Ferrero Rocher Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Bar, Chocolate Bars, 55 Percent Dark Chocolate with Crunchy Whole Hazelnut and Cocoa Filling, (90g)

Product Information

Sugar, cocoa mass, hazelnuts (12%), palm oil, cocoa butter, fat-reduced cocoa powder, whey powder, concentrated butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), vanillin. Cocoa solids: 55% minimum (dark chocolate). Ferrero Rondnoir Ingredients: fine dark chocolate 40.5% (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier: lecithins ( SOYA), vanillin), sugar, palm oil, WHEAT flour, fat- reduced cocoa powder, whey powder ( MILK), skimmed MILK powder, WHEAT starch, sunflower oil, MILK chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, MILK powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier: lecithins ( SOYA), vanillin), cocoa butter, emulsifier: lecithins ( SOYA), whey proteins ( MILK), glazing agent (gum arabic), cocoa mass, raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate), salt,vanillin. May contain ALMONDS and HAZELNUTS. The bar is portioned into 15 segments, each imprinted with the Ferrero Rocher logo or a motif that reminds me of a wild foraged truffle (I think it's supposed to be a design of a Ferrero Rocher). Ferrero Rocher Ingredients: MILK chocolate 30% (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed MILK powder, concentrated BUTTER, emulsifier: lecithins ( SOYA), vanillin), HAZELNUTS (28.5%), sugar, palm oil, WHEAT flour, whey powder ( MILK), fat-reduced cocoa, emulsifier: lecithins ( SOYA), raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), salt, vanillin.

I wasn't sure what to expect when biting into this bar, but it transpires this is a 55% dark chocolate bar with a "hazelnut and cocoa filling." Each segment contains a soft, crumbly heart of chopped hazelnuts and cocoa paste. There's no snap when portioning this bar, largely due to the pliable filling. Similar to Guylian squishing seahorses into a chocolate bar, Ferrero Rocher balls are now available in flat 90g bars. But would the Ambassador approve? Let's find out. The bar doesn't hold up to my memories of Ferrero Rocher. The bar cannot create the same experience, and I think lending it the Ferrero Rocher branding probably doesn't help, as it raises expectations beyond the scope that the chocolate bar version can deliver. Opening the box, I was greeted by golden Ferrero Rocher branded foil. When I tried tearing into it, I realised it is a metallised plastic wrapper, which is great for freshness and appearance, but a nightmare for recyclability and a pain to break through. The golden clad bar ready to wowRaffaello Ingredients: desiccated coconut 25.5%, vegetable fats (palm, shea), sugar, ALMOND (8%), skimmed MILK powder, whey powder ( MILK), WHEAT flour, tapioca starch,flavourings,emulsifier: lecithins ( SOYA), raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), salt. A segment of the bar is shown below along with a couple of hazelnuts, just to reinforce that this is a chocolate and hazelnut bar. But, the most important question needs answering. How does this compare to a Ferrero Rocher? Would the ambassador be proud? Honestly, no, not really. The bar format just doesn't do it for me. It doesn't taste nor look premium, and doesn't strike me as a logical bedfellow to the traditional Ferrero Rocher ball. Tinker around the edges and perhaps replace the chopped hazelnuts with a oozing chocolate hazelnut spread and Ferrero might have stumbled across a new cult hit that could be marketed under the Nutella brand. But in a saturated chocolate bar market where hazelnut dark chocolate bars are plentiful, this doesn't stand out for me.