Philadelphia Chocolate Cream Cheese Review

 Okay, before I get started, I want you all to know that I am over the moon that we finally got this product in Canada.  I read about it on some blogs I think and right away I was all "We need to move south!!" And Hubby just rolled his eyes, and said something about liking being around family or whatever.  But he hates cream cheese, so I cannot really expect him to get it.  But I know you guys will. Seriously I have only used this a few times already and it is going to change your life.  I know, dramatic, but I just need you to understand, you need this item, right now!!!!!

  Anyway, I saw on face book we finally had this and I went right to the store after work with Pork Chop, I had to bribe him by buying him a pound or so of olives, but I got what I went for.  As I was cashing out the cashier was all "have you tried that, it looks weird!"  And I was all "I have so many plans for it, you need to try it!" And she sort of just gave me a crazy look, because she probably doesn't understand the impact this is going to have.  Or something like that.

My first simple test.

So for my first try I just wanted something really simple, because I wanted to actually try the product how it was made.  Trust me I already have about 50 ideas in my head, and I don't have the money to buy that much cream cheese.  If you are out there makers of Philly Chocolate Cream Cheese of the Gods, feel free to send me about 100 tubs.  That should last me at least a month. Give or take.

It looked like chocolate, pure and simple!

 So firstly, I had no idea this product was a spread before I saw it, I always assumed it was in block form. I didn't really care, I got two tubs and I bought these super fat lady finger cookies.  I figure simple would let me really try it.  And Oh. My. Gosh!  It was good.

 So it looks like this is being marketed akin to Nutella.  But with I think 50% less sugar. It was on the tin foil label, but I was in a rush to taste it, so I sort of tossed that out fast.  Anyway.  I don't agree.  Nutella is it's own beast, I mean it is thick and rich and super sweet and almost like peanut butter.  Where as this, well it's hard to describe.  The flavour is out of this world, and the texture is perfect for spreading, or if you are one of those weird people that likes fruit, it could be an instant fruit dip.  But I won't go there.  Sorry.

I didn't put too much, I was being stupid, you want to put lots, trust me.

 In my first use, I just made cookie sandwiches.  I just spread a bunch in between two soft cookies, and then I ate them.  It was so good, it has this almost tart kick to it, like a sour cream.  But it was sweet but in a way that is was not over powering like Nutella can be.  I personally don't think I would eat this on toast, it is just not the same to me.  But the things I have planned, oh you just wait..  I am honestly going to spend a lot of time with this and make a few things.

Try to ignore the fact my fingers are almost as chubby as the cookies.

I really liked the taste of it just like this, and even found myself using it as a dip for cookies.  It really is good. And I sound like a girl with a high school crush, and gosh darn it, I am so happy with this.  I have read about products and waited for them only to feel blah about them.  So far this is a keeper.  So stay tuned I have plans, and I will be sharing them.  Then I will invest in cream cheese stock, or just hoard the stuff.

So these only lasted 12 hours and that is because I was sleeping, they were gone really fast.

Have you tried it yet?  What do you think?

Apple Cake Mix Review

I love how my icing looks so shiny and pretty, but I wish you could see the vanilla bean flecks.  If I had a real camera I could show you.  But I don't so just believe me that they are there.

 So in the last few months there has been a few new things in the stores locally.  And by new, I mean new to us.  I think I have seen a lot of these things in the states when we went before.  But I never buy things like cake mix there because if I fall in love with it, Hubby would have to find ways to smuggle it to me some how.

I did a little happy dance in the store.  I almost got the carrot cake until Hubby pointed out there were raisins in it.  I couldn't put that box down fast enough.

  So I have already tried out the Red Velvet Cake Mix, and it was not a hit.  So I have really high hopes for this one.  There were two different types of new mix, this apple cake and a carrot cake.  What makes them so neat is that they have freeze dried fruit, or dried out I don't know, I didn't make the mix.  I thought that was neat, and a good thing because I hate fruit in deserts, and I hate it even more if I have to wash, peel and cut it.

There were two packs, one was the cake mix, the other was the caramel stuff.

  The box recommended that you pair it with their canned frosting.  And I knew that was not going to happen.  I mean I love me a box mix, and a canned icing for cake balls.  But, when you are going to eat the icing alone, you need home made.  And since I had made some for a party last week, I had a bunch left over. I just keep it in the fridge and when I am ready I put it back in the mixer and blend it up.  Some times I need to add a little more icing sugar to get it thick again, but it is still good and tastes great.

Cream Cheese Icing
Based on me tossing stuff in my mixer

-1 block of cream cheese
-1/2 cup butter
-2 TBSP vanilla bean paste or vanilla
-milk and icing sugar as needed

 Just cream the butter and cheese until creamy and then add the vanilla bean paste.  Then alternating between the icing sugar and milk, add it and stir until you have as much as you need, and it is as thick as you like.  I like a thicker icing when I pipe it on, and a thinner one when I spread it on.  So you decide what you what.

This is the caramel powder, I was thinking this was going to be gross.

  So the cake mix was meant to be made in an actual cake pan, but since this was me, and I wanted to share it without making a mess, I tried it in cupcake form.  I would make the cake if I was going to eat it at home and share it here, but Hubby won't touch it I bet, and Pork Chop, well if he eats it that will be something.

But you add a little water and some oil and it changes.  That is my egg spatula, I need to have cute stuff in the kitchen.

  So firstly you have to make the caramel mix.  This is the smaller of the two pouches and you just add some water and oil.  I found it really hard to actually get all the lumps out of it, and might have just given up and left it a bit lumpy.  I won't tell if you don't.

  Then you have to mix the cake mix with eggs, water and oil.  This is where the little bits of dried out apple were.  And they say to mix it until just wet, about 50 strokes.  So I did that, sort of, I stopped counting after 30 strokes and just kept going until it was all mixed.  It was sort of lumpy but I figure that was just the apple.

It was supposed to make 24 cupcakes, if you think about it being in a full 9x13 pan.  But as usual things never work out as they should for me.

  Now since this was supposed to go into a 9x13 pan I figured it would make 24 cupcakes.  And like usual I was wrong.  I got 19 in total, I used my large ice cream scoop to fill the cups about 2/3 full.  I used cupcake liners as I was not sure how soft the cake would turn out.  And I hate greasing muffin tins.

Well that doesn't look too appetizing, but it's the caramel.

This is after I tried to swirl it all in, I don't think that worked so well.

  So once you put the cake batter in you have to add the caramel stuff.  So I spooned it on each one, I think about 1 TSPS would be about right, I didn't measure.  Then I took a candy stick and tried to swirl it around, but that stuff is thick and sticky, so it ended up more of a blob in the middle.

And this right here is why you have to frost these things.  They look like something exploded all over them.

 So I baked them for about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  I used a tooth pick to see if they were done, and there was just a tiny bit of crumb on it, so I took them out and let them sit for about 30 minutes in the pan to let them finish.

  I then let them cool off and found that once they had cooled they had sort of sunken in a bit, I think the filling did that.  Also I noticed the filling bubbled out a bit when baking, and was lucky none went over the edge of the cupcake pan, so if you are nervous, or smart, put a cookie sheet under the pan the first time to see how it goes.

Why I took a close up of the nasty things I will never know, but I did so you have to see it too.

  Once they were cooled I piped a big bunch of cream cheese frosting on top, because I wanted to use it all up.  I just used a large round tip and swirled it on.

  At this point I really wanted to try one, but I had eaten a few of the fruit pies I had also been making and diner was almost ready.  So I put them in the fridge to take to work.

I think they look much better with frosting, not so explody, you  know?

  Just before bed it hit me that I wanted one, and so I tried it.  Firstly, it stuck just a little bit to the liner, so I am glad I used them.  Secondly, I think the icing was a must, it was not too dry, but dry enough that I don't think I would have liked it without.  And thirdly, I got a tummy ache eating it so late, with so much sugar.

  The verdict?  I loved it, and my friends did too.  It was almost like a coffee cake, but better.  It was really easy to make, and I can see making this in a bunt pan with a nice cream cheese glaze.  I will make this again for sure.

  Also Pork Chop did not eat any, he was all " I want a fruit pie!"  And then I gave him one and he was all "I will eat it later!"  And he didn't so I put it in his lunch, and I bet it will come home.  Oh well, more for me that way.

Review of Red Velvet Cake Mix

I was so excited when I saw this in the store I took a picture right away!

  So you all know how much I love me a cake mix right?  It makes making treats so much faster, and I prefer it when I am making cake balls, or cupcake for kids.  So when we were in Wal mart a few weeks back and I saw a red velvet and cream cheese box mix I had to try it.

  Now I did it because I wanted to review it here and I wanted a reason to try it out.  I will  tell you that as with most box mixes it was okay, but really pricey if you think about it.

  So anyway I got it, and then read the box that said it only may 12 cupcakes, and I wanted to give them at work so I have to cut down just the tiniest bit to get myself an extra mini one to taste.

They look cute on the box, but there is no way there is enough icing to decorate them all like that.

  So making the batter was as easy as any other cake mix, it turned out to be a runny batter like any other.  They baked up nicely and looked fine.  But the icing, oh that was another story.

This was the stuff in the box, why they put two pouches of icing instead of one large one I don't know.  That is why I don't work for a cake mix company I would be all "no, only one bag, make it bigger!" Then I would get fired.

  So the icing says it is "cream cheese flavored" which should have clued me in at first, but it didn't.  So I was going to pipe the icing on to at least make the cupcakes look nice, but then once I put the icing into a bowl it became clear this would not work.  The icing was runny and looks gross, and there was no real cream cheese flavor to me.  So I had to fix it, I added a bunch of icing sugar to thicken and bulk it up, a little milk as I put too much sugar, then some vanilla bean paste to try to give it a better flavor.  It was okay, I mean it was way better than before.

I would tell you what this looks like, but you already know, yuck!

  To decorate I had barely enough to do a nice swirl, so if I were to use it again I would add even more icing sugar and milk to bulk it up.  As it was I then I decorated them with some simple red sanding sugar and that was it.

 I tasted  my mini and it was okay, nothing amazing, and I can tell you that is was just as airy  as any other cake mix.

These are seriously not going to be a go to for me, but hey at least you know it's there if you ever need it.

  So what I liked about this, not much really. Other than it was a box mix.

 What I disliked, well let me list the things:
-the icing was bland and watery, had to be fixed, and not enough to give a good layer of frosting
-the cost, figuring I had to put in stuff to fix the icing and that you only get 12 cupcakes, this was not worth it at the $3.50 I think I paid
-the taste, it was just okay, nothing spectacular

 So over all I give this box mix a fail, which stinks.  I mean if it was just the cake mix alone, that I could work with, perfect for cake balls.  But the addition of the "cream cheese flavored" icing really took it down a few notches.  So I would skip this, if you live in the states I think they have a red velvet cake mix, and then you can just make your own icing just as easily.

  Oh well, no one at work really got to try them either as they were for a person who was leaving and she just took them home without sharing.  So I didn't get any other opinions.  And I refuse to make these again, so there you go, not a score with me.

 And just so you know I love cake box mix, a lot, this one was just not worth it to me.
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