The latest offering to join the Dairy Milk range are these Marvellous Creations bars. There are two to choose from; Jelly Popping Candy Shells, and Cookie Nut Crunch. They're actually based on the Marvellous Creations bars that have been available in Australia for some time.
The Jelly Popping Candy Shells bar is an interesting concoction combining fruit flavoured jellies (6%), sugar coated candies (6%), and popping candy (4%). The jellies and candies are whole sweets that have been included in the chocolate, rather than little broken up pieces.
The resulting bar is an interesting medley of different textures. The fruit pieces are basically chewy jelly bean type sweets, with a vaguely fruity flavour. The sugar coated candy (that's mini Smarties to you and me) are very colourful and add a nice crunchiness. The popping candy is present throughout the whole bar, giving the Dairy Milk chocolate that slightly fizzing feeling on the tongue. Depending on your view of popping candy, this either completely ruins the satisfying chocolate melt OR enhances it to new levels of enjoyment. It really depends if you are a popping candy kind of person or not!
Overall I'm in two minds about this bar. On the one hand, I'm pleased that Cadbury is bringing out something so different to the UK market. On the other hand, it's a bit of a novelty that I can't imagine buying again. This conflict was reflected in the views of my testers. No surprise that my eldest son loved it and thought the flavour was brilliant. My husband however, absolutely hated everything about it and even insisted that I give this bar my first minus score! Don't worry Cadbury that's not going to happen!
Luckily for the popping-candy-phobes out there the second bar is a much safer choice in terms of flavour. The Cookie Nut Crunch is made up of biscuit pieces (8%) and chopped roasted caramelised hazelnut (3%). It turns out that being chopped, roasted and caramelised means that the hazelnuts don't really taste of hazelnuts anymore. I thought they were actually little pieces of hard toffee. They're almost too small to be able to properly discern the flavour. The cookie pieces are much more successful, there are lots of circular chunks that look, and taste, like mini choc chip cookies.
The combination of these added ingredients creates another crunchy and chewy textured bar but with flavours that are much easier to appreciate. It's a very tasty bar but it doesn't have same quirky impact as the Jelly Popping Candy Shells bar.
To sum up - if you want to play it safe then the Cookie Nut Crunch is the bar to try, if you want to give your taste buds a tingle then give the Jelly Popping Candy a go!
Grocery Gems Verdict: Cadbury Marvellous Creations
RATING: Jelly Popping Candy Shells - 6.5 out of 10, Cookie Nut Crunch - 7.0 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Maybe.
Nutrition: Jelly Popping Candy Shells - 235 cals, Cookie Nut Crunch - 245 cals.
Vegetarian: Cookie Crunch - Not suitable.
Purchased: Co-Op.
Price: £0.50p for 47g bar.
I want to try both of these, but I was totally shocked (as many are judging by things I've read online) at the price of the large bars - £3.57 in Tesco!!!!! :-O So small bars it will have to be!
ReplyDeleteoh yes I saw that too. TOTAL RIP OFF! The rrp. for the large bars is £2.75!
DeleteI saw the big bars in Tesco tonight and couldn't believe the price! People are obviously paying it though as there weren't many left!
ReplyDeleteI saw the big bars for £2.25 in Morrisons today so they are getting cheaper!
DeleteMorrisons were selling them at £1.24 a couple of weeks ago which was suppose to be half price meaning they should be £2.48, Tescos were selling them at around £3.50 which is a total rip off, I would never pay this for a chocolate bar of this size however nice they are.
DeleteThere are delicious! I have had a few of these myself in the last week, couldn't help myself, ha. But expensive for the big bars as others above mentioned. Cookie nut crunch was my fav.
ReplyDeleteCookie Nut Crunch is definitely my favourite too!
DeleteI tried the candy one and thought it was horrible. First time I've ever thrown chocolate away!
ReplyDeleteIt's a real love/hate bar that one! My hubby hated it too and I have to admit we didn't finish the whole bar either!
DeleteI tried the jelly popping candy one yesterday and I think that it may be my new favourite chocolate bar! I loved all the different textures and in my opinion, the amount of fruity flavour was just right :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really pleased to hear that! It's so nice to find a new favourite :)
Deletedisappointed they couldn't make these vegetarian like most of their other products
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree :(
Deletethe candy one is definitely vegetarian, just seen the symbol on the packaging. theres no gelatine in the ingredients either.
DeleteThe candy one actually isn't vegertarian, as it contains shellac in the ingredients which is from an insect.. So if you don't mind eating insects go for it.
DeleteShellac is vegetarian - the shellac is an excretion from a beetle and collecting it does not harm the insect therefore it is not vegan (as with any milk chocolate) but IS vegetarian. The vegetarian society considers shellac to be vegetarian.
Deleteby the way they have them in b&m bargains for only £1.49 each!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great deal!! Thanks for posting :)
Deleteb and m and home bargains £1:50, my local shop £1:99, blockbuster £2:50 Tesco £3:50+ what is going on, jelly popping candy shells, nice! suitable for vegetarians aswell but the other one cokkie nut crunch isn't.
ReplyDeleteI think I've found a new favourite :) it tastes so good with the combination of fruit jelly and chocolate and the popping candy and candy shells really add to it. I'm resisting eating the whole 200g bar at once =P
ReplyDeleteHalf price in Morrisons for a big bar, £1.24 I think I paid today. Nearly eaten whole bar of the jelly one - whoops, ill blame it on being 8 months pregnant :)
ReplyDeletewould anyone happen to know what it is in the cookie nut crunch that makes it not suitable for vegetarians
ReplyDeleteThe Cookie Nut Crunch says clearly on the label "Not Suitable For Vegetarians" but I'm not sure what ingredient it could be - perhaps the Shellac?
DeleteHere's the full ingredients if it helps (it's a long list!):
Milk, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Vegetable Fat, Wheat Flour, Cocoa Mass, Chopped Hazelnuts, Emulsifiers (E442, E476, Rapeseed Lecithin, Soya Lecithin), Invert Sugar Syrup, Blanched Almonds, Tapioca Starch, Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk, Wheat Starch, Fat Reduced Cocoa, Salt, Dried Whey, Dried Skimmed Milk, Milkfat, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Partially Demineralised Dried Ehey, Flavourings, Glazing Agents (Gum Arabic, Shellac).
The jelly popping candy shells also contains shellac.. So in fact it's not vegetarian? As who wants to eat insects when they're supposed to be vegertarian?
Deletemm yeah
ReplyDeletethankss
by the way your blog is awesome :)
mm yeah
ReplyDeletethankss
by the way your blog is awesome :)
I have been taken over by Cadbury's Marvellous Creation jelly popping candy shells - who needs holidays. It is hypnotic - I love it sooooooo much. Will try iot with ice cream
ReplyDeleteSo annoyed that the candy shell one also isn't vegetarian as they both contain Shellac!!
ReplyDeleteShellac is a by product of insects rather than actual insects. It's like eggs or honey so it's suitable for vegetarians but not vegans.
DeleteE476 however can be from animal fats
DeleteFor anyone asking why it is not vegetarian I have just looked it up myself and E422 came up with this:
ReplyDeleteManufactured either synthetically or from a mixture of Glycerol (E422
) and partially hardened rape seed oil.
Used mainly as an emulsifier, to lower the surface tension of water so allowing the better combining of oils, fats and water, and as a stabiliser, to prevent separation. Similar in use to Lecithin (E322
). Limited use as an antioxidant.
Vegetarians should note that although industrial manufacturing based on propylene or sugar accounts for a large percentage of glycerol production, it can be obtained as a by-product in making soap from animal and vegetable fats and oils.
Found in cocoa and chocolate products. It is the emulsifier found in Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate.
The candy bar would taste great with licorice rather than the jelly.
ReplyDeleteafter having chocolate years ago from aldi, and lidl, would never touch cadbury again , its like lard, once you had the best nothing else will do.
ReplyDeleteThe bar is Vegetarian, I just ate a bar and it has a big V on it.. The best new chocolate bar out there.. Me and my girlfriend love them so much we are buying several bars a week. It is a great mix anyone who does not like them must be living in cloud cuckoo land.
ReplyDelete