May 9th: Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss Truffle Bars

Whose been keeping an eye on the ChocolateMission NEWS PAGE then??? Well if you were last week than you would have seen the announcement of the these three new Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss Truffle Bars in the press. Following on from last years initial Bliss offering (Vanilla Truffle - See HERE), these new Bliss Truffle 110.0g bars are supposed to provide "a little pampering at home after a stressful day", with the new larger format designed for in-home consumption rather than "the smaller bars which are more suitable for on the go".

Just like the Cadbury Dairy Milk Bar of Plenty range release last year, this new line of bars features three different flavours straight from launch - Chocolate Truffle, Toffee Truffle & Hazelnut Truffle. All three came packaged in very cool looking cardboard boxes that contained 16 large sized blocks which could be consumed comfortably in two bites. My overall perceptions of the presentation were very positive, and the new cardboard sleeve design and product concept for that matter reminded me of the Milka Amavel range - some Kraft influence coming through perhaps?

Here are my brief thoughts on each of the three flavours:

Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss Chocolate Truffle
Kcal 125 Fat 8.2g Fat(sats) 4.6g Carbs 10.7g (per 2 chunks)

This was obviously the least interesting one to me out of all three what with it being just a dual textured Dairy Milk offering. As was the case across all the bars, the outer portion of the chocolate broke with a nice crispness and was just about the right thickness to provide a the familiar, thick sweet cream based Dairy Milk experience before revelation of the truffle layer below. As expected, with this particular variant the taste showed little to no progression with the exposure of the middle truffle, though that said the pace of the melt quickened with the softer textural feel. This bar reminded me a lot of the Galaxy Truffle bar I reviewed earlier this year in that it was a nice enough chocolate but not one that necessarilly needed making.

7.7 out of 10

Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss Hazelnut Truffle
Kcal 125 Fat 8.3g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 10.5g (per 2 chunks)

Given the amount of praline chocolates I try nowadays from the likes of Hotel Chocolat I was a little concious that Cadbury might struggle to create a decent impression on me with their own attempt at a hazelnut truffle bar. In the ingredients list I was pleasantly surprised to read hazelnut paste, rather than hazelnut pieces - it sure would have been a dumb idea to upset the delightfully smooth mouth feel melt created by these truffle offerings. Speaking of the bar's textures, the feel of the middle filling was nicely differentiated, with it having more of a slower paced, drier feel compared to both the Toffee & Chocolate. For the record, this was no issue for me whatsoever - it just meant that the surprisingly strong hazelnut flavours gripped more in the mouth, and created a longer sustained savoury nut impression. This made for a very satisfying chocolate that was better than I was expecting.

8.4 out of 10

Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss Toffee Truffle
Kcal 125 Fat 7.8g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 11.4g (per 2 chunks)

This flavour chaught my attention from the outset for two reasons. Firstly the choice of colour for the packaging made it look exactly like the old Cadbury Dairy Milk Apricot Crumble that they got rid only just over a year ago - perhaps a little confusing for less well informed folk maybe!? Secondly the bar smelt exceedingly sweet when I released it from it's foil confines - a strong set of burnt sugar notes had me a little worried this was going to be a sugary abyss given how sweet Dairy Milk is already these days. Well I shouldn't have been so concerned - this bar tasted wonderful, and the toffee truffle centre exceeded expectations. Unlike the aromas it generated the smells suggested, the truffle was more notable for it's buttery caramel flavours rather than merely just progression the sugar authoritiveness. The Toffee flavours created weren't long lasting, but they were incredibly moreish and the delightful butterscotch taste left me coming back for more time and time again.

8.1 out of 10

Overall if you have read the reviews it isn't exactly rocket science to work out which of these three I suggest you get acqauinted with. Cutting the long story short, the Chocolate Truffle was what it was - a plainer offering for those who either don't like nuts or caramel. Although that bar was a little unexciting the other two offerings were anything but. The Toffee Truffle exceeded expectations with it's smooth, moreish caramel truffle tones, and the Hazelnut Truffle was just as good (if not better!) with it's surprisingly accomplished rounded hazelnut taste. The sensible RRP price of £1.39 I think make these a rather decent offering for those looking for a more luxurious Cadbury offering. It's nice to see one of our chocolate producers focusing on heightening their quality for once rather than the more obvoius 'cheaper alternatives' route given the economic situation. Give them a try and let me know what you think.