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

Wonka Chocolate Nice Cream

Product name: Wonka Chocolate Nice Cream
Purchase details: £0.69 for an individual bar (A Quarter of Sweets)
Calories: 193 per bar

Following my review of Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread a few days ago, this is my review for the other bar I picked up from A Quarter of Sweets: Wonka Chocolate Nice Cream. This bar was presented in similar packaging (although with a cream-coloured strip along the bottom rather than a golden one) and again, no specific information about the country of origin was given.

At first glance, I thought the product image showed a jam layer which would be similar to the strawberry and raspberry sauces that are often used on ice cream, but this, of course, was called Chocolate Nice Cream, and the product description said the bar contained a ‘smooth vanilla creme topped with chocolate sauce’.

Again, this bar was divided into four squares, but these ones were more interesting in appearance and featured a raised depiction of an ice cream bowl with a Wonka ‘W’ wafer. Apart from the fact I thought this looked a bit more cupcake-like than ice cream-like, I considered this to be a nice touch which also allowed for a deeper filling by raising the height of the outer milk chocolate layer.

The bar had quite a dark chocolatey scent and I was pleased to see that all three layers of the product were relatively thick. The vanilla flavoured filling provided 30% of the overall experience and looked lovely and smooth and, encouragingly, had visible vanilla pod specks. The chocolate flavoured filling that sat atop the vanilla creme was almost treacle-coloured and looked a bit like jelly in texture. Although the bar only contained half as much chocolate sauce as the vanilla centre, there still seemed to be a lot of it.

I found the chocolate to be really sweet and more sugary than chocolatey in flavour. I did love the satisfying crack it provided, though, before giving way to the bar’s soft innards. The chocolate sauce was gooey and quite thick, texturally, but it was still soft and, as intended, tasted like the chocolate sauces served with ice cream. The vanilla creme was stiffer than I’d expected, although, again, soft on the whole. Taste-wise, it was creamy but only had a mild vanilla flavour. Overall, I thought the bar tasted quite artificial whilst still being enjoyable, but it was only really the chocolate sauce that seemed reminiscent of ice cream since the creme layer didn’t quite cut it. 

As I usually do, I also tried letting a couple of squares melt on the tongue, and I found this had pros and cons. It released a creaminess from the chocolate before leading onto the sugariness that had been immediate when chewing the bar, and it also allowed the chocolate flavour to become gradually richer as the outer layer combined with the inner sauce. However, I found the vanilla layer did feel a bit rubbery when left behind in the mouth after these two chocolate elements had melted.

Whilst this bar scored the same, overall, as the Millionaire’s Shortbread version, the breakdown of points shows they had different things to offer. I preferred the flavours offered by the Millionaire’s Shortbread bar, but this Chocolate Nice Cream product was still pretty decent in its own way. 

Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.5/10

Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread

Product name: Wonka Millionaire’s Shortbread
Purchase details: £0.69 for an individual bar (A Quarter of Sweets)
Calories: 200 per bar 

Ah, Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory – a place of dreams. I loved reading the Roald Dahl books as a kid and I enjoyed the two film adaptations of the story even more (if only because you could see the chocolate delights!).

I remember the excitement of the last Wonka bars being released in 2005 in line with the second of the films. However, my memories are tinged with sadness since the day I finally got to try them turned out to be the day that my Nan died. As a result, I don’t remember much about the chocolate itself – just the bittersweet moment of sharing the different varieties out amongst a shell-shocked family. I do know I enjoyed the products, though, so I was delighted when I heard the brand was making a return with some new varieties. Needless to say, when I saw on A Quarter of Sweets' Facebook page that they had them in stock, it didn’t take me long to pay a visit to the store to buy one of each variety!

These bars seem to have attracted a lot of bad press for their apparently high calorie contents. However, as a dieter, this is a complete non-issue for me since there are fewer calories in these bars than many other single-serving bars I consume.

The bar I’m reviewing first is the Millionaire’s Shortbread variety which came described as ‘soft caramel and crumbly biscuit’ and was presented in a purple wrapper that contained the Wonka logo and somehow captured the magic of the story. It felt like good quality too. Whilst I’m not sure where the bar was produced, the contact address given on the wrapper was for York, whilst the trademark was for Nestlé, Switzerland.

Prior to purchasing my own bars, I’d read Kev's review and seen that the caramel in this bar was like the kind that used to feature in Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky caramel bars rather than being the gooey, sauce-like substance that most people associate with the foodstuff. I have to say, though, that I considered this to be a positive thing as it’s something a bit different with a less messy texture that I enjoy, and so my anticipation was increased.

The bar was quite plain in appearance and consisted of four squares that had a slight ripple effect through the chocolate and contained a little Wonka ‘W’ in a corner of each piece (annoyingly for my OCD, this looked a bit too random!). The inner caramel layer that provided  50% of the product was a lovely, golden colour that was visibly flecked with bits of biscuit, and the bar emitted a slightly milky chocolate aroma with a tinge of caramel – very similar to the Kit Kat: Chunky caramel smell, although milder.

On placing the first piece in my mouth, I was hit with an instant flavour which was different to what I’d been expecting. At this point, only the chocolate was in contact with my tongue, but the taste was almost of brown sugar. This flavour became richer as the chocolate melted and, on reaching the filling, the taste of caramel was evident, although it was very rich and sugary – different but nice! (I also agree with Kev about its similarity to the Kit Kat: Chunky caramel and I maintain that this was a good thing!) 6% of the bar was made up of pieces of biscuit and, unfortunately, this did ruin the melt of the bar. However, it also added a saltiness which prevented a sweetness overload.

I love millionaire’s shortbread so I’d been interested to see this bar’s interpretation of the cake. (For those who are interested, my blog’s profile image is of Snickers Flapjack – an amazing amalgamation of millionaire’s shortbread, flapjack and peanut butter!) I’d found the bar quite solid to cut through, which I’d expect from the real thing, and the caramel layer was also thick which I consider to be important for this product. Obviously, the fact that the caramel wasn’t runny did stray from the usual traybake, but I did find that the fudgy flavour it provided was one I’d associate with millionaire’s shortbread. The biscuit bits were pleasantly crunchy but, again, this was texturally different from the norm since, to me, the shortbread base should be more crumbly. My only other slight criticism was that the chocolate flavour was not overly strong and so it only played a small part in the overall experience.

Was this bar as magical as the story I grew up with? Well, no. But it was a pretty good product that I’d definitely make a regular purchase if it were made available in cheaper multipacks. 

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