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!
I feel very lucky to have met some wonderful bloggers in the last year (albeit through the web and not in the flesh). For the most part it's a very supportive community of people who go out of their way to help each other. One of the more recent friendships I have struck up as a result of our shared love of food is Nat (from lot-o-choc blog) and in the past few weeks I have been utterly spoiled by her with not one but two parcels of chocolatey goodies. The first contained the most fascinating sounding bar I have ever caught sight of, made by a company who I have been dying to try for months. Nat informs me that the Cookie Dough Pie is made for The Pudding Parlour by The Chocolate Smiths. The Chocolate Smiths are a company I had never heard of pre-blog, but they make the most extraordinary bars -anyone for Bacon, Cheese 'n' Crackers or Bubblegum flavoured chocolate? By comparison the Cookie Dough Pie sounds more tame but far more delicious than their other offerings.
"A handmade Belgian milk chocolate bar with fudge chunks and cookie dough biscuit pieces. This chocolate bar simulates the flavours of our best selling and much loved Cookie Dough Pie."
I couldn't wait to dig in, and that very evening the bar was open. The first thing I noticed was the visible fudge chunks that were dotted about the place, looking far more appealing than the ones in the Cadbury Medley bar. Then, I spotted the dreaded white spoilage bubbles on the corners of some of the squares, despite a best before date of July 2017.
Luckily the chocolate itself tasted silky and smooth for the most part, melting in the mouth with a luxurious creaminess. The fudge pieces were oddly tough however, and almost toffee-like in consistency. I really enjoyed the biscuit pieces, which were unexpectedly crunchy, and lacked the softness that makes the cookie dough in Ben & Jerry's so devilishly moreish. It was such a shame that some of the chocolate was stale, ruining the star aspect of the bar.
I'm shocked that such a bar warrants such a high price point of £3.50. The novelty is attractive, and it's so frustrating that it's not executed as well as it could. I know that I sound so ungrateful, but Nat also tried the bar and thought similarly to me. Please do check out her review here. Thanks for sending me the Cookie Dough Pie Bar Nat!
6/10
