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

Nestlé Aero: Bubbly mousse (orange & choc)

Product name: Nestlé Aero: Bubbly mousse (orange & choc)
Purchase details: £0.50 for a pack of four mousses (Asda)
Calories: 84 per 58g mousse
Country of origin: UK

I tried the white chocolate and mint versions of Nestlé Aero: Bubbly mousse a couple of years ago so, when I saw a limited edition orange version was available, I couldn’t wait to try it. My relatively recent enjoyment of the orange bar helped too, as did the great price!

The packaging’s design was very much linked with the wrappers found on the chocolate bars. There was also an image of a spoonful of the mousse and, although I liked the look of the chocolate swirl, I did think the combination of the consistency and orange colour was a bit unnerving! However, the colours weren’t artificial, and I knew that the orange flavour was also natural. In addition, the mousse part of this ‘orange flavoured bubbly dessert with chocolate sauce’ made up 88% of the product and, within that, 68% was whole milk – not exactly a scary prospect!

In the end, the actual mousse did have a generally attractive appearance, but it really reminded me of Hallowe’en because the chocolate ripple looked a bit like a spider’s web on an orange backdrop. Unfortunately, I hate Hallowe’en with a passion, so this wasn’t a good thing for me!

In better news, the mousse had a nice orange aroma, although it was more subtle than the chocolate bar's scent. I also really enjoyed the way the soft, foamy texture melted in the mouth.

 

Initially, the flavour didn’t grab me. Rather than tasting like orange chocolate, it was like milk with a hint of orange and stronger cocoa hints. I also felt that it was a bit artificial, despite the evidence to the contrary. Thankfully, though, the flavour improved as I went on, and I particularly enjoyed the bits which contained more of the chocolate sauce – I’d never really appreciated before just how important the chocolate is in orange-flavoured chocolate!

On the whole, I thought this was a great product for the calories. The serving size was decent, both in appearance and, despite the air, in weight. I would have preferred a stronger orange flavour with more of a kick but this was still great as an everyday kind of snack.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

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