Cadbury Layers Of Joy: Caramellionaire

Product name: Cadbury Layers Of Joy: Caramellionaire
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of two desserts (Tesco)
Calories: 205 per 90g dessert
Country of origin: UK

I’ve tried a few Pots of joy from Cadbury in my time but this is the first time I’ve tried a new Layers Of Joy, with this brilliantly named ‘Caramellionaire’ being the variety I couldn’t wait to get stuck into.

The purple packaging featured an image of the product that looked like a trifle in style and that was the name it was given in the small print too. Made by Müller Dairy for Mondelez, the full description sounded mouth-watering: ‘shortcake biscuit at heart surrounded by delicious layers of Cadbury milk chocolate mousse, rich caramel dessert and white chocolate mousse’. You probably won’t be surprised to know that it was the white chocolate that particularly caught my eye!

The clear pot made it nice and easy to see three distinct layers of white chocolate (1% of the product was white chocolate powder), caramel, and milk chocolate (another 1% was milk chocolate but the pot also contained cocoa powder). However, despite accounting for 11% of the dessert, the shortbread wasn’t visible.

The dessert smelt of chocolate mousse (possibly as it was at the top!) and the latter aspect was also the key texture throughout. The chocolate layer was deep and provided quite a rich cocoa flavour and this went nicely with the caramel which was the same as my memory of Cadbury Dairy Milk: Pots of joy (caramel) and had quite a butterscotchy flavour to it.

Despite appearances, there was a definite biscuit layer next, with a buttery shortcake taste which was delicious. Rather than being hard and crumbly, this was soft and soggy, but very enjoyable!

I initially struggled to sample some of the white chocolate on its own, and it was hard to notice it against the other flavours, but it was possible to try it in larger quantities at the end of each pot. It was beautifully sweet and tasted a little like vanilla ice cream.

All in all, this was a really good dessert and, although I’d prefer a real piece of millionaire’s shortbread, the combination of layers did produce a satisfyingly authentic experience. To my surprise, it was the biscuit that made it, but every layer made its own unique and tasty contribution.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.63/10

Cadbury Roses: Pots of joy (strawberry dream)

Product name: Cadbury Roses: Pots of joy (strawberry dream)
Purchase details: £1.29 for a pack of four desserts (Tesco)
Calories: 160 per 70g dessert
Country of origin: UK

I was very privileged, growing up, as I was the only member of my family who particularly liked the strawberry and orange cremes in tins of Roses. As a result, they were practically guaranteed to be mine! I couldn’t wait to try them in the form of Cadbury’s Pots of joy by Mondelez.

These new, limited edition strawberry dream desserts had the same overall design as the hazel whirl but it was very pink rather than being brown. They again promised to be ‘smooth’ and ‘creamy’, containing melted milk chocolate (9%) and a strawberry flavoured fondant. Sadly, there was no sign of anything close to real strawberries on the ingredients, so I knew this element was purely achieved through flavourings.

 

Produced by Müller Dairy, the outward appearance remained the same as the hazel whirl and Creme Egg varieties. Beneath the chocolate layer on this occasion, though, was a pale pink delight that added a delicate, sweet strawberry scent to the existing chocolate mousse aroma.

This strawberry dream version actually contained more cream (7%) and chocolate than the other two types I’ve reviewed and I really enjoyed the incredibly creamy taste that combined with the usual, delicious chocolate flavour. The texture was also as exceptional as the Creme Egg's had been – thick and amazingly smooth.

And the strawberry? Well this was a bit artificial and quite medicinal but it was still sugary and tasty. It wasn’t as sweet as an actual Roses chocolate but I don’t think the strawberry element was quite as strong either. However, it did taste like a far superior strawberry milkshake that had the added bonus of chocolate.

Fan-flipping-tastic!

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 10/10
Overall score: 8.5/10

Cadbury Roses: Pots of joy (hazel whirl)

Product name: Cadbury Roses: Pots of joy (hazel whirl)
Purchase details: £1.29 for a pack of four desserts (tesco.com)
Calories: 155 per 70g dessert
Country of origin: UK

Although I’ve only reviewed the Creme Egg version so far, I love trying Cadbury’s Pots of joy, so I was really pleased when they released two new Roses varieties that are based on the popular selection box chocolates. First up, for me, was the hazel whirl.

The cardboard packaging contained the usual bright blue and rose flowers that feature on real boxes of Roses. However, there was also a large brown section to reflect the flavour, with the background leaves tying in with the flower heads above.

The hazel whirl is one of my favourite Roses since it features a whole nut encased in milk chocolate. I was really intrigued by the product illustration, for that reason, since it seemed to show a bitty, nutty section in the centre of the dessert. The description confirmed this, with the ‘smooth’ and ‘creamy’ treat (containing melted chocolate) having ‘a centre with chopped hazelnuts on a smooth hazelnut flavour fondant’. This nutty centre made up 14% of the product and also contained caramel syrup – sounded interesting! 

Made by Müller Dairy, this Mondelez product looked outwardly identical to the Creme Egg: Pots of joy. Unfortunately, the reality of the centre was that the chopped hazelnuts weren’t really visible, although a bumpiness could be seen through the thick topping that contained 7% milk chocolate. There was no nutty scent, either, but the chocolate mousse aroma was still pleasant.

The chocolate layer was the same as the Creme Egg version so tasted just as good. Beneath this, the beige hazelnut section didn’t have the strongest nutty taste ever, but it did have a mild icing sugar-like sweetness which I enjoyed. Combined, these layers remained smooth and still tasted creamy, with cream contributing to 6% of each pot.

As for the chopped nuts, these were soft but chunky and, with the other layers, did a pretty good job of replicating the original hazelnut whirl. Understandably, though, the texture was completely different. It would have strayed from the initial idea further but I did think this layer would have been nicer if the hazelnuts had been caramelised so they provided a crispy texture instead. That’s just me, though!

I found these Cadbury Roses: Pots of joy (hazel whirl) to be another great addition to the range of desserts. I can’t wait to try the strawberry dream next!

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.63/10

Müller Corner: De luxe (Mississippi mud pie)

Product name: Müller Corner: De luxe (Mississippi mud pie)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of two 130g yoghurts (tesco.com)
Calories: 251 per yoghurt
Country of origin: UK

Following my enjoyment of the Müller Corner: De luxe (crème praline), I couldn’t resist trying this new Mississippi mud pie version.

 

My first ever review was of Mr Kipling Dessert Classics: Mississippi mud pies but Müller’s take on the pudding was somewhat different since it added both coffee and toffee. I still haven’t had the real thing, though!

These yoghurts came in the same style of elegant packaging as the crème praline variety, and was represented by a purple tinge, as well as photographs of its flavour inspiration. The product was described as ‘velvety smooth coffee and toffee’ flavoured yoghurt that had been ‘made with whipping cream’ (14%, in fact) and contained an ‘alluring hidden dark chocolate layer’. On this occasion, the ‘add-on’ that got mixed into the yoghurt accounted for 12% of the product and was a pot of ‘exquisite coffee infused dark chocolate coated biscuit pearls’.

 

Starting with the biscuit pieces, these were very small and glossy balls (I could see why they were called ‘pearls’!) that had thick chocolate shells and appeared to contain cocoa inside. Trying a couple on their own, they were very bitter and their thick coating was emphasised by the long time it took to melt. This shell produced a cracking sensation, when chewing, and was the dominant texture. As a result, I found the biscuit itself wasn’t that noticeable, and I didn’t think it tasted of much either.

As previously, I didn’t think the layering of the yoghurt was as impressive in appearance as suggested by the packaging, and the chocolate underlayer had the same watery appearance. The yoghurt was a paler shade than the crème praline and, above anything else, it seemed to have a slightly acidic toffee aroma.

The yoghurt was smooth in texture and had quite a dark coffee flavour that was lifted by the toffee. It had the slight tang that you’d expect from a yoghurt but I didn’t think the chocolate flavour was very powerful. However, the crunchy biscuit pieces were the overwhelming element of the product, and they provided a strong dark chocolate taste that gave the impression of a grown-up dessert. The only downside of this, for me, was that the creaminess of the yoghurt was overshadowed.

I can’t say I enjoyed this yoghurt as much as the crème praline but I think that was more down to personal preference – I’ve got a very sweet tooth so these were a little too bitter for my liking. I would have preferred the whipping cream to be more noticeable but this was a pleasant product nonetheless.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10