Lindor Strawberries & Cream

So today is my birthday, the day when I deserve to do whatever I want to! Want to know what I choose? Well being a now 21 year old student at university I think the answer is pretty much expected. I want to stay in doors eat chocolate and blog about it. Admittedly not the most exciting ways to celebrate but considering the weather today and my boring nature I think it's rather understandable.

Plus there is some excitement to be had indoors, actually quite a lot, in fact most excitement happens in doors. Anyway back on task, yes there is excitement to be had. As I have found the elusive Lindor Strawberries and Cream limited edition I mentioned in my last post. Admittedly it didn't take me long, although I bought them from somewhere selling them at practically double the price of Sainsbury's. I hope that they are worth it, if not I'll be doubly depressed in money and taste buds.

What a beautiful day!

To be on the safe side at the same time I also purchased a box of the coconut Lindor's too, again at a slightly inflated price. Then again I am a sucker for an impulse buy and still have access to a student loan, lets face it who needs good food when baked beans are 25 pence? So first up the coconut Lindor's in their baby blue foil. which after unwrapping allows me to take in a very sweet coconut aroma that signals good times ahead.

For once the coloring isn't dictating gender

Biting through the usual thick and creamy milk chocolate shell, easily melting like fudge on the tongue I gain access to the coconut core. A smooth and also creamy ganache which whilst appearing solid has a thick liquid like texture to it. The taste of coconut is intense and very sweet without becoming sickly. Together the flavours become very rich and suffer from Lindor's usual problem of feeling a bit heavy. I often can't and won't have more than a couple at a time because they can become sickly and filling.

This won't, however, stop me from popping the next one in my mouth. Contrasting the baby blue theme with a pale pink I unwrap the foil. The smell isn't quite as powerful with only a hint of strawberry. Throwing one in my mouth whole in excitement I'm met with an amazing taste of subtly sweet strawberry and milky white chocolate. Whilst not tasting exactly as it title suggests, more of strawberry milkshake than the summer dessert, it still tastes amazing. I hope this one isn't too much of a limited edition and carries on long after valentines day.

Though I didn't feel very manly nomming these, damn you society!

Overall both were nice if a little expensive. It's my own fault I could probably have got these on offer in in a week, but it is my special day so I pampered myself.
poundland

Score
coconut 7 out of 11
strawberries 8 out of 11

Found
Superdrugs

Final Thoughts
Celebrating birthdays always seem odd to me, yay I survived another day... Again!

Thorton's Strawberry Heart Lolly

It’s an odd time for chocolate at the moment, a time when the confectionary aisle has developed the worrying traits of split personality disorder. There seems to be a battle going on between the forces of Valentine’s Day and Easter. Retailers aren’t quite sure which to focus on. Add to that the problem of left over Christmas stock (and god-forbid Halloween) you have a three way war on my attention and my wallet.

                It’s Valentine’s Day that’s the problem, you see it is only one day so understandably they don’t want to prepare too much, except unlike Halloween it’s a single day that is very heavily gift orientated. It’s odd how us humans can take a concept of love and easily interweave that with money. Essentially the day is proving you love someone with items, which ironically is against its very idea. However this is a rather negative way of looking at it and hay ho it also means lots of lovely chocolate!

They won't evade capture for long!

                I’ve seen the usual influx of new and limited products sweeping the shelves in anticipation of the big day, the one I most want to try is Lindor’s strawberry and cream. It seems however everyone else has the same wish and I find that the shelf is bare when I go to grab a box. As you can imagine this leaves me slightly disappointed and with a hole inside, a hole only chocolate can fill. For instance the other day on finding a lack of product I consoled myself with a Thornton’s strawberry and white chocolate love heart. These are pretty big too so it definitely cheered me up after the devastating lack of Lindor.

                They look nice and obviously fittingly themed and shaped, although the fact that it’s on a stick worries me. It’s a rather horrific idea if you think about this in another way. I get the obvious symbolism of, here (insert loved ones name) take my love (represented by heart shape).  Lovely on the face of it, except in this instance they will then devour your love leaving you with a stick and a wrapper ready for the bin. Perhaps I’m thinking too much or maybe I’m just a terrible cynic.

Mine didn't last long enough for photos

                As a chocolate it’s nice though so I’d quite happily devour it. Really this is just a re-sized and re-shaped Thornton’s strawberry smile, but those taste great anyway so I’m not complaining. It has a great sweet fruity aroma which carries through to the taste. As soon as you bite down you get a beautifully sweet strawberry taste that’s neither over powering nor artificial. It melts perfectly too with the texture of cream, fitting rather considering the age old British summer tradition. The mix with the white chocolate is what provides the delicious texture and creamy aftertaste that thankfully doesn’t distract from the fruit taste.

                Overall these Valentine’s Day treats are great and it will be a shame once they have left us alone and seeking comfort in a weeks’ time. Then I will need consoling again, this time I’m thinking mini-eggs!

Score
7 out of 11

Found
Superdrug

Final Thoughts
By Easter is Christmas chocolate retro?

Bored Blogging?

I’m starting to regret this challenge a bit if I’m honest. Posting everyday isn’t as easy as you would think believe me. Not only do I have to find time to write each post but there’s also the editing and uploading. Now I’m not really complaining, after all I get to try chocolate as I do them. The problem is that there is a growing sense of resentment.

By imposing a deadline upon myself I’ve begun to feel like the blogs become a job rather than a hobby. I think once the twenty fifth has passed I’ll need a bit of a break. For this reason and because of how similar each of today’s products are this post is going to be a bit short.

He hath no eyes!

First up we have Cadbury’s snowy delight bar, a vanilla crème filled milk chocolate slab especially for Christmas. It tastes as you would expect of the usual milk chocolate but the crème adds another level of sweetness. The crème filling is very similar to the strawberries and crème bar in texture a bit waxy but not too off putting. It gets close to becoming sickly but isn’t unpleasant. Both melt well and combine nicely so it is a good mixture. It’s very similar to product number two.

A Cadburys snowman is at number two, and pretty much the same product but in a different shape… Is what I thought. Yes whilst this is the same milk chocolate outside shell the inside crème isn’t the same. For a start it’s a vanilla mousse and not a crème. This may not seem much change there is as the filling is not only very waxy but also very tasteless. This product just doesn’t work, and is rather disappointing. Even the moulding is lazy and the snowman has no facial features or detail at all. It seems they went for a cheerful and cheap approach with this one, the sort of product you leave by the till for impulse buyers like me to find.

Little disappointed the white chocolate was only a topping

MARS also had this in their sights I’m sure with these Malteasers reindeers, but in this example I wouldn’t regret my buy. I really like these, the chocolate on the outside has a smooth milky taste. The inside is a beautifully crunchy malt middle that counters the sweetness of the outside well. The mixture has little burnt bits in it too that add even more texture. I find these teaser bars and the single Malteasers you get in Celebrations are much nicer than the actual Malteasers. I can’t see why this is so.

Lastly we have a Cadburys winter wonderland bar, these look rather cool. Made of tiny chocolate trees, of both milk and white chocolate. I was a bit disappointed by the fact that the white chocolate is only the top layer but still the taste is there. The chocolate tastes nice not too sweet, though this could be because it’s overpowered slightly by the plain milk chocolate.

Overall there’s not much to say really except that possibly there is too many products released just for one holiday. Or rather too many of the same ideas especially from Cadbury corner.

Score

Snowy Delight - 5 out of 11

Snowman - 2 out of 11

Winter Wonderland - 7 out of 11

Malteaser - 8 out of 11

Found 

Any supermarket

Final Thoughts

Hopefully part of my New Years announcement will cure this dwell in my blog enthusiasm. 

Dairy Milk Chocolate Coins and Others

So yesterday I talked about one aspect of Christmas tradition. OK so I didn’t really but I did reference them, baubles. Essentially balls that for some reason become festive the moment December arrives. It is odd how everyday items take on a whole new meaning for the holidays.

Take today's items for example, coins, we use them every day to buy our hearts desires. They are rather essential, unless you’re like me and find yourself shoving them in your pocket and forgetting them. Honestly sometimes my coat is so weighed down by the things I feel like I’m wearing a divers suit. Anyway slightly off topic, so yes, once a year these little blighters take on a whole new form.

I'm a sucker for the knitted look of Cadbury products.

Suddenly they become chocolate and usually much bigger than usual (not that I’m complaining). I don’t know why they do this I assume it has something to do with stockings. In my house at least my parents would fill our stockings with loose change; I guess the idea is to do the same but with chocolate.  Whatever the reason for their miraculous transformation, I have three to bring before you today.

I have a Dairy Milk branded bag and two unbranded cheaper ones I got for the price of one golden disk (£1). First up the Dairy Milk ones, in three different sizes and two colours. Disappointingly the different foil doesn’t denote different flavours. Nope, these are all Dairy Milk and taste well you’ve guesses it like Dairy Milk. Although it is a nice taste and it’s good to see a company not changing the recipe for a gimmicky holiday idea. Then again it is Cadbury so they can usually be trusted. Not much to say except they are nicely presented in the usual net bag and you get quite a few.

No company name on the label. Always a good sign

Next up we have the cheaper version, first I’ll try the milk chocolate as a comparison. Again they come in a multiple of sizes and any colour you want, as long as it’s gold. I begin to worry as I peel back the foil on one of the smaller ones as I get a cheap an oddly nutty aroma. Never a good sign in any situation. Popping one in my mouth I get a taste of stale sweetened chocolate, with a slight cardboard taste which you could say is rather confusing. As I expected really these are nowhere near as nice, but then nowhere near the price either.

Lastly I move on to the white chocolate currency changelings, my hopes weren’t high for these either as it’s the same company. On unwrapping I got little encouragement and very little smell. However, taste wise these are actually really, really… dull. Honestly there was no flavour to begin with and then slight hints of cardboard mixed with a Milky Bar. Still let’s remember these things cost very little and are probably meant for someone much younger and less refined than I (maybe not the second one actually).

Behind the forth door, I think it's a Christmas pudding, bit early right?

One thing they all shared in common regardless of price was the fact that the coin design was carried on inside too. It’s a small detail I know but after two disappointments they keep me going.

Overall I shouldn't complain, I do but I shouldn't. Instead really I should appreciate them after all they will be gone for another year soon… What a shame, Eh?

Score

Dairy Milk - 8 out of 11

Cheapo milk chocolate - 4 out of 11

Cheapo Whit chocolate - 3 out of 11

Found

All three from a petrol station.

Final Thoughts

Why can't we use chocolate money as currency, scratch that don't think it would work some how.

Cherry Cordial m&m's and other balls

            What’s an iconic Christmas shape? One, that’s also very happy dangling from your Christmas tree,. That’s right I'm talking about spheres, or to most of us balls. Today’s review deals with all kinds balls, in three whole varieties.

            Okay so once again that opening is perhaps a bit more innuendo filled than I would have hoped. However I bet all those balls caught your attention. Wait; scratch that, although they do kind of stick out innuendos, that is. What does that say about the human mind, I wonder?

            So moving on the point is todays review concerns three sugar coated spheroids. Also as this is day four of my Christmas advent challenge so they are all festively themed too. We have Cherry Cordial m&m's, Reindeer noses and some white chocolate type sugar candy.

          

Wish I had a fetching pair of tights like those.

  So first up let’s look at Cherry Cordial m&m's. Yet another case of a favorite brand not releasing all available versions in the UK. I know it’s a small point but seriously it does bother me. Over here we only really have three types and even then we only got crispy in the last year or so. I had to order these from Ebay and a guy shipping isn’t cheap.

          

  Although I'm glad I did, as these are very nice. Unlike the Pumpkin spice ones these actually have a bit of a flavor to them. As soon as you reach the center you get an intense taste of cherry. Then again this does overpower the chocolate taste slightly, leaving the cocoa as more of an afterthought. If you give these a chance for this to melt in your mouth you do get the best of both worlds.

          

I think the crispiness is about all they had going for them!

  Next up the White chocolate drops that I found at a local market. They caught my eye quickly as you don't often get sugar coated white chocolate (unless your American and you can buy Candy Corn m&m's, Not bitter at all). The white chocolate itself tastes nice, almost like a Milky bar nicely sweet and milky. The shell itself adds well too, as if you erode the shell away the insides warmed to a point that melts perfectly.

        

    Lastly we have Reindeer noses; I've seen the usual 'hilarious' Reindeer droppings (chocolate covered raisins). But these are new to me, and perhaps that’s not a bad thing. The chocolate tastes very cheap and the sugar shell just adds to this. Not much I can say except these were disappointing.

          

Behind today's door was a melting snowman, how festive.

  Overall I enjoyed most of these, except the noses, although the idea was there. The worst thing here is the reminder of the m&m's I miss because I don't live in candy central.  

Score

White Chocolate drops - 6 out of 11

Reindeer Noses - 3 out of 11

Cherry Cordial m&m's - 8 out of 11

Found

Local market

Co-operative food store

and EBAY

Final Thought

 I really don't want to now have to try Reindeer droppings!

Reece's Peanut butter cups minis and miniatures.

               Is big really better? Surely quantity is preferable to size too? Okay before you readers get the wrong impression I should perhaps explain. After all you might get the wrong end of the stick.

           

I am of course talking about sweets as usual, what else could I possibly be talking about? Honestly get your minds out the gutter people. No, I'm talking about two miniature versions of full size favorites of mine. These items are mini Reece’s pieces cups in both milk and white chocolate varieties.

          

  I can't tell you how excited I was when I found these, other than saying I may have let out a little squeal. However it was a very manly man squeal I can assure you. This was immediately followed by me practically throwing them in the basket and skipping to the checkout. See how manly that is. Before we look at the source of most of my excitement (the white chocolate cups) I will first look at the milk chocolate. I'm attempting some kind of buildup.

            

Sometimes, for some reason when companies change the size of their products they somehow change the taste. Usually it has detrimental effect. Perhaps the use of usually is a bit of a spoiler about my feelings towards these products. Indeed these are great, perhaps better than the usual Reece’s peanut cups.

           

Maybe because it’s more compact thus making the flavor seems more intense. For they are. When I popped one into my mouth I find these to be much stronger in flavour. It still maintains the usual sweet milky and fudge-like chocolate that tastes amazing especially when combined with the peanut paste. They definitely taste better to me than the usual cups; clearly a difference in displacement makes a real difference. Perhaps because you’re taking in the full experience at once that makes it better.

           

Now on to the White chocolate caps, these have two added bonuses before we even get to the taste test. (Not that there is any competition here, they are after all brothers... or sisters, siblings basically) The first benefit is that they are slightly bigger than the others, yes I'm a hypocrite and secondly they come in friggin foil and paper cups!

            

Right at this point I'm going to draw your attention to my post where I talk about expectations. That’s what I thought when I took my first bite into these babies. It has the same almost sickly sweet white chocolate as usual cups and the regular bitty peanut paste. Yet somehow it didn't taste as good as my favorite big cup variety. Then I took a bigger bite, and boy was I wrong. The shift in size has allowed for a slightly larger block of nutty goodness and creates a more intense flavor hit.

          

  Overall bigger is definitely not better as both of these products show. So yeah, don't judge on size people. 

Score

Milk cup - 7 out of 11

white cup - 9 out of 11

Found

Milk cup found in Tesco and White cups found in ASDA.

Final Thoughts

I think I've been rather contradictory in today's post sorry, blame excitement.

Mistletoe and Whining

Well folks Halloweens over for another year. Pack your prize costumes away and consume that candy before its best before date. Not that the second one is much of a challenge.

I hope your Halloween was as treat filled as mine, although perhaps not as much. I managed to over consume as you can imagine and felt rather full and floaty before bedtime. I did carve an amazing pumpkin with a little help from a glamorous assistant. It was a great night and I look forward to the tricks I'll find next year.

A work of pure blasphemous artwork

So whats next then now that my challenge is over, well folks its quite obvious isn't it? Christmas! Tis the season to be jolly, although if you believe the shops that season started about six months ago. Before you panic no i'm not going to do a festive foodstuff from now till the twenty fifth although today's two are both Christmas theme. Many because at the moment Christmas stuff is on offer in the shops and very easy to get a hold of.

So we have two of Galaxys festive frollicks in the form of their gift for you range. They have released two varieties one of milk chocolate and one white chocolate. It's the second one that really excites as there is as of yet no regular white chocolate Galaxy bars. Therefore its of slight novelty, though both have uniqueness in the shape and filling but not as exciting as new white chocolate.

They do look rather impressive

I'll begin with the least exciting milk chocolate however and build up. The look of these bars are quite nice with a present like bow and cool sectional design. They are great for sharing although hope your groups small as there's only four segments. With two bubbly chocolate and two smooth chocolate filling really this is a bar for two. Luckily for me when I tried these I was a party of one and got the full benefit to myself.

I broke off one of the segments and took a nibble, I immediately recognized that amazingly silky Galaxy taste followed by the sweetness. Now I do love Galaxy bars however I find they create a scratchy sensation in my throat, not enough to deter me however. The part I'd tried had the truffle filling which had a great fudge like texture that stood out once the outside had melted. A lovely combination and the filling was slightly different in taste, enough to just notice the difference. Next segment I tried was bubbly, and although not as melty as an Areo bar it still created a tingling sensation on the tongue.

In hindsight the packaging doesn't mention truffle

Next I opened the white chocolate, again these look really quite impressive. I took a bite within instantly, however something was wrong. Or rather not wrong but disappointing, it turned out that the Mars corp have just repackaged a lump of Milkybar chocolate under the guise of Galaxy. I'm not exaggerating this bar is Milkybar chocolate but aerated. The bubbles again are nice and create a good texture but this isn't Galaxy bar white chocolate in any sense. I tried another section hoping the filling parts would be good, To my dismay it turns out that all four segments are bubbles! This bar is lazy on two accounts and the experience left a rather bitter and scratchy taste in my mouth.

Overall whilst I was disappointed with the white chocolate offering, I was pleasantly surprised by the milk chocolate. Also I got them on offer so really can't complain... Yet I do!

Score
Milk chocolate- 7 out of 11
White chocolate-5 out of 11

Found 
W.H Smith's 

Final Thoughts
I wonder when Easter will begin?

Hark how the bell gets ready to toll!

Really isn't long left folks until Halloween. I am fully prepared I believe now, I have a pumpkin for carving. I have a costume for treating and some friends for surviving. I hope you guys have this much planning or plotting in place. Of course the most important aspect is candy.

Today we have a few products themed towards Halloween as part of my spooktacular challenge. We have a spooky Cadbury's cinder toffee cake bar. I like the sound of this flavor and haven't seen it offered before. We have a skeleton chocolate lolly from Thornton's, Something for the luxuriously spoilt kids. For the cheap kids like moi we have a milky bar ghost whom was on offer when I snatched it up.

Don't know what qualifies cake to be spooky if I'm honest

First up the cake bar, according to the packet each is wrapped by mummies. Now I'm not certain but judging by the packaging it's the hammer horror kind not the maternal. Not sure this is that reassuring because I don't particularly think Egyptian mummies were big on hygiene. This aside I venture inside the tomb to try one of these "frightfully good" (slightly better than mediocre then eh Cadbury's?) cake bars.
Now I'm not normally a fan of cake bars but I'll try regardless.

As soon as I did I was pleased the chocolate coating was up to the usual milk chocolate standards but that's not what hit me. I was really hit by the toffee it was fangtastic, a beautifully rich taste and a nice fluffy sponge. However I found as I ventured further I found the toffee became rather sickly. Thankfully the sponge is light and unflavoured so there is slight balance. But not enough and I came out feeling a bit over indulged. the chocolate coating was good, melted well with a subtly sweetness.

At least he has that look of someone who's long time dead and not like...

Next the chocolate lolly, I like the design they have done a cool idea in using white chocolate as a picture on milk chocolate. Not a new idea but welcome never the less, unfortunately this often means the white chocolate passes unnoticed by the tongue. As I bit into it I recognized that same reoccurring them along with the Gothic themes. Cheaper blends of chocolate, I noticed the usual quality of Thorton's chocolate but with added sweetener and less cocoa. The was a nice subtle nutty aftertaste but I don't now if I was just seeking for excitement. I had noticed half the bar had bloomed, now I'd stored this with everything else and only bought it the other day so this was a concerning sign.

This guy who looks too happy and hyper and being deceased!

But I moved on to the last item a milkybar ghost. Not much to say really it is exactly the same chocolate we all know and love but in a spectral form. Although rather lazy at least they aren't scrimping on quality.

Overall I think the milky bar was the nicest although I could have just bought a regular version and been just as happy. The cake bar started so well I'm rather disappointed that it was a bit too much sweetness. However I may try the other one before it skulks off for another year.

Score
Cinder Toffee cakes- 6 out of 11
Skeleton Lolly- 5 out of 11
Milky bar Ghost- 6 out of 11

Found
Sainsbury's for the cake bars, Thornton's for the skeleton and Superdrug for the ghosty

Final Thoughts
What happens to all the shops Halloween items?