Mars Almond

August 5, 2013, 12:52 am

≫ Next: Whittard Rhubarb White Hot Chocolate

≪ Previous: Lidl's Fin Carré Coconut Milk Chocolate

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A big thankyou to Monster Sweets who sent me this Mars Almond to review recently!

Mars never seem to do any interesting variations of their bars here in the UK, and I think this is a massively untapped area - the potential for variety is definitely there. Mars Caramel and Mars Midnight have been the extent of their innovation so far, and both don't include anything new, infact the Mars Caramel takes away the most important element of a Mars bar - the nougat!

So with that considered I was very excited to try this Mars Almond. It appears to be made by Mars France, but I believe it's available in Germany too. It's slightly smaller than a regular UK Mars bar and contains almonds embedded in the nougat.

It was very tasty indeed. It had that familiar malty Mars chocolate taste, and the caramel had a nice sweet chewiness, contrasted by the soft chewy nougat. The almonds brought a lovely crunchy, nutty element to the bar, making it even more tasty. They seemed to be slightly roasted, which brought out their flavour even more. It reminded me somewhat of a Snickers, although the proportions were different. I wish they'd been more generous with the almonds, although I suppose that might have affected the texture of the nougat somewhat.

Overall, I enjoyed this Mars Almond. It's a rarity to find a variety like this due to lack of product innovation from Mars UK (we still don't get peanut butter M&M's!), so I'm very pleased I got to try it.

In other Mars news, Australia now get a Honeycomb flavour Mars! For a review of that check out Lolly Addict's Australian Confectionery Reviews.

The Mars Almond is currently out of stock but you can buy lots of different European snacks from the Monster Sweets online store here: http://www.monstersweets.co.uk/

For snacks giveaways and competitions, Like Monster Sweets on Facebook.

*This bar was kindly sent to me by Monster Sweets for an honest review - all opinions expressed are my own.

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Whittard Rhubarb White Hot Chocolate

August 6, 2013, 12:46 am

≫ Next: Pocky Choco Banana

≪ Previous: Mars Almond

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I'm a big fan of Whittard's hot chocolate range, and white chocolate too, so when I saw this unusual-sounding rhubarb variety in my local Whittard of Chelsea store, my curiosity got the better of me. They also had a Strawberry white chocolate flavour as well as Lemon Meringue, which I didn't go for as this sounded like the weirdest of the lot and I just had to know - how does rhubarb and white chocolate taste together?!

Turns out the combination works very well! The sour tanginess of the rhubarb was subtle and somehow went really well with the creaminess of the white chocolate, although it was very sweet. It was very delicious though, and had a lovely smooth, comforting taste. As you can see in the pic above I added some marshmallows on top of the hot chocolate, which went with it perfectly!

Overall, a successful and unique  hot chocolate flavour that actually works. This variety has won a "Great Taste Gold 2011" award, which apparently is quite a big deal! You can find these in Whittard of Chelsea stores or on their website here, they do a lovely variety of flavours:
http://www.whittard.co.uk/

Price: £5.50 per tub.
Ingredients: Suitable for vegetarians and coeliacs.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk & whey.

Pocky Choco Banana

August 7, 2013, 12:00 am

≫ Next: RECIPE: Coconut Milk Pie with Coconut Flour Crust (Gluten free, egg free, dairy free, sugar free)

≪ Previous: Whittard Rhubarb White Hot Chocolate

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I've seen an endless array of Pocky flavours in local Asian stores, as well as many other brands of similar biscuit sticks I've never heard of. Out of the many different flavours there this "Choco Banana" variety intrigued me the most. Unlike most varieties of Pocky that contain plain biscuit, these sticks are chocolate-flavoured, with a banana flavoured coating.

They were pretty tasty, the coating was very sweet and with a strong banana flavour, although it was a tad on the artificial side and a little waxy in texture. The chocolate sticks went well with it though and balanced out the sweetness, giving it a nice rich taste. They reminded me of the biscuit part of a bourbon cream.

Overall, I thought these Pocky Choco Banana were a good snack and certainly worth a try, although I'm not sure I'd buy them regularly.

For more Pocky reviews do check out Grocery Gem's reviews of their Mango Mousse and Coconut flavours, which sound ace!

There's also apparently some new Star Wars "Lightsaber" themed Pocky's! Check FoodJunk's review of them here!

Allergy Advice: Contains wheat and milk.
Ingredients: Suitable for vegetarians.

RECIPE: Coconut Milk Pie with Coconut Flour Crust (Gluten free, egg free, dairy free, sugar free)

August 8, 2013, 12:49 am

≫ Next: Cadbury Dairy Milk Presents Marvellous Creations: Cola Pretzel Honeycomb

≪ Previous: Pocky Choco Banana

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Being someone who experiments with gluten free and other allergen free recipes I thought I'd try to create a treat free from all the major nasties: sugar, gluten, dairy and egg! This was a bit of a challenge and I wasn't entirely successful, but the result was edible and at least resembled a tasty treat.

With some modifications this basic recipe could potentially be very good, but for anyone wanting to give it a try for themselves here's my basic recipe for a gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free coconut cream cocoa pie with a coconut flour crust. You can use honey to sweeten the crust and filling if you wish, or omit if you want it to be totally sugar free. I used ground flaxseed mixed with water as a binder to replace the egg - you can find flaxseed in supermarkets or Holland & Barrett.

This recipe is also suitable for those following low-carb diets such as Atkins, Paleo or the GAPS diet. If any of my followers make this recipe please do bear in mind that it will taste nothing like what you're used to - but who knows, you may be surprised at the results!

Firstly here is the basic pie crust recipe which I found here:

Coconut Flour Pie Crust:
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp coconut oil (Holland & Barrett sell this)
1/2 cup coconut flour (Holland & Barrett sell this)
1 egg (to make this egg-free I used 1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1 tbsp honey (I omitted this to make it sugar-free)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt  (optional)
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Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Make sure to soften the butter and coconut oil beforehand. It should form like a loose dough or thick powder.  Just make sure it is thick enough to pack down into the pan. Grease a springform pan and press mixture into the bottom to form a crust.  Bake at 350 degrees F (177 degrees celsius) for 10 minutes or until sides appear brown.
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Once the crust is made, set it aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
I used a can of coconut milk mixed with several tablespoons of cocoa powder, and then froze it for my filling, however it would probably be better with coconut cream which has a much thicker consistency than coconut milk. You can add a teaspoon of honey to sweeten the filling if you wish - just heat the coconut milk/cream with the honey in a saucepan until it mixes well, then pour into a bowl and pop in the freezer until it thickens up.

It shouldn't take too long to become firm, but do keep checking on it so it doesn't turn into a frozen block! The consistency should be thick and almost mousse-like so it can be poured into the pie crust and then chilled. Once the filling has a nice thick consistency, fill the pie crust with it to the edges and smooth down. You can then freeze it for a bit longer, or if it's already quite solid just chill it in the fridge. Once the filling is firm enough, cut the pie into slices and enjoy!

There are many possible variations to this basic recipe. You can add fruit and nuts to the filling or as a topping. You can make a filling without cocoa, and add vanilla seeds to make a more creamier plain filling. As this is a recipe for those with limited dietary options, just modify to your tastes and restrictions. It would probably be great with a cream cheese filling if you can tolerate dairy!

This post is a bit of a departure for Kev's Snack Reviews, but I hope someone finds it useful!

Cadbury Dairy Milk Presents Marvellous Creations: Cola Pretzel Honeycomb

August 8, 2013, 11:05 am

≫ Next: Wedel Forest Duo & Coconut Bars

≪ Previous: RECIPE: Coconut Milk Pie with Coconut Flour Crust (Gluten free, egg free, dairy free, sugar free)

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Hot on the heels of their previous Marvellous Creations bars, Jelly Popping Candy and Cookie Nut Crunch, Cadbury have released this weird new "Cola Pretzel Honeycomb" variety. Cadbury were teasing this bar on Twitter just the other day so I was surprised to see it nestled amongst the other Marvellous Creations bars at Asda not long after.

This one is described as "Milk chocolate with chewy cola flavour nuggets (8%), pieces of salted pretzel (4%) and honeycomb (3%)". The bar comes in irregular-shaped blocks like the other Marvellous Creations bars:

Despite being only 4% of the total bar, there looked to be plenty of pretzel pieces embedded in the chocolate:

This has to be one of the craziest chocolate bars Cadbury have ever released, and I was expecting it to be too weird to taste nice, but...I actually kinda liked it!

The chocolate smelled as good as ever with it's comforting, creamy Dairy Milk scent. Snapping a piece off released a faint whiff of cola, which had me worried it would just taste "wrong". However I was pleasantly surprised - the combination is actually quite addictive, although a little odd. I think it's because the pretzel pieces give the bar a savoury, moreish edge. Added to that was the crunchy honeycomb which added a lovely toffee flavour. And the cola pieces? They were a bit odd, but for me they brought back memories of cola bottle sweets from childhood, and combined with the creamy Dairy Milk gave me a warm, nostalgic feeling. I can't really explain why but I actually enjoyed the combination despite part of me thinking "it's just wrong!"

Overall, this bar certainly isn't a sophisticated combination and many will balk at how awful it is purely on principle but...I kinda liked it. It's a bit like the Lady Gaga of chocolate bars - odd, but strangely endearing.

Price: £2.50 for a 200g bar at Asda.
Ingredients: Suitable for vegetarians.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk, wheat & gluten. May contain nuts.
Nutrition Information (per 25g): 125 Calories, 6.5g Fat (4g Saturates), 15g Carbohydrates (14g Sugars).

Wedel Forest Duo & Coconut Bars

August 12, 2013, 2:44 am

≫ Next: New! Nestlé Quality Street My Green Bar

≪ Previous: Cadbury Dairy Milk Presents Marvellous Creations: Cola Pretzel Honeycomb

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I couldn't resist this bar of Wedel "Leśny Duet" when I saw it in my local import store recently. The name translates into English as "forest duo", but presumably it's meant to be "fruits of the forest". The back of the wrapper describes the bar as "Milk chocolate with blueberry and wild strawberry filling". I'm not sure what the difference between regular strawberries and "wild" strawberries is - perhaps these ones are grown in forests?

Taste-wise the chocolate was lovely. The fruity filling was delightful and had a nice blueberry and raspberry tang. They weren't the freshest of flavours and did taste a tad artificial, but I didn't mind because they actually worked really well with the cream centre and the chocolate. It was a very moreish combination and I soon ate most of the bar!

Overall, I thought this was a very tasty bar from Wedel and I'm disappointed they no longer stock it in my local store. Presumably it was a limited edition for Summer. According to the wrapper they also do other "Duet" varieties, which include peach and redcurrant and mango and orange. If anyone spots any of them please let me know!

Wedel Coconut "Kokosowa" Bar:

When I bought the Forest Duo bar I also spotted  this Coconut, or "Mleczna kokosowa" variety. I couldn't resist, being a fan of all things coconut flavoured!

It comprises of a coconut cream filling coated in milk chocolate. Being honest I wasn't expecting much because coconut cream bars can sometimes be a little sickly or artificial tasting, but it really surprised me as it had a lovely smooth, creamy coconut taste. Granted it wasn't amazing and it did taste a tad artificial, but I still enjoyed it a lot. It was so creamy and smooth in texture that it was very easy to eat indeed! It also had a slight alcoholic tang which reminded me of malibu.

Overall, this is a very tasty bar from Wedel which I would recommend, especially to those who enjoy coconut chocolates.

Price: Both bars were just over £1.
Allergy Advice: Both bars contain milk and soya.
Cocoa Solids: 29% minimum.

New! Nestlé Quality Street My Green Bar

August 13, 2013, 2:12 am

≫ Next: Whittard Crème Brûlée White Hot Chocolate

≪ Previous: Wedel Forest Duo & Coconut Bars

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The green triangles in Quality Street are generally one of their most popular chocolates, so it must have been a no-brainer for Nestlé to bring out this bar version. They've done the "My Purple Bar" for the last few Christmas' which has apparently "attracted a younger audience to the brand" - so this concept clearly works.

The "My green bar" is basically 4 of the green triangles from Quality Street stuck together with chocolate, and is described as "Milk chocolate with hazelnut praline centre". I liked the shape - it's quite fun to have a chocolate bar with triangles rather than regular boring, square blocks.

I kind of knew what to expect from the taste and I was right. The chocolate was the usual standard sweet, milky stuff from Nestlé which was a decent carrier for the filling. The hazelnut praline tasted just the same as it does in Quality Street - creamy and smooth, with a strong nutty flavour. It was a bit too sweet for my liking, but the bar is quite small so it was tolerable.

Overall, this was a decent bar of chocolate and I would certainly buy one again if I saw it on special offer or reduced in price, but not at the regular price. It isn't quite special or tasty enough for that. I do wish Nestlé would bring out a bar version of the strawberry or orange cremes from Quality Street instead - I think they'd be surprisingly popular, and there's currently no strawberry creme bars on the market to my knowledge (Cadbury Strawberries & Creme doesn't really count as it's more of a yogurt based filling).

Price: 65p at Newsagent.
Ingredients: Doesn't state if suitable for vegetarians. Contains vegetable fats.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk & hazelnuts. May contain traces of other nuts, wheat & egg.
Nutrition (per half bar): 98 calories, 10.5g carbohydrates, 5.6g fat.

Whittard Crème Brûlée White Hot Chocolate

August 14, 2013, 11:47 am

≫ Next: Blast From The Past: Nestlé's Crazy Kitkat Flavours!

≪ Previous: New! Nestlé Quality Street My Green Bar

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When I tried the Rhubarb White Hot Chocolate from Whittard recently I also saw this Crème Brûlée White variety. There were large tubs but I decided to go for a small sachet incase I didn't like it. I'm glad I did because this was a very sweet combination indeed, although it was very nice. I wouldn't want a whole tub but as a one-off it made for a tasty change - it has a subtle burnt toffee flavour which compliments the milkiness of the white chocolate very well. It tasted pretty much how you'd expect Crème Brûlée in hot chocolate form to.

Overall, a tasty hot chocolate with a unique flavour, although for me it's just a little too sweet. If you like white chocolate I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

As well as this flavour Whittard do Strawberry and Lemon Meringue white hot chocolates. I really want to try them at some point and hope Whittard also do them in sachets!

Check out the full range on their website here:
http://www.whittard.co.uk/hot_chocolate

Price: Can't remember but I think it was less than a pound. The large tubs are £5.50.
Ingredients: Suitable for vegetarians & coeliacs.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk & whey.

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Blast From The Past: Nestlé's Crazy Kitkat Flavours!

August 16, 2013, 1:57 am

≫ Next: Haribo Maoam Pinballs Review

≪ Previous: Whittard Crème Brûlée White Hot Chocolate

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In the early-mid 2000's, Nestle UK went a bit mad and tried lots of different Kitkat flavours and varieties. I thought it'd be fun to compile a list to remember them by here. I plan on doing more features such as this in future as I love to reminisce over snacks that are long gone!

These Kitkats were all released over a period between around 2003/2004 until about 2006.

Kitkat Blood Orange (Halloween Limited Edition):

This had a blood orange flavour cream in-between the wafers. I don't remember it tasting anything special. The tagline was "Have many spooky breaks".

Kitkat Christmas Pudding (Christmas Limited Edition):

These were only available in multipacks and tasted horrible. The "christmas pudding" flavour was achieved through the use of artificial flavours and was very unpleasant.

Kitkat White Lemon and Yoghurt:

This was the first new Kitkat variety launched in the early 2000's and was expected to boost flagging sales of Kitkat, however it didn't seem to sell very well. The lemon and yoghurt filling was very nice as I recall, and had an almost "cheesecakey" sort of taste. It was very refreshing and light.

Kitkat Luscious Lime - available in 2004, I believe:

This one was quite tasty - a white chocolate coated Kitkat with lime flavour cream in-between the wafers. This was available at the same time as Lemon & Yoghurt which always struck me as a bit odd.

Kitkat Caramac:

This was one of the best limited edition Kitkat varieties Nestlé ever made. It was coated in a lovely butterscotch Caramac flavoured coating, quite different to a regular Caramac and actually much tastier. They were very moreish and I'm surprised they were discontinued!

Kitkat Editions Tiramisu:

Kitkat Editions contained a layer of gooey filling above the wafer, and this as one of my favourite varieties they did. It actually contained a small amount of marsala wine and mascarpone cream in the filling. Sadly it didn't last very long on shelves.

Kitkat Editions Mango & Passionfruit:

This was one of the more odder Editions flavours - the flavours didn't really go well with the chocolate at all, although I still liked this bar for its unique fruitiness.

Kitkat Editions Red Berry:

This contained a strawberry and raspberry flavour filling above the wafer. I don't remember it being all that special.

Kitkat Editions Seville Orange:

This contained a layer of sour-tasting seville orange, and I remember a lot of people at the time didn't like it much due to the bitterness. It tasted more like marmalade than sweet orange, but personally I loved it!

Kitkat Editions Golden Caramel:

This was a real treat indeed - a layer of gooey golden caramel sat above crunchy wafer. Nestle have never made one of these since, but they did release a Kitkat Chunky Caramel that contained a caramel flavour "paste" instead. It was nothing compared to this though - they should seriously bring these back!

Nestle even tried a Low-carb Kitkat during the Atkins diet craze!:

As well as all the above Kitkat varieties, Nestle brought out Kitkat Kubes, which were cube-shaped bite-size pieces of Kitkat. Despite them not selling very well they came in an array of different flavours. Nowadays we get Kitkat Pop Choc, which are a similar sort of thing.

Kitkat Kubes Cappuccino:

Kitkat Kubes Orange:

Kitkat Kubes Mint:

Regular Kitkat Kubes:

Well, that's enough nostalgia for one day! I hope you've enjoyed this little foray into Nestle's Kitkat Madness. Stay tuned for another Blast From The Past featuring other limited edition products Nestle have released in the past, including Irish Cream Rolos and Lemon Sorbet After Eights!

Can you remember any of these Kitkats? Did you try any? If so I'd love to hear your comments!

Haribo Maoam Pinballs Review

August 18, 2013, 2:56 am

≫ Next: Walkers Blonde Chocolate Caramel Thins

≪ Previous: Blast From The Past: Nestlé's Crazy Kitkat Flavours!

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Just a quick review for these Maoam Pinballs. They're not really anything new and I'm sure most of you will have seen them in the shops countless times. They're very tasty though and well worth a try if you like sour sweets!

I picked these up in Discount UK for about 99p but they're available from most supermarkets. They're apparently from Maomix (which sounds like a catfood brand to me) and are "so good they've got their own bag". I've never tried Maomix but I agree they're very good indeed. They're very chewy and with a nice sour tang that isn't too sour but just about right. The fruit flavours are refreshing and I really liked the apple and strawberry varieties. They also come in orange, cherry and lemon flavours.

Overall if you're a fan of sour sweets I would highly recommend these - they're not overbearingly sour but achieve a nice balance of pleasant fruitiness and slightly sour tanginess.

Price: around £1 in most supermarkets.

Walkers Blonde Chocolate Caramel Thins

August 19, 2013, 1:00 am

≫ Next: New! Nestlé After Eight Desserts Review

≪ Previous: Haribo Maoam Pinballs Review

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When I spotted these Walkers "Blonde Chocolate Caramel Thins" in a 99p Store recently, my snacks radar perked up. "Blonde chocolate? What on earth is that?", I thought. Reading the box unfortunately took away some of the mystique - they're described as simply "Coloured white chocolate thins with a caramel flavour filling". Not natural blondes then!

Speaking of "Blonde chocolate", it seems to be a new term in confectionery and one I've only seen coined in the description of the new Valhrona Dulcey chocolate so far (which I'm yet to try due to the cost!) It refers to a type of caramel-flavoured white chocolate in a similar vein to Nestle's Caramac. And that's kind of how these "blonde chocolate thins" tasted - like Caramac, but much sweeter.

Opening the box they actually looked like a Caramac version of After Eights. I got quite excited as I've never seen a product quite like this before.

Unfortunately all the fun stopped when I bit into one. It tasted like a waxier, sweeter and inferior version of Caramac. Which is saying something considering Caramac itself is very sweet and waxy these days (it used to be much nicer when I was a kid!) The ingredients contain vegetable fat which may explain the waxy texture. The filling wasn't really caramel, but rather some kind of caramel-flavoured vegetable fat "paste".

Overall I was very disappointed with these. Walkers claim to have been producing chocolate since 1963 and are focused on quality...but so far my experiences with their products say otherwise. I've reviewed their Milk Chocolate Raisin Eggs previously and although they were an interesting product, they weren't great quality. Maybe I'm just being too critical though - my friend liked these chocolates and said they were "gorgeous".

So don't take my word for it - try these for yourself and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Price: 99p per 150g box at 99p Stores.
Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa butter, vegetable fat, whole milk powder, whey powder, colour, flavouring.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk. May contain peanuts and tree nuts.

New! Nestlé After Eight Desserts Review

August 19, 2013, 10:06 am

≫ Next: New! Nestlé Quality Street Green Triangle Desserts Review

≪ Previous: Walkers Blonde Chocolate Caramel Thins

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Many thanks to Aarun on Twitter for letting me know about these new Nestlé desserts. There's two new varieties - Quality Street Green Triangle and After Eight. They're currently on offer at £1 per 4-pack in Morrisons along with other varieties such as Rolo and Milkybar.

The After Eight desserts are described as "Delicious dark chocolate and mint flavoured dessert" and are made with 60% fresh milk. The pots weigh 70g each and come in pairs of two:

Each pot has a layer of mint-flavoured dessert at the bottom with a dark chocolate layer on top:

The mint portion tasted somewhat like white chocolate and was very sweet and creamy, whilst the dark chocolate portion was more cocoa dominant. I enjoyed the combination and the fresh mint flavour went well with the chocolate layer. The desserts were very tasty but I was a little disappointed they didn't have a more intense minty taste like real After Eights. They were a bit tame in comparison, but pleasant nonetheless.

Overall, I enjoyed these After Eight desserts but feel they were a bit too "safe". Some real dark chocolate or actual mint crème from the centre of an After Eight would have gone a long way to making them more exciting.

Price: £1 per 4-pack at Morrisons (current special offer).
Suitable for vegetarians?: No - contains gelatine.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk and soya.
Nutritional Information (per pot): 125 Calories, 4.7g Fat (3.1g Saturates), 17.7g Carbohydrates (16.6g of which Sugars). 

New! Nestlé Quality Street Green Triangle Desserts Review

August 20, 2013, 11:10 am

≫ Next: Sunpat Choc-a-Nut: Chocolate Peanut Spread Review

≪ Previous: New! Nestlé After Eight Desserts Review

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As well as the After Eight desserts I reviewed yesterday, I also picked up these new Quality Street Green Triangle desserts from Morrisons recently. They're described as "Creamy chocolate and hazelnut flavoured dessert" and are "inspired by" the hazelnut praline green triangles from Quality Street.

Unlike the After Eight desserts these don't contain two different layers, just hazelnut flavoured chocolate dessert. They come in pairs like the After Eight desserts, which is quite handy because I immediately opened the second pot after finishing the first one!

I enjoyed these a lot more than the After Eight desserts. They tasted very nutty and chocolatey and fitted the flavour of the Quality Street Green Triangle perfectly. They were very sweet though, and two small pots were enough to give me a nice sweet chocolatey hit.

Overall I thought these desserts were very nice, although they made me wish that Nutella did their own version. They'd surely be tastier by default since Nutella is the king of hazelnut flavoured chocolate, and probably far more indulgent. I'd still recommend these though if you like hazelnut flavoured stuff - they're pretty tasty for the price.

Price: £1 per 4-pack at Morrisons (current special offer).
Suitable for vegetarians?: No - contains gelatine.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk and soya.
Nutritional Information (per 70g pot): 153 Calories, 9.1g Fat (5.9g Saturates), 14.2g Carbohydrates (13.4g Sugars).

Sunpat Choc-a-Nut: Chocolate Peanut Spread Review

August 21, 2013, 12:50 pm

≫ Next: New! Cadbury Wishes Little Wishes Review

≪ Previous: New! Nestlé Quality Street Green Triangle Desserts Review

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Being a longtime fan of peanut butter I've always hoped that some company would make one with chocolate in. There was a glimmer of hope when Whole Earth did peanut butter with chocolate chips a few years ago (see review here by Foodstuff Finds), but I haven't been able to find it since.

So when I spotted this new Sunpat "Choc-a-Nut" spread in Asda I was very excited...I thought my wish for a chocolate and peanut butter spread had finally come true! Alas, turns out it had only half come true. This isn't peanut butter infused with chocolate, but rather a smooth peanut butter paste with added cocoa powder and vegetable oil to make it more spreadable.

It tasted good - very rich, nutty and smooth in texture, and pretty much like someone had combined smooth peanut butter with chocolate spread. But it lacks something. I think the problem is that it uses cocoa powder for the chocolate flavour, giving it a strong cocoa taste but not much creaminess. It's a good attempt but I wish they'd mixed real chocolate into it instead.

Overall, this is a tasty spread from Sunpat and will surely be very popular. It's good on toast, crackers, rice cakes etc. and makes a nice change from regular peanut butter. I'm just a bit disappointed it doesn't contain actual chocolate.

Price: £1.79 at Asda.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Ingredients: 58% peanuts, sugar, vegetable oils, cocoa powder (6.5%), sea salt, vanilla.
Allergy Advice: Produced in a factory that handles other nuts.
Nutritional Information (per 100g): 562 Calories, 38.6g Fat (7.5g Saturates), 33.7g Carbohydrates (26.7g Sugars), 16.9g Protein.

New! Cadbury Wishes Little Wishes Review

August 22, 2013, 7:15 am

≫ Next: Milka Schoko Drops Review

≪ Previous: Sunpat Choc-a-Nut: Chocolate Peanut Spread Review

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Another day, another new product from Cadbury. This time it's the turn of these mini versions of Cadbury Wishes which are usually sold over the Christmas period. They're called Little Wishes and include the truffle part from regular Cadbury Wishes in mini star-shaped form, plus pure milk chocolate stars. Like regular Cadbury Wishes, 10% of the profits from these will go to the Make A Wish Foundation. The profits will be at least £50,000 in the UK and go towards making the wishes of children fighting life-threatening conditions come true. I'm sure everyone will agree that this is very appropriate and heart-warming for a Christmas-themed product!

The chocolates are straight-up Cadbury Milk Chocolate, so of course they were going to be tasty. They're described as "Solid milk chocolates and milk chocolates with truffle centres" but there's little difference between them - the truffles are slightly softer to the bite, but that's about it.

Whilst I was never much of a fan of regular Cadbury Wishes, in miniature form they're somehow incredibly moreish. They had a similar effect on me as Cadbury Buttons - I couldn't stop myself from eating one after the other until most of the bag had gone! And with the promise of 10p of the £1 I paid for these going to charity, I felt a little bit less guilty. Yes - Cadbury have discovered a way to make us feel less naughty about eating chocolate!

As mentioned on the pack, the Wishes had suffered some scuffing during transit, but I still thought they looked pretty cool in their mini star shapes. They'd probably be good mixed with other Christmas-themed chocolates over the Christmas period.

Overall, these aren't anything particularly innovative or new, but they're very moreish and in aid of a good cause, so hats off to Cadbury!

Price: £1 per bag at Morrisons (current special offer).
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk and soya. May contain nuts.
Nutritional Information (per quarter bag): 175 Calories, 10.5g Fat (6g Saturates), 17.5g Carbohydrates (17.5g of which Sugars).

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Milka Schoko Drops Review

August 23, 2013, 1:33 am

≫ Next: Tender Cactus In Brine

≪ Previous: New! Cadbury Wishes Little Wishes Review

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A big thankyou to the fantastic Monster Sweets for sending me these Milka Schoko Drops to review recently! Monster Sweets are always on top of the latest American and European snacks releases - do check out their great range of stuff.

Being a fan of all things Milka I was really excited to try these. They reminded me of the Weihnachts Minis I reviewed last year but sounded a lot more promising.

They're basically a milky cream filling surrounded with Milka alpine milk chocolate and then coated in a crunchy candy shell. They're similar to Smarties and M&M's but the cream layer means the texture is quite different. The shells come in only white and purple colours to fit with the Milka branding, which I think looks really cool and unique.

The milk chocolate tasted rich and creamy, just like regular Milka chocolate. The milky layer added an extra level of creaminess and tastes kind of similar to the cream in Kinder milk chocolate bars. The crunchy shell finished it off nicely. I thought these were very moreish and I enjoyed the combination of creaminess, crunchiness and rich chocolate. They're more satisfying than Smarties or M&M's as they're creamy rather than being overly sugary. They also feel a bit healthier than Smarties and M&M's since they contain only two colours rather than a whole rainbow-full!

Overall, I thought these Schoko Drops were a tasty and interesting product from Milka. They're a lot nicer than Smarties and I think they'd be especially popular with kids.

You can buy Schoko Drops from Monster Sweets along with many other interesting Milka snacks that are unavailable in the UK here:

http://www.monstersweets.co.uk/milka-14-c.asp

*Monster Sweets kindly sent me these chocolates for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Tender Cactus In Brine

August 24, 2013, 2:52 am

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When I saw this jar of "Tender Cactus In Brine" in the reduced section of a local department store I just had to buy it. How could I not? Because whilst this may be a normal foodstuff in some parts of the world (just guessing there), here in the UK it is downright unusual.

When I think of Cactus I imagine those prickly green things from Roadrunner cartoons. Or the miniature houseplants that don't need much watering. I never realized they could be - gasp - eaten!

These particular cactus' - or is that cacti? - are a product of Mexico "for UK use". Nice to know they've been made especially for our use! As well as brine the ingredients also list onion, spices, peppers, sugar and coriander. Opening the jar they smelled pretty much the same as a jar of jalapeno peppers. And that's kind of how they tasted, although perhaps milder. They had a somewhat sticky goo coating them which I found a bit off-putting. I wasn't too keen on the flavour to be honest, mainly due to the brine making them taste quite vinegary. But they are certainly interchangeable with jalapenos and could probably be used as a pizza topping or in other ways jalapenos are commonly used.

Overall, these Tender Cactus in Brine are an interesting novelty, but not something I would buy again. I'm not sure if these are a staple product in mexican food, perhaps someone more knowledgeable can educate me? If you've tried these yourself please do get in touch via the comments! :)

Milka Caramel Review (Polish version)

August 24, 2013, 10:43 am

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Having slowly made my way through most of the Polish range of Milka bars, I thought I would give this Milka Caramel a try. The packaging caught my eye mainly because it looks reminiscent of a famous UK caramel chocolate bar - Cadbury Dairy Milk with Caramel.

I wasn't expecting it to taste great, since my experiences with Polish Milka chocolates have been a bit lacklustre so far. And I was right. The caramel didn't offer the same delicious buttery taste as Dairy Milk with Caramel - it just tasted overly sweet and without any real flavour. The chocolate itself tasted ok but was very sweet.

Overall, I find it hard to recommend this Milka Caramel bar. I'm not sure if there's a similar one on the German market but if there is I'd imagine it's much tastier than this. I should point out that this is different from the Milka Caramel Cream we currently get in the UK.

Price: Just over £1 at local import store.

Hershey's Creamy Milk Chocolate with Whole Almonds Review

August 25, 2013, 2:23 am

≫ Next: New! Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp Review

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Hershey's chocolate has a bad reputation here in the UK. Most people find the taste odd, a complaint I hear time and time again. I don't remember it being particularly special the last time I tried it (years ago!) but when I saw this Whole Almonds variety for 40p in a discount store recently, I thought I'd rediscover it and see what all the fuss is about.

To my surprise, it didn't taste too bad. There was no weird flavour from the chocolate at all, infact it was pleasantly milky and chocolatey. I liked the thickness of the chocolate pieces, and the almonds added a nice crunchiness. It wasn't particularly special or amazing by any means, but it was a decent chocolate bar for a mainstream brand. Infact it made a nice change to eat chocolate that wasn't quite as milky as Cadbury's chocolate. The bar contains 27% cocoa solids which is actually higher than Cadbury Dairy Milk, which might explain why it tasted a bit richer and less milky in comparison.

Overall, not a bad chocolate bar at all! I was really surprised by this Hershey Whole Almonds and for 40p it was an absolute bargain - these usually cost a lot more in American import stores. If you happen to spot these discounted I would highly recommend giving them a try!

*No pics of the actual chocolate I'm afraid - I scoffed it in Costa not long after taking the main pic!

New! Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp Review

August 26, 2013, 1:49 am

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It's not only Cadbury that have been busy releasing new products this year. Galaxy have also gotten in on the act and relaunched their chocolate range to include this new Honeycomb Crisp variety, as well as a Nut Crunch variety.

I found this large bar in Morrisons for £1.39 and it's described as "Smooth and creamy Galaxy chocolate with crispy honeycomb pieces". It comes in both small and large bars and bears the familiar Galaxy slogan "Why have cotton when you can have silk?"

The packaging has been updated slightly, and the chocolate comes in a fancy-looking gold paper wrapper:

The chocolate itself looks great and has the new "curvy" shaped blocks that Galaxy introduced a few years ago. It smelled delicious - there was a familiar milky Galaxy scent but with an added butterscotch aroma.

The chocolate tasted extremely creamy and smooth, as Galaxy chocolate is famous for. The honeycomb added an extra depth of deliciousness - it was butterscotch-like in flavour and had an almost salty edge to it, like "proper" honeycomb should have. I found it highly addictive - the combination of creamy Galaxy chocolate and crunchy honeycomb goes together perfectly, and made this bar feel like a real treat indeed.

To compare this to a similar bar I would say it's nicer than Cadbury Dairy Milk with Crunchie Bits, as the quality of the honeycomb is far superior and the chocolate is much smoother. Why have cotton when you can have silk indeed!

Overall, a superb new variety from Galaxy which I'm sure will be very popular - everyone should give this a try. And please, Mars/Galaxy UK - bring us more Galaxy chocolate varieties/limited editions in the future!

Price: £1.39 at Morrisons. Also available in small bars at Asda and Wilkinsons.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state on packaging.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk. May contain peanut, almond, hazelnut, gluten (wheat).
Nutritional Information (per 100g): 547 Calories, 58g Carbohydrates (57.2g Sugars), 32g Fat (20g Saturates).