New M&S British Isles Range...and Salt & Vinegar Caramels?!

Usually it's random companies that go balls to the wall with weird and wacky new flavours, but this time it's good old "British" institution M&S that have brought out a range of not just any new treats, but a "Taste of the British Isles" range, sure to make any Brexiteer dance with joy. It includes products like the Sea Salt and Vinegar Caramels shown above. Wrong, just wrong! What next, fish and chip truffles? (they probably do exist somewhere!)

In more weirdness, they're also selling not just any nuts but British Beer Coated Peanuts!

Plus they're doing a variety of alcoholic sweets, such as Milk Chocolate Truffles made with Somerset Matured Vintage Cider.

Plus a Gin Chocolate Collection for the gin lovers...

As well as Craft Beer Fudge!

Plus, Fruity Summer Punch Mallows...

And Rum and Raisin Toffees. Now these sound more up my street!

There's also Mocktail Jellies...

And the non-alcoholic and pure Unicorns Jellies...

Plus jelly Watermelons!

A new variety of Whip - Summer Fruits Whips!

Ooh - these look nice, Neapolitan Inspired Popcorn Bites!

As do these Sticky Toffee Pudding Bites!

You can't go wrong with Sea Salt Fudge Bites.

They're even getting in on the Speculoos train with these Speculoos Biscuit Truffles.

These sound lovely - Cornish White Chocolate Clotted Cream Truffles with a Cornish clotted cream ganache.

There's also this Sticky Toffee Pudding Bar, if you don't fancy sharing the bites!

Plus a Nostalgic British Fudge collection, with flavours like Eton Mess and Raspberry Fool.

Plus Ice Cream Inspired Toffees with raspberry ripple, mint chocolate and banana split flavours. Woo!

And plain Mint Toffees, made in York.

Gourmet Caramels, with strawberry, blackberry, mango & passionfruit flavours.

A Chocolate Maltball Selection - aka Maltesers - with salted caramel, dark chocolate and milk chocolate flavours.

Handmade Toffee Nut Brittle - made to a classic recipe with almond and pecan pieces.

Taste of The British Isles box - featuring Scottish Raspberry, English spring honey, Welsh sea salted caramel, and Irish cream liquer.

English toffee and milk chocolate drizzle cookies. Yum!

Last, but not least - Milk Chocolate Emotions. Because M&S are too posh for emojis...

Well, that's all for today's post - there were a few other new things in at M&S but I've included the most interesting here. If you try any of these treats, as always do let me know in the comments!

Coconuts Naturally Rum & Raisin Dairy Free Ice Cream

It's mighty difficult to find a good quality dairy free ice cream, I've tried so many, but one that caught my eye recently in a local health food store was the brand Coconuts Naturally, aka The Cornish Coconut Company. They produce organic, dairy free vegan ice cream in 6 different flavours: rich Raw Chocolate, indulgent Coconut Caramel, Mint Choc Chip- peppermint oil and spirulina for an amazing green colour, sumptuous Strawberry, Creamy Coconut and their new addition, boozy Rum and Raisin.

The Salted Caramel one was out of stock so I made do with Rum & Raisin, which cost £7. Yes, it's not cheap! But considering how hard it is to find good coconut ice cream I thought it would be worth the price.

The ingredients consist of unrefined organic coconut sugar, coconut cream, raisins and rum flavouring.

I was concerned the rum might be too much in ice cream, as it can often taste artificial but there was no fear of that here - it tasted like the real deal, and was rather boozy indeed! The texture of the ice cream was somewhat sorbet like, but much thicker and creamier than most coconut ice creams. The raisins added a nice chew, making for an unmistakable rum and raisin experience. To be honest, as nice as this was I did find it a little bit too much! It's very rich and you don't need a lot to satisfy a dessert craving.

Overall, this is a fantastic coconut ice cream, but I'm not sure I would buy this variety again. I really want to try the Salted Caramel to see how it compares - fingers crossed they have it in next time I visit. If you're vegan or dairy free and seeking out an indulgent dessert, definitely keep an eye out for Coconuts Naturally!

8.5 out of 10.