Kinder Bueno

Product name: Kinder Bueno
Purchase details: £0.70 for a 43g bar or three for £1.20 (Tesco Superstore)
Calories: 122 per 21.5g finger (244 per bar)
Country of origin: UK

I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t like Ferrero’s Kinder Bueno – a light yet satisfying ‘milk and hazelnut’ chocolate bar.

Presented in the brand’s familiar milk-white and red packaging, there was also a nice image of the inner product which was divided into two individually-wrapped fingers. A portion was only supposed to be one of these but I can honestly say I’ve never saved the other one until later!

Each finger was divided into four segments which weren’t too dissimilar from the Cadbury Crispello pieces. These cubes of ‘milk chocolate covered wafer’ were much fuller of their ‘smooth milky and hazelnut filling’, though, and were finished with a nice drizzle of darker chocolate too.

The bar had a light nutty scent with a hint of milk chocolate and I thought its 10.5% hazelnut content seemed pretty good going. These nuts were present in the very pale beige filling which had been smooth to cut through and also proved to be incredibly soft – hence the little dent where I accidentally knocked it with my finger! In the mouth, its smoothness continued, and it was lovely and thick too. I could taste both the milk and the nuts and this combination dominated the product’s flavour.

 

Despite containing 31.5% chocolate, this aspect wasn’t very noticeable, although it did add something a little extra to the crispy wafer and filling. It was clear from each finger’s base that the coating wasn’t particularly thick but it did still manage to provide relatively strong cocoa flavours if left to melt. Sucking each piece also provided the added advantage of the three components dissolving together.

I hadn’t had a Kinder Bueno for a while but I was pleased to find it hadn’t changed – as well as the great taste, I particularly loved how the filling had a habit of sticking to the roof the mouth. Delicious! 

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 8/10

Cadbury Fingers (milk chocolate)

Product name: Cadbury Fingers (milk chocolate)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 150g box (Poundland)
Calories: 110 per four finger serving (28 per finger)
Country of origin: UK

It’s time to review another of my low-calorie snack staples: Cadbury Fingers (milk chocolate).

This box was identical in appearance to the white chocolate version – it was just a slightly larger size and featured brown fingers, as well as having a white base instead of a pale blue one.

Made by Burton’s Biscuit Co., these ‘crunchy biscuit fingers smothered in Cadbury milk chocolate’ had the same outer appearance as the Fingers: Fabulous but only had plain biscuit inside. The chocolate was quite dull in appearance but, pleasingly, it made up 48% of the product.

These Fingers also had the same good, sweet and creamy smell of the Fabulous version, and they tasted nice and sweet too. I did wish Cadbury had used their famous Dairy Milk but these were still tasty and I enjoyed the very crispy biscuit, despite the chocolate feeling a bit grainy.

Lovely jubbly!

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

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

Huttons of Windermere Old Bank House Chocolate Shop: Milk chocolate bar

Product name: Huttons of Windermere Old Bank House Chocolate Shop: Milk chocolate bar
Purchase details: Old Bank House Chocolate Shop
Country of origin: England

I was recently given this 100g bar of chocolate from my sister and brother-in-law as a thank you for looking after their cat when they went to the Lake District.

Confusingly, the Huttons of Windermere website says they make their own chocolate, but the base of the simple, gold cardboard box said my bar had been made by Whitakers Chocolates Ltd – confusing!

The milk chocolate contained a minimum of 25% cocoa solids and 14% milk solids and was divided into seven very chunky pyramids with a stripy design.

Bizarrely, there seemed to be an element of mint in both the aroma and the flavour – I think it was my imagination rather than contamination! On the whole, though, it had the milky taste of most souvenir chocolates of this kind.

The pieces were a bit too big for the mouth but they did have a nice, thick melt. I tended to get bored part way through and chew the remainder, though, as I loved the snap and density of the chocolate.

 

I very much enjoyed this bar of chocolate and hope to visit the Old Bank House Chocolate Shop myself one day to see what other treats I can find!

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10