If you've ever been to Cadbury World in Bournville, Birmingham, you'll know the geniuses there offer out tiny-but-satisfying pots of molten Dairy Milk topped with a variety of toppings. You choose the toppings and every combination is a successful one.
So topping a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk with a variety of toppings has got to be sure-fire winner, right?
Sadly, no, or at least not in the case of the Cadbury Dairy Milk Medley Fudge bar.
Packaging
I picked my bar up from a Cadbury shop in an Outlet Shopping Village. In hindsight, I should have looked in my local supermarkets where cheaper bars with a longer shelf life are available.
The wrapper follows the same design principles as the rest of the Dairy Milk range. Cadbury's trademark purple dominates, as does the "Dairy Milk" and "Medley" text. A glossy picture teases the bar within, showing a laden scoop liberally scattering crumbly biscuit pieces, soft buttery fudge pieces, and dark chocolate chips onto a segment of the bar.
This is largely why I bought this bar. It's a Dairy Milk bar, so it has to be good, I thought. I like biscuits, fudge, and dark chocolate. I was sold on the combination of some of the favourite things in my life.
Had I turned the bar over I may have found myself reconsidering my purchase. Firstly, notice the weight. It's 93 grams compared to the equivalent-priced bar of plain Dairy Milk which is currently 110 grams. So there's nearly 17% less product for around the same price.
Also bear in mind that some of the Medley bar's weight comes in the form of toppings (11%), so the actual weight of the chocolate bar is more like 83 grams.
There's also the small matter of that massive ingredients list to deal with, most notably of which is the inclusion of "chocolate flavoured creme" which makes up 46% - or nearly 43 grams - of the 93 gram bar.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Medley Fudge Ingredients
Milk, Sugar, Vegetable fats (palm, shea), Cocoa butter, Skimmed milk powder, Cocoa mass, Wheat flour (with added calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin), Reduced fat cocoa powder (1.5 %), Whey powder (from milk), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E442, E476, E471, Sunflower Lecithin), Glucose syrup, Invert sugar syrup, Sweetened condensed milk, Tapioca starch, Rapeseed oil, Raising agents (E500, E503), Salt, Butter, Flavourings.
So if my maths is correct, the quantity of actual unadulterated Dairy Milk in this bar works out at just 40 grams.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Medley Fudge Review
As I opened the resealable wrapper I was hit by the familiar waft of Dairy Milk. At this point in time, I hadn't read the ingredients list so was blissfully unaware of the composition of the bar, so the smell of Dairy Milk together with the logo emblazoned on the packaging all added up.
It looks as if the manufacturing process begins with making the 10-segment shell (of which Cadbury recommends two segments as a portion size), and then pouring molten chocolate into the cooled shell, before scattering the toppings.
The distribution of toppings looks fine to me. Every segment gets a helping of biscuits and chocolate chips, with most receiving a piece of fudge.
So it's time to taste. And this is where things take a nose dive.
I bite into the chocolate expecting that familiar Dairy Milk taste to follow the smell. Instead it's a muddled taste that I get. There are subtle hints of Dairy Milk but they are drowned out by an unenjoyable, salty, fatty, buttery taste that easily dominates. And it's that weird and unpleasant taste that lingers afterwards.
It's an overly sweet bar which indeed provides a 'medley' of flavours, but the one's I think ought to stand out fade into the background.
I'm willing to believe it's the "chocolate flavoured creme" at play here, especially as it makes up nearly half the bar. The biscuits add crunch but little in the way of flavour. The dark chocolate chips don't help to temper the sweetness, and I also have a gripe with the fudge pieces, which ought to be called toffee pieces. These rock solid morsels are not pleasant to eat at all, especially for someone who doesn't like toffee. Fudge should be buttery smooth and, in this instance, should add a chewy texture to the bar, not a crunchy one.
Perhaps I had a bad bar. Perhaps that's why it was available in a Cadbury shop in an Outlet Shopping Village. Perhaps the imminent Best Before date played a factor. Regardless, as a fan of Cadbury Dairy Milk, this is not a bar I will be buying again.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Medley Fudge Review
RRP: £1.50 | Cadbury | Shop now°
The Medley Fudge bar is not deserving enough to carry the Dairy Milk brand, as the flavour profile tastes wrong. The initial smell as you open the packet is that of the oh-so familiar Dairy Milk, but the taste wildly disappoints, and the aftertaste is vile.
Where to Buy Online
If, despite my experience, you'd still like to try this bar, you can buy the Cadbury Dairy Milk Medley Fudge online here°, or find it in most large supermarkets.
I love Dairy Milk. I love biscuits. I love fudge. I love dark chocolate. But I despise this particular 'medley'.
Instead, I'd rather opt for the heavier and better value (110g) bar of classic Cadbury Dairy Milk which retails for around the same price. Although, if we're talking about plain Dairy Milk bars, I would prefer to work my way through this 1.7 kilogram pack° instead!
Have you tried this medley and did you like it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
