December 16th: Thorntons Winter Fruit Crumble

Kcal 174 Fat 9.6g Fat(sats) 6.6g Carbs 20.2g

At the back end of last month I brought you the first of two seasonal limited edition chocolates from Thorntons in the form of their Creme Brulee bar. A few weeks down the line from that relatively disappointing offering I today bring you the second and last review from this selection - the Thorntons Winter Fruit Crumble bar. Constituting of a 'winter fruit mousse with crumble pieces, covered in milk chocolate' this didn't strike me as your typical British product, with only German produced Ritter Sport and Milka equivalents springing to me top of mind. It was going to be interesting to see whether Thorntons could produce a product of a similar quality, one thing was for sure that it wouldn't take the greatest of efforts for it to be better than the Creme Brulee bar.

This bar came in a 35.0g size which similarly to the Creme Brulee struck me as pretty small compared to the average size chocolate bar you get on the market nowadays. Aesthetically I had no problems with this product whatsoever and thought the outer wrapper looked nicely festive with its dark red and purple colour scheme which was complimented nicely by a few silver snowflake patterns. Inside the bar itself also looked fantastically tempting with the bumpy surface studded with some small sugar crystals which glistened against the denser looking red coloured filling. Taking in the smells from the bar a decent array of fruity scents were showcased, however I did have that nagging sense that they were a tad artificial.

A thing I rarely complain about with Thorntons is the standard of their chocolate and once again I can have very little complaints about what was on offer here. Given the size of the bar the actual thickness of the outer milk chocolate layer was reasonably good and it delivered a creamy tasting, sweet chocolate flavour hit with each and every bite. Of course as is the case with the majority of products like this the true quality of the product was of course going to be dependant on the inner winter fruit mousse filling which for me was a bit of a mixed bag. What I liked about it was the soft, yet relatively dense texture which was nicely broken up by smaller pieces of dried fruit and crunchy crumble pieces. The dried fruit pieces in particular delivered some wonderful bursts of red fruit flavours with strawberry and raspberry influences brought to the party. What I didn't enjoy so much about this bar was the fact that just as I had perceived with the smell I did get a sense that the taste had a artificial edge and that the fruit flavours at time were perhaps at little chemically derived. In comparison to the Creme Brulee variant I did find this bar a little more satisfying which is something I would mostly attribute to the thicker chocolate coating.

Overall thankfully this bar was a few steps ahead of the other seasonal limited edition Creme Brulee offering from Thorntons and I would have to say that on the whole it was much the more well rounded option out of the two. Just as I said in the opening paragraph the UK alternatives to this bar are few and far between, with only the real comparators being the German produced chocolates from the likes of Lindt, Ritter and Milka in the form of their many fruit flavoured yogurt bars. Although I would say that this chocolate struggles to compete with the likes of them, what Thorntons offered up here was far from a disaster and I did get a reasonable amount of satisfaction from the chocolate, crumble and dried fruit element of this bar. The only part that I felt slightly let it down was the actual base constituents of the mousse filling which was fruity but had a sweet, artificial edge that partially hampered my enjoyment of the overall taste. It perhaps isn't the best in it's part of the market but it was a nice try by Thorntons and I would welcome more innovation like this from them in the coming future. If you really enjoy your Thorntons chocolate then this could be an inexpensive option for you to try from their range.

7.4 out of 10

December 15th: Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Log

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

Two Hotel Chocolat reviews in two days - surely this must be a mistake!? In actual fact not! With only a few working days left until Christmas I still have one or two Hotel Chocolat Christmas products to get up on the site but fear not I will endeavour to do so before they stop taking orders that they can't deliver in time for gifting on the 25th! The product grabbing the limelight today is a totally new development from Hotel Chocolat this year - the 'Chocolate Log'. Formed of a 'blend of chocolate, hazelnut paste and chopped nuts' this was going to be my first ever taste of Hotel Chocolat's attempts at a solus gianduja type product. Having had tasters of what they could do from some of their recent selection boxes I was expecting great things.

These Chocolate Logs come in two formats - the first being six smaller 'Logs' and the other this 190.0g format that me and my family have been feasting on for the past few days. Aesthetically speaking this bigger 'Log' wont be the prettiest thing you will ever have seen pictured on this site but it was nicely packaged in a splendid silver box and the concept of cutting bits off like a cake was something a little different from the norm. Indeed slicing through the first thing I noticed was the wonderful scents of cocoa and nut that emerged when blade cut through the soft yielding surface. The log was a little messy to eat due to it's crumbly nature, however I guess this isn't the sort of product you would consider eating out of the home anyway.

The packaging suggested that this was not a chocolate for dessert but rather shared over a coffee so it made for a suitable accompaniment to my normal 'pick me up' mid morning/afternoon cuppa. As you can imagine this was not your everyday sort of chocolate and this was immediately established as soon as I tasted the first piece. In comparison to the usual Hotel Chocolat chocolates the texture was drier and had a slightly grittier feel in the mouth. This may sound bad but to be honest this was very much in line with expectations and totally what you would expect from a gianduja product. In terms of taste each and every piece literally exploded with flavours as soon they entered the mouth with strong influences of cocoa and hazelnut prominent throughout the duration of the soft, quick melt. Despite the cocoa coming through aggressively the taste was very finely balanced and never verged on any sort of bitterness and had a smooth flowing taste. If I was to have a criticism it would have to be in the direction of the chopped pistachios and hazelnuts that were present throughout. With the chocolate taste so strong the pistachios in particular had a hard time cutting through in their chopped nature and it was only very sporadically that they became evident.

Overall I would give Hotel Chocolat ten out of ten here for concept and ingredients but more of an eight out of ten for final execution. In terms of the quality of the chocolate on offer here the 72% recipe was once again outstanding with it's finely balanced cocoa rich taste wonderfully complimented by the superb hazelnut paste and chopped nut ingredients. If I was to change one thing I personally would have cut down on the chopped nuts and would rather have gone for fewer whole nut pistachio and hazelnut pieces. I not only think this would have made the 'Log' look even more exciting but I think it would have helped the pistachios in particular come through greater in the taste, as in their chopped nature they did fail to cut through the richness of the cocoa flavours. This minor criticism aside I would say that Hotel Chocolat have managed to craft yet another innovative and exciting product to add to their vast collection. This product isn't perhaps for everyone but if you enjoy your dark chocolate and nut combinations I would certainly recommend you take a look at grabbing one of these this Christmas.

8.6 out of 10

December 14th: Hotel Chocolat Marzipan Ingot

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

According to Hotel Chocolat 'Christmas simply wouldn't be complete without the gorgeously traditional pleasure - authentic marzipan'. Up until last year I would have begged to differ as I simply loathed it as a child and would have almost certainly put it amongst my selection of despised foodstuffs had I been asked to make a list. This was of course until I tried Niederegger marzipan from Germany, at which time I realised that when made correctly marzipan can be really rather good. Since then having sampled many a marzipan product I have tried a few other good brands (Zentis etc) as well as some not so good. The question at hand today was whether Hotel Chocolat could take their prestige in chocolate production and keep in the same quality in a marzipan based product.

This Marzipan Ingot came packaged the same as one of the Hotel Chocolat's mini-slabs in a single piece 100.0g serving size. As you will be able to see from the photo above the outer box was decorated the same as the other festive slabs I have been reviewing for the last few weeks and incorporated the same Christmas decor with the dark red and gold colours complimenting the white glossy background superbly. Inside the the slab of marzipan was thick and heavy in hand but perhaps lacked the sparkle or ooze the same level of appeal that many other Hotel Chocolat do with its no frills looks. When cut in to the marzipan looked an appetising golden colour on the eye and released an enticing set of sweet almond scents that only made my anticipation greater.

One of the minor failings of the Niederegger range is that the quality of the chocolate that coats the marzipan is often poor and not always portioned as generously as one might hope. This being a Hotel Chocolat product this wasn't going to be any issue whatsoever as the thick slab of marzipan was coated in a thick shell of Hotel Chocolat's 40% house milk chocolate. Just as always the milk chocolate was of a great quality and I especially enjoyed the fresh crisp feeling of it against the softer yielding marzipan below. Where as I knew the cream based cocoa flavours of the chocolate were going to be outstanding what I was not to sure of was what sort of quality the marzipan was going to be. In all I wouldn't say it was quite the quality of Niederegger but it was definitely pretty close with the same amount of moistness in texture and same degree of almond flavours coming through the sugary taste. If it lacked one thing it was that it didn't have the same impetuous on it's doughy flavours which would have just taken the edge off the sweetness a touch which is something the Niederegger brand does expertly. Although it wasn't a product that was best eaten in large quantities it took only two days for my father and I to consume with us both frequently breaking off small pieces to nibble away on.

Overall it is again applause all round for Hotel Chocolat today as they have managed to craft yet another product of great quality despite the key constituent not falling directly within their remit. Before I tried this Marzipan Ingot slab I was pretty comfortable with the quality of the 40% milk chocolate however with it only compromising 25% of the total bar this was always going to be a product defined by the quality of the marzipan that lay below. As I have concluded above the marzipan didn't hit the heights of the Niederegger brand but for a manufacture whos core competency is chocolate it was an exceptional standard. The marzipan avoided the dry, gritty texture that is so often a pitfall for many other alternatives and offered up a strong almondy taste that was delicious and at the same time satisfying. If you are UK based and don't have the Niederegger products at hand this Marzipan Ingot is a wonderful option for you this Christmas. I hope this isn't the last time that Hotel Chocolat experiment with marzipan in their range.

8.6 out of 10

December 13th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 27

### END OF YEAR SHOW ###

Hi All,

I want to take the opportunity today to take you all through the plan running through to the end of the year! A few weeks ago I asked if there was any interest running an end of year ChocolateMission awards! Given the feedback I have indeed decided to run the awards over the following days and categories ...

December 19th - Best selection box product of 2009

December 20th - Biggest surprise of 2009

December 21st - Worst product of 2009

December 22nd - Readers Choice 2009

December 23rd - Best New Product of 2009

December 24th - Best overall product of 2009

The award on December 22nd is where you guys come in! If you send me your top 3 favourite products that I have reviewed in 2009 I will immediately enter you in to a competition for a Hotel Chocolat Cookies & Caramel Wreath - the winner will also be announced on the post that day.

Please send your votes to Jim{@}chocolatemission.net (take out the funny looking brackets!) with your postal address.

Please remember that all products in this years awards have to have been reviewed in 2009.

Thanks

JIM

### FAO of potential advertising partners ###

This week I received an e-mail from the company that runs my affiliate banners that they had received a complaint from a certain chocolate manufacture that I wasn't being complimentary enough about their products. Basically this e-mailed asked that I change the slant of my reviews to reflect this company more favourably ... thus driving traffic through to their own site.

Just for everyone's clarity THIS IS SOMETHING I WILL NOT DO. Products on this website get the reviews they deserve ... if you want a good review - make a decent product SIMPLE!!

### Post from other Blogs I enjoyed this week ###

Just before I launch into the other blogs if anyone picked up any news from the ChocolateMarket please share!!

* Impulsive Buy - Marvo posted his tenth video review podcast by taking a look at the new Ben & Jerrie's flavours, as well as some Special K products! Hilarious as usual ... SEE HERE

* ChocaBlog - Dom posted a nice review of the Cadbury Clusters ... which he liked more than the Cadbury Peanuts ...same here chap!! ... SEE HERE

* GiGiReviews - Gi had written an almost perfect review on the Cadbury Yule Logs until she inserted a picture of that muppet David Tennant! Tut tut ;) ... SEE HERE

* JapaneseSnackReviews - These guys managed to track down an EXCLUSIVE, Limited Edition Kit Kat from Okashi no Machioka ... nope I have no idea what that is either! Still though the mini dark chocolate Kit Kats look cool though ... SEE HERE

* Foodstufffinds - Cin thought a little more of the Thornton's Creme Brulee bar than I did ... SEE HERE

December 12th: Milka Tender Milk / Tiramisu

Before I crack on with this review I must first say a big thank you to ChocolateMission reader Susie who was recently kind enough to send me a whole load of goodies all the way from Germany ... she really is further evidence that ChocolateMission readers are the best readers in the world :)

First up from my box of treats from Susie I decided to re-open my investigation into finding the best chocolate cake bar and tried two variants from Milka's Tender range. The Milka Tender range is very similar in proposition to the Cadbury Mini Rolls that we have here in the UK (Review HERE) with core constituents being sponge cake with a creme filling, covered in milk chocolate. Of course like most chocolate products in Germany this is a range that is available in several different flavours - two of which I tried today.

Before I get into how either tasted it is of course worth passing comment on the finer details of each. Both flavours I tried today came in 37.0g packs that I consumed in single sittings. Aesthetically I thought they both looked aweomse and the foil wrappers maintaintined the inner mini rolls in immacualte condition despite the extensive travel. Out of the two I wouldn't say one looked better than the other, though the coffee hinted smells of the Tiramisu smelt the more appetising.

Milka Tender Milk:


Kcal 157 Fat 7.3g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 21.0g

One thing I can say about both of these products was that the chocolate was tasty but woefully portioned. If you look at my expert photography above *ahem* you will see that the chocolate was very thinly spread across the cake which you wont be surprised to hear wasn't advantageous in any manner. Like most Milka milk chocolate products the sweet, creamy Alpine Milk flavours were soon established though the vanilla hinted cake soon took over the majority of the taste.

My main source of criticism of the Cadbury Mini Roll is that the creme filling is pretty poor but this is not an accusation that can be leveraged at the Milka Tender Milk. Conversely the filling was more milk based in its flavours than it was sugar. This meant it provided a refreshing dairy based taste whilst also providing the quite dry cake with a pleasant bit of moisture.

7.5 out of 10



Milka Tender a la Tiramisu:

Kcal 157 Fat 7.4g Fat(sats) 4.1g Carbs 21.0g

Being the coffee nut I am this was of course the one I was really looking forward to and it thankfully didn't disappoint. Again if you quickly take a glance at my snaps above you will see that this bar also was criminally portioned in the chocolate department ... come on Milka we know you can do better than that!

Out of both variants I was surprised to find that the Tiramisu creme filling was actually a little more plentiful than the milk creme which was all good considering how tasty it was. Just like the variant above the outer chocolate and cake elements were of a good standard though it was again all about the filling. Just as the smell suggested the filling was creamy but had a strong hint of coffee with a slightly cheesy aftertaste. Believe me this was nicer than it sounds ...think cheesecake not Stilton :) It perhaps was more of a cappuccino flavour rather than a tiramisu one but hey it tasted good and I guess that is all that counts.

8.1 out of 10

Overall these were two cake bars that I really enjoyed and had it not been for the scantily portioned chocolate I could have seen them scoring even higher than they have done. In comparison to a lot of the UK cake bars I have reviewed over the past few months these were unique in the fact the creme fillings were absolutely spot on and Tiramisu especially stuck out as a really well executed flavoured creme. Thanks to Susie I have a few more flavours to try from the Milka Tender range so expect those reviews to come very soon. For the time being though if you come across either of these I would certainly suggest they are worth a try.

December 11th: Hotel Chocolat Nutty Noel

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

It is only 2 weeks until the big day and the time for getting your Hotel Chocolat Christmas orders in is drawing near. Having taken you through two of the four limited edition slabs already I today have the pleasure of showcasing you the third variant from the Hotel Chocolat festive range. With the Orange Nice Spice and Cinnamon Crunch slabs setting the standard pretty high, this Nutty Noel slab had a lot to live up to but I was quietly confident it could do. Now I am aware it is quite traditional for families to have bowls of nuts lieing around the house at Christmas but I wasn't completely sold by the Christmas credentials of a slab formed of 'milk chocolate with almonds, pecans and hazelnuts'. I am not saying it sounded bad, but at the same time I don't think it could it had the same Christmassy appeal as say the Cinnamon Crunch.

This variant came in a 100.0g format in one single thick stubby slab. The packaging was in line with the rest of the other mini slabs from the range and looked very pleasing on the eye with the silver fonts and snowflakes patterns again communicating the Christmas theme in a stylish manner. Inside the slab was kept within a thick foil wrapper which not only maintained the flawless surface conditioning but also the wonderful smelling chocolate and nut scents fantastically. Breaking the slab into pieces was no easy task but it was nice to see that it was filled with a large variety of nut pieces that were pretty evenly dispersed.

Given that the majority of Hotel Chocolat milk chocolate products use their 40% recipe I was surprised when I tasted my first piece from this bar as it tasted just a touch stronger. Indeed looking at the packaging the ingredients list stated that the min cocoa solids in this slab was 50% which on reflection I have to say was a good decision as it made for something a little different from the normal 40% experience. With just a little touch more emphasis on the cocoa in the taste the chocolate substantiated a relatively rich set of flavours in the mouth which only got stronger as the melt developed. As I have described above the nuts were nicely dispersed and figured in almost every single bite size piece that I broke away. Although all of the nuts had relative appeal my order of preference in terms of taste would be hazelnuts first, pecans next and lastly the almonds. The nuts benefited greatly from being implemented whole as it allowed the full on woody effects of the hazelnuts, the buttery flavours of the almonds and the more savoury notes of the pecans to shine through with greater, longer lasting effect. This was a slab that I ate over the course of two days with me breaking bits off every now and again for a treat.

Overall this was one of the better whole nut chocolates I have had recently and it is definitely up there with the best of them when it comes to this particular combination. I am perhaps still a little sceptical about the Christmas theme being tagged on to this chocolate because I think Hotel Chocolat could probably have been a bit more adventurous (like with the Cinnamon Crunch!) and at the end of the day I don't think it would have surprised anyone to see this variant as part of their standard mini slab line up. Still though this doesn't stop this from being a really high quality chocolate nut offering and it was one that I savoured with every bite. What I especially liked about this chocolate was it was nice to see Hotel Chocolat vary a little from the standard 40% chocolate recipe and the nuts were also of a very high standard tasting full flavoured and fresh. This is a chocolate I would certainly recommend for you Hotel Chocolat nutters!!

8.5 out of 10

December 10th: Oreo White Chocolate Covered

Kcal 114 Fat 5.7g Fat(sats) 3.3g Carbs 14.0g (per cookie)

Ever since these rocked up in the shops way back in September the reviews requests have been flooding in (reaching double figures by October!). Long time readers will be well aware that I am pretty partial to the odd Oreo cookie with my all time favourites being the incredible Oreo Double Stuff Mint variant (See HERE). Given my fondest for most things Oreo I was pretty happy to see that Kraft had been kind enough to treat us to a limited edition White Chocolate Covered variant which you should be able to find in most supermarkets here in the UK (try Sainsburys or Mozzas!). The 'white chocolate coated chocolate flavour sandwich biscuits with a vanilla flavour filling' sounded delightful and truth be told this wasn't my first experience with them.

£2 of my hard earned money bought me a pack of 16 cookies which were separated in to foil packets containing two in each. The outer packaging I thought looked really nice and it definitely had a wow factor that caught my eye when the box was sitting on the supermarket shelf with all the other Christmas products. Inside the branded foil packets maintained each of the cookies in immaculate condition and I think you have to agree that they looked superb when cross-sectioned with the cream coloured outer chocolate appearing thick and well portioned. In regards to smell these cookies didn't really come to life until they were bitten into but at this point the usual chocolate biscuit Oreo scents were highlighted by an enhancing dairy like aroma.

As I said in my opening paragraph this wasn't actually my first experience with white chocolate covered in Oreos. As random as this sounds I remember having them many a time before when I was younger on holiday in Spain where I think they formed part of the on going Oreo range out there. Suffice to say when I was eating these I was felt an immediate sense of familiarity and I am pleased to say it was one of a good kind. Now in terms of quality white chocolate (if there is such a thing!) the standard here wasn't exactly amazing and this probably wasn't a white chocolate you would want to consume on mass or solus from anything else. As negative as this sounds it actually worked really quite well as coating for the biscuit that lay underneath with even even its slightly waxy texture being quite advantageous. With it's slow melt the outer chocolate made each bite last longer in the mouth and immediately established a milky, vanilla noted taste that complimented the chocolate biscuit and sweet oreo filling wonderfully. The progression of the taste from the sweet outer coating, to the salt hinted wheat biscuit, back to the sugary sweet filling was a thrilling ride and creamy chocolaty flavours made for a moreish yet satisfying experience. For me I felt that a packet of two cookies was a really fulfilling snack and I especially enjoyed dipping them into a mid-afternoon coffee.

Overall for the past two months these have been my biscuits of choice at work which should give you some sort of idea how much I think of them. I don't think they surpass my all time favourite Mint Double Stuff Oreo's in terms of taste but they have managed to marginally outscore them on the rating system as they offered a little more variety in terms texture and were presented the better out of the two. As alluded to above the quality of the white chocolate wasn't exactly what I would describe as outstanding but the coating complimented the Oreo biscuit below almost perfectly substantiating a roller coaster taste that swung from creamy sweet to salty chocolate biscuit which provided a fantastic variety of flavours. In comparison to the Double Stuff Mint these didn't have the same 'just one more' addictive taste but as an all round product they pip them to the post for me. I really hope these don't get taken out of distribution after Christmas as I think they deserve a place amongst the permanent UK range! I think I am going to stock up just in case!

8.6 out of 10

December 9th: Thorntons Classic Collection

Kcal 55 Fat 2.6g (per chocolate)

Now with Christmas drawing in fast I am sure a lot of you are considering gifting the odd box of chocolates to your friends and family. With that in mind I today thought I would give one of the most widely available Thorntons selection boxes a try - their 'Classic Collection'.

This product came as a box of ten chocolates which came billed as 'classic favourites including caramel, nut, fruit and fudge centres, enrobed in dark, milk and white chocolate. The selection included eight different variants with two portioned twice.

For me the presentation was a mixed bag ... and I mean that literally! Whereas the outer golden box looked pretty swanky, inside the chocolates were all jumbled together in a single plastic packet leaving them looking not so fresh in appearance and also all smelling the same as they were all affected the sweet, fruity piece in the packet. Personally I think this is a cardinal sin and I simply just can't stand it when this happens as it tends to have an impact on the initial flavours ... which it annoyingly did!

Below are my brief thoughts on each chocolate - working from left to right as usual.

Creamy Fudge - This was one of the flavours that was portioned twice with one milk chocolate covered and one dark chocolate covered. Out of the two the dark chocolate was the better as the milk chocolate and fudge combination was a little too startling in terms of sweetness. Thorntons are quite good at their fudge fillings and I again relatively enjoyed the crumbly, sugary buttery flavours of the centre. Good.

Hazelnut Nougat - Just as with every piece the outer chocolate was briefly affected by an annoying fruity tinge though it soon settled down to provide a fair coating. This sounded one of the more intriguing chocolates out of the selection but the inner hazelnut nougat was a complete let down lacking any nutty flavours of note with its boring sweet bland taste. Poor.

Chocolate Dream - Dream!??? Hmmm I don't think so. Maybe I have been spoilt by quality chocolate truffles recently but this was seriously bad. The outer chocolate of both variants was of a fair quality but the inner 'truffle' was absolute pap! It had a rancid sweetness that on the whole just tasted ridiculously cheap. One to avoid! Awful.

Strawberry Velvet - Ahhhhh the perpetrator! This chocolate was the offending piece that initially affected the taste of all the others in the selection with its artificial fruity aroma. Surprisingly it actually tasted pretty good :) and unlike the smell suggested the centre offered a tasty fruitiness that I was actually pretty impressed with. Good.

Country Caramel - This was actually more of a toffee than a caramel with its super hard texture but lets not get into that discussion. This was a piece I relatively enjoyed but wasn't particularly all that fussed with. The outer dark chocolate was fair and established a nice set of chocolaty flavours in the mouth before the hard inner centre was sucked on. The caramel was little flavourless and grainy in texture, though I did like the change up from the softer centre pieces and did get some pleasure from the mild butterscotch flavours. Standard.

Creamy Coffee - As a big fan of coffee flavoured chocolates I was looking forward to this one in particular and saved it until last. Unfortunately it wasn't the fitting finale I was hoping for as the coffee flavours were mild if not non-existent. The soft centre did have a milky, creamy taste but it just didn't deliver the promised coffee element. Poor.

Turkish Delight - I don't think I review enough Turkish Delight chocolates but this chocolate didn't exactly inspire me to seek out any more products with any great urgency. After the fake strawberry influence disappeared there was very little time to enjoy the true flavours of the milk chocolate as it was portioned very thinly around the inner jelly. The turkish delight centre was lovely in a texture with its minor chewiness but it lacked a little in the flavour department with the rose water flavours perhaps not as strong as you would find in the like of Fry's etc. Standard.

Coconut Paradise - Did I save the best to write about until last!? Well not on purpose but it is the way it has worked out! This chocolate was really pretty good and was surprisingly coconut centric in its flavours. The outer white chocolate had a double cream like taste and smoothly melted into a crunchy centre which was lined with small pieces of coconut. Had I to choose one of these chocolates to have again this would be the one. Very Good.

Overall despite the actually variety in terms of selection on offer here the actually quality wasn't all that great. As I mentioned in the opening few paragraphs what annoyed me greatly about these chocolates in particular was the fact that for the first few seconds of the taste they all initially tasted the same due to them being stored in the same packet as the fruit piece in the selection. This didn't spoil things for me totally but it was certainly an annoyance and was not a good start to the taste for every piece. Like all selection boxes you are often going to find there are a few chocolates you don't like but for me there were just to many here with the hazelnut nougat and chocolate dream pieces sticking out like sore thumbs. Although there are a few chocolates that I did enjoy in here I just can't recommend that you gift these this Christmas. If you are looking to do things on a budget (£1.99) then this might possibly be a viable option but in that case I would just go for the £1 boxs of selected Cadbury, Nestle or Mars bars you can get.

5.5 out of 10

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

December 7th: Hotel Chocolat Milk Chocolate Cookies & Caramel Festive Wreath

Kcal ...loads Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

If you have a great memory you may remember all the way back last year (Christmas 2008) that I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to review one of Hotel Chocolat's famous Chocolate Wreaths ... SEE HERE. Indeed that Fruit & Nut Wreath was absolutely fantastic and earned a coveted 9.1 rating on the ChocolateMission rating system - making it one of the highest scoring products for 2008. Given this history you can imagine that I was pretty delighted to see this Hotel Chocolat Milk Chocolate Cookies & Caramel Wreath pop through the door in my Christmas 2009 sampling package and the description of '40% milk chocolate with caramel Florentine, cookie pieces and white chocolate chunks' did very little to temper my enthusiasm.

It is good to see that at least one manufacture this year has not been sneaky by reducing the size of their chocolates and just as last year this Cookies & Caramel Wreath weighed in at a mighty 450.0g. Back up was going to be needed in order for this to be consumed and as always my family were more than happy to 'help me out' as best they could :) ... I tell you they get the best deal out of this website (all the eating none of the writing!). If you have cheated and already peaked at the scoring chart you will see that like last years Wreath a magic 10.0 has been awarded for presentation and I think their can be little argument. Simply put this Wreath look amazing - the outer cardboard box was a wonderful golden colour and decorated with smart silver snowflake patterns but even this paled in comparison to the beauty (yes I really have just used that word!) of the inner chocolate Wreath which truly was a sight to behold. It was wonderfully crafted with intricate patterns etched into the surface and with visible chunks of caramel Florentines and biscuit dispersed evenly throughout. As much as we loved admiring the Wreath's aesthetic prestige the chocolaty caramel scents were just to appealing, thus it didn't last long in its unbroken state.

In totality this Wreath lasted about a week in our household with us all helping ourselves to generous chunks after meals, coffees etc. Now having reviewed probably over 30+ products that contain Hotel Chocolat's 40% milk chocolate you are all probably pretty bored of me describing it but I think it is worth mentioning the broad appeal that it obviously has. This can be no better exemplified than by the approval it gets from the older generation of my family who adore the creamy, cocoa rich taste. Whilst we all very enjoyed the base milk chocolate and added pieces of white chocolate which further reaffirmed the cream flavours what was very noticeable was that the areas that contained the Florentine caramel were the first to go. The pieces of Florentine were frankly superb and offered a little differentiation to the smooth melting, thick chocolate with light crispy bits added to the texture and delightful flavour hits of toffee and butterscotch. Whilst the caramel element was very much enjoyed the cookie pieces weren't quite so impactful on the overall taste and though they also add nice bits of crunch texture wise they did lack a little in terms of flavour offering only mild, sugared wheat suggestions to the taste. As I have said above the Wreath lasted about a week which I felt was a decent amount of time between the 3/4 of us.

Overall Hotel Chocolat have come up trumps again with yet another Christmas offering that I would strongly suggest you take a look at if it is chocolate you are planning on gifting this Christmas. One thing that you can almost guarantee with Hotel Chocolat is that if the product is mainly compromised of their 40% house milk chocolate you are going to be on to a winner but for me this wasn't what made this Wreath so special. What I think makes this product stand out from other gifting options this Christmas is the overall look and presentation of the product which I think is altogether is really special. In terms of practicality for consuming this Wreath wont be winning any prizes but in terms of aesthetic looks it is in a class of its own. I may have preferred the dark chocolate Wreath last year in terms of taste but with this Cookies & Caramel variant I was similarly impressed by the care that had gone into crafting it. If you are after a fabulous tasting chocolate product that has a real wow factor as a present I think you need look no further than Hotel Chocolat's Wreath collection this Christmas.

8.9 out of 10

December 6th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 26

### SHORTENED EDITION ###

Hi All,

This week we have another shortened edition of '7Days ...' as there are still so many reviews to get through before the year end. Please be sure to check out the extra review posted today ... McVities Jaffa Cake Bars!!

There isn't much to report this side but I can reveal we have more showings from Hotel Chocolat's and Thornton's Christmas ranges this coming week!

News coming from the chocolate market this week is all still focused around the Cadbury takeovers bid. The latest is that Hershey seem to be putting together the money ... and Cadbury are showing all the signs of being willing to accept an offer from them ... SEE HERE.

Post from other blogs I enjoyed this week

* GiGi Reviews - This Trader Joe's Peppermint Bark White Chocolate bar really caeught my eye on Gi's site! It looks/sounds awesome! ... SEE HERE

* Yum Yucky - Josie discussed a fabulous rule that whilst your watching your sports team the more you eat, the better the chance they have of winning :) ... SEE HERE

* Candy Blog - Cybele has started her own Christmas reviews and took a look at the Hershey-ets ... SEE HERE

* Would I Buy it Again? - The guys at this site found perhaps the most disgusting/calorific fast food food ever - Hardee's Monster Biscuit ... SEE HERE

* Impulsive Buy - Speaking of fast food Marvo tried this Chinese-in-a-freezer-bag when he tried this Wanchai Ferry Sweet & Sour Frozen Chicken Meal ... SEE HERE

Have great weeks - be sure to check out the review below!!

JIM

Do your Christmas Shopping with ChocolateMission

Why not join buy your loved ones a membership to Hotel Chocolat Tasting Club

Check out the online Special Offers from Hotel Chocolat

December 6th: McVitie's Jaffa Cake Bars

Kcal 129 Fat 5.5g Fat(sats) 2.8g Carbs 18.8g (per bar)

My review of the original McVitie's Jaffa Cakes is one of the most popular pages on this site and it little surprise given their popularity amongst us Brits. Jaffa Cakes have to be one of the most iconic British snack foods and I don't know about you but any other supermarket own brand Jaffa Cake copy cats never quite match up to McVitie's original biscuits. Having extensively covered the cake bar market over the last few months one of the most requested product reviews I have received recently have been for these McVitie's Jaffa Cake Bars. One of the most commonly discussed things around Jaffa Cakes are whether they are cakes or biscuits? Described as 'dark chocolate with a light sponge and orange center' it surely can't be argued that these Jaffa Cake Bars are biscuits!

I do love my £1 promo deals at the moment and bought a pack of 5 of these on that very offer in my local OneStop shop. Aesthetically I was pleased to see the consistent use of the Jaffa Cake branding and liked the fact that each bar came within singular foil wrappers. Taking the bars out of the wrappers I was met with some familiar Jaffa Cake scents which was a mixture of cocoa and sweet orange fruit influences. As well as being relatively impressed by the presentation of the product on the whole I just wasn't completely down with the cake bar format. It had all the same layers of Jaffa Cake, it smelt like a Jaffa Cake but it just didn't seem right not in the iconic disc shape of norm which took some of the appeal away for me.

As you can see from the picture above the outer layer of 'dark chocolate' was very thinly implemented especially in comparison to other cake bars I have tried recently. One would think this was a decision made on the basis that the dark chocolate might be too strongly flavoured for the average consumer if implemented more generously, though personally I felt the semi-sweet cocoa flavours lost relevance in the greater presence of the sponge and orange filling layers. Indeed the sponge below was light and fluffy as described, however didn't ever go beyond delivering a flour led sweet taste and cloyed due to the chocolate failing to provide enough moisture when melted. Of course the most distinctive and enjoyable flavours came from the orange centre which was sweet and fruity and left a zingy orange aftertaste in the mouth. One of these at a time was probably more satisfying and that three separate Jaffa Cakes but having said that the cake bars were certainly less fun and playful to eat.

Overall whilst these Jaffa Cake Bars retained many of the pleasant things of the originals they for me just lacked a little of the Jaffa Cake magic. Although these Jaffa Cake Bars tasted pretty much the same as the original Jaffa Cakes I felt that they just couldn't match up in terms of looks or the amount of fun they were to eat. As discussed at great length on the review last year there are hundreds of way to pick a part and dissect a Jaffa Cake but these Cake Bars can't quit boast the same level of playfulness. I guess in a way the original cakes (yes they are cakes as well...don't get me started!) aren't the easiest product to consume and carry 'on-the-go' so I can possibly see that having the option of one of these Jaffa Cake Bars at hand would be advantageous in that instance. In the context of the cake bar market though these simply can't match up to some of the other options out there from the likes of Thorntons. Certainly a product for the Jaffa Cake nutters but not a must try by any means.

7.2 out of 10

December 5th: Hershey's Bubble Yum Chocolate Flavour

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

I have only ever done one gum review before here on ChocolateMission but a few months ago I received a request from a reader for me to try this chocolate flavoured Herhshey's Bubble Yum. As soon as I received the request I did look into getting hold of a pack but unfortunately my Internet search came up pretty dry with very few results. Luckily my pals at CandyPirate were on hand to solve my woes and they kindly sent me a few packs to chew my way through. At the time of sending these through Jon from CandyPirate did inform me that this product has now been discontinued by Hershey's ... your just going to have to trust me if you haven't tried these before.

Despite being a chewing gum addict I hadn't had bubble gum since my younger years so trying this Hershey's gum was a real blast from the past. Surprisingly a single pack (photo above) only contained five different pieces which I managed to get through in a single day. In regards to packaging I thought the product looked pretty cool. Looking at some of the rest of the Bubble Yum range the consistent colour seems to be fluorescent pink situated behind the branding, and I thought this was nicely combined with the brown shades and Hershey's branding to communicate the chocolate flavouring. Smell wise the gum not surprisingly didn't have much of an aroma, however there was a noticeable sweet smell that reminded me of Hershey's Twizzlers.

The likeness to the Hershey's Twizzlers didn't just stop at the smell as the taste was also very similar. Placing the gum in my mouth I was at first surprised at the familiarity of the flavours at hand with some sweet, dried milk, milk cocoa influences deeply reminiscent of Hershey's milk chocolate. Up until this point I was reasonably impressed but unfortunately these flavours were soon all but lost with just only a few minutes in the mouth. As the gum warmed and was chewed the chocolaty flavours were soon all lost, leaving only a very sweet artificial and musky taste in the mouth. With the flavours lasting such a brief amount of time I only ever chewed a single piece for no longer than 15 minutes.

Overall to sum this gum up nicely I wouldn't say it was unpleasant but at the same time I wouldn't describe it as a pleasurable experience and this was solely down to the longevity of the flavours. When choosing a gum I want it to do three basic things 1) Taste good 2) Give me fresh breathe (or at least leave my mouth feeling fresh) & 3) Have flavours that are sustained over a decent amount of time. This gum did 1) & 2) to at least some extent, however with the gum flavours lasting such a brief amount of time it in some ways made benefits 1) & 2) redundant. At the end of the day this definitely wouldn't be a product that I would replace my usual mint chewing gum with which I guess is pretty lucky considering it is no longer available. If you would like to read a few more exotic gum reviews I suggest you head over to GiGi's site as she recently did a full weeks worth of gum reviews (HERE).

5.3 out of 10

December 4th: Thorntons Toffee Cakes

Kcal 177 Fat 9.9g Fat(sats) 5.2g Carbs 20.2g (per cake)

This review comes as a result of a long term request from ChocolateMission reader Phil who way back in September told me to get hold of some of these Thorntons Toffee Cakes. To be honest I needed very little encouragement as my previous experience with Thorntons' Chocolate Cakes was so overwhelmingly positive that they held the title of ChocolateMission's favourite cake bar ... that was until today! Described as 'layers of toffee sponge, toffee sauce, toffee buttercream covered in milk and white chocolate' these cakes sounded wonderfully indulgent - of course they had the nutritional content to match at nearly 180 calories a bar!

Despite the packaging displaying no catch weight the multi pack I bought consisted of 5 very large sized cakes and cost me just over the £1 in my local Waitrose. As with most Thornton's cake products the packaging looked pretty good and I liked the accurate display of the cakes illustrated on pack which gave a great indication of the inner product. Just as with the Chocolate Cakes these Toffee ones were wrapped in individual plastic wrappers which included transparent window so the inner contents were visible. Inside the cakes smelt fantastic and a sweet caramel like set of scents emerged as soon as I broke open the plastic packet seal. When I cut into the cake I was pleased to feel that the bar a nice resistance with the cake feeling quite dense as I pushed the blade through each of the layers.

From the very first bite it was little wonder why Phil had been recommending these cakes for so long as they were simply delicious. Unlike most chocolate cake bars the outer chocolate was thickly implemented and I particularly enjoyed the entertainment of playfully picking away at the coating and enjoying the cream based chocolaty flavours away from the other toffee dominated ingredients. Once I had finished massacring the outer chocolate I next moved onto devouring the rest of the cake, toffee sauce and buttercream layers. If you had had Lyle & Son's golden syrup sponge cakes before you will instantly understand how the cake tasted as it was very similar with it's seriously sweet, syrup led taste. Although the toffee sauce layer pretty much blended in with the other toffee and caramel flavours of the sponge and the buttercream its presence certainly wasn't without benefit and it wonderfully moistened the cake whilst providing a barrier between the cake and buttercream elements. Whilst the cake and outer chocolate layers were great, the toffee buttercream was utterly divine. It was insanely creamy with a caramel noted taste that was both moreish yet incredibly rich - one bar left me feeling more than satisfied having consumed it.

Overall I have had to rate these Toffee Cakes ever so slightly ahead of the Thorntons Chocolate Cakes as I think given the option to have either one of them again I would probably choose these Toffee ones. I am sure you will have noticed I have tried many a cake bar over the last few months from good to bad but these really stood out as something special and I enjoyed them from beginning to end. Every part of these cakes were fantastic - from the great standard outer chocolate to the utterly class toffee buttercream and cake layers. Could they be improved in any manner!? Nothing strikes me as particularly in need of changing but it would have been great to have seen what they would have been like with a slightly stronger chocolate recipe coating the particularly sweet tasting inner constituents. If your a fan of tea and cake ... (come on who isn't!?) I would seriously advise you to give them a try in the near future. If toffee is your thing I think you will really enjoy these.

8.6 out of 10