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Back in March we had the ChocolateMission debut of a brand called Lucky's. If you need reminding, Lucky's produce 'unique luxury cakes covered in pure chocolate', and they managed to really impress me with their Honey Time Collection gift pack. I was so taken by their cakes, you may recall that I concluded that they were 'the best product I had reviewed on ChocolateMission so far in 2011'- thats some high praise! Well given that experience you can imagine my excitement when Lucky's offered me the chance to try some of their latest additions.
The three cakes I will be showcasing today are the three new 'Mad Hatter Bar' variants. The Mad Hatter Bar range consists of Lucky's special dark brownie cake which they have flavoured with three different types of Valrhona chocolate, as well as several flavour variations that I will make clearer below. As with my last experience these cakes came beautifully presented in transparent plastic box cases which had been wrapped and hand sealed with an Alice in Wonderland themed label. I probably needn't point out the marvellous look of the cakes themselves - I hope my photos showcase that. They had obviously been crafted with real care, and the clear Lucky's moulded branding on the top of each was a clear reminder of the premium quality at hand.
Going Bananas - 'Dark brownie with banana and ginger, covered in milk Valrhona chocolate (40.0%)'. Banana cake is a real favourite of mine at the moment so I had high expectations for this one. The melt of the milk chocolate was smooth and provided a rich set of creamy chocolatey flavours for every mouthful. This great quality chocolate was only superseded by the deliciousness of the brownie that sat at the heart of this chunky block - boy was it phenomenal! The banana flavours were true and forthcoming, and a subtle undertone of ginger added a remarkable hint of warming spice to the rich cocoa flavours of the brownie. A thin layer of some sort of caramel or creme could have made this utterly outstanding, but frankly it was almost near perfection - an outstanding synergy of fruit, cake and chocolate. One for banana cake fans that's for sure!8.8 out of 10
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Looney Raspberry - 'Dark brownie with raspberry and pistachio, covered in white Valrhona chocolate (35.0%)'. Out of all three this did admittedly sound like the weakest to me though I was still quite excited by the prospect of the pistachio nuts and Valrhona white chocolate. The white chocolate did it's job of establishing a milky, vanilla hinted initial taste, however it soon became a bit of an after thought with the other stronger flavoured constituents taking a lead. When chewing the cake by far the strongest flavours came from the raspberry element, which like the banana above was as real tasting and fruity as you could ever hope for. The pistachios were notable for bringing a slight saltness and added crunch texturally, though their true flavours were understandably hampered somewhat by the stronger flavoured brownie and fruit. Again, all these different fruit, brownie and nut elements combined made for an outstanding cake.8.4 out of 10
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Salty Insanity - 'Dark brownie with salted hard caramel covered in dark Valrhona chocolate (70.0%)'. You saved the best until last right? Well so I thought, but it wasn't to be I'm afraid. The dark chocolate as I thought it would be was absolutely delicious (I really need to get around to doing some Valrhona reviews don't I!!) and the contrast of the unsweetened, earthy cocoa flavours of the exterior shell contrasted perfectly with the sweet, cakey cocoa of the brownie below. Where I feel this one let itself down to a degree was the implementation of the caramel - which for me just didn't come through in the taste to level I wanted it to. Indeed, the caramel element was nothing more than a minor suggestion of sweeter brown sugar tones. The butter, salt and cream flavours just weren't there no matter how much I searched for them. The combination of the superb chocolate and gorgeous brownie still made for a delicious product at hand, but it didn't live up to my sky high expectations.7.3 out of 10
Overall not all of these Mad Hatter Bars came off quite as well as I hoped but being frank they were all still exceedingly tasty. Banana fans will seriosuly want to look at getting involved with the 'Going Bananas', and raspberry fans will no doubt be just as pleased with the 'Looney Raspberry'. As I stated above the 'Salty Insanity' was a little bit of a sore point for me, though luckily I was able to comfort myself with the other gift set that Lucky's sent my way (review coming soon :D). These are damn expensive cakes, but some of them are worth the money and them some.
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64 comments:
First heavenly cakes and now these.
Lol you don't do badly when it comes to your cake reviews do you :P You lucky boy.
Its great you have got Lucky's on here again Jim I was going to ask you the other day if you were ever going to get more of their cakes up here. I do like the look of the raspberry and white chocolate cake, though I know already that im going to end up wanting them to have put strawberry in there and not raspberry. Raspberries are just a little too sour for me, I prefer the sugary taste of strawbs.
Did they work the flavours into the brownie or were there filling layers above the brownie bit like in their honey time cakes?
Sorry to ask such a silly question but your photos don't make it 100% clear.
Jim how big are these cakes? Big ones or small ones? One would guess they are big,small bronwies. I hope you get what I mean by that lol.
(Small brownies but big for indiviual servings)
Gosh these are some crazy cakes you got here lol. I'm not sure what to think of them to be honest with you J. From what you say from your reviews you make them sound well nice. Its just that normally with cakes I like them to be quite light and not as cumbersome and full-on as these look. I think its a case of having to try them to be able to tell what they are really like. Thanks for the post hun.
Rxxx
I'm not jealous at all .... not one little bit :( :( :(
ok ok I'm green with envy here. That banana brownie sounds so dreamy.
The standards and scores you have been giving out lately have been so high. You have been blessed with some outstanding cakes and chocolates lately, it must be a random good period for you at the moment.
Those are some very impressive scores Luckys have got themselves there. If I had free reign over which I got to try first my running order would be 1. looney raspberry 2. going bananas 3. salt insanity.
The names of these flavours are just bizzare. Are they going to stick to an Alice in Wonderland theme the whole time? It could get a tad tired after a while. I would of thought you could only run with it for a finite amount of time before refreshing it all a little.
Chocolate ... good
Bananas .... goood.
Brownie ...... goooooood!!
I think these would sit ok with me :)
I know I'm going to be made fun of here but why have you all neglected something really important here!!?
Why has no one cared to mention the price of these cakes? They are absolutely extorcinate.
£9.50 each!!!!
a) Those prices are just ridiculous
b) THOSE PRICES ARE RIDICULOUS!!!!
I can't say im surprised with that presentation score. I agree with you, I think they look so wonderfully unique.
Another oustanding review young man.
@Benji_86
I still want to try the salty insanity to see if my one is better than yours. They say they are handmade so maybe the quality can swing from batch to batch?
This has to be one of the coolest chocolate things I have ever seen http://www.luckys-online.co.uk/shop/humpty-dumpty-large.php
Pleassssssssssssssssssse review one. What an awesome gift it would make if its as tasty as it looks.
Dx
Jim how come they don't have this gift pack on the site now?
Don't tell me they have stopped making these flavours already man. You can't do that to us and just tempt us with the prospect. I need to buy some of these cakes, they look fantastic.
Those are some sexy pics of those cakes dude, loving your work there.
Lol I was suckered in to thinking you had done the best till last thing, especially when I read it was based on caramel cause I know what your like.
I was going to have a pop at you for not doing bits and bobs but I think I can make do with this review :) Lol gorgeous looking photographs again. You should start marking them up or people will nick them and claim they are their own.
Jim are luckys going to come on and answer questions again like they did last time?
If they do I want to ask them if they make their cakes to order or do they make them in large batches?
Im interested to hear how they believe they can charge as much as they do.
Yay another british make doing us proud today.
Between these guys and hotel chocolat the ratings have all been well above 7 all week. Thats good consistency from our guys.
I think a Luckys give away is in order Jim :-) Do you think they would be up for it or not?
Jim I see a few people have mentioned Heavenly Cakes to you today! Do you intend on reviewing more from them or do you not have contact with them anymore.
@Richard - you aren't alone don't worry.
I nearly spat out my tea when I saw those prices.
Are they having a giraffe? No seriously a tenner for one cake is just mental. Who the hell do they think they are?
Luckys sure seems to know what they are doing with most of these. Its a shame they didn't nail the salty caramel one though. I imagine that could have been oustanding if their brownie quality is up to what you say it is.
Was there no actual layer of caramel in that salty insanity one? If there was its no wonder it didn't come out in the taste for you. Any sort of flavour would struggle up against 70% chocolate.
Apart from that disappointing one the other two sound gorgeous. Do luckys read your site or are they only concerned about geeting your advertising? I hope they sort out that caramel one.
Hey J,
How do you think the U21s will do tonight then? Its their 2nd game vs the Ukraine if you haven't clocked it yet btw.
I don't want to give a prediction cause I was 100% right last time. Lol I should cut my losses and stop predicting right now :)
These are some awesome looking brownie/cake things you got yourself here today. Im a tad put off by the prices Richard is quoting though. They are too rich for my blood.
Cheers
N
P.s. 2-0 England :)
You've put a smile on my face with this review Jim. I can always rely on you to publish something with some lush looking photos.
Im embarassed to admit this but I often find myself spending hours just rummaging around on here looking at all the different chocolates and their cut in half pics.
Retweeted for the Ritter draw. Please enter me - @hellsbellsxox
I've read great things about Valrhona chocolate before. I even thought about requesting it once but thought better of it cause I thought you wouldn't want to review it as it isn't mainstream enough for you.
Nice reviews but im seriosuly failing to comprehend how any cakes can be worth £9 each. They would have to be served and fed to me by a naked robbie williams for me to pay that much LOL.
Be realistic guys. Its not like these are going to cost the same as a galaxy cake bar lol. These must cost a bomb to put together if they are individually made. At least you know you are going to be garunteed outstanding quality.
Quality photos today Jim. Those cakes look yummy :) :) :) xoxo
These do look wonderful I have to say, I'd steer clear of the banana one and its a [ity they lumbered the raspberry one with white chocolate.. i tend to find that combo quite sickly but the brownie might offset it a bit. The caramel one sounds good but seems they could have done better with it.
Price wise they are extortionate, handmade or not lol. Its a real pity they are so pricey because I think that is a real issue with many people especially at the moment.
These all sound delicious! :D
But £9 each?? I'm sorry but I'm never going to pay that.
Well there is no way im going to make it through lunch without a spot of cake today.
Thanks a bunch Jim :-P I blame you for my love handles.
Wow these sound great. Would the last bar have fared better if they hadn't promised caramel and just called it valrhona?
MUST.RESIST.BUYING.CAKE.
Not only is this site turning out bad for my health but it looks like its ready to hit me in the pocket now to. Lol £9 a cake? You have to be kidding me.
Hi All,
I see the pricing of these cakes are attracting a lot of attention today.
I was made fully aware of the prices before I reviewed these so I can confirm that all scored are made well in the knowledge of this.
The issue of pricing is such a subjective thing - on one hand I can see why no one would ever pay £9.00 for a cake ... it sounds over expensive and it is. HOWEVER, I do also see the point that these are really special cakes that truly are different from anything I have come across before. I can see why Lucky's charge such a price premium in this light. They are a unique little brand I have to say. If you have the cash to spare I would suggest giving them a try. Its a big outlay but I don't think they will be leaving many people disappointed myself - I could be wrong :D
LAUREN - You are the total opposite to me then. I much prefer raspberries.
NICK - The bananan/raspberry bits etc were integrated into the brownie.
STEVEN - Sorry I forgot to put that detail. They were 95.0g ... about the size of a small bar of soap.
RICHARD - I didn't intentionally leave out the pricing information. The review was so long I had to be careful with the word count. I don't want to send people to sleep (haha I probably do anyway!). Thanks for getting the discussions going today! Good work chap.
HENRY - I imagine the quality will change you are right. I hope they stay consistently good mind you :D
JACK - They make these in such small quantities based on demand I think they have out of stocks quite often. Why don't you drop them an e-mail to see if they will make you one up? Either that or tweet them!
DAISY - It does look rather grand doesn't it. I will drop them an e-mail to see if they fancy sending one over for a review. I hope so.
IAN - At least im keeping you on your toes haha :D
GOLDEN - I hope they will come answer your questions yes. I will give them a tweet and see what they say.
ANON - I have no idea whether they would be up for it. I will ask them.
NATHAN - See above for my comments on the pricing.
LISA - Indeed Heavenly Cakes are promising some cakes for the end of the month.
EOIN - Nope the caramel was supposedly within the brownie portion of the cake.
WILL - I think they want both advertising and feedback on their products for the appearance they get on here. I would have thought so anyway.
NIGEL - I will indeed be watching it. I will go for a 2-0 England result as well. Wellbeck and Sturridge to get one a piece.
AIDAN - I have already written some Valrhona reviews actually. They are just waiting their turn to come up.
KATIE - I don't wish to picture that haha :D
ALAN - Leave the banana one? Are you mad chap :D I totally get what you say about people being strapped for cash at the moment. It's tough times, I can't imagine many people have £9 to spend on a cake ... I know I don't :D ... perhaps if I'm lucky at Ascot on Friday :D
PHIL - See what I said above chap!
RODZILLA - Promising and not delivering is a cardinal sin. It's all about over delivery if you ask me :D Thats when people are most impressed.
WARREN - Bad for your health? No way! I'm pointing out where best to spend your money and where to find the best chocolates to make you happy :D Thats good for your health :D
Thanks for the comments everyone. I will see what Lucky's can do regarding answering your questions themselves. I'm sure they will have their own POV on the pricing and everything.
JIM
You LUCKY boy Jim *groan*
lol sorry I couldn't resist that one. It was just to easy I'm afraid.
@Daisy I agree it looks cool but what the hell has Humpty Dumpty got to do with Alice and Wonderland?
If I hadn't read your reviews I know for a fact I would have gone with the caramel first and would have probs been disappointed. I know best to trust what you say these days though Jim. You and I often agree about most chocolates.
Sorry but who in their right mind would pay that much fro a cake? Anyone with half a brain cell would work out they aren't worth that.
I so so need one of those raspberry ones. The pistachios are a bit of a sticky point but I think I could deal with them if the chocolate and brownies bits are as good as you say they are.
That first review of the honey time cakes managed to completely bypass me somehow so this is the first I have seen of Luckys. They looks like they have some really great ideas. Lol I just think they might have to reasses their pricing structure by the looks of all the comments.
They should make mega large versions of these cakes so you can buy them for someones birthday.
Imagine how amazing a massive version of the Going bananas would be.
Jim you should really try some of that Valrhona chocolate on it's own.
I've been doing some reading up on them and they have won more awards than you have tried chocolates =) thats my way of saying loads btw =P
Jim you should really try some of that Valrhona chocolate on it's own.
I've been doing some reading up on them and they have won more awards than you have tried chocolates =) thats my way of saying loads btw =P
These Lucky's cakes look nice but I think I prefer the plainer heavenly cakes. These look over the top + I have a sevre dislking of AIW :) Lol I had to study it for my English language Alevel. I must have read that darn book about 5000 times now.
Looney Raspberry sounds gorgeous but if I had my choice of luckys cakes I think I would try their caramel salt brownie first.
I know you didn't rate it very highly but im thinking there is a chance you got a duff one. As they are individually made there must be a chance of some not being as good as the others. Lol maybe they missed out the caramel altogether like you said.
The cakes are impressive ........ the pricing less so.
I don't know what they are thinking there. Its hardly like people are made of money in these economic times. Every company must be aware of that surely.
Im not to sure I like the idea of biting in to one of these beasts. That chocolate looks so thick it would hurt my teeth.
That white chocolate one just look darling. Not only am I a lover of raspberry and white chocolate but im loving pistachio nuts at the mo.
Im trying to stick to low gi foods to keep my energy levels up at the minute. Pistachio nuts are one of the tastiest nuts you can eat to get the gi benefits. Some people even classify them as superfoods I think.
Can I +1 your thoughts of reviewing some Valrhona chocolate J.
I swear it wont let you down. I rate it very highly. The only thing you might not like about it is the price.
Its not the cheapest chocolate going I warn you
Are these supposed to be chocolates or cakes? I don't get what they are trying to be. They seem like they are too much for a single person snack but at the same time not the sort of thing you can share with people easily. I think the ideas of the cakes sound good but they look flawed in the way they have been made.
Please review that humpty dumpty thing Jim. Its the cutest thing I have ever seen.
The amount of people complaining about the prices is incredible.
Thats the problem with everyone nowadays. No one believes in paying the correct amount for things. These are supposed to be LUXURY cakes!!!!! You should expect to have to pay LUXURY prices!!! Get with the agenda.
You obviously haven't factored in the prices here Jim. There is no way you could ever have done so mate. No one of a fit state of mind would say that the prices are fair for what you get.
I was convinced about buying some of these until I saw the prices. The fact they don't even offer any discount on buy multpiles is unfathomable.
Oh how irritating. That white chocolate cake would have been perfect if they hadn't put those nuts in there. Why are nearly chocolate companies obsessed with putting nuts in everything these days.
CHRIS - Calm down chap. I think you make a sensible point but please do so less aggressively.
EVERYONE - I just got a direct message from Luckys saying they would be along later to answer your questions/comments. If you have anything additional to ask them be sure to leave your questions here.
Thanks
JIM
Question for Lucky's:
I'm really impressed with how appealing and balanced these Lucky's flavor combinations sound. Have you ever thought of (or run) an interactive reader competition, for creating a new Lucky's product, i.e. a flavor or design?
My dearest Chocolate Mission followers. I’m so sorry for not replying sooner, but we have been extremely busy in the wonderland kitchen.
Jim has, very ably answered most of your queries so I will fill in those that only I can answer.
We’re very sorry that some of you are concerned with the price of our Lucky’s chocolate enrobed cakes. As Jim has so kindly pointed out, they’re all handmade, made with the finest, natural ingredients and the very best French Valrhona chocolate. As they’re so unique, each one takes some time to create. Each creation is made to be shared – as I’m sure Jim will tell you, there’s plenty for 2 people. We also have our tiny pieces of wonderland which are bite-size chocolate enrobed cakes available for £2.95 each on our site. http://www.luckys-online.co.uk/shop/tiny-pieces-of-wonderland-chocolate.php
Paul – yes, we do intend to continue with the wonderland theme, there are so many amazing characters here in wonderland that we can name our creations after – only the ones I like, obviously. Including, David, Humpty Dumpty, who appears in Through the Looking Glass and has a discussion with Alice on semantics and pragmatics – I fear she didn’t really follow it.
Jack, you can now buy the gift set on our website here: http://www.luckys-online.co.uk/shop/gifts-mad-hatter-bar-chocolate-3items.php We sent Jim some early samples, before we launched them as he’s such a discerning young man and we really do value his opinion.
Golden_touch, all of our products are handmade by my subjects, freshly each day to fulfil our orders.
It’s been truly super conversing with you all, until the next time, my very best regards,
The Queen of Hearts
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