Cadbury
These were and unexpected, yet thrilling find for me. I was shopping in the Grove Farmer’s Market on Fairfax and 3rd here in Los Angeles. I saw this package tucked into one of the lower candy shelves, and picked it up because of the large image of the cheetah on it. I don’t speak a lick of French, but I could decipher a bit from the import tag on the back. It only really translated “Le bonbon tendre au gout sauvage” description on the front, which roughly translated to “The tender candy with the wild taste”. That was enough to sell me on it, and I brought it home with me.
I had to open the package once I got all my necessary photos out of the way. I tasted one and immediately understood the description. These are licorice caramels.
The bad holds a bunch of individually wrapped caramels. They come in colorful wax wrappers that mimic the bag they come in. The caramels have a beautiful color to them, like a dark “dulce del leche”. It smells slightly sweet and is firm to the touch.
The flavor is excellent. You first tastes notes of licorice, with sweet, earthy flavors. Then the sweet creaminess of the caramel bit comes through, adding the tastes of butter and cream. Together they makes a very creamy, rich flavor that is both mild and flavorful. I have to admit, licorice and caramel makes a pretty awesome combination.
Caramel isn’t something I crave very often, so I’m not sure this is a candy I’d come back to often, as delicious as they are. However if I do see other varieties of Krema out there, I’ll be sure to give them a shot.
Cybele from also did an excellent review over at Candyblog.net.
Rating: Will Buy Again
When I saw this bar, I immediately assumed it was the UK version of the Twix. It comes in a package with two fingers, starts with the letter “T”....you see where I’m headed, right? Having made such quick assumptions about the bar led to much surprise once I opened the Twirl bar to finally taste it. I was totally unfounded with my guess, as Twirl is a totally different kind of bar.
What I did surmise correctly was the style of the Twirl, as it is like a Twix: two separate slender “fingers” make up this bar. The only description on the wrapper reads: “the Intense chocolate hit”.
I picked up a finger to smell it, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was sniffing a cigar. It smells very milky and tangy and it reminds me of cheese. The tops of the fingers have texture on them that’s bumpy and uneven. I can’t help but wonder: “What’s under there”? There’s no cookie in the ingredients list…..
I eagerly took my first bite and I almost immediately had to stop. The texture is very light and crumbly and crumbs fell all over into my lap. I used more delicate force the second try so I didn’t make a mess.
The inside is just like a Flake bar: little ribbons of chocolate packed together in a tube. The difference is that the Twirl takes things a step further and enrobes the bar in chocolate so you get double the amount of chocolate. The flavor is so intensely of the dry milk powder. It’s really creamy, tangy and has an almost “stinky” taste to it, again, like a blue cheese. Then there a sweetness that envelopes the flavors and washes it all away. I don’t really taste “chocolate” at all, just sugar and cream.
Interesting, but not chocolatey enough for me.
Rating: Might Eat Again
Links Cadbury Website
Wispa is one of those candy bars that have a huge following. Part of the reason (aside from it being tasty, of course) is that they’ve been discontinued by Cadbury back in the 1990s, depriving fans of the bar who’ve eaten it since it’s introduction in 1983. This obviously causes lots of pining from fans. We all want what we can’t have. Since 2003 Cadbury has done many limited releases to bring back Wispa, but it wasn’t until 2007-2008 where Wispa has made a full comeback in the United Kingdom.
So what exactly is Wispa, especially to make such a fuss? Simply put, it’s an aerated milk chocolate bar.
I was expecting this to be like an Nestle Aero bar, but it’s not at all. Which is a good thing, since I’ve never really enjoyed Aero bars at all. SOmetime about the bubble and the format of that bar just robs it of flavor for me. I don’t like eating a chocolate bar and not taste much. It defeats the purpose.
Wisp is different. The shape is differentt, as it’s a thick rectangular block, like a candy bar, instead of a chocolate bar shape that an Aero is. When bitten into, Aero’s are light, crispy and messy. Wispa isn’t. The air bubbles are much smaller, so there’s none of that awkward crumbling. Instead the chocolate feels lighter, creamier, thicker…..now I understand what bubbles in chocolate should taste like. It’s really smooth and fudgy on the tongue. As for the flavor, it’s standard Cadbury diary milk. sweet, chocolatey, with that dry milk tang.
I like it a lot, and I can see why so many lamented it’s disappearance on candy shelves. Heck, I’m sad I can’t find it relatively easily in the US!
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Wispa Website
Cadbury Fudge was a completely new discovery for me. I’d never heard of it before and I couldn’t help but wonder why, as all of Cadbury’s offerings are pretty widely known. Is it just a bar that is rare? Something unworthy of mention? Or is it the other way around and it’s so good no one wants to share it outside the UK? These and a dozen other questions whizzed through my head as I looked at their cute, bright orange and purple wrappers.
The Fudge is really pretty self explanatory, described as “fudge covered in milk chocolate”. They’re small in size, only about four to five inches long and are round and tubular in shape.
It only smells sweet, and I dove right in as I knew this one would all be about the taste. The bite is soft, a little crumbly and a little grainy. The texture is just like fudge but a little dried. It softens up and it gets soft, chewy and sticky in the mouth. It’s very thick and satisfying.
The flavor is very, very, sweet and I get more flavors of caramel and cream and burnt sugar than actual chocolate. I’m not surprised, since the basis of fudge is cream and sugar, so it’s a accurate representation in that regard. I was particularly impressed by the caramel notes it had.
Still, Fudge is not for the faint of heart and it’s just really, really sweet. I liked it, just be forewarned.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Cadbury Website
I was a very late bloomer in terms of my appreciation of the Cadbury Creme Eggs (or CCE’s in shorthand). My first memories of them was the ads I recall as a child of the 1980’s, featuring a white bunny that clucks like a hen, surrounded by impostor bunnies that made noises of different animals. I recall my Mom wrinkling her nose at these adds, stating that she “hated” those things, as they were too sweet. I paid little attention to her comments, like most children do with their parents. It wasn’t until college where I actually got my first taste of a CCE, and from then on, I was forever changed.
There’s many types of CCE’s on the market. There’s the original, caramel, fudge (or was it truffle?), mini, mini caramel, and most recently orange (which I reviewed for CandyAddict last year). I’ve tried them all and liked them, but I keep returning to the original as my favorite. If I had to give one second place, I’d go for the orange.
The concept of the CCE is simple. It’s a hollow milk chocolate egg with a creamy fondant center that’s white with a yellow spot in it, so it looks like an egg yolk. The egg is a good size (though it’s been shrinking over the years) and the packaging changes every year it seems. The photo above is the new update of the design for 2008.
Unwrapped, the egg is beautiful and feels heavy in your hand. You can see the seam whee the two halves come together to seal the fondant interior. The chocolate sides have a design of a eight pointed star on each side and lines that circle them.
The egg smells lightly of cocoa and cream.
The chocolate is thick and has that wonderful European flavor to it. Sweet, milky, a little tart, and a good chocolate flavor. Now I can see why my mom complained that this style of chocolate is too sweet, but I like it just fine. The center’s overall texture should be thick and flowing, like egg white can be. But the one I got here to sample was more dried out and grainy, which I found odd. The flavor is extremely sweet with hints of vanilla. The texture in the mouth is smooth with a little grain to it, and it feels cool on the tongue. It can be a little sticky, and it feel like eating frosting fresh from the bowl.
I bought a few more in search of that creamy, flowing center. I think I got it here.
What can I say, I love these things. I tend to get a small stash to last myself a little while each Easter. They’re the kind of candy I can only have so often, as if I eat too many close together I feel I need to pass out in a sugar coma. Yes, they’re that sweet and that addicting. Isn’t that a sign of a good candy? It is in my book.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Cadbury Website
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