November 11th: Cadbury Triple Choc Roll (UPDATE 10-08-2010: Mint Choc Roll)

Kcal 165 Fat 6.8g Fat(sats) 4.2g Carbs 24.6g (per 1/6th roll)

Back when I published my reviews of the original and caramel Cadbury cake bars loyal ChocolateMission reader Alan suggested I try this Cadbury Triple Choc Roll. This product can be found sitting in most supermarkets cakes section and costs just over the £1.50 mark. I am not going to get to hung up over this point but I think I should bring to the attention of everyone that the marketing guys at Cadbury obviously aren't quite at one with their multiples. Described as a 'Triple Choc Roll' I think it is almost natural to think that the product contains three different elements of chocolate. A quick look at the packaging suggested I was in for more than I was bargaining for and I read with great delight that this product constituted of four different chocolate formats - chocolate sponge, chocolate buttercream, chocolate sauce and lastly a milk chocolate coating.

This product failed to state and actual weight though it provided six large sized servings that each made for a fulfilling snack. Aside from the glaring inaccuracy of the 'Triple' branding (seriously this in very tongue in cheek!), I thought the product was presented well and it incorporated the purple Cadbury colour scheme to good effect giving the product a nice colourful look. Inside I was delighted to see that despite the flimsy protection of only one layer of plastic wrapping the inner cake roll was in immaculate condition. When I cut into the roll the cross-section looked appetising with each of the different layers distinctly obvious. As promising as the product looked I was further impressed by the smell which was a mixture of fresh cake and Cadbury chocolate aromas.

In previous Cadbury Cake Bar reviews I have often commented that I was disappointed Dairy Milk chocolate wasn't used, however this wasn't such an issue here due to the sheer amount of different chocolaty influences to the taste. Each an every layer was very sweet in terms of flavour but there was a consistent milky undertone that kept the sugary sweetness nicely in check. Starting with the outer milk chocolate I have to say it was little on the disappointing side and I would liked it to have just a been a bit thicker in order to give the outer portion just a little bit more crispness when bitten into. In my review of the Cadbury Cake Bars I did comment that the cake was a little on the bland side but in this instance I thought it was wonderfully complimented by the chocolate buttercream and chocolate sauce elements. Where the buttercream brought an extra dimension of buttery, sugary flavours the chocolate sauce delivered a very welcome moistness to each bite with a syrupy chocolate influence on the taste. The cake itself was dense and fulfilling yet still maintained a nice fluffiness and melted in the mouth nicely allowing the other buttercream and sauce elements to come to the party. Just as the packaging suggested I split the roll up into six servings which lasted a matter of minutes in my office environment - I was lucky I managed to grab a bit for myself!

Overall I have rated this Triple Choc Roll higher than the original Cadbury Cake Bar and on reflection the reason for this seems to lie solely at the inclusion of the chocolate sauce. I think in this cake roll the addition of the chocolate sauce brought the cake element to life and not only helped the problem of the cake being too dry but also brought an extra surge of sweet, chocolaty flavours to the taste. If I was to make this product better I would of made the outer chocolate thicker in terms of its portioning as it would have made the initial bite all that more pleasurable with the extra crispness that was only present to quite a minor degree. Personally I only tend to have products like this one at Christmas time once I have had that spoonful of Christmas cake and decided I don't like it and thus move on to the 'Christmas Log'. Those 'Christmas Log' products tend to be quite dear in terms of price though I think you would get as much pleasure out of buying one of these, sprinkling it with icing sugar and adding a decorative piece of holly on the top. Taking off my 'Martin's Money Saving Expert' cap for a minute I would also recommend this as a nice product to share between family or friends - it gets a ChocolateMission thumbs up.

8.0 out of 10

2010 UPDATE ... Here is my review of the Cadbury Mint Choc Roll that I wrote a few months after ....


Kcal 160 Fat 6.9g Fat(sats) 4.3g Carbs 16.3g (per 1/6th)

Following my review of the Cadbury Triple Choc Roll last year, I just couldn't help myself when I saw a 'Mint' version on a £1 deal in my local Tesco. Given my positive review of the Cadbury Mint Cake Bars, I was hoping that this Mint Choc Roll was going to be just as well executed and liked the sound of 'chocolate sponge filled with mint flavoured buttercream, covered in milk chocolate'. For those wondering what is behind the sudden emergence of so many cake based reviews on ChocolateMission I can reveal that it is the consequence of my work office being obsessed with any product involving the word cake - unsurprinsgly they always seem more than happy to help with the taste sampling.

Just like the Cadbury Triple Choc Roll this Mint variant came with no catch weight but was large enough to split into six amply sized servings. Aside from the addition of the mint branding and green colour the packaging looked no different to the original and incorporated the usual Cadbury Purple colour scheme to great effect with some realistic on pack illustrations. Where I felt this product looked a little more interesting than the standard Triple Choc was when it was cross-sectioned as the bright green mint buttercream glistened amongst the rolled sponge layers giving it a vibrant and colourful look. In addition to looking pretty cool I also noted that a slight minty aroma could be detected amongst the normal Cadbury chocolaty scents.

I will spare you the whole 'Waaaah this wasn't made with Dairy Milk chocolate' spiel as I am getting pretty used to it not being used across their entire portfolio. To be honest the secondary recipe isn't much worse anyway and once it again it provided a fitting coating for the inner sponge and buttercream. Just as expected the outer chocolate provided the usual sweet, milky Cadbury Milk Chocolate taste which led nicely into the milder chocolate noted buttery flavours of the inner sponge. As I have experienced with the Cadbury Cake Bar range the cake wasn't the strongest tasting but it certainly held up it's part of the deal providing a bit of viscosity and sustenance to the product. Of course the real defining part of this product was obviously going to be the mint buttercream and I can thankfully report it gets two thumbs up from me. It had a nice cool feel on the tongue and provided some subtle peppermint flavours with a delicious creamy undertone that complimented the cake and outer chocolate well. In addition to providing a cooling freshness the buttercream also brought the necessary moistness to the drier cake layer which made its presence all that more welcome. As I said in my opening paragraph my colleagues were all too willing to help me out eating this and it survived only a matter of minutes once opened.

Overall I enjoyed this Mint Choc Roll more than the original Triple Choc Roll and thought it was marginally superior due to the extra dimension brought to the product by the mint flavouring. I am always a little cautious with mint flavoured chocolate products as sometimes the mint can overpower the chocolate in the taste, however this thankfully wasn't the case here and the mint buttercream was balanced superbly with the outer chocolate coating and inner chocolate cake. I can imagine that I will be buying one of the Cadbury Choc Roll products again in the near future given how well they go down in the office and I can confidently say that it will be this Mint variant that I will look for on the shelf ahead of the Triple Choc offering. If your a fan of the Cadbury Mint Cake Bars there probably isn't quite enough here for me to say that you have to buy this product over them. At the same time though I no doubt think you would get some pleasure out of this Mint Roll - it is certainly great for sharing with others.

8.2 out of 10