This probably has the coolest name of any chocolate bar I've reviewed! It's a bar made by Cadbury New Zealand, perhaps somewhat confusingly, under the brand name Europe. The lovely people at Cybercandy very kindly sent me this bar to review. Now what does the name Summer Roll conjure up in your mind? If it's coconuts, peanuts and nougat then you're in luck!
The packaging has a clear "window" in it, which allows you to see the actual chocolate bar inside. It's a great feature and one that I would love to see on more chocolate bar packaging. But then again, I don't think many chocolate bars are as good looking as this one!
I keep calling this a chocolate bar but in reality the chocolate's contribution is minimal. It's predominantly a nutty nougat bar which is then covered with a coconut milk chocolate.
The bar is long and thin but quite tall. It's covered with coconut flakes, some of which are golden brown and toasted, some of which are white flakes. It looks fantastic and nothing like the horrible dessicated coconut that some desserts and confections are sprinkled with.
According to a recent tweet by Cybercandy, Kiwis love nougat (and marshmallow!). If anyone has any extra info on that - I'd love to hear it! The outer chocolate on this bar has a good texture and is dominated by the coconut flavor. There certainly won't be any complaints that this bar is not coconutty enough. The coconut flavor transcends the little coconut pieces and infiltrates the whole bar. It's just the kind of sweet coconut that I love too.
The nougat in the center of this Summer Roll is not like the nougat we are used to finding in confectionery in the UK (I'm thinking mainly of Mars Bars and the like). It's more of a firm nougat that is quite hard to just bite straight into. I actually cut the bar up into a few smaller chunks which made it much easier to eat. Once in the mouth, the nougat is not too hard or crunchy. It's slightly chewy at first and then melts away perfectly easily and without any jaw workout.
Do you see a smiley face in the nougat or is it just me? The nougat itself is smooth, sweet and very nutty, with a lovely saltiness from the peanuts. I wasn't expecting a salty flavor but it's a very welcome one. It tastes like a peanut butter, nougat, coconut combination with all the flavours working together to create a little chewy slice of paradise. Roll on the summer!
Cybercandy kindly sent me this product for an honest review and all views expressed are my own.
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Grocery Gems Verdict: Europe Summer Roll
RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy it again?: Absolutely.
Purchased: Available at Cybercandy
Price: £1.49p.
