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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Bethan Shufflebotham

I tried M&S’s new Colin the Caterpillar and Queen’s Jubilee shortbread frappes

The UK’s most iconic birthday cake has undergone a culinary transformation - and it might be my favourite version yet. M&S mascot Colin the Caterpillar has previously been made into a cake jar, chocolate pieces and even had makeovers for Valentine’s and Easter.

But now, Colin fans can enjoy him as an iced beverage at one of more than 300 M&S cafes across the country.

I went along to try out the new Colin the Caterpillar Frappe, as well as a new iced beverage celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee - and they’re the perfect shakes for summer.

READ MORE: Colin the Caterpillar - could the M&S cake serve 30 people at a party?

At the M&S cafe, you can order the frappes to drink in, or take away, but to get the full effect I opted to sit in. As well as the Jubilee and Colin frappes, other iced drinks on the menu include a new minty mango smoothie and their usual salted caramel frappe.

The Colin the Caterpillar frappe is made of a blended chocolate drink, with chocolate flavoured whipped cream, a chocolate sauce drizzle, Colin sprinkles and topped with a Colin the Caterpillar chocolate face.

Fans have already been raving about the drink on social media, saying it tastes just like the cake itself, so I was keen to get stuck in.

I was pleasantly surprised that the toppings hadn’t sunk into the drink, and it still looked rather photo-ready when it arrived at my table.

The thick and creamy drink has a rich chocolatey taste and I have to admit, it is like drinking a liquid Colin the Caterpillar. It was really refreshing and more milkshake than frappe, but call it what you will.

READ MORE: I tried custard creams from Asda, Aldi, Sainsbury's, M&S, Tesco and Morrisons - and two of them were dreadful

READ MORE: I tried the new limited edition Starbucks Frappuccino - and it comes with a reusable cup

I thought it best to eat the white chocolate Colin face before sinking my drink, to avoid having to stick my fingers into the glass when it was near finished. I did wonder how I would enjoy the colourful crunchy chocolate pieces, but luckily, the straw was wide enough for them to pass through, so they were a nice surprise when they arrived.

I’m pretty sceptical about limited edition drinks and often find them to be a bit of a fad, but this one wasn’t at all sickly and brought the same amount of excitement and joy as blowing out a set of candles on a Colin cake.

Fans of chocolate milkshakes will adore this elite version of the popular beverage, and it’s a fun order for kids who love Colin too.

The first Colin the Caterpillar cake was baked way back in 1990, and has since racked up a number of high-profile fans, including the likes of Dame Judi Dench, David Beckham, and Taylor Swift.

But it’s not the only drink fans are flocking to order this Spring, with a new creation honouring Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which is coming up in June.

Inspired by the very British cream tea, and the Queen’s favourite Scottish shortbread is the

Available up until July, this regal beverage comes complete with whipped cream, strawberry drizzle, and strawberry coulis, all finished off with a miniature all-butter Scottish shortbread.

I really expected this to be a vanilla milkshake topped with shortbread, but the drink itself does in fact have quite a biscuity quality, which was a nice surprise.

As someone who usually orders vanilla or caramel milkshakes, this one was actually my favourite of the two as it was a little bit lighter - but M&S have really taken the proverbial Colin the Caterpillar cake on special edition drinks with this one.

READ MORE: I tried six supermarket crumpets and a 25p pack knocked the rest out of the park

READ MORE: Starbucks customers can get FREE drinks - and here’s how

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