October 31st: Cadbury Cinder Toffee Cake Bars

Kcal 150 Fat 8.2g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 16.8g

I know said I wasn't going to do anymore Halloween themed reviews this year but I couldn't resist adding to my exploration of the cake bar market. Nestled in between all the usual Halloween junk you get in the supermarkets this time of year I managed to stumble across these Cadbury Cinder Toffee flavoured cake bars at the knock down price of £1 a pack. As much as I loathe Halloween I just couldn't resist the sound of 'golden sponge with cinder toffee flavour topping with milk chocolate' - those of you who aren't aware the difference between normal toffee and cinder toffee take a look HERE at our trusted friend Wiki.

At 20p a cake bar I thought the price was very good and happily parted with my hard earned £1 for a multi pack of 5. Looking at the packaging I have to say it was fair enough standard and I liked the fact that Cadbury at least when to some effort to incorporate a Halloween theme despite it looking a little on the messy side. More positively the cake bars themselves looked pretty good when cross-sectioned and I liked the fact the cinder toffee filling stood out nicely wedged between the chocolate and cake elements. Straight out the wrapper these cake bars didn't smell all that strong, however when I bit into one I immediately detected a strong brown sugar type aroma.

From my very bite I had an overwhelming wave of nostalgia come over me, but annoyingly I still can't quite pinpoint the taste down to a specific product. The taste was exactly like a cake bar product that I had as a kid but frustratingly I just can't remember what it was? Part of me thinks it may have been a 'Crunchie' version of Cadbury cake bars but to be honest that is a real stab in the dark! Anyway ... back to matters at hand I had mixed feelings about these Cinder Toffee cakes. On the plus side the outer milk chocolate was as enjoyable as always and the sweet, milky taste nicely set up the vanilla noted golden sponge that lay below. With the cake layer providing a bit of substance to the bite the cinder toffee layer was surprisingly light and whipped in texture and melted almost instantly in the mouth. The toffee flavours were pleasant with sharp, sweet, burnt sugar led flavours that unfortunately just didn't last for the desired duration in the mouth. With the flavours lacking longevity I have to say these weren't the most well rounded cake bars I have ever had but they did the job for a mid-afternoon snack.

Overall having now tried my fair share of cake bar products I can conclude that these are no better or worse than your average offering from this part of the market. The cinder toffee flavour was a good idea however it just wasn't executed as well as it might have been given its limitations due to the ease at which it melted and disappeared in the mouth. Aside from the chocolate not being Dairy Milk I had no gripes with the milk chocolate or sponge element to this bar and actually thought that the golden sponge was just a bit more flavoursome than the usual chocolate sponge used in the rest of the Cadbury Cake Bars range. By now you will know I am no fan of Halloween but would it not have been awesome to see Cadbury go for a toffee apple flavoured cake bar!? That to me sounds like a winner and I think these would have benefitted from a different type of flavour influence as they were just a little one dimensional. These are worth a try for just £1 a punt ... if only to tell me what old product these taste exactly like.

7.3 out of 10