I think everyone either knows of, or has tried Dinner Lady Lemon Tart. I’d tried the Blackberry Crumble before, but didn’t realize there were even more in that series. Realizing we are a DIY space, I had originally ordered them all to ship to a friend, but decided to throw up some quick thoughts on them first.
All using the VG/PG ratios from the MFG @ 3mg NIC. Tested on the SteamCrave RDTA v.1 with dual vertical 24ga. Kanthal coils, using fresh Koh Gen Do cotton before every test.
All were purchased from:
Thanks out to @Letitia for the heads up on them.
Apple Crumble Custard (Dinner Lady)
Blackberry Crumble (Dinner Lady) (3-2-26) – As a disclaimer this (so far), is my favorite Dinner Lady recipe. Unlike the previously tested Key LimeTart, the Blackberry (berry combo) absolutely worked with the buttery crust elements here. To be fair, it also works in their Lemon Tart, but this pairing, seemed to work even better. Without doing a lot more A:B comparisons, the whole Tart vs. Crumble may be less of a difference than expected. It did have some very light crumble-ness to it, but it was still very similar to their “tart”, but missing any overt lemon notes, and some light crust elements. Overall the sweetness tasted noticeably below the Key Lime Tart, and probably a tick or two below the Lemon Tart, so while sweeter, it wasn’t off-putting.
Because these are direct from Dinner Lady, I can’t comment on the percent of flavoring, but as expected it was nice and strong. The Berry part is the mystery to me, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear they paired a Blackberry and a Sweet Raspberry together. Tasty, semi-dark, with NO florals or perfume-y notes. On the very finish there was something I couldn’t identify that seemed like it was just popping the berries just a bit. I couldn’t detect any overt lemon, maybe just a hint of lime, but unsure. Either way, it added just a bit of pizzaz to the finish. All in, as of this writing, my favorite of the Desert Series, and leaving it very high with no complaints other than maybe the sweetness, and at a 9.7/10.
Blueberry Tart (Dinner Lady)
Key Lime Tart (Dinner Lady) (Deserts) (2-28-26) – This, having been only the 3rd DL mix I’ve tried, it seemed to not to have quite the same punch as their Lemon Tart. The well known buttery crust was present, along with a fairly subdued Lime undertone on the finish. The Lime was far lighter than I would have expected, given it was billed as a Key Lime. The lime was good, mostly sweetened, with very little zest or punch. In the mix, I’d have sworn I was getting some of their Lemon Tart. Perhaps, what I was getting, was the Lemon profile IN their “crust/tart” element. Interesting. In keeping with the other two that I’d tried previously, sweetness levels were pretty high, and at about 3-4 ticks above mid level. Not cloying, but pushing the commercial envelope. All in, a great overall “tart”, but along with a rather, and surprisingly subdued Key Lime profile. Not terrible, but not stellar at the same time. It felt good at an above average 6.5/10.
Lemon Tart (Dinner Lady)
Strawberry Meringue (Dinner Lady)
Vanilla Tart (Dinner Lady) (3-2-26) – My FIRSTEST first thoughts on this one, was “Where’s the tart” ??? The delcious buttery, flaky tart that is clearly present in at Lemon Tart, and somewhat (but crumble-fied) in the Blackberry Crumble is almost complety MIA in this flavor. I think I was most surprised to see they even had a Vanilla Tart. OK, if you like/love CAP VC2, you’ll love this mix. I picked it out right away, and actually, it wasn’t all that bad. Tasted paired with maybe French Vanilla, maybe another, but it’s clearly present. Sweetness was lower than some of the others, and at maybe 1-2 ticks above mid-level, which for Dinner Lady, is one of the less sweet mixes.
Strength wise, it was very good, and it didn’t feel like it needed increasing. It’s possible, MAYBE, there was just a wisp of a non-descript bakery on the finish, and very low in the mix, but it was hard to tell. It would actually better be named, “Vanilla Custard”. I’ll have to mark down for the “where’s the tart”, but again, it was a good tasting custard, that was fiarly rich, but not buttery, and smooth. All in, a great mix, just missing the tart. No off-notes or complaints other than that, so kicking it down for the tart, and leaving it at an 8.2/10.