April 23rd: Cadbury Energy Scroggin

Kcal 233 Fat 13.9g Fat(sats) 6.6g Carbs 24.1g

Little over a week ago I had an underwhelming experience with the Cadbury Energy bar. I thought it was a chocolate that frankly didn't know what it wanted to be; it seemed to be stuck at the junction between wanting to be a dark chocolate or a milk chocolate. Despite this I was actually quite looking forward to trying todays bar - the Cadbury Energy Scroggin which was again another bar provided to me by Shopenzed. Scroggin is the Australian/New Zealand word for trail mix, and generally involves a fruit and nut combination (more HERE!). This bar today came described as 'Rich chocolate packed with raisins and almonds'.

Although available in a larger size I was quite happy sampling this 50.0g snack bar. The wrapper looked very similar to the Cadbury Energy bar with its red colouring but of course included the added extra 'Scroggin' branding and fruit and nut pictures. When I opened the bar I was disappointed to find that it was inconveniently split into two really quite large chunks (see above!). I would have much preferred it to have followed suite with most other bars with it being split into smaller pieces, though I must say that both the fruit and nut ingredients looked well portioned. As well as adding aesthetic benefits the added elements also contributed nicely to the smell. The aroma had a very fruity nature about it and it certainly heightened my anticipation.

It would have been ridiculous to expect anything more from the chocolate itself and it of course delivered the same experience I had with the standard Energy bar. The 40% recipe again seemed to lack direction and delivered neither a creamy or cocoa rich taste - again I will reiterate that it was not a bad chocolate, but just one that needed to be more decisive in its flavours. In isolation the chocolate was again unspectacular, however the additional almonds and raisins certainly brought an added interest. Both were plentiful in number and certainly made a great impression on the taste. The almonds brought some delicious savoury roasted notes to the taste, whilst the fruit added a wonderful contrasting sweetness. The addition of these elements added another dimension to the Energy chocolate and made for a more satisfying snack.

Overall having been a little disappointed with the original Cadbury Energy I was quite impressed with the way that the simple additions of both the fruit and nut made for a far more flavoursome experience. I understand that the Energy recipe is quite old and traditional, though my opinion is that it needs a little refinement. Forgetting the average nature of the chocolate the raisins and almonds were as good as any fruit and nut combination we have here in the UK and certainly made this bar a little bit more exciting. If your a fruit and nut fan this is probably a bar worth you at least trying.

7.8 out of 10