Marks & Spencer Italian Dark Gianduja Bar with Whole Hazelnuts

I've been itching to try this Dark Chocolate Italian Gianduja bar since it appeared in the new M&S Chocolate range recently. As much as I loved the Swiss Blond Chocolate Bar from the range, I do prefer to avoid dairy so this dairy free, vegan bar sounded right up my street. It also reminded me of the lovely (but not so fortunately named) Vego Hazelnut Bar I once tried which was LOVELY, so I had high hopes!

Described simply as a "Gianduja dark chocolate bar with whole hazelnuts" this costs £1.50 and contains 65g per pack. Although it's dairy free, don't eat it if you're super lactose sensitive as it's made in a factory that uses milk ingredients.

Like the Vego Bar, it comes in two thick chunks with an eerily identical symbol that I think is supposed to be cocoa pods? I wonder if this is made by the same company..

On the underside of the bar the whole hazelnuts looked very plentiful indeed - I do love chocolate bars that don't skimp on the nuts!

Taking a bite, it was every bit as delicious as I had anticipated - like the Vego Bar it's pretty much "Nutella in bar form"! The hazelnut paste mixed with the chocolate gives it a super smooth, melt in the mouth luxurious texture, so it feels like you're eating praline rather than chocolate. In fact it didn't taste like dark chocolate at all - the taste and texture of the nuts makes it feel like a milk chocolate bar! The whole hazelnuts add a lovely nutty crunch and taste very fresh; these are not just any nuts, but M&S nuts...(sorry - I had to go there!)

Overall, whether you're vegan, dairy free or not this is an exceptional tasting chocolate bar that I would recommend to anyone (unless of course you have a nut allergy!) The perfect treat for a cold snowy day, these would go down well with a coffee or hot chocolate.

Nutrition (per half bar): 13.3g Fat, 189 Calories, 13.2g Sugars.

Ingredients: Cane sugar, cocoa mass, hazelnuts 18%, hazelnut paste 16%, cocoa butter, emulsifier soya lecithin, vanilla extract. Cocoa solids 31% minimum. Suitable for vegetarians. 

8.5 out of 10. 

Kitkat Senses to return with Salted Caramel, Hazelnut & Double Chocolate!

A quick post today with some interesting snacks news: Nestle are going to relaunch their axed Kitkat Senses brand in a miniature version, which will come boxed and contains Kitkat wafers with three different fillings: Salted Caramel, Hazelnut and Double Chocolate. The boxes will retail at £3.99, containing 20 bars and will be available in Tesco in the next week, and other supermarkets in March. This is intended to be a permanent release and not limited edition. The Salted Caramel variety will contain a layer of caramel and crunchy sugar shards, the hazelnut a layer of praline and crunchy pieces of nut, and the double chocolate will have a layer of ganache and cocoa nibs.

The bars are being launched in box format to meet the demand for sharing products and will be situated next to products like Ferrero Rocher and Maltesers. A hazelnut only version will also be launched.

Are you excited? Do you remember the original Kitkat Senses bars? Which flavour takes your fancy the most? Let me know in the comments!

Nestle L'Atelier Cranberries, Almonds & Hazelnuts Milk Chocolate

As well as the Nestle L'Atelier Salted Caramel bar I reviewed the other day, I also picked up this 100g bar of Milk Chocolate with Cranberries, Almonds & Hazelnuts in Sainsbury's Express recently. It was on offer for £1.50 - usually it's £2. It comes foil wrapped which I love, since most chocolates are plastic wrapped nowadays and I'm sure it makes a difference in the taste.

It's described as "Smooth milk chocolate with dried sweteened cranberries and whole hazelnuts and almonds", and the chocolate contains 30% minimum cocoa solids and 18% milk solids.

Like the other bars in the range, the cranberries and nuts are clearly visible in each block which is nice as it means you know exactly what you're getting.

Breaking a piece off, it had a nice chunky feel and reminded me a little of the Nestle Double Cream bars from many many years ago. Anyone remember them?

The chocolate tastes pretty creamy and melts in the mouth nicely, but definitely has that distinctive "woody" taste that you just know is Nestle. It's kind of like a higher quality version of the chocolate they use in their other products. I wouldn't say it screams high quality but it was pleasant. The cranberries and nuts are really where the bar shines, they're so plentiful and combine well with the chocolate, making this feel like a posh Fruit and Nut bar. In fact considering Cadbury's Fruit and Nut tastes rather greasy these days, I'd say this tasted better.

Overall, this is a pretty tasty bar and worth picking up if you spot it on special offer. I wouldn't go out of your way for it though, the other bars in the Nestle L'Atelier range like the Blonde Chocolate with Nuts look a lot more interesting!

Nutrition Information (per piece): 77 Calories, 4.6g Fat, 7.5g Carbohydrates, 7.3g Sugars, 1.2g Protein. 

Ingredients: Sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, dried sweetened cranberries (6%) (sugar, dried cranberries, sunflower oil), almonds 5%, hazelnuts 5%, emulsifier sunflower lecithin. 

7.5 out of 10. 

New M&S Blond Chocolate, Vegan Gianduja Bars & More! (Spotted In Shops)

Another Spotted In Shops, and today it's the turn of M&S with some of their interesting new chocolates - first up one that will no doubt excite many, it's their new Blond Swiss Chocolate! It seems that 2018 is the year of blond chocolates, what with Nestle also selling their L'Atelier Blonde Hazelnuts & Almonds bar at Sainsbury's...I wonder how long until Cadbury's follow suit? (they recently launched a blonde chocolate called Cadbury's Caramilk in New Zealand and it looks amazing!).

This M&S variety is made with caramelised sugar, cocoa butter, milk and dried whey...see the ingredients list above. Do want!

M&S are also doing some new filled bars such as this White Chocolate Cappuccino, with a creamy coffee ganache filling.

Plus there's Milk Chocolate Stracciatella, with a creamy filling and dark chocolate pieces:

And this Italian White Chocolate with Whole Pistachios...

And Italian Milk Chocolate with Whole Almonds:

And something rather special since it's dairy free and suitable for vegans - this Italian Gianduja Bar, made with dark chocolate and whole hazelnuts!

They're also doing some coated nuts, including Belgian Dark Chocolate Almonds, Milk Chocolate Almonds and Salted Caramel Covered Almonds!

Plus this Marks and Spencer Luxury Chocolate Coated Fruit and Nut Selection which is "an assortment of delicious chocolate coated almonds and blackcurrants".

There's also this new Swiss Chocolate Giandor bar, with a smooth creamy almond filling:

Plus this Swiss Chocolate Chunky Triple Nut Milk Chocolate:

And some new varieties of single origin Dark Chocolate, from this 71% Sao Tome Bar:

to this 71% Single Origin Madagascar Bar:

and also this 75% Single Estate Los Palmitos Bar:

There's also some new "added superfood" bars, including this White Chocolate, Raspberry & Matcha Bar:

Plus for a caffeine boost there's this Latte Coffee Kick Chocolate, made with coffee beans and "melts in the mouth like chocolate":

There's also a Turmeric Milk Chocolate bar in the range, plus these heatlhier filled bars...

M&S Coconut, Cashew & Pineapple bar coated in white chocolate:

Plus a Date, Walnut and Pumpkin Seed Bar coated in milk chocolate:

As well as these treats M&S are also doing their usual yearly selection of wonderful Easter Eggs, but I will share those with you all in another post!

If you have tried any of these chocolates or would like to see any reviewed - do let me know in the comments!

Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts Review

This is one I've had in the archives for a good long while now - I don't know how on earth I missed it! I'm usually quick to review anything new and Ritter related if I see it in a UK store, and this was one I snapped up at the bargain price of 69p in Heron Foods when they were on clearance. Containing whole hazelnuts and dark chocolate, this promised to be very special considering Ritter's track record with nutty chocolates.

As expected, the nuts were nicely roasted and whole, sticking out of the side of bar when broken into:

And combined with the dark chocolate they were perfect! Ok, maybe it's not as tasty as the milk or white chocolate versions, but for something a little less sweet and richer, this is a pretty tasty bar. You just can't beat Ritter's nutty bars...no other mainstream brand is quite on par. A shame they're not more widely available in the UK.

Overall, whilst not the best Ritter Sport bar out there, for a dark chocolate and nut combination this is pretty fine. If you love such combinations it's definitely worth a try - and I believe it's now stocked in some WH Smiths stores (I've seen it in my local train station store anyway).

8 out of 10.

NuttVia Hazelnut Chocolate Spread Review

Today's review is the second time I've reviewed a sugar free chocolate spread made with sweeteners. The last time I suffered the all too familiar "unintended side effects", which scared me enough this time...why did I take this task on? The things I do for snacks research!

This spread contains 97% less sugar than standard chocolate spreads on the market, and is also palm oil free. In comparison, palm oil is the first ingredient in the leading brand Nutella. It's sweetened with a mixture of erythritol, maltitiol, stevia and maltodextrin. It also contains whey powder so unfortunately isn't suitable for vegans or those with dairy allergies.

The promise of a sugar free hazelnut spread made with sweeteners had me cautiously excited, because while I'm trying to reduce my sugar intake I don't enjoy being on the toilet all night! Eventually I faced my fears and tucked in with a spoon.

The spread is very lovely; rich, nutty and creamy and despite being sugar free it's still sweet enough. In fact I couldn't tell that it was sugar free at all...there was hardly any difference from this to regular chocolate spread, apart from the fact it tasted a bit less sickly.

Overall, this is a great product from NuttVia, definitely worth a try if you need to avoid sugar, and in fact it's just as good as Nutella in my opinion. The balance of sweet, nutty, creamy and rich is all spot on.

For more info check out the NuttVia website: http://nuttvia.com/products/
Available from ocado.com and Amazon.

9 out of 10. 

Ingredients: Sweeteners (maltitol, erythritol, steviol glycosides), vegetable oil (sunflower, coconut), maltodextrin, hazelnuts 10%, fat reduced cocoa powder 7.4%, cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithins), sweet whey powder (milk). 

Nutrition Information (per 1 tbsp): 70 Calories, 4.8g Fat, 8.2g Carbohydrates, 0.3g Sugars, 0.5g Fibre, 0.5g Protein.