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Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???If you take a glance over to your left at the leaderboard you will be well aware that chocolate and caramel is one of my favourite combinations ever. As classical (another word for boring!) as you all may think it is, I have a real love for many different chocolate caramel products - ranging from the mass produced bars like Cadbury Caramel (See HERE), all the way up to the higher end market offerings such as L'Artisan du Chocolat's Salted Caramels (See HERE). Despite running this site for nearly 3 years now I don't think I am any sort of chocolate expert, however I would like to think I know a good quality chocolate caramel when I taste one. Facing the ChocolateMission rating system today we have these GU Liquid Caramel Chocs, and I had great hopes for them considering how much I enjoyed the GU Millionaire Caramel Flapjacks.
On pack these Caramel Chocs came described as 'liquid caramel enhanced with a hint of sea salt, encased in dark chocolate', and came in 110.0g box priced at £2.99. The outer packaging was simplistic, yet effective in it's decoration and I liked the real stand out that the white GU logo had against the usual black background. Some may think that it is a little plain, but it had all the necessary information and displayed it displayed it in a manner that gave the impression it was a premium product. Inside things weren't quite as much to my liking as the inner pieces were kept within a plastic transparent packet. The chocolates themselves were also disappointingly small in size and were only about the width of a 5p piece.
Opening the plastic packet I was met with quite a curious set of scents which at first started off cocoa led, although then took a turn with an odd spicy pepperyness. Thankfully the smell didn't really indicate the eventual taste, however I have to say that overall these were still very disappointing. As I have mentioned above the chocolates were very small, so it wasn't surprising that the outer dark chocolate was very thin. The dusting of outer powder was a nice touch but even with it the cocoa flavour hit generated did not have much longevity, which was especially disappointing given that the chocolate was smooth and pretty pleasant in it's unsweetened cocoa flavour delivery. Inside the filling was even more disappointing as it lacked many of the fundamental things that make a good caramel. The taste was sugary and floral hinted, yet it lacked any sort of buttery, toffee notes and even more annoyingly the promised lick of salt was nowhere to be seen. To be honest I willingly letting my co-workers scoff most of the box as to me they just weren't worth the calories.
Overall the scoring chart for these looks really ugly, but I am afraid they were pretty bad compared to most other chocolate caramel alternatives that there are on the market. Starting with the few positives, the presentation was pretty good, the textures were fine, and the outer chocolate actually wasn't bad and only really suffered because of how thinly it was implemented. Unfortunately the negatives vastly outweigh the positives when it comes to these GU Liquid Caramel Chocs. Starting with the most fundamental thing, the caramel, was simply abysmal. It tasted like a very cheap tasting sugary substance that lacked any of the richer notes that all good caramels have. What made the caramel probably worse in my mind was the fact that it was supposed to be salt hinted, which just simply wasn't reality at all. Having tried a few GU products in the past with great success, these have to go down as a really disappointing effort from the brand. It is not often I do this, but I would strongly suggest that you guys avoid these.
5.7 out of 10
5.7 out of 10
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28 comments:
I was surprised to see this score so lowly. They sounded like there were going to be far nicer.
Do you think that you might have been a little harsh because you are comparing them to such high quality chocolates.
They were never going to be as good as those Galler caramels were they. I like GU things their puds are great.
Rxxx
I haven't ever tried any of GU's chocolates but I a few months ago I had some of their mini lemon cheesecakes which I thought were delicious.
My brother swears their brownies are also pretty special.
Great review Jim you have saved me a few bob here. I don't think I have ever seen GU chocolates anyway - do you know where they sell them?
I think I will stick with their desserts for the minute. Some of them are really good.
3 quid and you get some piddly truffles. That is more expensive than Lindt and they have scored really crap.
I would expect a lot more from something so costly. Thanks for putting the price on them :)
'the caramel, was simply abysmal. It tasted like a very cheap tasting sugary substance that lacked any of the richer notes that all good caramels have'
I so totally know what you mean. There is nothing worse than a really cheapo caramel. It sounds like the caramel you get in Munchies, gritty and yucky tasting. I think these are best off avoided after reading this. Thanks for the review.
http://www.gupuds.com/our-puds/luvly-pots-of-gu-dness/cheeky-little-pots-au-chocolat
These we will win your Chocolate mission end of.
I'm not surprised to hear that you thought these were pants. I bought some of their melt in the middle puddings the other day and was really disappointed.
When we cooked them they came out totally solid. The annoying thing was that they were pretty expensive. I wont be buying them again.
Great picture today Jim. Lol by the sounds of it you made them look ten times more appealing than they were to eat.
Dx
Jim you seriously need to try some of the GU chocolate brownies. They are orgasmic I swear.
They aren't found in the normal cakes part of the supermarket. You need to look for them in the chilled desserts fridges. That is where they are kept in Sainsburys anyway. Best of luck finding them. They are honestly worth looking for.
I had some of those millionaire flapjacks the other day. They were every bit as awesome as you said. I literally ate the whole tub in one lol.
Katie your brother is right but Jim might also want to review the Tiffin Slices. They are also very good.
I've not come across these ones before but apart from the Millionaire Flapjacks which were delightful, I've been disappointed with every GU product I've tried.
We bought some of the chilled Brownies and weren't overly impressed.
@ Ryan - We felt exactly the same!! They have a really wierd texture don't they, it's almost impossible to cook them properly. If you can cook them atall having had to take off that silly paper wrapper first lol they have a really strange solid almost eggy texture which is foul. One side came out softer than the other too which was quite odd.
Woah I was not expecting such a low score for something that looks so yummy in the photo. I think I better avoid these.
To Colin: Lol they used to do Rocky Road chocolate cakes which were really good. They then replaced them with those Tiffin slices which I don't think are good. Thats my opinion anway.
"yet it lacked any sort of buttery, toffee notes and even more annoyingly the promised lick of salt was nowhere to be seen"
^All of which are what makes a good caramel good! I am very surprised at GU, although maybe they are just better at cake products than they are confectionary. Like other products maybe they're trying to trade on their brand name to sell something sub-par. *cough* Thorntons! *cough*
Why are Gu trying to make chocolates? They don't have the expertise to pull it off I don't think. Epic amounts of fail.
I think they just need to stick to the desserts. They are one of the best in class when it comes to them.
I never would have predicted such a low score for these. I thought you loved pretty much every caramel chocolate going Jim. I have to agree with some of the others that your photographs have well outdone everything you have written about.
Not long ago I tried some very familiar truffles from GU but they had soft chocolate liqueur centres. They look similar to these ones (minus the caramel of course). I like you was astounded at how small they were to begin with.
I would have rated them higher than what you gave these but yeh they were nothing special at all.
@Alan I am surprised you thought the brownies were duffers. If you warm them up a bit they are divine. It is a little bit weird that they need to be kept in the fridge. You should try them again sometime but nuke them in microwave for a bit.
@James we thought it odd they need to be kept in the fridge aswell, all we could think was maybe had something in that had to be kept chilled :S we tried warming them up but my sister and I thought they were better unheated in the end lol and theyre so small :( if theyre reduced sometime we'll give them another go, theyre too expensive at full price, like most GU things lol
We also tried their chilled chocolate cake with fudgey topping or whatever it is, it looked nothing like the photo and was absolutely nothing special to eat, not bad but not worth the price atall.
Phil - do you think that Thorntons make bad cakes then? I think most of them are pretty good.
If you haven't ever tried their chocolates toffee cakes you should. I think your opinion would change then.
GU chocolate cheesecake is better than sex I swear.
Forget these crap chocolates Jim and do us a review of that.
I have tried these. To be blunt, I too thought them naff. And the price is beyond the valley of taking-the-piss-ness.
Gu naughties allllll the way. If I want caramel, Cadbury will more than suffice.
Pretty pictures though!
@Nick - oh no I meant some of Thorntons boxed chocolate products. I love their cakes range! I've tried the toffee cakes and I love 'em.
PART 1
Nick
I too was surprised they weren't up to scratch. Especially considering how much I previously thought of the GU brand.
Rachel
Hmmm I see what you mean but I try and take everything at face value. I knew they weren't going to be as good as the Galler ones etc ... but these weren't even close.
Katie
Feedback on the brownies seems pretty mixed. I will have to see for myself I guess. Those lemon cheesecakes do sound nice though.
David
I have seen them in both Tesco and Waitrose. IF these are anything to go by I would possibly stay clear of them though. You really aren't missing out on much.
Richard
Language language Richard :D This is a family site remember. I do get your point about the pricing though ... they are priced very high considering the actual quality. They certainly didn't justify themselves.
Lucy
The caramel was very cheap tasting it was a real shame. I like it when you guys quote what I write :D It shows that you actually bother reading it which is nice.
Anon
You think they would score highly huh!? The feedback on them seems a little mixed from Alan etc.
Ryan
Melt in the middle chocolate puddings that are solid in the middle? That does not sound cool.
Between you and Alan you have seriosuly put me off trying them. Unless I see them on a ridiculous offer I wont be buying them I don't think.
Daisy
Thanks for the nice words about my photos. I agree they do look pretty yummy don't they. More so than they did in real life to be honest.
Lauren
Wow you say the brownies are good then? Boy I don't know what to expect from them at all now. I will keep a look out for them in Sainsburys next time I am there. I can't say I have ever seen them if I am totally honest.
Alex
The whole tub in one? Haha that is a great effort. I do agree they are fantastic aren't they.
Colin
Tiffin Slices and brownies ... I will have to get around to seeing what these are like sooner rather than later.
Alan
I am totally confused now :D I am going to have to try these brownies and tiffin things just to see what I think of them for myself.
I remember you saying that previously about those GU melt in the middle puddings now. They sound really disappointing - I imagine they aren't cheap either.
Nicholas
Yep it took me by surprise as well chao.
Katie #2
Tiffin and Rocky Road are pretty much the same thing aren't they!?
Phil
It is funny how I rate Thorntons the other way round isn't it. They are supposed to be a chocolate company but I tend to think their cakes are more consistent when it comes to quality. You are quite correct thought about GU, they should just stick to cakes and desserts by the looks of it.
Justin
I guess it just seemed like a natural extension of the brand. It didn't work out to well though did it.
Eric
I do like chocolate caramels but these were pretty poor I am afraid. Thanks for the nice words about the photographs. I took them with my old mans camera (much better than my normal one!)
Duncan
I think I have seen them before - they come in a purple trimmed box right? I'm not going to be rush out to buy them.
James
Brownies are always best when they are heated for a bit. I wouldn't suggest nuking them mind you :D Fresh out the oven sounds better to me :D
PART 2
Alan
Boy you have had some bad experiences with GU haven't you. I am not surprised you don't think much of the brand anymore.
Nick
No I don't think that was the point he was trying to get across. I think he was more talking about some of the poorer chocolate lines that Thorntons make.
Louise
Haha that did make me laugh. I don't think I can sneak a cheesecake review on here mind you ... it would be deviating too far away from the natural focus of the site :(
Lottie
Bluntess ... I like it :D GU do believe they justify a price premiuim don't they.
Had you asked me before I tried these whether they justified I probably would have said yes. In regard to their chocolates I am more thiking along the lines of NAH!!!
Thanks for the comments everyone - no idea what is coming up tomorrow :D Guess you will have to check out the site to see.
Cheers
JIM
Can I be the odd one out and say that I thought these were actually pretty decent? Haha :)
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