Crispy Crunch – Better than (most of) the Competition

After reviewing 5th Avenue, Butterfinger, and now Crispy Crunch, I think I can say with a reasonable amount of confidence that they’re all about the same.  Crispy Crunch is probably the best of the bunch, however, if only for the presence of actual chocolate in the ingredients, and thanks to its more pronounced toffee flavour.

Crispy Crunch

Actually, I take that back — the best of the bunch is none of the above.  The real champion of this type of bar is Zagnut, which goes against the grain by forgoing chocolate altogether; instead, it’s coated with a layer of toasted coconut, a combo that works so much better than you’d think.  It’s a fairly obscure candy bar that deserves a much higher profile.  It’s delicious.

Crispy Crunch

As for Crispy Crunch, it’s the same crunchy, peanut-buttery, toffee-infused candy you’ll find in all the aforementioned bars.  Like the rest of them, I wish it had a more pronounced peanut butter flavour, but it’s tasty enough for what it is, and the layer of toffee beneath the chocolate sets it apart somewhat.  The thin chocolate coating may as well not even be there, however, and the whole thing is probably a bit sweeter than it needs to be.

Go try a Zagnut is what I’m saying.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

2.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (1 bar, 48 grams): 220 calories, 10 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 140 mg of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 27 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, glucose syrup, peanuts, modified palm oil, modified milk ingredients, modified vegetable oil, blackstrap and fancy molasses, cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, salt, wheat flour, vegetable oil, mono- and di-glycerides, soy lecithin, natural flavour.

Time Out Wafer – Does this Count as a Candy Bar?

Time Out Wafer is tasty for what it is, though I think calling it a candy bar might be a bit of a stretch.  If you’ve ever tried Loacker — those wafer cookies that come in a rectangular block — then you’ll know what to expect here.  This is basically like that, but coated in a thin layer of chocolate and individually packaged.

Time Out Wafer

And that layer of chocolate is thin; you can tell just by looking at it.   It’s so thin that it’s semi-transparent, partially revealing the wafer underneath.

But then the bar weighs in at a scant 112 calories, so if you’re looking for something that isn’t too substantial (which would make it the opposite of the Reese Peanut Butter Oh Henry I recently reviewed), this should fit the bill.

Time Out Wafer

It’s enjoyable enough, with an airy crispiness along with a mild sweetness and nice chocolatey flavour.  But despite being composed of roughly the same components as a standard Time Out bar (wafers and chocolate), its connection to that one is fairly tenuous.  It isn’t much of a substitute if you’re hoping for a lighter version of a Time Out.

2.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (1 bar, 21.2 grams): 112 calories, 6.1 grams of fat (3.4 grams of saturated fat, ? grams of trans fat), ? mg of cholesterol, 70 mg of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 0.4 grams of fibre, 9.6 grams of sugar, 1.4 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk, sugar, wheat flour, vegetable fats (palm, shea), cocoa butter, whey powder (from milk), cocoa mass, reduced fat cocoa powder (1%), emulsifiers (E442, soya lecithin, E476), potato starch, rapeseed oil, salt, raising agents (E500, E503), skimmed milk powder, milk fat, flavourings.

Dairy Milk Crispy Rice – A Better Version of a Crunch Bar

I recently wrote about my disappointment with the current version of the Crunch bar, which was bought by Ferrero, reformulated, and made thoroughly mediocre.

Crunch used to be one of my favourites, so this kinda bummed me out.

Dairy Milk Crispy Rice

Well, here comes Cadbury to the rescue — Dairy Milk Crispy Rice is basically a Crunch bar, but without the crushing disappointment.

There’s not much to it; it’s just crispy puffed rice and milk chocolate.  And of course, if you’ve ever had Cadbury milk chocolate, then you know exactly what to expect here.  It’s distinctive and tasty, and aside from the rice, that’s the entirety of this bar.

Dairy Milk Crispy Rice

The puffed rice is nice and crispy, though I wish there were a bit more of it.  The ratio of chocolate to rice is higher here than in a Crunch bar, but that’s a fairly minor complaint.  The contrast between the creamy chocolate and the crispy rice is absolutely delightful.

3.5 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (10 squares, 38 grams): 200 calories, 11 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 50 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavour), rice crisps (rice, sugar, salt, malted barley extract, monoglycerides).

Twirl – An Easier to Eat Flake Bar

Twirl is basically just an enhanced version of Flake; it’s a Flake bar that’s been covered in milk chocolate.  That doesn’t seem like much, but it actually makes a pretty huge difference when you’re eating it.

Twirl

Flake is one of the more painful chocolate bars to eat.  Its distinctive shape means that as soon as you take a bite, it starts crumbling into bits.

Twirl thoroughly solves that issue; the chocolate coating holds it all together quite nicely.  Every bite is crumb-free.

Twirl

Other than that?  It is what it is.  It’s standard Cadbury milk chocolate, but in a different shape.  It’s certainly not the most interesting candy bar in the store, but if you’re craving chocolate, it’ll hit the spot.  The flaky texture makes it a slightly different experience from eating a standard block of chocolate.

As for the quality of the chocolate itself, it’s very sweet, but it’s nice and creamy and has a pleasant milky flavour.  It’s good.

3 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (1 finger, 21.5 grams): 114 calories, 6.3 grams of fat (3.6 grams of saturated fat, unknown grams of trans fat), unknown mg of cholesterol (British labeling standards are different, I guess), 50 mg of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 0.5 grams of fibre, 12 grams of sugar, 1.5 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whey powder (from milk), vegetable fat (palm, shea), emulsifiers (E442, E476), flavourings.

Cadbury Burnt Almond Dark – Decent Dark Chocolate with Crunchy Almonds

If you’re looking for a chocolate bar without too many frills, Burnt Almond is right up your alley.  Featuring a scant seven ingredients (which is impressively low for a mass market product like this), it’s just dark chocolate and toasted almonds.  Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Cadbury Burnt Almond

It’s quite tasty.  Is the dark chocolate here going to blow anyone away?  Not likely; it’s decent enough, but it lacks the complexity of better quality chocolates.  Still, it gets the job done.

Cadbury Burnt Almond

As you’d expect from a chocolate bar called “Burnt Almond,” the almonds are front and centre.  The almond chunks are generous, and their very toasty flavour does a great job of balancing out the bar’s sweetness.  They also add welcome pops of flavour that bring some interest to the somewhat one-note chocolate.  And they’re nice and crunchy, which works quite well with the bar’s creaminess.

3 out of 4

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (9 squares, 38 grams): 200 calories, 13 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 5 mg of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 2 gram of fibre, 18 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, milk ingredients, soy lecithin, natural flavour), almonds.