The Chocolate Smiths Birthday Cake Bizarre Bar (Online)

Normally I like to hide from my Birthday and pretend that I'm not really getting any older. It helps that I spend most of my week at uni with my fellow students who are mostly 8 years younger, and can forget that I've got a mortgage to pay (until I come home to the bills). This year however has been an exception, and I've managed to extrapolate my celebrations for a full week and counting. Well, the Birthday food anyway.

So what could be better than Birthday Cake? A Birthday Cake chocolate bar of course! It's not just me who has cause for celebration, gourmet chocolatiers and creators of the Bizarre Bars The Chocolate Smiths are turning 3 this year and have such brought out a special Bizarre Bar, and I was lucky enough to receive one to review. Thanks guys!

"It’s our Birthday, so it’s time to celebrate! Delicious crumbly milk chocolate with a chocolatey filling, topped off with white chocolate and sprinkles. Yum! We’ve supplied the cake AND it’s your chance to win a party! If you find a lucky ticket inside the bar, you will win an amazing chocolatey party pack!"

Now my only experience of The Chocolate Smiths thus far hasn't been great; if you'll remember, I reviewed the Cookie Dough Pie bar last year. The Pudding Parlour did admit though that the bars had been kept in warm temperatures however, which had led to the blooms and spoilage on the bar. I really hoped the scrummy sounding Birthday Cake Bar would fair better.

What a beautiful looking slab! Given my recent disappointment at not being able to rekindle my nostalgia and buy Cadbury's Top Deck in Kuala Lumpur, I was extremely happy to discover that The Chocolate Smith's bar was similarly layered with white and milk chocolate. There wasn't any white spots of death to be seen either. So far, so good.

At first my tastebuds were confused by the combination of chocolate. The flavour was just a very sweet milk chocolate with crunchy bits in. But then, I realised that I could peel the top from the bottom and that's when things got really interesting.

On their own, both types of Belgian Chocolate were delicious, and I especially loved the white. What I hadn't acknowledged beforehand was the canals of chocolate sauce that ran between the layers. Once apart I was able to taste it on its own, and it was good, but I think a praline would've been punchier and therefore more noticeable when the bar was intact.

Dear The Chocolate Smiths, you have more than redeemed yourself. I now desperately want to try all of the other bars in their range - especially the Americana (peanut butter & pretzel), Cheese & Cracker and Maple Bacon Bizzares. All of the bars are available to purchase from their online shop, and you can even mix and match 3 bars for £10.50. What are you waiting for?

9/10

Thank you to The Chocolate Smiths for my Birthday bar!