December 23rd: CHOCOLATEMISSION AWARDS 2009 - PART 5

READERS CHOICE AWARD 2009

First things first lets get the all important prize out the way. Votes have been cast, counted and verified and I can announce the winner of the Hotel Chocolat Cookies & Caramel Christmas Wreath is ... Rebecca Mortimer. Congratulations Rebecca I will get the Wreath sent on to you on the 27th - I hope you enjoy it!

Hard luck to those of you who didn't win but hey at least your votes mean something! Here are the top three reviews you all voted for this year.

*drumroll* and in 3rd position we have ...

Cadbury Wispa Gold:

The Cadbury Wispa Gold came back to UK shelves in September and was warmly greeted upon its return. This was one of the most talked about reviews of the year and there hasn't been a single comment upon the lines of 'I was disappointed' with what I tasted. Seemingly this provided many people with some fantastic nostalgic feelings. Garnering over 15 votes this just pipped the Cadbury Caramel Nibbles to third place. See the Review ... HERE

*drumroll* and in 2nd position we have ...

..

Paul.A.Young's Salted Caramel Chocolates:

This came as a bit as surprise to me as I thought these would be a little too niche for the average voter - obviously not as this review picked up the second highest amount of votes (maybe the Paul Young PR office had something to say in this haha!). This was a product I reviewed back in July and awarded an 8.5 out of 10 rating. Personally I would make the chocolate shells a little thicker but I can't deny that the inner caramel fillings aren't sublime. If you know of a friend or loved one that likes caramels I would suggest giving these as a gift in 2010 ... See the Review ... HERE.

*drumroll* and in 1st place ... picking up READERS CHOICE OF THE YEAR 2009 ...

we have ...

as voted by you :) ..

.

Hotel Chocolat The Sleekster White & Light Selection

As much as a surprise as Paul.A.Young's was I was really overwhelmed by the amount of votes that this Hotel Chocolat White & Light piled up over the week that the competition was open. It wasn't always peoples first choice but it featured heavily in the make up of many peoples top three reviews and amassed a winning 22 votes. Personally I preferred the dark chocolate sleekster box but if white chocolate is more your thing then pieces like the Eton Mess, Gianduja, Nut Crest and Fudge Praline are sure to satisfy. A well worthy winner in my opinion! Thanks for all the votes. See the Review ... HERE.

Coming Tomorrow: Best Misc Product of 2009 (NEW!!)

December 22nd: CHOCOLATEMISSION AWARDS 2009 - PART 4

BEST NEW PRODUCT OF 2009

These awards are for the top 3 bits of NPD (new product development) we have seen in 2009. As with the rest of these awards I am not handing these placings out based on their final overall score but more the total consensus that I think the public has come to about them. This includes how widely available they are, price and discounts limited editions.

*drumroll* ... and in 3rd place ... we have

Thorntons Milk Chocolate with Tonka Bean:

Making it's 2nd appearance in the awards this year we have the Thorntons Milk Chocolate with Tonka Bean bar. This was one of the tastiest milk chocolates that I had all year is one that I have bought for many a friend as a gift. Introduced midway through the year as part of Thorntons square bar range this stood out as a really flavoursome offering with its extra creamy tastes noted with hints of vanilla and honey. Well worth a try ... See the Review .. HERE.

*drumroll* ... and in 2nd place ... we have

..

Ritter Sport Karamell Nuss:

Ritter Sport are known for their copious amount of flavours but this was one I really loved. Formed of milk chocolate with a caramel creme centre with hazelnut and rice crispie pieces this was outstanding in every sense. As with every Ritter bar the centre took centre stage and it utterly delicious with its buttery, nutty taste. This maybe not be readily available for all us Brits but those of you living in main land Europe should really have tried this by now... See the Review ... HERE.

*drumroll* and in 1st place ... for BEST NEW PRODUCT OF 2009 ...

We have ...

..

.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel Nibbles:

Taking the title of best new product of 2009 we have the insanely moreish Cadbury Dairy Milk Cadbury Nibbles. In terms of concept these were not ground breaking but were in fact ridiculously simple. These Caramel Nibbles if you haven't come across them simply include the minor addition of a dose of Cadbury Caramel to the usual Dairy Milk Buttons. This may simple but the result is marvellous and they have to be one of the most moreish products I have ever eaten. At the time I rated them slightly lower than the comparable Galaxy Caramel Pieces, though the latter seem to only be a seasonal addition to the Galaxy range. In comparison everyone I know seems to have tried these Caramel Nibbles at some point, with pretty much everyone having nothing but great things to say about them. For that reason this product wins the award for BEST NEW PRODUCT OF 2009 ... See the Review ... HERE.

Coming Tomorrow: Readers Choice Award 2009

December 21st: CHOCOLATEMISSION AWARDS 2009 - PART 3

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT / WORST PRODUCTS OF 2009

What do you all this is worse? A product that you think is going to be great but turns out to be rubbish or a product that is simply just pants? To be honest I think they are as bad as each other, hence my reasoning for combining both awards. Personally I don't think the following are worthy of much more of attention so lets make this a quick one ...

*drumroll* ... and in 3rd place we have ...

Kit Kat Chunky Caramel (UK)

After reviewing the Australian version of this bar to great success (9.2 out of 10 - See HERE) you can imagine I was damn excited to see when it was announced here in the UK trade that this bar would be coming to our market. Without doubt this was disappointment of the year - was it inedible? Don't be silly ... nowhere near! Was it Caramel? ... NO - it has a dodgy layer of sugary paste! Was it half as good as the Aussie version? ... Not even close :( Boo!! This isn't even mentioning the fact that it pushed the Peanut Butter variant out of the range! Dismal scenes! See the review ... HERE

*drumroll* and in 2nd place we have .....

Hannah's White Mice:
'Awesome I remember having these in my pick-a-mix as a little nipper' ... was my first line of thought when I saw these. I wish I had just left it like that as these did not bring the nostalgic memories like I hoped. Some may love them for their comforting taste of their childhood but if you look beyond that you will see them for what they are ... sugary lumps of disgusting vegetable fat! Never again! See the review ... HERE

and the winner ...

Taking 1st place ....

...

..

.

Otsuka Calorie Mate Chocolate Block:

Of course it has to be Otsuka's Calorie Mate Chocolate Block - which beyond a shadow of a doubt was THE WORST product I reviewed in 2009. Sitting in the most uninspiring packaging ever, this dried lumps of disgusting tasting biscuits were frankly horrible in every sense. Devoid of flavour, charm and a point of actually existing, I for one will never be eating one of these again. According to the packaging the concept of the product is for people 'who need an easy source of energy and nutrition' ... seriously if you have no time to even eat I think you need to have a check on your work-life balance. Avoid like the plague!!! See the review ... HERE

COMING TOMORROW: Best New Product of 2009

*Remember to send me your votes in for Readers Choice Award!!

December 20th: CHOCOLATEMISSION AWARDS 2009 - Part 2

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF 2009

This weeks second round of awards are for the products that I thought were the best at surpassing all expectations.

*Drumroll* ...... and in 3rd place we have ....

Thorntons Milk Chocolate with Tonka Bean:

Thorntons managed to serve up a varying range of products in terms of quality this year but one of the surprisingly good ones was this Tonka Bean flavoured milk chocolates. I found that this chocolate was well worthy of it's silver award from the Academy of Chocolate and I loved the creamy smooth taste that was noted with hints of honey and vanilla. See the review ... HERE

*Drumroll* ...... and in 2nd place we have ....

Milka Loffel Ei Egg

This was a product I reviewed as part of the 2009 Easter offering from Dean-German-Grocery and it really surpassed all expectations. This product offered something completely different to the usual Cadbury Creme Egg, etc and combined an outer shell of Milka milk chocolate with a thick milk creme centre. At first I thought it looked a little gimmicky but that before I had both the fun and delicious experience of eating one. I really hope they are around next Easter! See the review ... HERE.

*Drumroll* ...... and in 1st place we have ....

....

..

.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster:

This without doubt was the surprise of the year for me and it was sent to me by my friends at Candy Pirate last May. As far as I was aware Cinnabon were most known for their Cinnamon roll pastries in America, and it was unbeknown to me that they made such a delicious confectionery product. Coated in white chocolate this product had everything from a warming cinnamon spice caramel, pecan nuts and small toffee piece ... it was quite frankly delicious! Unfortunately CandyPirate haven't had stock in for quite sometime but I hope in the not too distant future I can get hold of one these again! Congratulations Cinnabon! See the review ... HERE

Coming Tomorrow: Worst Product of the Year 2009

December 19th: CHOCOLATEMISSION AWARDS 2009 - Part 1

SELECTION BOX OF THE YEAR 2009

The awards ceremony starts today and kicking off the first annual CHOCOLATEMISSION Awards 2009 I today bring you the winners for Selection Box of the Year 2009.

*Drumroll* ...... and in 3rd place we have ....

Hotel Chocolat The Sleekster Season of Love Selection:

This was a Valentines Day selection box sent to me last February and included 15 wonderfully crafted pieces. With caramels, truffles, pralines and boozie fillings aplenty this was really a memorable selection that remains long in the memory! With the wonderful of presentation this scored a stonking 9.3 out of 10 ... See the review HERE!

*Drumroll* ...... and in 2nd place we have ....

Chocolateque Assorted Selection

I was approached by a couple of young budding Belgian entrepreneurs in September who were looking to make their mark of the Chocolate market with their freshly made, hand crafted Belgian chocolates. Indeed, Thomas from Chocolateque was kind to send me a long a selection of head chocolatier Federic Bloondeel's finest ganaches and truffles ... and boy were they good. Be sure to check out the review ... See HERE.

*Drumroll* ...... and in 1st place we have ....

....

..

.

Hotel Chocolat The Sleekster Serious Dark Fix Selection

Winning the first ChocolateMission award of 2009 is this Hotel Chocolat Serious Dark Fix Selection. This selection box contained 16 different pieces varying from mini slabs, truffles, soft nut fillings, whole fillings ... everything .. it had the lot and with rich coating of dark chocolate. Scoring 9.3 out of 10 on the rating system like the Season of Love selection this holds pride of place of the overall leader board! Congrats Hotel Chocolat ... See HERE

COMING TOMORROW ... Biggest Surprise of 2009!!

December 18th: Marks & Spencer Cookies & Cream

Kcal 205 Fat 15.0g Fat(sats) 8.4g Carbs 16.3g

Having recently moved to an area that doesn't have a Marks & Spencer (shock horror!) it has been a while since I last reviewed a product from their range. In terms of quality M&S can vary from the superb to the pretty abysmal - rather like the people who I think make their chocolates Thorntons. On a shopping trip in London last week I had a chance to pop in to the M&S in Convent Garden and this bar immediately caught my eye was queuing up to pay for some other items. This Cookies & Cream bar is one of the latest additions to the M&S portfolio and constitutes of 'dark & white chocolate with a vanilla mousse and cookie pieces centre'. The description sounded tempting enough but could the product match up?

Just like a few of the other bars from this range the bar came in a 33.0g serving that didn't look all that big aesthetically. Looking at the packaging and the actual bar itself, what it didn't have in size it certainly made up for in looks itself and I was impressed by the overall presentation of both. Covered in a matted foil wrapper the product had a contemporary look and it kept the inner bar looking fresh and certainly looking the part when cross-sectioned. In almost complete contrast the bar didn't offer much in the way of an aroma and failed to register anything of note on my smelling senses aside from a sweet dairy smell.

Putting the lacking aromas aside I was still expecting great things from what looked like a bar that offered a unique proposition but I was to be greatly disappointed by what was on offer. Out of all the different layers the most flavoursome was the outer white chocolate which offered up a sweet dried milk like taste that had just a hint of vanilla. One of the most disappointing things of this bar was the outer coating of dark chocolate which brought absolutely nothing of note to the taste at all. Having tasted many mass consumer friendly 'dark' chocolates before I was well prepared for an unsweetened milk chocolate type taste however what I was confronted with was an even milder flavoured chocolate that brought nothing to party whatsoever. With the outer dark chocolate light in terms of flavour what I was not expecting was the filling to offer even less. The vanilla mousse was practically flavourless and the small crunchy pieces of 'cookie' were similarly lacklustre adding nothing aside from the odd gritty bump in the weightless centre. Looking at the nutritional information I can't believe that nearly half this bar was actually fat - the levels of saturated fat (8.4g - nearly 50% of your GDA) for a bar so small is unbelievable.

Overall this has to be one of the greatest ever letdowns in ChocolateMission history. For a bar that sounded so awesome in proposition, what was actually reality couldn't have been more disappointing. To get the record straight there was nothing about this bar that actually tasted bad - hence the 5 score for taste! What was the main problem was that so many of the different layers offered little or nothing to the overall taste - the main perpetrator being the outer coating of dark chocolate which I would have thought would of had a great say in things. It is a telling statement to make when I say that the strongest tasting layer out of the lot was the white chocolate which wasn't even portioned that greatly in comparison to some of the others. In all the dark chocolate, inner mousse and cookie pieces just didn't contribute and made for a bar that lacked in it's satisfaction credentials. This wasn't just any letdown ... this was an M&S letdown!

5.4 out of 10

December 17th: Hotel Chocolat Munchkins Snowballs / Winter Berry

Bringing the Hotel Chocolat Christmas 2009 reviews to a conclusion this year I today bring you my views on not one but two potential stocking fillers for you. If you remember back to October one of my one and only Halloween reviews was on the Hotel Chocolat Munchkins which I hailed as 'not one of the best Hotel Chocolat products ever, but a step in the right direction in terms of producing new smaller products for their portfolio'.

Well obviously the Halloween Munchkins went down quite well with the general public, and with that we have been treated to two new variants this Christmas in the form of these Snowballs and Winter Berry flavours.

Below are my thoughts on each ...

Hotel Chocolat Munchkins Snowballs

These Snowball Munchkins were described as white chocolate with crumbly cookie centres and I personally thought they looked the more festive out of the two on offer today. Contained within the plastic packet they really did look like mini snowballs, especially with the dusting off icing sugar which gave a fun snowy surface affect.

In line with expectations the standard of the white chocolate was about as good as you are going to get, with the deep full flavoured cream undertones nicely complimented by the hint of vanilla that was present in the aftertaste. In addition to providing something to the product visually the dusting of icing sugar also gave each and every piece a nice cooling sensation when initially placed on the tongue so it wasn't only there for aesthetic appeal. Out of the two this variant was where the inner cookie had a stronger say in the taste and it provided additional notes of shortbread brown sugar whenever crunched into. The 115.0g bag lasted only a matter of minutes between a small of group of us.

7.5 out of 10

Hotel Chocolat Munchkins Winter Berry

As with the Halloween Munchkins these were pretty much the Munchkins Snowballs but with an added fruity twist. Indeed coming in the same size packet and adding just a touch more intrigue with their dazzling plum colouring and red berry smell these looked perhaps not quite as festive but equally inviting as they above Snowballs.

In regards to taste the outer chocolate held many of the characteristics of the above but obviously with a heavy dash of red berry fruits. Considering I am not the greatest fan of the likes of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries etc the sound of an added fruity element to the mix wasn't really to my preference but in actual fact I found these to be pretty much nearly as good as the Snowballs. Although I would say The red berry element was added nicely into the chocolate and tasted 'real' (i.e. not artificial!) I did feel it detracted focus from the flavours of the inner biscuit and at times I was left wanting the sweetness of the vanilla aftertaste rather than the tarter offering which was brought to the party here. Again just like the Snowballs it was more of a matter of these lasting minutes rather than hours and they were gorged before we knew it.

7.5 out of 10

Overall I have indeed copped out of scoring one better than the other as although my preference would lie with the Snowballs the other two people I ate these with said that the Winter Berry were the better out of the two! So what can you take from this!? ... well lets just say there were pretty much as good as each other and it will be solely down to personal preference as to which you would prefer. Just as I said on the Munchkins review back in October these are not the greatest Hotel Chocolat product you will ever taste but if you put it in perspective these are more of a fun, sharing sort of product that I am sure would go down wonderfully well with anyone that was gifted them. I guess if you are looking to do Hotel Chocolat gifting on more of a budget these would be a fantastic product to gift - they taste good, have all the prestige of the Hotel Chocolat brand and whats more they looked pretty damn cool to! Hotel Chocolat have come up trumps this Chritmas with their range and whilst these might not be at the forefront of many wish lists they would make fantastic stocking fillers.

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