Christmas 2020 feels like a long time ago, but cast your mind back and you might remember Cadbury's announcement that its Secret Santa service turned digital during the pandemic. Like many of Cadbury's forays into providing digital services over the last year or so, it was predictably over-subscribed, with tiring virtual queues and software glitches to boot.
Once connected to an operator, the service was slick, with an option to talk to the 'elf' via on-screen text chat or by webcam. They had a quick natter while writing out an address label, then popped your chosen bar of chocolate in a shiny purple padded envelope, and sent it on its merry way.
Fast forward a few days and a 'surprise' purple package from Cadbury arrived at Chocolatier.co.uk HQ. How very unexpected!
Packaging
The 110g chocolate bar is clad in the familiar purple film packaging that much of the Dairy Milk range uses, including the Cadbury Dairy Milk Premier League Football Pitch Bar and the Cadbury Dairy Milk Medley Fudge Bar. It's a pain to recycle, but it does have a saving grace in being resealable (ish).
With the trademark purple background, this bar features the 'Cadbury' and 'Dairy Milk' logos in large print, with the glass and a half of milk pouring into the dot above the 'i'. Beneath the wavy Dairy Milk logo is a red block with the 'Fruit and Nut' text, next to a chocolate ampersand, featuring a graphic of a raisin and almond.
The green Cocoa Life logo sits to the bottom left, while the 'Be Treatwise' box sits to the right. It suggests six chunks is a recommended portion size, coming in at 136kcal.
The reverse of the packaging contains the ingredients and nutritional information.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut ingredients:
Milk, sugar, dried grapes, cocoa butter, almonds, cocoa mass, vegetable fats (palm, shea), emulsifiers (E442, E476), flavourings. Cocoa solids: 20% minimum; Milk solids: 20% minimum.
This chocolate contains vegetable fats in addition to cocoa butter. It is suitable for vegetarians. Sugar content sits at 54.5%. There's also the equivalent of 426ml of fresh liquid milk in every 227g of milk chocolate.
Another mention of Cocoa Life follows, explaining it partners with the Fairtrade Foundation to "improve the lives of cocoa farmers and their communities."
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut Review
Peeling open the 'easy reclose' packaging, I was presented with a typical Cadbury Dairy Milk bar, albeit speckled with fruit and nuts. It was cast using a bespoke Cadbury mould, producing 24 segments in a three by eight formation, each imprinted with the Cadbury logo. Cadbury reckons six segments is a sensible portion size, making four portions per 110g bar.
Despite the best efforts of the padded purple envelope, my bar suffered damage along its midriff, neatly breaking the bar into two equal pieces. The bar itself had a nice sheen to it, and was relatively chocolate dust free. The snap was very soft though.
The aroma was characteristically that of Dairy Milk. It was an instantly recognisable fragrance with strong sweet, buttery, and creamy notes. It was an unmistakable aroma, yet one that was difficult to describe in words, other than saying it smelled like Dairy Milk. The addition of fruit and nuts did not seem to have an effect on aroma.
It was a different story with flavour though. Ordinarily, in a classic Dairy Milk bar, you would expect to find a subtle grainy texture together with a fattiness that coats the mouth and a sweetness that makes you crave another piece, and another. There's normally a very subtle cocoa flavour that comes through that is not particularly strong nor nuanced.
In this bar, all that rings true, but is accentuated by the addition of "dried grapes". On that note, are they raisins, sultanas, or currants? The Mirror reckons they used to be raisins but are now sultanas, in a move that chocolate expert Dom Ramsey reckoned only “hardcore Fruit and Nut fans will notice”.
Anyway, the dried grapes added a pleasant chewiness together with a contrasting sweetness. There was a good ratio of these in this bar.
Get a segment with a fleck of almond in it and there's a nice hint of crunch in there, even if the nutty flavour is a little flat. They were few and far between though, and in my entire bar, I only counted two large pieces of almond and a couple of tiny slivers. A more generous quantity of nuts would have made the world of difference.
On that note, I'd like to see a mash-up of a Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar with a Cadbury Wholenut bar, fusing milk chocolate, sultanas, and hazelnuts to add a more pronounced nutty flavour. I suppose it would be similar to this Hotel Chocolat Fruit & Nut Chocolate Slab Selector° which blends 40% milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts, almonds, raisins, and cranberries, so perhaps I try that next?
Overall, I enjoyed wolfing this bar down. The sweet Dairy Milk base provided a pleasant vehicle for the sultanas. The almonds didn't really add anything to the overall flavour and very little to the texture. As a cheeky snack or something to munch in front of the telly box, this ticks all the boxes.
If you seek rich and deep flavours, both in chocolate and the fruit and nuts, then look elsewhere. Similarly, if you don't like Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, or still boycott the brand after its recipe change, then seek something else. Cadbury Dairy Milk isn't known for its nuanced cocoa flavours, and there are plenty of chocolate makers and chocolatiers crafting their own versions of fruit and nut milk chocolate, with rich, characterful chocolate topped with plump, juicy fruit and crunchy roasted nuts.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut Review
RRP: £1.49 | Cadbury | Shop now°
Fans of Cadbury Dairy Milk will like this bar. It builds on the foundations of the classic milk chocolate bar with the addition of chewy and crunchy textures. The sweetness from the sultanas compliments the characteristics of the Dairy Milk chocolate. The almonds seem a little lost but that's a result of a smaller quantity of those in this bar. Chocolate purists should look away now, but if you're a Cadbury addict seeking something to munch on in front of the telly or at the cinema, this one's a good choice.
Where to Buy Online
It's probably easier to list where you cannot buy a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut, as it's available pretty much everywhere. It's available in 110g, 200g and 300g bars.
You'll find plenty of fruit and nut products at Cadbury Gifts Direct here°. Alternatively, why not add a bar to an Amazon order here° to help fill up your basket to get free delivery?
You can also personalise a box of 20 Cadbury Fruit & Nut bars at Firebox here°. It's a unique gift idea that furnishes your nearest and dearest with an emergency stash of chocolate.
Alternatively, why not personalise a Cadbury Fruit & Nut share pack at Prezzybox here°? It contains ten 110g Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut bars and includes the word 'share' on the box as a massive hint.
Save 5% when you spend £50+ online. Use code 5OFF50 at the checkout. Shop at Prezzybox°
Ends on Sunday 31st December 2023. Terms and exclusions may apply. See website for details.
Save £10 when you spend £100+ online. Use code 10OFF100 at the checkout. Shop at Prezzybox°
Ends on Sunday 31st December 2023. Terms and exclusions may apply. See website for details.
Bear in mind the packaging design is in the process of changing, with the famous milk glasses pouring onto a graphic of a cube of chocolate rather than onto the 'i' of 'Dairy Milk' as above.
What's your favourite Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar? Let me know in a comment below.
