Milk Chocolate Archives - Page 13 of 23

September 20, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Mars Fudge – A Pleasant Variation on a Classic Candy

Candy Bars

The last Mars Bar variant I tried was Mars Caramel, which was a pretty clear downgrade from a standard Mars Bar. So my expectations weren’t particularly high for this one, which replaces the original’s nougat with fudge.

But hey, what do you know — it’s actually not bad. It probably helps that unlike the Caramel version, this one feels more like a tweak than a huge change.

Mostly, it tastes like a standard Mars Bar, but with a slightly stronger punch of chocolate flavour (though I will admit that it’s been a few years since I’ve had the original, so I might not be the best judge of this). If there’s a huge difference between the original’s nougat and the fudge here, I certainly couldn’t tell.

It’s quite satisfying, with a nice chewiness from the fudge and the caramel, and an intense sweetness that’s in-your-face but not too overpowering. It’s nothing to get too excited about, but it’s a solid candy bar.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 bar, 50 grams): 230 calories, 9 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 75 mg of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 30 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, hydrogenated palm kernel oil and/or palm oil, cocoa mass, cocoa powder, lactose, soy lecithin, salt, dried egg-white, natural and artificial flavours.

September 6, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Aero White Chocolate – A Tasty Combo of White and Milk Chocolate

Chocolate

I think it’s clear at this point that combining white chocolate with milk chocolate is the way to go. Stuff like Kit Kat White & Milk and Kinder Chocolate is proof that it’s a great combo. I like white chocolate, but in the absence of cocoa solids, its flavour tends to be a bit one-note sweet. Adding milk chocolate thoroughly solves that problem while still retaining white chocolate’s distinct personality.

Aero White Chocolate, despite the name, isn’t fully white — it features a milk chocolate exterior with an aerated white chocolate interior.

It’s quite good. It’s got an interesting texture from the bubbles in the middle, enough milk chocolate to give it a nice punch of cocoa flavour, and a creamy white chocolate base that gives it a pleasant milkiness. If you’ve ever had Kinder Chocolate, this is the same idea, but with the bubbliness you get from an Aero.

It’s very sweet — white chocolate does tend to be on the sweeter side — but not overwhelmingly so. The milk chocolate does a solid job of balancing things out.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Nutritional info (7 segments, 32 grams): 170 calories, 10 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 35 mg of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fibre, 19 grams of sugar, 2 gram of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, modified milk ingredients, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, salt, natural flavour.

August 26, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Old Faithful – Chewy Marshmallow and Crunchy Peanuts

Nut Clusters

I’ll admit that I hadn’t even heard of Old Faithful before a few weeks ago, but apparently it’s been around since 1925, so clearly it’s doing something right.

It has a traditional bar shape, but Old Faithful is actually a peanut cluster a la Goo Goo Cluster; it features chewy marshmallow creme, lots of peanuts, and a generous coating of milk chocolate.

It’s pretty simple, but also pretty tasty. The chewy marshmallow, crunchy peanuts, and creamy chocolate are a winning combo.

The marshmallow is maybe a bit too chewy (it’s slightly rubbery), it’s extremely sweet (it’s a throat-burner), and there’s something slightly off about the flavour that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but I otherwise enjoyed this. The quality of the chocolate is pretty decent and the big peanut chunks add a ton of flavour. It’s easy enough to see why it’s been around for almost a hundred years.

Manufactured by: Idaho Candy Company
Nutritional info (1 bar, 43 grams): 220 calories, 12 grams of fat (4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg of cholesterol, 30 mg of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, soy lecithin (added as an emulsifier), and vanilla), sugar, corn syrup, peanuts, egg albumen, gelatin, salt, and vanilla.

August 19, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Hazelnut Spread M&M’s – M&M’s + Nutella = Delicious?

Candy Bars

Hazelnut Spread M&M’s are basically M&M’s stuffed with Nutella. That’s about as close to a surefire hit as you can get, isn’t it? M&M’s and Nutella are both delicious, obviously, so there was no way this wasn’t going to be good.

And yeah, it is predictably tasty, if not quite the taste extravaganza I might have hoped.

I should note that the wrapper states that it’s a new recipe, so if you’ve had this before, maybe they’ve improved it? Or maybe they’ve made it worse? I have no idea; this is my first time trying it.

It basically tastes how you want it to taste, with a few minor caveats. There’s something slightly off about the flavour that I couldn’t quite put my finger on; it was also a bit more sweet than it needs to be. And I wish the hazelnut filling were creamier, or more accurately, creamy at all — it’s dense and grainy. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it feels like a missed opportunity (and a bit misleading; there is literally nothing spreadable about the “spread” in the middle of these candies).

Also, it’s not a Peanut M&M — the undisputed king of M&M’s — which makes me wonder: why would I eat this when Peanut M&M’s exist in the world? Peanut M&M’s are the ultimate M&M, and if you disagree with this, you’re wrong about M&M’s and wrong about the way you’ve chosen to live your life.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 pack, 38.3 grams): 200 calories, 10 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg of cholesterol, 15 mg of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 22 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, salt, artificial and natural flavors), sugar, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, hazelnut flour (hazelnuts, safflower oil, TBHQ to maintain freshness), dextrose, cornstarch, cocoa powder, less than 1% – corn syrup, dextrin, coloring (includes blue 1 lake, red 40, yellow 6, yellow 5, blue 1), carnauba wax, natural flavor, propyl gallate to maintain freshness, gum acacia.

August 16, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Twix Triple Chocolate – Delightfully Chocolatey

Candy Bars

I quite like Twix. Aside from the fact that it’s the only candy with the cookie crunch (at least according to George Costanza), it features a great balance of crunchy cookie, chewy caramel, and creamy chocolate.

Like the Snickers Creamy Almond Butter that I just reviewed, Twix Triple Chocolate is weirdly small. Presumably this is because a regular Twix is closer to 300 calories, and 200 seems to be the magic number. Suffice it to say, if you attempted to stage a candy line-up with this and standard Twix bars, the size would be a dead giveaway.

Basically, Twix Triple Chocolate is a standard Twix bar, but with cookies and caramel that are infused with cocoa. I was afraid it would be some kind of weird bastardization, but I actually think I prefer this to regular Twix. It’s got everything you love about Twix — the crunchy/chewy/creamy combo is delightfully intact — but with a satisfyingly chocolatey flavour.

My only real problem with a normal Twix bar is that its level of sweetness is a bit intense; the cocoa-packed flavour here does a great job of offsetting that. It’s delicious.

Manufactured by: Mars
Nutritional info (1 pack, 40 grams): 200 calories, 9 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), <5 mg of cholesterol, 95 mg of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, <1 grams of fibre, 19 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, PGPR, artificial flavors), sugar, enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), palm oil, corn syrup, skim milk, dextrose, less than 2% – cocoa powder, chocolate, modified corn starch, salt, soy lecithin, baking soda, artificial flavor.