Cheeseboards are a necessary part of the festive offering, but this cheap £3.50 cheese is a serious game-changer this Christmas.

I've seen the maxi Babybel all over social media, and salivated every single time I have. But when people started coating it in flour, egg wash, and Doritos, I knew it was time for me to give it a try because who isn't going to love it realistically? 

It resembles a humungous mozzarella dipper when completed, and the cheese pull on it looked like it was 10/10. So, obviously, I had to try cooking it for myself to see whether the viral treat was worthy of a festive cheeseboard in my household.

First off, I unwrapped the giant Babybel, which was quite tricky to do in one piece.

Beth Colley on TikTok said she wanted to make it into a "McDonald's fakeaway-type giant cheese bite", so rather than just chowing down on it as it was (which was very tempting, I must say), I followed suit.

I assembled a bowl of plain flour, a bowl of whisked egg, and a bowl of crushed Chilli Heatwave Doritos ready to dip the £3.50 huge cheese into.

It was definitely trickier than some content creators made it out to be online, and I found it especially difficult to get an even coating of the crisp crumbs on it. I persisted and managed to cover most of it, but annoyingly, there were a few gaps.

But I managed it, and then it was swiftly popped into the air fryer, ready to bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. I was hoping that it would come out as tasty-looking in real life as it seemed to be on social media - but it looked even better once it was done. I was thrilled.

After letting it cool down, I did the all-important cheese pull and was not disappointed with the way it was melted, but still satisfyingly hard. It could've even probably withstood a little longer in the air fryer, but the crisps had slightly gone a bit burnt by the time it had cooked for 15 minutes, so I'd say a maximum of a couple of minutes more.

I was seriously impressed with the way it looked and tasted, and I can safely say that if you want to impress your guests at a party this Christmas, this is a sure-fire way to do it. It takes minimal effort, even if it is a little bit fiddly when you're coating the Babybel, but it's worth it when you're tucking into a sensory delight. Crispy, crunchy, and soft, delicious and slightly melted cheese. It truly is a win.