Today's Review: Cadbury Dairy Milk Cornflake Cluster Bites

Cadbury are expanding their market again, and this time they're going after those bakery goods that all the supermarkets love to shove into your basket in some kind of 2 for £3 deal. Unfortunately these aren't in an offer yet, so I left the others behind and picked up these cornflake cake bites for a fairly pricey £2. 

There's not much to say about these, they're mini cornflake cakes, but instead of the regular supermarket chocolate these are coated in Dairy Milk. I must say, they're pretty good. The chocolate coating is substantial and creamy, they don't skimp on the Dairy Milk here. The cornflakes pack a nice crunch, but the focus is really on the chocolate. I'd even go as far to say there's perhaps a little too much here, but I see that as a good thing, these bites are indulgent and I'd probably rate them higher than Asda's own. A good effort at a bakery classic, made better with a generous Dairy Milk coating.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Cadbury Freddo Treasures

For those of you with children who have spent countless hours watching YouTube videos of people opening "surprise eggs", this is one thing you won't be surprised about. Cadbury have taken this Easter as an opportunity to get in on that lucrative surprise toy chocolate market with Freddo Treasures, a plastic treasure chest that contains chocolate and a toy!

I mean, Freddo is there on the label, but he's nowhere to be found inside. What you get is two foil sealed compartments, one of which contains that elusive toy, and one of which contains 14 Buttons. Not even Giant Buttons, just 14 regular, tiny Buttons. I mean, we all know Buttons are great, but what's in here amounts to a small mouthful. As for the toy, the one I got in mine was a spinning top. That's Christmas cracker fodder guys, where's the good stuff? The appeal of Kinder Surprise has worn off over the years, I must admit, but getting a few pieces to put together at least injected a little fun into my day, and finding those rare porcelain pieces was quite a thrill. With Freddo, however, one measly spin and I was done with my treasure, and all that was left was an empty plastic shell and a faint trace of chocolate on my lips. Maybe I've lost that child-like wonder, but really I don't see how this will stand up to the big boys. It's a pretty disappointing effort from those Cadbury giants.

My rating: 1/5

Today’s Review: Cadbury Oreo Egg

With all the Oreo products pumped out over the years, it’s no wonder Cadbury have brought out a full sized Oreo egg. The mini ones were... okay, so I wasn’t expecting much different from the big one. It’s basically like a Creme Egg, but instead of that gloriously gooey filling, there’s a generous amount of smooth Oreo stuff, biscuit bits mixed in with that Oreo Creme. Doesn’t quite give that authentic Oreo taste, but I find a few of these Cadbury things really do.  Still, the filling is a fairly decent offering, though the ratio of filling to chocolate does make it a little sickly. I’d still rather go for a Creme Egg, but while this is fairly middle of the road it’s an alright novelty for Easter.

My rating: 3/5

Today’s Review: Twin Peaks Fruit & Nut

After releasing their budget Toblerone a while back, Poundland have released a couple of new varieties. Here we have a fruit and nut version, which is obviously a rip off of the Toblerone of the same nutty, raisiny nature. The shape of the bar has changed somewhat, it’s a bit flatter, with alternating, zig zag leaky bits that I guess sort of emulate mountains? I dunno, seems a bit of a cop out, but it’s still only £1 so it’s not awful. Unfortunately the taste isn’t all that great. The chocolate is passable, creamy enough, but does leave a bit of a bad aftertaste. The fruit and nut chunks are a bit small and don’t add a lot to the overall flavour. Pretty much a mediocre version of Toblerone all round. Not too bad for a pound, but you know there’s better stuff out there.

My rating: 3/5

Today’s Review: M&Ms Eggs

Easter is here! Well, the products are anyway. I’ve already heard complaints from some, but I do like a properly stocked seasonal aisle. We have the usual Creme Egg stuff, alongside various bags of mini eggs, but there’s a new kid on the block as M&Ms join in with the Easter hype.

Well, they’re as I was expecting. M&Ms are chocolate with a sugar shell coating, and so are these eggs. They’re nice and speckled too, don’t they look lovely? Taste wise, they’re much like the transition from Smarties to Smarties eggs, if you like the original you’ll like these. Naturally, due to the different shape and size, there is substantially more chocolate than your average M&M, so these are a tiny bit more sickly, but still good. A nice little twist on the original, and a good addition to the Easter line up.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Cadbury Darkmilk Roasted Almond

Perhaps I should have covered both Darkmilk varieties in the one review, but I have a slightly different opinion of this one. I was going to grab the almond one on its own, but went for both flavours just to get a nice comparison going. While I was blown away by the creamy darkness of the original Darkmilk, the addition of almonds here doesn't add a whole lot. Sure, they taste nice, but it's just a somewhat subdued nut flavour, especially with the chocolate there struggling for dominance. Maybe a different filling would work out better, but I prefer the unadulterated experience of this new dark(ish) chocolate. Worth a try, but grab one without nuts as well.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Cadbury Darkmilk

Cadbury have just brought out something a little different, instead of stuffing things into their Dairy Milk, they've gone and released a dark chocolate bar. Not majorly dark, mind you, this isn't a rebranded Bournville. This bar consists of 40% cocoa solids and 14% milk, so there's still a bit of creaminess in there to take the edge off. Dark chocolate has grown on me over the years, so I was hoping this would sit well with me.

Say what you will about Cadbury and their changing recipes, but I still enjoy it. This bar is another great effort, a lovely dark chocolate that is just the right balance of bitter and sweet. It's definitely dark, that's obvious from the first bite, but the milk is there to lay down a nice creamy base and make for a smooth, very chocolatey bar. Yes, I'm sure there'll be much uproar about the size reduction compared to Dairy Milk, but I still enjoyed my experience, and paid less than the retail price, pick it up for £1 in Tesco, it's worth it.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Gingerbread Matchmakers

It's September, so you know what that means. Yeah, it's Christmas! So cast aside those "it's too early" naysayers, and check out some of the new stuff starting to fill the shelves. Like these gingerbread Matchmakers. Last year saw the introduction of the excellent salted caramel flavour, so I was worried these wouldn't quite live up to those lofty heights. I was expecting something unpleasantly spicy, but instead I was pleasantly surprised. The ginger is mild, but has a nice impact on the flavour. Creamy chocolate with a nice little hint of spice, that builds up to a nice point but doesn't overwhelm too much. Eating a whole box full would probably get a bit too much (not that I'd know anything about that), but for a little Christmas sharing snack, these are sweet and warming. Not quite as good as the salted caramel, but another great effort.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Snickers White

Another limited edition I picked up on my travels, though not as exciting as the Lion latte bar. Here we have a white Snickers, which is like a regular Snickers, but with white chocolate. It's a decent enough change, the chocolate on the outside isn't bad, but it doesn't blend well with the stuff inside. I think the chocolate is a bit too creamy to interact well with the caramel, it's a bit too sweet, and the peanuts don't do enough to bring it back down. An interesting enough change to try out, but I wouldn't take it over a regular Snickers.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Poundland White Chocolate Malt Balls

Poundland are bringing out quite a lot of knock off versions of famous chocolates, and none have exactly wowed me so far. Here's their take on Maltesers, but with a twist. Can you see? Let me give you a clue. They've got white chocolate on! Yes, these are the snazzily named White Chocolate Malt Balls, which are white chocolate coated malt balls.

These are pretty good actually. Obviously not as good as Maltesers, because Maltesers are perfect, but these are a damn good effort. The malt is a little on the crumbly side, but packs quite a bit of flavour. The coating is actually chocolatey, has a nice creaminess to it and doesn't leave a bitter taste in the mouth. I polished these off fairly quickly, and I wouldn't mind picking up some more. A nice little Poundland offering.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Kit Kat Chunky Salted Caramel Fudge

A new Kit Kat Chunky flavour is nothing to be sniffed at, there's not a one I met that I didn't like, and this one looked to be no exception. Salted caramel and fudge, all wrapped up in one Kit Kat? Count me in! There's not much to say about this, other than it's awesome. It's actually salty, which I find is somewhat lacking in this salted caramel trend, and there's a nice sweet underlayer of caramel, as well as a nice substantial fudgy flavour to round it off. Complete with the classic Kit Kat chocolate and wafer, it's another great variety of Kit Kat. Gorgeous.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Maltesers Truffles

There seems to be a big focus on Maltesers lately, their buttons released last month, alongside these Truffles. All wrapped up in a nice little gift box, and with the price tag to match, it took a while for me to justify taking the plunge. These are individually wrapped, "posh" chocolates, consisting of a chocolate base with honeycomb pieces, a malt filling on top, all wrapped up in more chocolate.

I wouldn't say these are your conventional truffles, but the truffle part is sufficiently creamy, with a nice malty texture to boot. The base packs a nice little crunch and that classic Malteser chocolate flavour, so all in all these are some good chocolates. I wouldn't say they're worth the inflated price tag, they're not exactly the height of luxury, at the end of the day they're not dissimilar to a Malteser bar. Worth a try, or good for a gift, but I wouldn't buy these regularly.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Crunchy Caramel M&Ms

The news of caramel M&Ms was pretty huge last year, and despite only being an American release, I did manage to track some down on import a few months back. So imagine my surprise when I wandered into Poundland and saw I could grab a share size bag of caramel M&Ms for a mere pound. But wait, something seems different. These are "crunchy caramel", not just regular. Could it be we get an exclusive flavour in the UK for once?

These are different to the American caramel M&Ms. Those ones have a gooey centre, while these are exactly what they say on the pack, crunchy caramel. You have your regular crispy coating, and a layer of that classic M&M chocolate, but underneath is a little nugget of crunchy caramel goodness. Biting into it unleashes another level of sweetness, and it's pretty awesome. The closest thing I can compare it to is the inside of a Daim bar, so this is like an unholy matrimony between two amazing chocolate products. The crunch in the caramel is more satisfying than the gooey, chewy stuff in the American version, and I think it helps inject the flavour a whole lot more effectively. These could even be my new favourite variety of M&Ms. Grab them while they're around, they're great.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Happy Shopper Chocolate Pebbles

Yes, chocolate pebbles, the corner shop equivalent of Minstrels. I wasn't expecting much from these, but I figured I'd give them a try. Turns out they're not too shabby. There's a nice crispy shell, underneath which is some fairly decent chocolate. It's not exactly great, the texture is a little soft, but the flavour's there. It's definitely not Galaxy standard, but for an off-brand product it's a good effort. There's a decent amount in the bag too, and at 2 for £1 that adds up to a lot of not-quite-Minstrels. You're better off getting a bag of the good stuff when it's on offer, but if you're in a bind and need a fix these are worth a punt.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Smarties Unicorn Edition

Unicorn Smarties are finally here! Well, that's not what I said, but I'm sure someone did. Unicorns are one of the big crazes of the moment, and naturally everyone is trying to cash in. So here we have a bag of Smarties, in only blue and pink, because they're unicorn colours apparently. Nothing else is different, it's just a bag of Smarties with a different picture on the front, so it really is a shameless cash in.

I can't complain too much though. They're the same price as a regular sharing bag of Smarties, so it's really just a matter of which branding you prefer. My daughter loved them when I brought them home, so they can't be bad. I wish they could have been a little more creative, perhaps chucked a bit of a different flavour in there, but hey, Smarties are still delicious. These are just a bit uninspired.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Maltesers Buttons

These have been on my radar for a while now, after seeing them in a couple of Facebook posts in recent months. Finally, they're here, Maltesers Buttons. Basically, they're Maltesers in button form, there's not much else to say about them. If you've had the Malteser chocolate bar, you know the drill. 

These are good, really good, I was expecting them to be, and they are. They're fairly sizeable buttons of chocolate, embedded generously with honeycomb pieces. They're creamy, crunchy, and undeniably a new way to get that Malteser experience. Easy to share, but I have to admit I'd find it difficult to. This is another great product in the Malteser range, grab them as soon as you can.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Yorkie Pro

Protein chocolate bars are becoming increasingly common, and Nestle have started churning out versions of their bars with added protein. This Yorkie is one of them, promising... whatever benefits you get from adding protein to a bar filled with sugar. It comes with crispy pieces, which sounds like the raisin and biscuit Yorkie without any of the fun. But hey, some crunch is better than none.

I'm not sure about the science behind adding protein to chocolate bars, but I can tell you, it adversely affects the flavour. There's something of the classic Yorkie taste in there, but all in all that bar seems dryer, almost chalky. The crispy pieces are alright, but the chocolate itself just ends up tasting like an uninspired health bar. Chocolatey, sure, but not in a good way. I think I'll get my protein fix from elsewhere, as long as I can still have a regular Yorkie. Yorkie? More like Chalkie. Har har.

My rating: 1/5

Today's Review: Milkybar Wowsomes

Wow, wow wow wowsome. These new Milkybar chocolates are a bit odd. I'm not sure who they're trying to appeal to. On one hand, they're individually wrapped chocolates, suggesting a more upmarket form of Milkybar. On the other, they're toting health benefits like 30% less sugar, so I guess so they're a healthy snack, in very small single servings, that could potentially go in the kids' lunchboxes? I don't know, but what I do know is that these are small Milkybar coated treats, the centre of which consists of an oar blend with either milk or white chocolate. 

These are pretty good. I mean, they're not as good as good old solid chocolate, but the addition of the oats is an interesting one, and makes for a tasty, different kind of treat. It seems somewhat healthier, and the chocolate blend with a satisfying crispy crunch is pretty good. After a few the oats start to provide a bit of a funny after taste, but as long as you stick to a couple at a time you'll probably have a good time with these. An interesting twist on the classic Milky Bar.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Kit Kat Ruby

There's a new kind of chocolate in town. Forget milk, white and dark, now you can get ruby. This chocolate news has crept up on me, I knew nothing about it until last week, though it seems it's hit the market pretty quickly from being announced last year. The best thing is it's not purely available as an expensive artisinal chocolate bar, you can find it in Kit Kat form at your local Tesco.

So what is ruby cocoa? Well, I'm not sure, and it seems the properties of it are a trade secret, so let's just say it makes pink chocolate. You may think it's just an aesthetic difference, but let me tell you this stuff tastes different. I would say it's more comparable to white chocolate than anything else, but there's a certain flavour to it. It's a bit fruity, and there's a little something that to me is reminiscent of flowers. I think it's an acquired taste, and it will probably take me a few tries to get used to it, but my first impression is that it's a little, how should I say, perfume like in taste. It's not bad though, it has a lovely creamy texture, and it's close enough to white chocolate for me to enjoy it, I'm just not sure about the overall flavour. I'll need to buy more to experiment.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Toblerone Crispy Coconut

I finally managed to get my hands on this coconut Toblerone as a belated birthday present. I've had my eye on it for some time, especially as my love of coconut has grown recently. Basically, it's a regular Toblerone, but with added coconut pieces. It's a good addition though, an extra bit of crunch with a bold, natural coconut taste. It's a little overly sweet, especially with the almond nougat still in place, but the coconut does prevail, making for a great overall flavour. A smooth, chocolatey coconut treat, a pretty unique Toblerone.

My rating: 4/5