Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Tunnock’s Caramel Milk Chocolate Wafer

Tunnocks CaramelTunnock’s is a Scottish biscuit company located in Uddingston (outside Glasgow), Scotland. They make a wide variety of baked goods but those in North America are probably most familiar with their teacakes (a digestive biscuit with a marshmallow on top, covered in chocolate) and their Tunnock’s Caramel Bar. I got this bar from my friend Ernesssa, who went to Scotland a few months ago. I liked it a lot so when I saw a package of four at Cost Plus World Market, I thought I’d buy it again so that I could do a complete review and see if the Scottish & American versions were different. (Turns out both are made in Scotland, though Tunnock’s has a factory in Canada.)

The only difference, as far as I could tell, between the American & Scottish was the packaging. The Scottish ones, shown here, are in a simple thick foil wrapper. The package I bought in Cost Plus has a big more substantial wrapper. It was a light mylar sleeve and then the four bars were sealed inside another larger mylar sleeve. The Scottish version was easier to unwrap and reseal, though I don’t think it was nearly as airtight as the American one. I was concerned that my Scottish-purchased one was a little stale.

Tunnocks Caramel

The bars are large and rather ordinary looking. Each is about four inches long and 1 inch square. The chocolate coating is quite thin and light, the waffle pattern of the wafers can be seen.

Tunnocks Caramel

It’s five layers of wafers sandwiching four layers of caramel then a thin coating of milk chocolate.

Beefy and substantial looking, it’s an odd mix. The wafers are light and airy, so the bar is much lighter than it looks. But the caramel between the layers is like a glue that keeps it all intact as long as possible, no flakes escape here.

It’s sweet and only slightly milk and cocoa-ish. The chocolate coating is creamy but doesn’t contribute much flavor. The wafers are basically airy and have a lightly malted flavor, but not much else. The caramel filling is kind of like a penuche or clotted cream fudge. It’s not gooey or chewy, but does create a little bit of a softer texture. The wafers aren’t exactly stale, but they’re not dry/crispy like some other wafer bars. At first I thought that was a bad thing, but I found I liked it quite a bit, it was just a little bit more textured than a wafer ice cream cone.

It reminds me of cereal bar - you know, one of those bar cookies that you make at home, more than a candy bar. For something that’s only one ounce, it’s satisfying. So for folks watching their calories, at only 130 per bar, they’re a good option - only 5 grams of fat, which isn’t bad for a chocolate combination bar.

I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to get these again, but I understand why they’re one of the top ten bars in Scotland. They’re different from KitKat, which has more chocolate and less crisp, and the lightly toasted caramel notes add a different dimension from other more caramel-focused bars like Mars (Milky Way). I love the packages and motifs for their whole product design. I don’t think I could resist buying all of Tunnock’s products at this point, just to see how each is done.

Related Candies

  1. Glutino Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Candy Bar
  2. Buchanan’s Clotted Cream Fudge
  3. Baby Ruth Crisp & Nestle Crisp Bars
  4. Q.Bel Crispy Wafer Bars
  5. KitKat Caramel

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:31 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyCaramelChocolateCookie7-Worth ItScotlandCost Plus

Comments
  1. I love Tunnocks.  It’s a damn good thing they aren’t available here in Belgium or I’d be a very big lady. smile

    Comment by Jessica on 8/12/10 at 12:37 am #
  2. Adore Tunnocks Caramel Wafers, although they were an acquired taste for me, due to the weird ‘stale’ texture they tend to have. But once I got into them, yuuum.
    You should also see if you can get hold of their Caramel Logs, which are basically this, but with coconut all over it. Ooh, or their Snowballs…although I doubt Snowballs would travel at all well.

    Also, indeed, the packaging is gorgeous, I’ve always loved their charming retro-ness, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

    Comment by Nivaya on 8/12/10 at 6:24 am #
  3. My boyfriend was just in the UK and brought me a Tunnocks Caramel Log, along with a bunch of other fun stuff (Phizzy Pigs!). I haven’t tried it yet but I have a good feeling!

    Comment by Maggie on 8/12/10 at 1:18 pm #
  4. Funny, I bought these at World Market and I couldn’t quite get past the texture.  I thought it was just a bad batch, but I guess that’s just how they are?? 

    Needless to say, we ended up finishing the package and they were ok once you got used to the styrofoam-crunch of the wafer, but I wouldn’t buy them again.

    Comment by Ruffy on 8/12/10 at 1:54 pm #
  5. Oh oh oh, you need to try a tunnocks teacake! They are the most amazing things in the world.

    Comment by Georgina on 8/13/10 at 5:05 am #
  6. I agree that the tea cakes are the best cookie Tunnocks makes!

    Comment by Amity on 5/30/12 at 1:58 pm #
  7. I’m from newfound and you can get tunnock products pretty much at any store there! I love them, they are my favorite! You can get the Carmel one you have described here or Carmel logs, tea cakes, snow balls any tunnock product! In Newfoundland we get a lot of food you can’t get in western Canada. Go there and buy them up!

    Comment by Tac on 10/27/12 at 4:06 am #
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