NEW! The Nutty One: Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar (M&S)

Marks & Sparks' chocolates have impressed me recently. I used to think that they lacked the high quality to warrant their premium prices, but not I'm starting to reacquaint myself with their range and in doing so I'm turning my existing thoughts on their head.

Far from staying safe with their bars, M&S have started to branch out into more unusual flavour and texture combinations -take 'the crunchy one' for example: one chocolate bar that contains cornflakes, hazelnuts and honeycomb! Also of note is the quality of their range, and I was utterly impressed with the creaminess of their 'the white one'.

I'm pleased to report that M&S have extended their line of chocolate bars again this Spring. Kev reviewed their 'Crazy Orange Loaded Bar' last week, following which he tipped me off about a bar that sounded right up my street: the nutty one.

"Milk chocolate bar containing a layer of soft chocolate fudge (28%) and a crunchy centre with salted peanuts (22%) and peanut butter (6%).

The bar looked a similar shape to a Mars bar, but looked a lot smaller considering it weighs only 5g less. It pleased me enormously when I sliced the'Nutty One'  in two and discovered three distinct layers enrobed in milk chocolate.

The milk chocolate was good quality, something I'm utterly unused to. I should take shares out with Reese's with the amount of their peanut butter cups I eat, and so at first it felt strange to enjoy a beautifully creamy milk chocolate instead of the American 'chocolate flavoured coating' I've grown accustomed to. The fudge made up the bottommost tier and didn't taste remotely chocolatey, but the taste was sublime- smooth with the faintest hint of butterscotch.

Of course, the star of the show had to be the peanut butter core. Whilst the salted peanut pieces that studded it weren't as chunky as I'd have liked -nor were there enough of them- the punchy peanut butter flavour was outstanding. Hallelujah! M&S used proper peanut butter to create a firm, salty-sweet layer that's quite simply delicious. 

I absolutely adored the Nutty One, its three tiers worked in perfect matrimony and it tasted like a (much more) upmarket version of Reese's. The Nutty One is a cracking addition to M&S's rather marvellous chocolate bar range, and I'm already craving my next fix. Bravo Marks & Sparks! 

10/10