Sorry Waitrose These Are As Dry As A Camel. (Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Brownies)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Brownies
Date:	18/01/09 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Made from natural ingredients and a good chocolate content.

Disadvantages: Dry Dry Dry

Sorry Waitrose but these are as dry as an old bone!

I love chocolate brownies especially the ones my daughter makes. She is vegan and a great cook and makes some which melt in your mouth and are sticky and gooey and everything a brownie should be. Sadly she is at uni at the minute so I saw these in Waitrose and as all their products are normally very good I was expecting great things.

Packaged in an attractive black box with a brown gingham trim these look expensive and give the impression of quality.
Priced at £2.15 for 6 they are not cheap and are quite small too -only just over one and a half inches square. Calorie wise they are 128 calories each and are vegetarian. They actually contain 26% dark Belgian chocolate as well as caster sugar, wheat flour, free range egg, soft brown sugar, and cocoa powder, so nothing artificial here.

I read an excellent review on these on Dooyoo by jo@145 in which she explained the brownies they had bought were reduced as they were near their sell by date. She went on to say that they were dry but thought that might be due to the short remaining shelf life. Sadly no as mine have another 6 days left on theirs and are still dry.

My son husband and I tried these last night as a desert after a healthy vegetable casserole we thought they would round off the meal perfectly. Biting into these we were impressed by the amount of chocolate in them and the flavour of the chocolate was intense and delicious, but to be honest this was overshadowed by the feeling they were stale. I think this is just the mix as they have none of that squidgy texture to them you normally associate with brownies, but nevertheless I wouldn't buy them again because I feel they are simply too dry- dry as a camel in fact!


The chocolate chips in these are very tasty and of good quality and I can't say I don't like them as anything made from chocolate has to be on the top of my shopping list. However I do advise if you buy these to make a lot of coffee to go with them and don't serve them to guests as they really do resemble the last piece of cake which sometimes lies alone in the tin for some time drying out.

It is very unusual for me to find something to criticise about Waitrose as normally I find their products delicious, but these are not their best and maybe need a change of recipe.

If you do buy them you must consume them within a day and store them in a tin overnight to preserve their freshness. I have to say I did this and the next day they were even drier- in fact by then they were as dry as the desert itself!

My son thinks the portion size is too small as well though for me I think it keeps the calories down, but he is 16 and eats like a horse!


In conclusion I really wouldn't recommend them. They are a nice small piece of chocolate cake but not a traditional brownie and I don't think they are value for money. I do however like the natural ingredients they are made from and hope they improve the recipe.

Summary: Not a product I would recommend.