Review- Cadbury NEW Crunchie Cake

It may be Sunday but I've got that Friday Feeling, I don't know about you - The need for chocolatey goodness and nothing that cake can't fix.. The NEW Friday Feeling Crunchie has all of our names written on it! 

To be fair, I actually bought this Celebratory cake a few weeks ago - Not when it was first released along with the Mega Raspberry Roll and Caramel variety, as I would have liked, but as soon as it got the nod of approval from the October Birthday Girl that is Nibs. Purchased in Asda for £5 and designed to feed 10, the cake is suitable for vegetarians and does not contain dairy cream.. As it states in large letters.. For anyone concerned. 

Delicious layers of honeycomb flavour sponge and honeycomb flavour creme, enrobed in Cadbury milk chocolate and topped with Crunchie honeycomb pieces. 

As seen with the Flake, the rectangular, very much Crunchie shaped bar of a Cake was placed inside a rather finickity plastic tray opposed to being plonked on a traditional board. Beside from being pretty nifty at catching the cracking chocolate when cut, it did make it tricky to get a knife in.. Not to mention, hardly looking attractive or something you would feel inclined as having as centrepiece to your celebratory spread. 

Producing remarkably neat slices, the cake cut well to reveal the alternating and well proportioned layers of sponge and creme. From the feel of it, I expected things to be a little dry but sure enough, it was soft, light and squidgy, delivering a full on Crunchie flavour. Both honeycomb and caramel tones really shone with plenty of butteriness along with the anticipated hit of pure sugar. The chocolate itself was also very sweet but pleasant enough and making for a decent contrast - I doubt even Dairy Milk would have improved the quality given what Cadbury push out now. A final munch from the hard yet aerated honeycomb nuggets that we all undoubtedly know and love to be that of a Crunchie Bar, finished things off wonderfully - Scrumptious! 

Overall, this Cadbury NEW Friday Feeling Cake is really quite the treat and I am sure, will go down well with any fan of the chocolate it represents.. Heck, I think it tastes more of a Crunchie than an actual Crunchie! - There is nothing not to love! Get yourself one before Cadbury do something ludicrous like removing them from sale - It's a 4.5 out of 5 from me! 

Review- Lily O'Brien's NEW Irresistibly Milk: Malted Chocolate and Caramel Crunch

I'm always on the look out for NEW chocolate to try.. Although it seems that the same flavours can be seen throughout all brands and it tends to just be a case of picking your favourite. Today's review is no different with the not particular unique, Malted Chocolate and Caramel Crunch Irresistibly Milk. 

My Buddy-Chum, Admiral Burger was the one to bring these Bars (Albeit he had the Salted Caramel) to my attention.. Given that I hadn't tried Lily O'Brien's previously, I figured why not and bought both in Asda for £2 each. Containing no artificial colours or flavours, the chocolate is suitable for Vegetarians whilst containing 30% cocoa and 20% milk solids, respectively. 

Shiny, paper backed gold foil wrapped each bar which gave a bit of a luxurious feel - In my opinion, Chocolate should always be wrapped in the stuff! 

Malted Chocolate Crunch

Slip into the luxurious silk of creamy milk chocolate that slowly melts into the sweetness of mellow malt crisp. 

Starting with the Malted, at first I was a little confused - It smelt of booze but not beer as you might expect.. More of a liqueur! Scanning the ingredients, none seemed to be listed so I gingerly took a bite and immediately concluded that it also tasted a lot like alcohol! I couldn't put my finger on what boozy beverage exactly but definitely something I've had before and I can only assume in a confectionary. Thankfully, this did develop into something chocolatey but with very little in terms of malt which was disappointing given the quantity of crunchy pieces. The booze flavour sort of faded the more I ate but overall was only alright, mostly weird and certainly not creamy or mellow! - A 2 out of 5 from me! 

Caramel Crunch

Melt into intensely creamy milk chocolate and surrender to a savoury-sweet burst of golden caramel scattered with Atlantic salt crystals. 

Moving onto the Caramel and my hopes weren't exactly high - The chunks smelt a lot like cheap calendar chocolate.. And to my horror, tasted a bit like it too! Semi chocolatey although not super rich or high quality, it did have a nice smooth, melting texture and wasn't unbearable by any means but it definitely felt as though something was missing flavour wise. Was it the caramel? Perhaps as I can't say any was particularly distinguishable! One thing that couldn't be missed and was essentially like a train to the face.. The salt! - Huge gritty crystals ran throughout which was a nice contrast to the sweet at first.. But sadly short lived as once the chocolate had melted, I was left with a mouthful of overly saline nibs which made me feel nothing but icky! Not great - A 1.5 out of 5. 

From boozy to salty.. These Lily O'Brien's Malted Chocolate and Caramel Crunch Bars are such a let down! I was expecting so much more given the hefty price tag and "premium" appearance but have been left with a bitter taste in my mouth.. Quite literally! I definitely won't be buying again and suggest you steer clear also.. Don't you be lured in by those glossy descriptions.. They're lies, I tell you - LIES. 

Review- Cadbury NEW Spread: Caramel and Crunchie

I don't know if I've just been a dummy and completely missed the press release but it appears Cadbury have NEW Spreads out - Huzzah! Caramel and Crunchie versions is where it is at and although not exactly adventurous.. I was still pretty chuffed spotting them when shopping. 

It was of course in Tesco where I found these 400g screw top jars, priced at £2.25 each - I very much like how the packaging reflects the actual chocolate bars! Further snazzy news.. They are only bloomin' suitable for Vegetarians!

A swirly and a bobbly - The Spreads looked the part! 

Caramel

If only you could smell through your Tech screens as the scent was sensational! - Buttery, caramelly, sweet goodness! Taking a scoop, the Spread appeared to be very soft and ready for spreading but naturally, I just ate it as it was, there and then. Silky smooth in texture and a good chocolatey flavour was the first thing to hit me which then developed into a super sweet toffee like taste - Not super high quality but decent enough. It was a little to easy to eat one spoonful after another but fair warning, it did get a tad cloying.. I expect this would be eliminated though if you had it on something rather than straight out of the jar! It's a 3.5 out of 5 from me. 

Crunchie

Up next.. The Crunchie Spread! Once again, it smelt divine and this time, almost coffee like despite none being listed in the ingredients. Another difference I noticed immediately was that the contents of the jar seemed to be a tad thicker to the above with more resistance when scooping - Perhaps due to the nibs or maybe just pot luck! Taste wise, it was less sweet and more cocoa rich to the Caramel with a fudgey hint along with a whiff of that coffee I could smell.. Or imagined more like! The honeycomb pieces added the signature Crunchie taste and were a lovely contrast in texture to the soft, although some bits were really quite hard so I would advise going easy and watching your teeth! It's a 4 out of 5 from me. 

Well, I don't know why these NEW Spreads haven't been plastered everywhere online as they really aren't half bad! Yes, they are very sweet and probably quite sickly if you ate a lot.. But on toast, porridge or heaven forbid, spread on a cake, they will do the job nicely! Well done, Cadbury.. Mondaléz.. Whatever you're calling yourself nowadays.