December 8th: GU Naughties Millionaire's Flapjacks

Kcal 465 Fat 25.4g Fat(sats) 15.4g Carbs 54.2g (per 100.0g)

Although this review initially came about after a request from ChocolateMission reader Alan I needed no further encouragement once I saw what GU were offering up here. The combination of flapjack and millionaire's shortbread sounded like a match made in heaven and the description of 'butter flapjacks with lashing of gooey caramel, covered in thick milk chocolate' had me salivating almost Homer Simpson style. For those unaware GU is a UK based manufacture whose business predominantly lies in the chilled desserts sector. As you can see here however they have recently made strides into the ambient cakes market with a few products under the sub brand 'Naughties'.

I bought these in my local Sainsbury's supermarket at the cost off £1.99 (1/3 off!) for a tub of 16 bites. I have to admit at full price I may have been put off but I thought the stylish presentation of the product made it justify its price premium against the other cheaper priced items it sat near on the shelf. Opening up the lid I was surprised to see all the bites loosely rolling around inside, though my mind was soon distracted by the terrific chocolaty smells that soon emanated from the tub. Despite the lack of inner protection the pieces themselves looked largely unblemished and fantastically appetising with some distinct layering.

Just like most cakey treats I soon found a playful way to eat each piece and by the end of the tub I had perfected a wonderful (if slightly mad) technique. My preferred method was to firstly bite off the chocolate pieces from each side, then eat the lower flapjack base before lastly enjoying the remaining caramel and upper chocolate topping. In regards to the chocolate it wasn't the best quality I have ever tasted, however it still had a nice appeal and delivered the all important chocolate hit with a surprisingly rich set of cream based flavours. The flapjack base was terrific and held back on the sweetness nicely to provide a buttery, golden syrup oaty taste with its dense, fulfilling texture. I guess my only fear was this product was that the combination of flapjack and caramel may have been overly sweet though I am glad to say this wasn't the case. The caramel was less intense in terms of its sugar flavours than I was expecting and it instead brought butterscotch and salt elements to the taste which contrasted nicely with the chocolate. There is no denying these were ridiculously moreish but I felt content eating just two with a mid afternoon coffee.

Overall I am sure you can tell these were a product I really enjoyed and thankfully I can confirm these were executed just as well as I had hoped. Millionaire's shortbread at the best of times can be insanely rich so the fear of course was that with the addition of a flapjack base to the mix the outcome would be something just a little bit over the top. As you will have read above though GU got these spot on and I felt that each of the different layers contributed nicely to a well rounded and flavoursome taste. The chocolate perhaps wasn't the greatest quality ever but it still brought the chocolate element to the party to a fair standard. The real stand out elements of this product for me though had to be the flapjack and caramel layers which were both utterly delicious. If you like the sound of these and are going to buy them in the future (which I seriously recommend you do!) my last tip for you is to keep them in the fridge ... it makes them all the more enjoyable. These are well worth considering though maybe not at their full price which I think is just a little too steep.

8.9 out of 10