Cadbury Cherry Ripe Burst

One of Cadbury's newest releases is their seasonal variation on the old Australian favourite, the Cherry Ripe. In previous years, the variations have included Cherry Ripe Roll, Cherry Ripe Dark Cherry, and last year's version, Cherry Ripe Double Dipped. This year's version is the inspired 'Cherry Ripe Burst'.

If you're unfamiliar with the Cherry Ripe product, it's a long, rectangular bar that contains moist, cherry-flavoured coconut and coconut pieces, and enrobed in dark Old Gold chocolate. It's a product that tends to be a favourite with the older generation of Australians; after all, it has been around since 1924 (albeit under a different brand)!

Encased in a silver foil wrapper and emblazoned with the bright red Cherry Ripe logo, the new 50g bar is easily recognisable. The sale line describes the bar as 'ripe juicy cherries and coconut with an extra luscious fruity layer in Old Gold dark chocolate'. Interesting! My first thoughts went to the Cadbury Raspberry Coulis Mousse block and I wondered if it was going to be similar.

The bar itself is a bit smaller in physical size than an original Cherry Ripe, despite weighing only 2g less than its big brother. It's a good 1cm shorter in length, and a couple of millimeters in width and height. The solid feel of the Burst bar makes up for it, though. The other immediately noticeable different is in the chocolate enrobing. On an original Cherry Ripe, the chocolate layer is quite thin, and has distinctive ripples running across the top. The chocolate on the Burst, however, is very thick and smooth in comparison.

Snapping the bar open reveals the 'extra luscious fruity layer' as promised on the wrapper. It's a jam like layer on the top of the coconut, and a warm, slightly dark red in colour. By itself, the layer is possible only 1-2mm thick, but it has a very strong Cherry Ripe flavour to it. Directly beneath the fruity layer is the red coconut typical of the range. Interestingly I spotted very few cherry pieces, but I could have just missed them.

The thick chocolate layer does a very good job of keeping the bar intact and uncrushed, but it snaps easily enough on breaking the bar in two. It also adds a good texture to the bite, making the chocolate more than just a background flavour. The three textures (chocolate, soft fruity layer and crunchy coconut) work well together. The fruity layer provides some extra moisture to the bite, and balances out the otherwise strong dark chocolate. It is a rather sweet chew, though, moreso than an original Cherry Ripe. Fans of the original may not like the Burst bar if they don't have a sweet tooth, but newbies to the Cherry Ripe product range should enjoy it.

Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

As someone who isn't a big fan of Cherry Ripe, I found this bar quite enjoyable

Disclaimer: This was a furnished sample, but all opinions are my own. See my Disclaimer policy for more.