Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Brach’s Carrot Cake Candy Corn

Brach's Carrot Cake Candy CornCandy Corn gets a lot of different flavor treatments for Halloween, but for the most part the Easter versions are all about little spring shapes in the form of mellocreams in light fruity flavors. Brach’s has introduced something new to go with their Pastel Candy Corn, it’s called Brach’s Carrot Cake Candy Corn.

The packaging is simple, just a thick plastic bag. The image on the front depicts a cake with white frosting and a green and orange carrot on it. Down in the other corner is a small basket of the candy corns.

As a side note, Brach’s, the 110 year old candy company, has been going through a lot of changes lately; this seems to have led to an identity crisis. I picked up this bag of candy last month which is also a new product but features a different logo which I thought they stopped using around 2011 (but also appears on their twitter). Brach’s is now owned by the Ferrara Candy Company, which merged with Farley’s & Sathers last year. This is a huge company now that makes mostly sugar candy like Trolli, Lemonheads, Atomic Fireballs, Black Forest Gummies, Now & Later, Rainblo Gum, Jujyfruits, Chuckles, Bob’s and Fruit Stripe Gum. It seems like this constant change and shift of directions is keeping Brach’s from regaining their place in the world of classic American comfort candies.

Brach's Carrot Cake Candy Corn

My first instinct on these, without even eating them, is that the colors are all wrong. A slice of layered cake would be a sort of light brown color with flecks of orange and then the off white cream cheese frosting. There is no green in a carrot cake, unless you make some of the frosting green. If they wanted the candy corn to just look like carrots, then make them all orange with the wide base getting just a touch of green to simulate the carrot top. To simulate a slice of cake, I’d make the top and bottom white and the center orange. Why it’s candy corn is an entirely other matter ... why not make little slide of cake shapes? Brach’s already makes cute little shapes for their Halloween and Easter Mellocreme mixes ... why not a slice of cake or little carrots or a block of Philly Cream Cheese?

Brach's Carrot Cake Candy Corn

While I had some misgivings about the coloration, everything else about these is extremely well done. Unlike my problems with the Brach’s S’mores Candy Corn last fall, which were quite broken and brittle, these looked great right out of the bag. I saw very few malformed or incomplete kernels and they stayed in one piece for the most part.

They didn’t smell like much, and honestly I didn’t think much of them the first few I tried. I noticed, though, that the base had a mild spice cake flavor to it, it’s subtle but there’s a note of cinnamon and nutmeg. The overall piece had a slightly creamier note, with what I can only guess is supposed to be a cream cheese flavor. Again, it’s very subtle.

Brach's Pastel Candy Corn

I had to compare the mild flavor to regular candy corn, naturally, so I picked up the Brach’s Pastel Candy Corn, since they were on sale 2 for $5. These are much more subtly colored, with only the corn base getting a pastel note of green, pink, purple, green, or yellow. I enjoyed these, particularly because there was less artificial coloring in them, so the clean flavor of sugar and a touch of honey came through a bit brighter than in the fall version which has more orange (and Red #40) in it. I did notice that some of the flavors, like the cream cheese twang was missing, so it wasn’t something I dreamed up. I also noticed on the nutrition panel that the Pastel Corn has more salt in it, 100 mg per serving compared to 70 mg for the Carrot Cake.

I liked the Pastel Candy Corn, but I liked the Carrot Cake Candy Corn better, perhaps because there was a vague flavor to it. Is it a successful simulation of cake? Not by a long shot, but taken as a candy on its own without its bakery reference, it’s quite pleasant.

Like other Brach’s candy corn, this is made in Mexico. It does have honey as an ingredients, as well as gelatin, so this is unsuitable for vegetarians. It’s made in a facility that also processes milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat and soy.

Related Candies

  1. Brach’s S’mores Candy Corn
  2. Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn
  3. Brach’s Ice Cream Conversation Hearts
  4. Jelly Belly Peas & Carrots Mellocreme Candy
  5. Brach’s Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs (2012)
  6. Pumpkin Pie Gourmet Candy Corn
  7. Brach’s Robin Eggs (Solid Milk Chocolate)
  8. Brach’s Chocolate Candy Corn & Halloween Mix


Name: Carrot Cake Candy Corn
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Brach’s
Place Purchased: Ralph's (Studio City)
Price: $2.50
Size: 14 ounces
Calories per ounce: 101
Categories: Candy, Easter, Brach's, Farley's & Sathers, Ferrara Pan, Fondant, 7-Worth It, Mexico, Ralph's

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:16 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewEasterBrach'sFarley's & SathersFerrara PanFondant7-Worth ItMexicoRalph's

Comments
  1. The colors of the carrot cake corn do work well for St. Patrick’s Day, even though the flavor has noting to do with it.

    Comment by Sarah on 3/18/14 at 4:18 pm #
  2. Just found these at Von’s and I’m hoping they will have more when I go back. I only bought one bag and I’m hooked on their creamy, gently spiced flavor.

    I am the person who can eat “just one” of anything ... Except candy corn. And this flavor is so subtle and charming. Really delightful.

    The odd coloring didn’t distract from my enthusiasm, but it doesn’t make the most sense.

    Comment by Laurie on 4/06/14 at 2:41 pm #
  3. Love the carrot cake candycorn. Can’t find it after my first and only bag! Wish it was more available to share with family and friends

    Comment by Jkl on 4/04/15 at 6:55 pm #
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