With its billowing texture, pretty pink colour and the fact that it takes just five minutes to make, it’s hardly surprising this low-calorie fluff dessert bowl is blowing up on TikTok right now.
Earlier this week, UK-based fitness influencer Hayden Rolfe went viral when they posted a video tutorial for their four-ingredient pudding – which they claim is a healthy alternative to strawberry Fluff marshmallow spread.
Describing it as an ideal evening snack for anyone with a sweet-tooth, the social media star filmed himself chucking some frozen strawberries, a handful of ice, a scoop of protein powder and a dash of almond milk into a food processor.
After five minutes on a high speed, the influencer was left with a velvety smooth and marshmallow-like desert which he then topped with Corn Flakes for a bit of crunch.
As a keen amateur baker and bonafide sweet-tooth myself, I decided to give the decadent-looking dessert a go for myself to see if it really does give Fluff a run for its money.
And you know what they say, if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is.
As I didn’t have any protein powder at home, the first thing I had to do was pop to my local supermarket to stock up.
However, I was horrified to find the cheapest bag of the vanilla-flavoured powder would set me back a cool £15.75. At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder how much actual Fluff I could buy with that amount. (Seven jars).
Thankfully, the remaining ingredients were more reasonably priced – with a 350g bag of frozen strawberries, ice and almond milk costing just under a fiver.
In total, I spent just over £23 on the five ingredients required for the recipe – including a box of Corn Flakes as an optional extra.
Once I was home, it really was just a matter of weighing out the ingredients and chucking them in the processor. And that’s the best thing about this recipe – it’s really simple and easy to do. Plus, you get two generous bowls full of the stuff.
However, that’s probably the only positive thing I can really say about it. The texture may look deliciously creamy on camera but in reality, it’s actually unsatisfyingly airy – almost like eating a whisked egg yolk.
Unfortunately, the flavour didn’t do much for me either. After my initial excitement over how mouthwateringly tasty it looked, I came crashing down to earth with a bang.
As a keen amateur baker and bonafide sweet-tooth, the MailOnline’s Lydia Hawken decided to give the decadent-looking dessert a go
In total, I spent just over £23 on the five ingredients required for the recipe – including a box of Corn Flakes as an optional extra
The super easy recipe involves simply throwing all four ingredients in the food processor. Pictured: everything you need to make the recipe
Five minutes on a high speed in a food processor and you’re left with a VERY solid, marshmallow-like texture
The truth is, it doesn’t really taste like much at all… almost like an extremely watered down McDonald’s strawberry milkshake with a skin-crawling synthetic protein powder aftertaste.
Admittedly, this may be down to the own-brand supermarket one that I bought. However, Hayden does say that any one of them will do.
Before I’d even had a chance to add my Corn Flake topping, I noticed that my marshmallow bowl was melting – and fast.
I chucked a quick scattering over the top and dug in – thinking maybe this bit of crunch would salvage it. Sadly, it didn’t. It was a matter of adding, what I consider to be, the world’s blandest cereal to a tasteless pink puddle.
Left: What the dessert looked immediately after coming out the blender. Right: What the dessert looked like five minutes later
Left: Lydia topped the dessert with Hayden’s recommended Corn Flakes Right: Lydia found the dessert slightly more palatable with a scattering of Pret’s Chocolate and Almond granola
Within five minutes of dishing it out, I was left with an artificial strawberry soup with soggy Corn Flakes and the odd strawberry seed floating around the top. Hardly the decadent dessert outlined in the viral video.
As Hayden recommends adding your cereal of choice, I tried it out again with Pret-A-Manger’s Dark Chocolate and Almond Granola.
Although I found this alternative more palatable, even my favourite breakfast offering couldn’t salvage it.
In total, I probably managed to eat about half a bowl before I called it quits. However, despite the aforementioned light and airy texture, it actually did leave me feeling pretty full. The only positive to come out of the protein power I suppose.
It’s also worth pointing out that I had to borrow a supersized food processor from my in-laws to properly blitz the ice – as there was no way our miniature device would have been able to hack it. In other words, don’t even dream of mixing it by hand.
Ultimately, I reckon the dessert could be vastly improved with about 100g of caster sugar and maybe some vanilla essence just to give it a bit of flavour. But alas, that would tip it over the 200 calorie mark, which is its main selling point.
Essentially, the biggest flaw to the recipe is how much ice it requires – as if you don’t shovel it down quickly, you’ve got a rather unappetising cold batch of slop on your hands. Not to mention the Corn Flakes currently clogging up my sink.
But if you’re looking for a pretty pink pudding to splash all over your Instagram, this will certainly fit the bill. Just be sure to work quickly with it…
How to make Hayden Rolfe’s ‘protein fluff bowl’
TikToker Hayden Rolfe (@hayden_rolfe) shared how you can make the tasty snack to satisfy a sweet tooth, racking up 2.5 million views.
What you’ll need:
- 50 ml unsweetened almond milk
- 150 g frozen strawberries
- Handful of ice
- Scoop of protein powder
- Cereal of your choice (optional)
To make the light snack, simply mix the ingredients together in a food processor for five minutes.
TikToker Hayden Rolfe (@hayden_rolfe) shared how you can make the tasty snack to satisfy a sweet tooth, racking up 2.5 million views
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