Mr Kipling Apple, Apple and Blackcurrant and Cherry Pies

Whether it be a British Pie Week “eat as many pies as you can Pieathon”, a roadtrip or a casual Pierateer get together, there always seems to be a reason to pick up a box of 6 handheld Mr Kipling pies to help us on our way. They have become synonymous with Pierate gatherings – the consistent little pie hole filler that allows us to have pie for breakfast, lunch, pudding or supper (and it has been known dinner too, when Pierateer Rob ate just apple pies for the day in 2013!)

And one of the leading pie manufacturers in the small handheld pie market are the legendary cake and pie makers Mr Kipling. They claim on their boxes to be the nation’s favourite apple pies and to be honest, for years now we have relied on the consistent goodness to keep us filled with pie on many a roadtrip and outing or simply as an easy breakfast or dessert pie option.

But it has come to our attention that these reviews are quite old now, being over 7 years since they were pie rated, so they are in need of a review. With so many other pies having been eaten since these initial reviews (some of the first on the blog) are they still that good? Add to the mix that we’ve never actually reviewed the Cherry pie yet and we thought that better change!

Mr Kipling Fruit Pies (l-r: Apple and Blackcurrant, Cherry, Apple)

The question the box poses to us when pie rating is whether the Mr Kipling’s range really is exceedingly good pie? I can assure you – they are!

After all, there’s a reason why they are called the nation’s favourite apple pies (their branding and claim to fame, not mine). And there’s got to be a reason we keep going back to them time and time again! Packed with crisp apple-y goodness, the Mr Kipling Apple Pie ticks all the boxes and ensures it is the premier portable snack sized fruit pie. The apple and blackcurrant pies have a nice sweet mix of apple flavouring balanced with small pieces of blackcurrant (though the seeds can get in your teeth at times!) and the cherry pie is also nice and sweet, though again no fruit pieces to get your teeth into.

Sadly none of these pies have a particularly strong natural fruit content with pieces of fruit in your pie, relying more on a fruity jam like consistency. The capacity of these pies is also quite low – though if you eat one you’d probably agree you don’t want much more sweet filling if you’re going to finish said pie! But then this has been the case in nearly all of the small, portable fruit pies you get from supermarkets and similar companies. However if you want pies with actual pieces of fruit in, it’s best to go for pies from bakeries or farmers markets, which tend to be sold in larger sizes to cram the fruit in!

In summary, whether on a roadtrip, at a cake and pie sale, having just played sport, or at a friend’s leaving meal... the possibilities for cracking out a top tasting Mr Kipling Pie are almost endless! In terms of the small fruit pie market they are one of the best out there, consistently available across many supermarkets and corner shops up and down the country. And there has certainly been no lack of consumption of these pies in the past 10 years or so (easily pre-dating the creation of the Pierate Blog!) I would make a relatively safe guess that between the Pierateers there have been well over 200 Mr Kipling Apple Pies eaten alone (often all 6 in a pack eaten in one group sitting), which make these surely the most eaten pies in Pierate history!

Mr Kipling Apple Pie
Score: 5.82/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5.75/7; Condition 6/7; Content 5.75/7; Capacity 5.25/7]

Mr Kipling Apple and Blackcurrant Pie
Score: 5.61/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 5/7; Capacity 5.25/7]

Mr Kipling Cherry Pie
Score: 5.61/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6/7; Chewiness 5/7; Condition 6/7; Content 5/7; Capacity 5.25/7]

RAS

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Mr Kipling Deep Filled Mince Pie Review

Even with the abundance of mince pies that are made and sold in the UK each and every year, there is one brand of mince pie synonymous with Christmas. That brand of pie is the Mr Kipling Mince Pie. So popular, they even have a twitter fan club!

Having been sent a free box from Mr Kipling for our 4th Birthday and about to go on holiday to Italy at that time, it only seemed right that I take the box of pies with me to share with my Italian friend and his family (who had never eaten a British pie before!)



Mr Kipling Mince Pies taken to the Colosseum, Italy

However this didn’t leave me with a fully representative sample and so, having bought some more in Poundland recently, it was time to give Mr Kipling a proper pie rating! (Ok, so maybe this was just an excuse to eat more pies...)



Box of Mr Kipling Mince Pies

The colour of the pie was a nice shade and immediately appetising. The condition of the pie was quite good, considering the box got slightly worse for wear due to all the travelling I was doing with the pies. There is supposed to be a pastry Christmas tree shape on top of the pies, though unfortunately these were not clearly visible on all the pies in my box. However upon biting into the pie, the lack of a little extra pastry tree was all forgotten about, as I enjoyed the mouthful of pie I was presented with.

Mr Kipling Mince Pie

The short crust pastry is nice and buttery – could be a little more moist in places but certainly not as dry as a lot of mince pies I’ve tasted at this time of the year. The pies were filled well with mincemeat content, although there was a bit of an air gap between the filling and pastry lid. This slight fault in capacity however was not an obvious detraction from the pie itself, as the ratio of filling:pastry was pretty much spot on. The filling was quite moist still, which was nice. A few little crisp bits of zest gave it a little tang but the moist, fruity filling was the real draw for me. Not too chewy and consistently good throughout the pie.

The pies were only £1 in Poundland, so 16.7ppp in a box of six. However some other retailers were charging anything up to £1.80 for six pies, so I’d certainly recommend shopping around!

You can see why these are called exceedingly merry mince pies, which if you shop around you can get for a bargain 16.7ppp each. A great addition to any Christmas or New Year celebration!



Mr Kipling Deep Filled Mince Pie
Score: 6.07/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 6, Consistency 6.5, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 6.5, Content 6, Total: 6.07/7]
RAS

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Left to Right, Plum & Pear, Apple & Cranberry and Rhubarb pies

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Pie Review of Mr Kipling Lattice Apple Pies






Mr Kipling Lattice Apple Pies

As for the taste itself, you won’t probably find it a surprise to hear that the apple lattice pie was very similar in taste to the Mr Kipling Apple Pie reviewed before. However the lattice lid was a bit lighter in taste than the full short crust topping. The apple was not at all chewy and very flavoursome, complementing the short crust pastry well. While it was disappointing to see Mr Kipling pies turn away from the full pastry encasement of their filling – something we at www.pierate.co.uk are strong advocates of – it was still a very nice pie and the slight lack of top crust pastry did little to put me off buying this pie again (not that I had to buy it this time!)


Score: 6.14/7

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