NEW! Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint Oreo 41g Bar (Tesco)

I don't think that any of us have quite got over the atrocious "peanut butter" Oreo Dairy Milk; It was an absolute insult to us nut butter lovers. I even refused to buy the mint version of the Oreo Dairy Milk on the back of my disgust, despite reading raring reviews on it, and enjoying the actual biscuit mint flavoured Oreos. I also didn't fancy buying a 100g mint chocolate bar when I'm not the biggest mint chocolate fan. Sometimes the combination reminds me all too much of toothpaste, and other times it's the refreshing hit that I crave. Kind of like Mars bars - I just have to be in the mood. So when I found this single serving 41g bar in Tesco last week, I put my reservations to one side and took a punt on the minty, biscuity, Cadbury chocolate bar. 

"Milk chocolate with a mint flavoured filling (36%) and biscuit pieces (14%)."

I still expect to see the old cube shaped segments when opening a bar of Dairy Milk. Do you experience the same thought, or am I just getting older (back-in-the-good-old-days-esque). I was pleased however to find that each bubble contained a generous amount of filling, which was a less ludicrous shade of green than mint Aero, and jam packed full of cookie pieces.

The overall flavour was pretty good. As per the Oreos, the mint was well balanced - not knocking into Aquafresh territory but standing it's own against the milk chocolate and cookie biscuit pieces. As for the chocolate, it's been so long since I last bought a Dairy Milk that I can't acurately comment on whether it's the same stuff used in the unadulterated bars. All I can say was that it had that undeniable Cadbury taste.

The cookie pieces were wonderful. They were the only aspect that I enjoyed in the [don't make me say it again] "peanut butter" Oreo bar, and they worked well once more - but this time the filling around the biscuit didn't grate on me. They were perfectly crunchy and added welcome texture, as well as a touch of added flavour depth from the cocoa which had the added bonus of breaking up all the sweetness. 

Then it dawned on me. I know why I was enjoying the bar so much. It reminded me of Viscount biscuits. Do they even still exist? As a child they were the holy grail of party food, I guess because they were the closest snack one could get to the Christmas luxury biscuit selection boxes*. Talking of which, If you didn't grab the foil covered ones first, there's something wrong with you.

Next time I'm craving mint chocolate, I'll probably choose this bar over an Aero. Cadbury's milk chocolate might've gone downhill, but it still beats Nestle's every time. 

8/10

NEW! Cadbury Crunchy Melt Chocolate Centre Chocolate Chip Cookies (ASDA)

Christ that's some title! Is it awful that it bugs me that it would be perfectly alliterated if it wasn't for that damn melt? They'd better be melty.

I was actually on a mission to pick up (yet another) pack of the new banoffee caramel digestives (our fifth packet so far) when I spotted these new cookies. I haven't given in to the new wafer based 'Roundies' yet, but filled cookies? Count me in.

At £1 per pack they didn't seem to bad value either, and I was torn between the trio of options: chocolate centre, soft cookie centre and double chocolate with a chocolate centre. I was tempted to buy all three, but then the rational side of my brain kicked in (there's a first time for everything) and I thought I'd try one first - I could always go back for the others after all. 

"Crunchy chocolate chip cookies with a soft melting centre."

The pack contained 6 cookies, and the inner plastic tray successfully kept them intact. Some of the cookies were more adorned than the others. I spotted the serving suggestion that they were 'even better warm' so tried one warm and one ambient. You know, for review purposes, because I'm good like that! 

The ambient cookie was far crisper than I imagined it to be. Crunchy is certainly right, although I must admit that I much prefer a soft, chewy cookie. I can't really complain about the texture though, seeing as they're marketed as 'crunchy melts'. It had an oily aftertaste to it too, and I can't say it was particularly enjoyable. As for those chocolatey chips, they were minute, and I can't even admit to tasting them.

But what about that chocolatey filling? I hear you ask. Well, the product description reads: "Biscuits with milk chocolate chips (15.4%)* and a filling (25.9%) with milk chocolate (4.5%)."

A filling with milk chocolate. Oh dear. That doesn't sound like a milk chocolate filling does it? 

It didn't taste much like one either. In fact it tasted hazelnutty to me, which is odd seeing as the ingredients list doesn't include any nuts. It wasn't particularly an issue as I love both hazelnuts and Nutella, but it didn't taste even remotely of Cadbury's chocolate. Hmm. 

Would they be better warm? 

The packet suggested microwaving it for between 10-12 seconds but warns not to heat for any longer. I don't have a digital timer on my microwave, so I obligingly counted to eleven elephants before retrieving my cookie and waiting the designated minute before munching. 

The centre was slightly better warm, but it didn't really improve the cookie at all. Meh. 

I shan't bother with the other cookies in this range. I feel like the Cadbury packaging is a clever ploy from Mondelez to lure us chocoholics to buy another one of their very mediocre products. These 'Crunchy Melts' are clearly made with cheap ingredients, and without the nostalgia factor that other mass-marketed biscuits have, they're nothing shy of a disappointment.

5/10

*My arse. 1.54% more like. 

NEW! Cadbury Chocolate Muffins (Tesco)

A few weeks ago it was National Doughnut Week and I reviewed the new Cadbury Caramel Muffin. Today it's apparently National Doughnut Day and so it seems only right to review the other new Cadbury muffin. I mean, the caramel one was so good that it would have been rude not to buy a pack, wouldn't it? Especially whilst they were still on offer in Tesco. 

"Muffin with mini milk chocolate buttons (5%), chocolate icing (9%) and chocolate filling (10%)."

What happened to that icing? It's a bit skew-wiff isn't it? Never mind, at least one side would be super chocolatey at least! 

Oh, it wasn't just the topping that was wonky. Slicing the muffin in half revealed one side that was almost completely devoid of filling...Look for the silver lining... which meant that I could appreciate the muffin's flavour separately. Will that do? 

The muffin was incredibly soft and light though, and although I preferred the toffee tones of the caramel version, it was still delicious. The buttons were too small to be noticeable however, and without the caramel to distract the situation this became more of an issue. 

Given the abundance of icing on one half it was harder to ignore the quality issues of the chocolate this time around. Let's be clear, it wasn't awful, but it wasn't the sort of chocolate you'd want to eat a bar of -and that's what it felt like I was doing in some bites. 

On to the chocolate filling. Thankfully it was fairly good. When I bought the muffins I prayed that it wouldn't have a drizzly sauce consistency, and it didn't. Instead it was more like a soft chocolate spread, and although it wasn't luxurious or creamy like ganache, it was sweet and sort of homely. 

Although I've complained a fair bit in this post, I'd happily have these muffins again. Oddly enough Bert completely disagrees with my thoughts on these muffins and preferred them to the caramel. He's not a huge chocolate fan though so I'm not sure whether that tells you anything or not.

7/10.

Cadbury Caramel Muffins (Tesco)

It might be national doughnut week but I'm being a rebel and reviewing cake instead. I've had my eyes on these Cadbury muffins for a couple of months now but refuse to spend £2 on a pack, especially when their branded doughnut counterparts are so bad. However, this week they cropped up next to the tills in Tesco for £1.50, where they just fell into my basket. I'm a sucker for an impulse purchase. Oops.

They're sizeable muffins though. I thought that a Cadbury caramel muffin would be chocolate cake with caramel innards, but instead they've opted for a caramel flavoured cake. I thought this might be a good move on Cadbury's part as chocolate cake is so hot and miss.

"Caramel flavour muffin containing mini milk chocolate buttons (3%), with chocolate icing (9%), caramel filling (10%) and caramel flavoured chocolate curls (2%)."

Slicing the muffin in half filled me with joy. Just look at the golden treasure within! Now that's a centre to be proud of. The cake was also very light in texture, and I started to feel relieved that I may not have wasted my money as feared. 

Christ. That's good cake. It was very sweet but perfectly fluffy with more than a hint of caramel. Unfortunately the chocolate 'buttons' were so small that they offered little in the way of flavour, but to be honest I was enjoying the cake too much to mind. I felt similarly about the topping, which tasted more like baking chocolate than Cadbury's, but it was enjoyable in a comforting manner and so I managed to overlook it. 

Let's talk about that caramel sauce instead. It was utterly delicious, super sticky and yet moreish. I felt myself grinning stupidly as I savoured every last drop. Mmm. 

The Cadbury chocolate might take a nose-dive into my basket whilst they're on offer now too...

9/10

NEW! Cadbury Caramel Choc Tarts (ASDA)

New Cadbury products are popping up all over the place at the moment. Of course there's the new Oreo bars, as well as a new giant Peanut Caramel Crisp bar, but there's also a number of Cadbury licensed products too. Only yesterday I spotted the new Cadbury muffins in ASDA (I appreciate that the Co-Op have been selling them for a few months now) as well as the new Choc Tart range at £1.50 per four pack (50p cheaper than Tesco). 

The new pastry based treats are available in Crunchie, Flake, Mini Eggs and Caramel, which all vary slightly in terms of their fillings. Whilst I realise that it would have been more seasonal to opt for the Mini Egg tarts, it was the combination of layers in the Caramel version that appealed most to me. 

"Delicious chocolate flavoured brownie topped with a caramel flavour fondant, baked in a delicate chocolate pasty case with a caramel layer & topped with a milk chocolate with a soft caramel centre." 

It's like a chocoholic was asked to reinvent Mr Kipling's Cherry Bakewell tarts. The components are all there, they've just been naughtified*. It's not just the flavours that are naughty either; remember the boobie buns? Surely these have got to be the tittie tarts?

The "delicate" pastry cases were extremely crumbly, and didn't like being sliced into. I needed to show you what the innards looked like though so I persisted in my mess making. All layers were present and complete, and in decent ratios too! 

Chocolate pastry is difficult to do well, and Premier foods (who make the tarts) haven't really pulled it off. Sure it's crumbly, but the cocoa dries the mix out which means that the butteriness is all but lost. That said, Bert really enjoyed his pastry, so maybe you will too! 

As for the chocolate brownie, it too was dry, lacking the fudginess of a fresh home baked version. Fortunately the Caramel sauce beneath and fondant atop it went somewhat to rectify the issue and prevented the brownie from sticking to the roof of my mouth. On the plus side both the caramel elements were pretty tasty! 

I then had an idea: why not heat the second half? Especially as I was eating it for dessert with ice cream** and Bakewells can be served warm. 

Genius. Pure genius. The Choc Tart transformed from something I wouldn't bother buying again to a treat I'll look forward to enjoying again! The Caramel sauce seeped into the pastry whilst the fondant melted over the brownie, resulting in a much less claggy combination of textures. The flavours also enhanced once warmed - double bonus. 

As an ambient snack these are unexciting, so I highly recommend that if you're planning on trying them that you also heat them up and serve them with a scoop or two of ice cream!

Cold: 5/10

Warm: 8/10 

*will someone please tell the Oxford English Dictionary to add that one in please? And yes, I agree, no food is naughty.

**Oppo's salted caramel was the perfect match.

NEW! Dairy Milk Medley Ice Creams (Sainsbury's)

My ice cream buying ban lasted two weeks. That might not sound like much but considering that I was buying tubs/packs on a daily basis I'm rather proud! It's the special offers that draw me in, and so ultimately I'm blaming Cadbury and/or Sainsbury's for me falling off the wagon. I know, I know, I'm an adult and should probably be accountable for my actions. Anyway, back to the matter in hand. I spotted these new ice cream sticks on the same trip I found the Peanut Butter Oreo ice cream sandwiches, but avoided temptation for two primary reasons:

1. They were full price at £2.50 per pack
2. I wasn't a fan of Cadbury's Fudge Medley Bar.

At £1.50 though, the curiosity won (I'm sure I'll end up 6ft under with the cat one day).

"Hazelnut Ice Cream with a Chocolate Mousse Centre, Covered in Milk Chocolate with Freeze Dried Raspberry Pieces and Digestive Biscuit Crumb."

Hazelnuts, chocolate, raspberry & digestive biscuits are all foods I love, and they should harmonise; but then that's what I thought about peanut butter, chocolate & Oreo and yet Cadbury managed to royally muck that combination up. The 90ml sticks looked pretty at least!

I was surprised and tentatively impressed by the chocolate casing, which did bear resemblance to Dairy Milk (albeit the cheaper Easter Egg stuff). As for the raspberry pieces, the taste of them were almost completely lost. Only two nibbles rendered any tart fruitiness, which was a shame seeing as the combination was rather good. The digestive biscuit pieces were also unrecognisable. Sure, there was a gritty texture to the chocolate casing, but even the best biscuit connoisseur would be hard pressed to determine exactly what it might be.

Fortunately the hazelnut ice cream was the stick's real saving grace. The flavour was every bit as nutty as I'd hoped and the texture was creamy. It was perhaps a little on the soft side for my personal preference, but it stayed put and didn't melt too quickly.

Sandwiched between the two pillars of hazelnut ice cream was the chocolate section, which provided some confusion. The front of the box described it as a mousse, whilst the regulated product name on the back labelled it as ice cream. So which was it?

Either way it was pretty poor. Chocolate ice cream can be so hit and miss, and it seemed that Cadbury didn't bother even aiming for the mark with this one. Considering that their chocolate mousse's are well flavoured, I'd hoped that they'd be able to pull off a decent attempt at an ice cream/mousse. This tasted no different to the Tesco chocolate ice cream* I'd had the night before though.

Again I've found myself moaning quite a bit about a product that I did in fact enjoy. Would I buy them again? No, considering they're called 'luxury' I'd much rather have M&S' Belgian milk chocolate & hazelnut ice creams.

6/10

 *in their Neapolitan soft scoop no less, check me out with my retro food!

NEW! Cadbury Egg 'n' Spoon Oreo (Tesco)

Even though I got stuck straight into the hot cross bun reviews almost a month ago, I've somehow resisted the call of the Easter chocolates until now. It might have something to do with the fact that I still have an excessive amount of chocolate, some left over from Christmas as well as the countless bars I brought back with me. Oops. When I spotted the insta-famous Oreo Egg 'n' Spoons half price in Tesco this week however, my self-restraint evaporated and somehow I ended up at the till with a box.

I remember being utterly disappointed with the chocolate Egg 'n' Spoons when they first came out a few years ago. Since then I've stayed clear of mousse filled Cadbury chocolates (bar a lone snowman reduced after Christmas). It was the addition of Oreo swayed me. I'm not even sure why I'm so infatuated with anything Oreo, but after the disappointment of the Peanut Butter Oreo filled Dairy Milk this week I hoped that Cadbury could go at least a little way to redeem their sorry selves.

"4 Milk chocolate eggs with a soft vanilla flavour mousse filling (42 %) with biscuit pieces (4.5 %)."

At least the packaging design is smart, and although it hasn't changed since the eggs were first launched, I still think it's a nifty little concept. The box contained four purple wrapped eggs and two very dinky plastic spoons.

I unwrapped my first egg and spotted the lines where the top could come apart from the bottom. I'll be very honest here and admit to indulging my perfectionistic streak by separating the top from the bottom with a veg knife... Sooo satisfying.

Inside the chocolate casing was the milky white Oreo filling, flecked with cookie crumbs as expected. Digging in, I discovered just how soft and light the centre was. For some reason I thought it was going to be a similar substance to the centre of the Dairy Milk bars, and I'm still not sure if I was initially pleased or disappointed by my findings.

The flavour of the mousse was plain vanilla, and it was super fluffy. The gritty nature of the Oreo crumbs were a delightful addition however, and helped to provide a contrast in terms of both flavour and texture. I really enjoyed the lightness of the mousse, and was pleased that I'd chilled it in the fridge beforehand to give the egg a more dessert-like feel -perhaps next time I'll freeze it.

As for the chocolate around the outside, it was pretty thin, but I really enjoyed it. I've heard that Australian Cadbury is better than ours, but having tried a couple of bars of their Dairy Milk recently, I'm inclined to disagree. The quality of our chocolate has gone dramatically downhill -I'll give you that- but it still outstrips many of the foreign versions.

I think I may have to stock up* on these Oreo Egg 'n' Spoons whilst they're on offer!

9/10

*Actually I've just taken another peek at my chocolate hoard, and decided that that may not be the greatest idea.

NEW! Dairy Milk Peanut Butter Oreo (Home Bargains)

My fridge is full of chocolate, like ridiculously so. It's the same with ice cream in my freezer, yet I can't stop myself from buying more whenever as spot something new or at a bargain price. Perhaps I should start up a freakshake cafe from my kitchen, or maybe I should leave my wallet at home more often. Despite my exhaustive supplies, the news that Cadbury was releasing two new Oreo themed bars filled me with excitement, then dread. Why dread? Well firstly because I knew I'd end up on a ridiculous treasure hunt and wouldn't rest until I found them, secondly because I really didn't need any more chocolate,and lastly because I just knew that Cadbury would mess the opportunity up. Yet still the search began...

Home Bargains. B&M. Poundland. ASDA. Morrisons. Sainsbury's. Tesco. 

No luck, but then I was told by the lovely Tiff on Instagram and @eveningtreats that they'd found the bars in Home Bargains. My heart sunk. My local branch seemingly rarely stocks the yummy items that many people find in the discount store. Rather than give up hope I desperately returned to store on Sunday. I might've danced in the aisles when I spotted both the Mint and Peanut Butter flavours, before picking up the latter and kissing it (much to Bert's embarrassment).

If you remember, I mentioned my disinclination towards mint chocolate when I reviewed the new Oreos last year. Whilst I was pleasantly surprised by the biscuits, I still decided to restrain myself and only buy the peanut butter flavour, even though they were both just 99p each.

This isn't the first time I've mentioned the dissatisfaction amongst us peanut butter addicts caused by British Peanut butter Oreos. Whilst our American cousins are treated to cookies stuffed with the real deal, we are given a paltry smattering of fake peanut spread. I mean why on earth would anyone make a peanut butter product that doesn't even contain peanuts? It's not even a rare occurrence either, take Saturdays' review for example. Despite Both Oreo and Cadbury being owned by the same giant corporation, Mondelēz, I prayed that the originally British firm would be more sensible and wouldn't try and palm us all off with some crappy fake stuff.

"Milk chocolate with a peanut butter flavoured filling (35%) with biscuit pieces (12%)."

One look at the ingredients and I knew I'd be disappointed. Not one mention of peanuts, just flavouring. The only hint of any nuttiness was the "may contain nuts"  warning, which appears on just about anything and everything. I wanted it to contain nuts Cadbury, as does everyone else, that's why we're buying  it! Gah.

Snapping the bar revealed a good sized filling. It's perhaps not as prominent as that in the standard size Dairy Milk Oreo bars, but that can't be helped due to the flatter shape of the segments.

The milk chocolate is one of the waxier, cheaper types that Cadbury tend to use in their combination bars these days. It doesn't annoy me as much as it once did, but it's certainly not of the quality the Cadbury were once proud of.

As for the filling, it's creamy by pretty much the same flavour used in the British Oreos. That's to say it's awfully sweet, and infinitely less authentic than the filling of a Reese's cup (which I ate at the same time for comparison purposes 😉). The biscuit pieces were a welcome touch however, and added crunch to the otherwise silken bar.

Humf. Why can't Mondelēz understand that us Brits know and love our peanut butter just as much as the Yanks? Is it a cost issue? If so, I'd gladly pay more for the real deal. I just don't get it.  I certainly won't be buying it again. 

2/10

Cadbury 5 Star (Poundstretcher)

As you might've gathered, finding and trying new chocolate is somewhat of a passion of mine. Purse strings are rather right as a student however, and I'm a natural born bargain hunter so nothing pleases me more than a cheap chocolate find (as long as it's good quality and/or a reputable brand of course). This is why I love to trawl the Saturday markets (which have heralded treasures such as the Côte D'Or FudgeNut, Cappuccino Twix, and Milka Oreo) the Polish Delis (KarmelLove was a game changing discovery) as well as B&M and American Fizz' online clearance section (for affordable American bars).  One store that doesn't ordinarily prove successful for chocolate finds is poundstretcher, but times might be changing. Snack hunting queen Emma (@emmasfood) recently spotted these Cadbury 5 Stars in the bargain basement chain, and I hotfooted it down to my local branch the very next day. Hurrah! At 4 for £1 (or 29p each) they ticked my favourite boxes: chocolate ✅ cheap ✅ branded ✅.

"Cadbury Milk Chocolate + caramel + soft chocolatey centre + crunchy biscuits."

So basically a Boost then? We'll sort of. The 5 star is made in Ireland and sold in Cairo, and there are some differences between the two:

The 5 star comprises of milk chocolate (31.5%), sweetened filling (34%), caramel filling (30.5%) and biscuit pieces (4%), whereas the Boost contains 26% caramel and just 3% biscuits. The chocolate recipe is very different between the bars too (5 star contains a minimum cocoa solids of 25% compared to just 23% for Cadbury's UK bars). I've often heard that Irish Dairy Milk is better quality than our version, so I was intrigued to find out if this would bear truth.

Slicing into the 5 Star revealed all of the components, which unsurprisingly appeared very similar to the innards of a Boost. Biting into it brought back childhood memories of my mid-morning snacks at school (normally either a Mars Delight, Galaxy or Boost -yes I've always been this healthy 👅). The combination of truffle like centre, tough (tooth-adhesive) caramel and biscuit pieces were -and still are- an absolute winner.

The point of difference however was the quality of the chocolate, which was much more noticeable than I originally considered. The melting smoothness of the milk chocolate was far superior to the version that we're now subjected to as a result of the Mondelēz takeover. I can't help but feel extremely bitter about this given that Cadbury's originated in the U.K, so surely by default we should be producing and selling the very best that Cadbury's has to offer. Of course I'm all down for the Egyptians eating yummy chocolate, but surely we should enjoy it too? That considered, I'm stocking up on 5 Stars whilst Poundstretcher have a glut (they're in date until June next year too!).

9/10

NEW! Cadbury Winterful Layers Of Joy (Tesco)

Cadbury releasing their new limited edition Layers Of Joy is always a dicey time. Their previous attempts have been a right mixed bag between delicious and grim. Fortunately their last product in the line -the Jaffantastic pots- were at the top end of the 'Joy' scale, but that does mean that they'll be sorely missed if the new winter edition isn't up there with them.

I'm pleased to see that Kev (from Kev's Snack Reviews) has recently stepped up his 'spotted in shops' posts again, so it's to him I owe the knowledge that Cadbury have launched the Winterful pots -thanks Kev! I found them at Tesco for a round pound, but have since spotted them in Waitrose priced at £1.20.

"One winterful gingerbread biscuit dipped in Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate sauce and delicious white chocolate mousse."

I always find that Cadbury are on the sneaky side and slightly under fill their pots; still at least it meant that the white chocolate mousse had retained it's attractive peaks. Admittedly I haven't had the best experience with Cadbury's white chocolate mousse in the past, but I tried to keep my mind unbiased before digging in to the Winterful dessert.

Sigh. They haven't changed it since last year. The mousse was fluffy, but had the same bland flavour and lacked the richness that Milkybar Mousses achieve. It might be due to Cadbury using white chocolate powder (5%) to give it it's flavour. Come on now Cadbury -this isn't marketed as a diet product so surely you can do better than that?

Underneath the mousse layer was the chocolate sauce, which I normally quite like, except this time some rogue ginger had fused with it and messed with the flavour. If you've been reading this blog since the start you'll appreciate that I love a good chocolate and ginger combination -heck I more-or-less lived on Lebkuchen last December- but this just didn't work. Maybe it's because the chocolate was too mild, or too sweet, but the resulting flavour reminded me of washing up powder. Not good. 

I kept everything crossed that the gingerbread would go some way to redeem the situation. It kind of did too -that's to say that it had a bold, fiery flavour- but -and here's the killer- it was soggy, and made me think of the ensuing disaster when dropping a dunked ginger biscuit into your cuppa. Fail.

Last up was yet another layer of insipid white chocolate mousse,which was at this point, totally overwhelmed by the ginger aftertaste of the soggy biscuit. Gah, at least the disappointment ended at the bottom of the pot, right?

Maybe my grumbles are based on high expectations from the 'Layers Of Joy' range, so I'd welcome any comments with reference to how you found them. Or just leave me a note to say hello, that's always nice.

5/10

*or Muller -who Cadbury told me last year make their desserts! 

NEW! Cadbury Dairy Milk Toffee Whole Nut 43g (WHSmith)

Way back in March, a line of 'new' massive 300g bars cropped up in Cadbury's expansive range under the 'Big Taste' branding. If it wasn't for B&M selling the Toffee Ganznuss (check out One Treat's review here) it might not have been quite so bleeding obvious that Cadbury's new owners Mondelez had just transplanted some of their existing Milka lines into our British chocolate. I wasn't particularly fussed on the bars at the time anyway, not least because of their size, but more because I crave different bars on different days. I guess you could say I have chocolate commitment issues. Anyway, last week I finally spotted a standard size 'Big Taste' bar in WHSmith and decided to give it a go. Both the Toffee Whole Nut and the Oreo bars were marked half price at 50p -seriously, who pays £1 for just over 40g of Cadbury Chocolate?

 "Milk chocolate with a toffee flavour filling (32%), Hazelnuts (10%) and Caramel (10%)"

The thin bar comprised of 6 little segments, which were so easy to snap that they'd already broken on the way home. I was a little taken aback when I bit into the first chunk; where was all the chocolate at? If I'm buying a Cadbury bar then I expect a decent amount of chocolate... well.. I used to anyway. What chocolate there was tasted like the inferior quality, waxier stuff that the company tends to rely on more and more -humf.  

Luckily the toffee filling and thin layer of caramel was pretty good, perhaps creamier and not as buttery as expected, but still yummy. The whole hazelnuts nestled in each segment had also retained their crunchiness, offering a welcome contrast against the otherwise smooth textures. 

I can't say that I'll be buying more of the Toffee Whole Nut bars, and I'm certainly glad that I never forked out for the giant size version. It's just not special enough Cadbury, so I'll stick to the Dairy Milk Tiffin instead ta. 

6/10

NEW! Limited Edition Dairy Milk Tiffin (ASDA)

Chocolate. Raisins. Biscuits. All delicious in their own right, but together? Utter perfection. I've previously written about my love for tiffin  (remember the disappointing Hobnob's Tiffin Slices?) and remember -and miss- Cadbury's take on the classic combination. Mondelez announced earlier this year that they have decided to remake the bar for a limited time only, which got me rather excited! But then I realised that it probably wouldn't taste as good as I recall, particularly seeing as the new bosses of the once iconic British chocolate company seem impervious to resist meddling with Cadbury's tried and tested original recipes. That said, I still bought the 95g Tiffin bar as soon as I spotted it in ASDA at the non-offer price of £1.49 (which disgruntled me somewhat seeing as all of Cadbury's other 100g-ish size bars were discounted to £1).

"Milk chocolate with dried grapes (12%) and biscuits (8%)."

I really hoped  that this new bar would taste like the Dairy Milk of days gone by, rather than the greasy "chocolate flavoured creme" used in the newish Medley bars.]

It delivers. More or less. The Dairy Milk may not be to the original recipe, but at least the chocolate tastes like the individual bars -rather than the cheaper, waxier sort that Cadbury/Mondelez employ in their Easter Eggs. 

The dried grape (are they raisins or sultanas?) offer fruity little bursts. They're not in ample enough supply to make their way into every nibble, but crop up every now and then. The biscuit pieces are crisp, although the pieces are too small to be able to really taste. I didn't mind this so much because the chocolate should always be the star of the show, and Cadbury have rightfully made it so.

Cadbury's have released a bucketload of new products this year, but their limited edition Tiffin bar is certainly my favourite and I hope it's here to stay. It's really just a better quality (and less chunky) version of a raisin and biscuit Yorkie, so if you like them then I suggest you try Cadbury's new offering. 

Now, if only Galaxy would hear my plea for a tiffin themed Duet bar, I'd be one happy lady!

9/10

Cadbury's Wunderbar (B&M)

Do you have any silly sayings that you can't help but utter? Mine are often an odd mixture of European languages or random catchphrases that I've picked from from films. I can't remember when 'Wunderbar!' first cropped up in my vocabulary, but it often tumbles out of my mouth (in an awful stern German accent) as a substitute for 'wonderful'. Yes, I'm very strange like that.

Given my oddness -and undying love for chocolate- I was utterly enthralled last week when I discovered that Wunderbar is a real thing, and it's made by Cadbury! It was as if I had found out that Willy Wonka's factory was to become a holiday destination ... now that's a thought.

My excitement peaked when I found the chocolate bar in B&M for just 35p -if that's not fate, I don't know what is! My Dad was bemused by my animation, and offered to buy me one (together with the peanut butter Magnum chocolate bar). He's a gem.

"A magic peanut and caramel cream experience."

Now the packaging looked very similar to that of a Starbar, so I decided to do a bit of digging. Indeed when I googled 'Cadbury's Wunderbar' a wikipedia page popped up, informing me that the Starbar is sold in Germany and Canada under the name Wunderbar. Interesting, because when I researched German Cadbury, the only relevant website told me that they sell Starbars (not Wunderbars). What made matters even more confusing was that this Wunderbar was produced in Ireland!

The ingredients of both bars look near-on identical -except the Wunderbar has a higher percentage of cocoa butter and therefore contains a higher amount of saturated fat. I'm confused. It's all a bit pointless really as I can't even remember the last time I ate a Starbar. Moving on..

At 49g, the Wunderbar is markedly larger than the new peanut butter Magnum chocolate bar (thank goodness). It was rippled on the outside, and cutting into it revealed a mish-mash of layers. The caramel was in abundance: thick and stringy thanks to its storage in my fridge's chocolate compartment.

As a fan of textural contrast, I thought that the wunderbar was a brilliant creation. The chocolate and caramel casing was reminiscent of a Cadbury's Curly Wurly -somehow satisfyingly difficult to chew, but delicious. I found the peanut butter nucleus to be less salty than the innards of Reese's peanut butter cups, but it was equally as nutty and it was further enhanced by the addition of chunky chopped peanuts.

To be completely honest, I missed the saline quality that Reese's offers, and I can't help but think that a better balance of savoury-sweet would have improved the Wunderbar. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy every last chewy, nutty mouthful. Wunderbar it truly was! 

9/10

NEW! Cadbury Jaffantastic Layers Of Joy (Tesco)

Yay! At long last the 'Eggciting' Layers Of Joy have disappeared from the shops. I'm so pleased to finally see the back of them, although I still haven't seen the return of the Caramellionaire versions. I'm wondering if this new edition to the range is replacing both? I hope not!

Either way, the new Jaffantastic desserts have to be better than the horribly sickly Easter version. As a lover of Jaffa Cakes, I liked the sound of these new puds and hotfooted it down to Tesco pretty promptly after seeing them pop up on Instagram.

The pack of two cost £1.20, and isn't suitable for vegetarians.

"Delicious layers of Cadbury milk chocolate mousse, zingy orange jelly and sponge topped with Cadbury milk chocolate mousse."

I have to admit that the description didn't excite me as much as my initial idea of a Jaffa Cake inspired dessert did -and I really hoped that the sponge would be more palatable than the dry disc in the 'Eggciting' version. Fingers crossed.

The mousse was as velvety and as chocolatey as expected, a light mouthful of bubbly cocoa heaven. I wasn't looking forward to the orange layer underneath -but it was crazy good! More like a thick orange sauce than solid jelly, it offered the right proportion of sweet and tartness. tantalising my tastebuds with a bold citrussy flavour. The liquidity of it meant that it was easy to have a mouthful of all three elements together for that true jaffa cake experience.

More praise for Cadbury's as they have done well with the cake in the centre, it was lovely and moist, and in fact more soft than what you'd find in a jaffa cake, but it was delicious.  

I was thankful for the extra chocolate layer on the bottom, it meant that the dessert was well balanced, and was the perfect ending to this wonderful new dessert. Jaffantastic they certainly are! 

10/10

NEW! Cadbury Dairy Milk Fudge Medley (Poundland)

Cadbury let the cat out of the bag a couple of weeks ago by announcing the launch of two 'luxury' chocolate bars in a new 'Medley' range. The nut version is topped with dark chocolate chips, sweet caramelised hazelnuts and raspberry pieces; but I went for the naughtier sounding bar infused with dark chocolate chips, biscuit pieces and fudge.

I've always wondered why Cadbury don't produce their own version of the raisin and biscuit Yorkie. It's a conceptually brilliant bar that unfortunately doesn't taste as good as it could thanks to the inferior quality of Nestle chocolate, so I hoped that this new biscuity Medley would be the solution. 

The bar has a RRP of £1, and only weighs in at 93g, which I imagine is another cost-saving exercise employed by Cadbury who -like all chocolate manufacturers- are facing the rising costs of cocoa. Cadbury say:

‘We wanted to create something special for our adventurous chocolate fans who are seeking a new taste experience,’ said Matthew Williams, Mondelez International marketing director.

‘With the combination of a smooth centre, visible toppings and luxurious taste, we’re confident Cadbury Dairy Milk Medley will become a firm favourite on a cosy evening in.’

The bar is made up of 10 square shaped segments, adorned with plenty of little biscuit chunks, a spattering of dark chocolate chips and very few fudge nuggets. It is easy to snap, but that's kind of where the positives ended, for Cadbury had truly pulled the wool over my eyes.

Reading the pack I discovered that it's not a true chocolate bar, because it consists of  'chocolate flavoured creme', rendering it more closely related to the centre of a chocolate sandwich biscuit. Its texture is silky to the point of being greasy, and so very different to the iconic Cadbury's Dairy Milk. The biscuit bits are pleasant enough, but I couldn't even taste the chocolate chips or fudge pieces as they were totally overwhelmed by the fake chocolatey taste. 

Cadbury's you're a disappointment, and quite frankly I'd rather eat a Yorkie.

3/10