Wonka Crème Brûlée

Product name: Wonka Crème Brûlée
Purchase details: £1.40 for a 100g bar (tesco.com)
Calories: 111 per two square serving (555 per bar) 

A couple of months ago, I reviewed the two newly-released Wonka bars (Millionaire's Shortbread and Nice Cream). At the time, the Crème Brûlée variety was due to join the collection but had yet to make an appearance. Whilst I managed to obtain this ‘scrumdiddlyumptiously shareable’ 100g bar shortly afterwards, it has taken me until now to try it (as is always the way, I’ve seen them everywhere since!).

As with the other bars, the Crème Brûlée came in a pinky-purple wrapper but, for some reason, I didn’t think this looked as magical in appearance (maybe my initial excitement had just worn off!). Once again, the packaging didn’t state where this Nestlé product had been made, but it did have a useful opening and sealing method which worked well...not that there was any chance of my bar being resealed! The other plus points mentioned on the wrapper were that that bar contained no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and that it was part of the Cocoa Plan – ‘supporting farmers for better chocolate’.

The bar was divided into 10 large squares that each contained a ridged circle for decoration, within which was, alternately, a Wonka ‘W’ or what looked a bit like a sun but was a bit too faint to make out. The milk chocolate contained a minimum 14% milk solids and gave out a noticeable chocolatey aroma on opening. The filling was described as a ‘vanilla crème with a caramel crunch’ and the ‘caramel flavoured sugar pieces’ that made up the latter also smelt of burnt caramel up close.

The ‘vanilla flavoured filling’ contributed to 40% of the bar and looked almost identical to the Nice Cream filling – it was smooth and contained specks of vanilla and, on eating, the caramel pieces were also visible. Unfortunately, this vanilla crème also tasted and felt the same as the one used for the Nice Cream bar – I struggled to taste the vanilla and it was rubbery to the extent that, after allowing the chocolate coating to melt, it just remained on the tongue, flexing but not really dissolving. On the plus side, 6% of the bar was the caramel pieces within this crème, and this added an interesting, bitty texture, as well as a sweet sugar taste.

The chocolate used for this bar had a strange taste to it. The cocoa flavour was there but there was also a slight chemical element to it. Whilst it was creamy, I did think it was a bit too sweet. This wasn’t a problem in itself but I just didn’t seem right for milk chocolate. However, it did melt well, and the slow nature in which this happened allowed the caramelised pieces to be gradually released to be crunched on. The squares could have done with being a bit smaller, though, since I found they reached quite far back in my mouth!

Combined with the other ingredients, I found the whole experience a bit strange – it certainly tasted like no crème brûlée I’ve ever had before. It was pretty rich, and I certainly wouldn’t describe the flavours as ‘unpleasant’, but it was just odd. In addition, whilst the bar didn’t have a hard texture, I’d expected the filling to be softer and creamier, so I was quite disappointed.

I so wanted to love this bar but it was actually my least favourite of the three Wonka flavours. It was by no means disgusting, but it certainly left some important boxes unticked. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 6/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 6.75/10