At its
very simplest, shortbread is just the combination of flour, butter and sugar
meaning it could easily be written off as a bit boring. But, for me, this
humble buttery mass ranks as one of my very favourite biscuits to enjoy with a
cuppa and I pretty much always have some knocking about the kitchen
somewhere. To that end, I was more than delighted to recently see
M&S's range of 'Taste of Scotland' shortbread, including this new Eton
Mess inspired offering. Admittedly, for a range trading on its provenance, I
didn't quite see the relevance of Eton Mess to Scotland - something like Cranachan would have been more appropriate. That
aside, the biscuit sounded mighty fun and I was intrigued to see how well the dessert translated.
I thought the packaging for these biscuits was great. The primary panel sported a lovely photograph of the Scottish landscape alongside a very appropriate tartan design which was brought together nicely by a shared purple tone. Whilst the white type boasted low stroke weight and some italicised, serif font to reinforce a sense of refinement and quality.
As for the taste, the basic shortbread was beautiful with a rich, buttery flavour that ticked all the boxes for me. Though, unfortunately, on the Eton Mess front, I was less enthusiastic. I got some pleasing textural contrast from the strawberry and meringue pieces but, unlike M&S's 'Summer Berry Eton Mess' from their 'British Treat Cakes' offering, I didn't really get much flavour at all. Indeed, the berry component in particular needed to be much more pronounced to give the biscuit a fighting chance of imitating the dessert.
Summing up, the packaging was smart with simple white type complemented by lovely photography and a particularly appropriate tartan strip. Taste-wise, the basic shortbread was very good and the added ingredients provided some pleasant textural contrast; however, ultimately, the biscuits failed in delivering that all important Eton Mess flavour. Close but no cigar I'm afraid.
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