats I indulged in for the Halloween taste test. However, I'm not sure how fiendish this fancy really was. The cake was decorated in an orange and black but that was the extent of the scary aesthetic. 3/5
Mr Kipling Terrifying Toffee Whirls - £1.50
Cheryl Mullin: Now an annual variation on the Mr Kipling Viennese whirls, they swap out the traditional jam filling for toffee. As you'd expect, the biscuit was buttery, the cream thick and flavourful and the toffee sauce was not overpowering. In my head though, these feel like they should be more of a Bonfire night treat than Halloween, but that's just me being picky. 4/5
Daniel Haygarth: Not very spooky and not as good as a regular Viennese Whirl, the toffee variety was perfectly fine. The toffee filling doesn’t work as well in tandem with the cream as the normal jam does, but the pastry on either side remains excellent. Frankly, I think Mr Kipling needs to find a way to make this snack scarier, maybe turning it an orange colour and going for a pumpkin approach. It’s fine but no more. 3/5.
Cadbury Goo Heads Cake Bars - £1.50
Cheryl Mullin: Of all the Halloween snacks I tried, this was my least favourite. Yes, the Mr Kipling treats are a variation on a theme, but at least they maintained the flavour and quality you'd expect. These Goo Heads were just disappointing. The sponge was nice, the chocolate what you'd expect from a Cadbury's product but the filling was tasteless and none descript. 1/5