THE VEGAN, Deni Kirkova

‘The Fruity Crumble tastes the same as a non-vegan one but it’s cruelty-free, which is awesome.

‘Crumble recipes are normally generous on the butter but Bells of Lazonby have used margarine and oils instead, which work fine.

‘Having worked in Costa while in college, I remember that some sandwiches and cakes can be calorie, sugar and fat laden, so the sugar kick didn’t surprise me.

‘Nonetheless I recommend sharing this with a friend if you like to eat healthily. I’m glad I only had half myself.

‘The base is soaked in sweetness. It tastes a little aromatic, like a Bakewell tart. It’s very sweet and crunchy on top. Not soggy, limp or flimsy.’

VERDICT: An indulgent treat that would be perfect to share with a friend over a pot of tea.

Picture: Deborah Arthurs

THE NON-VEGAN, Deborah Arthurs

‘First impressions: I liked the taste of this a lot. Had a touch of the mince pies about it but quite fruity – like a festive spiced Bakewell tart. The crumbly top was tasty and had a bit of a sugary crunch; the biscuit base was decent and flavoured with lots of cinnamon.

‘I had absolutely no sensation that there was something missing – in fact, it was more moist and had more flavour than many non-vegan cakes I’ve had in coffee shops, which I often think are tasteless (particularly millionaire’s shortbread, which is almost always a let-down).

‘To be honest though, as someone who generally avoids sugar unless it’s in wine form or as a family-sized bar of Green & Blacks when I’m having a bad day, it was way too sweet for me. I could feel the sugar-crash coming on as I ate it.

‘It surprised me a bit, but it shouldn’t have; I know vegans don’t always want to be healthy, so it’s my prejudice that makes me think it should have less sugar. I did have it with a cup of tea so that cut through the sweetness – and I ate just half, which helped.

‘It felt like a more luxe, moist version of a Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain bar, which I secretly like (so sue me). But the Fruity Crumble has 26.6g of sugars from carbohydrate per pack while a Nutri-Grain has 11g.

‘NHS guidelines say that more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g is high, 5g or less is low, and the RDA is no more than 30g per day for an adult – meaning that half a bar took up a third of my daily limit.

‘It also has margarine and palm oil in it, which I try to avoid. But then no one is touting this as a health food – it’s is supposed to be a treat to give vegans something to have with coffee – so I’ll stop being Captain Buzzkill and literally let them eat cake.’

VERDICT: A tasty, very sweet cake bar for a vegan (or non-vegan) who isn’t worried about sugar intake.