Cadbury really are pumping out a lot of new products recently; they've just launched the new Oat Crunch bar, as well as the Marvellous Ice Creams range and some new Cadbury Fingers flavours. So I wasn't surprised when I spotted these Dairy Milk Puddles bars in Wilkinsons over Easter. Presumably Easter is a good time to launch new products to fill the gap left by Easter eggs?
The Puddles range comes in two flavours; Smooth Mint and Smooth Hazelnut. The bars consist of "puddle-shaped-blocks" containing soft fillings, each bar weighing 90g in total.
According to the press release, "The shape of the new tablet will reignite memories of childhood fun and carefree moments of jumping in puddles and will bring a light-hearted feeling to the category".
Well, I'm not so sure they reignited my memories of jumping in puddles, but they're definitely tasty bars of chocolate!
Dairy Milk Puddles Smooth Mint:
Dairy Milk Puddles Smooth Mint
The bars contain a thin base layer of chocolate with the curved "puddle blocks" on top, and a small indentation to break each one off. I must admit I was worried I'd end up with goo everywhere, but they broke off cleanly. I cut through a few pieces so you can see the filling:
Dairy Milk Puddles Smooth Mint
Dairy Milk Puddles Smooth Mint
I tried the Smooth Mint flavor first, which contains a soft mint filling. It was sweeter than the filling in Fry's Peppermint Creme, and more akin to a mint-flavoured caramel. It was very tasty, and I'm glad they went for a sweet mint filling as a stronger flavor would've clashed with the Dairy Milk chocolate. Overall the bar was very moreish, and the puddle-shaped blocks are definitely more fun than square blocks (something I never thought I'd hear myself say!) I think they might have converted me!RATING: 8 out of 10.
Dairy Milk Puddles Smooth Hazelnut:
Next up I tried Smooth Hazelnut. Again I cut through a few blocks so you can see the filling:
Dairy Milk Puddles Smooth Hazelnut
Like the Smooth Mint the filling is very caramel-like, but I didn't think the flavor worked this time around; it's too sweet and the hazelnut is a tad artificial. I was hoping for something like Nutella but it was nothing like it. Overall this isn't a bar I would buy again...I think they should have gone with a strawberry flavor instead!RATING: 7 out of 10.
Overall:
Despite my skepticism over the "puddle blocks" on these bars I rather like the concept. They're unique and fun, and I would definitely buy the Mint variety again. I just hope they add more flavours to the range in future as I think there's a lot of potential there. Apparently Cadbury are replacing the "Dairy Milk Bubbly" range with these, so if you're a fan of them stock up while you can!
Price: £1.40 at Wilkinsons.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains dairy, nuts, soya.
