Philadelphia Cadbury Chocolate Cream Cheese - NEW

I don’t know what this obsession is for manufacturers to add chocolate to everything. Is it something people are demanding? I thought we were all supposed to be trying to eat healthier. It's even appearing in cereals that were once a healthy choice. Although I love chocolate, I prefer keeping it separate from my 'healthy' foods and eating it as an occasional (daily) treat.

So when I first heard about the new Philadelphia Cream Cheese which has been blended with Cadbury’s chocolate, I thought, no way, what are they thinking? 

 
But, being a foodie and always wanting to try something at least once, I gave in and bought some. There they were, taking up an entire display area in Tesco, together with a huge promotional ‘BUY ONE GET ONE FREE’ sign, how could I resist?

There are two sizes to choose from: A single 160g pack or a 120g pack split into four 30g mini tubs. I chose the mini tubs so there wasn’t the urgent need to get through the entire contents of an open pack within a week of opening.

I regularly buy cream cheese, usually Philadelphia's Extra Light Cream Cheese Mini tubs which have only 38 calories per tub, or stores own brands such as Tesco’s Soft & Light Cream Cheese. To me, cheese is a savoury food. It goes with things like tomatoes, spring onions and lettuce. But chocolate!

Not quite knowing what to do with this cheese, I decided to try it out on some of my regular savoury crackers. Peeling back the lid reveals a perfectly smooth layer of chocolate cream cheese. Taking a sniff, it’s definitely the chocolate aroma that stands out. I can’t smell any cheese. Spooning some out and tasting it was a revelation. 

It’s like eating cold, rich and creamy, pure melted chocolate. And you can instantly tell it’s Cadbury’s too. It is gorgeous, I have to admit. But I somehow felt its nutrition negated the healthy aspects of my wholesome crackers and oatcakes.

I let the kids try it out. This was met with differing opinions. The eldest loved the chocolate but hated my crackers. The smallest who loves chocolate and hates cheese had a sniff and could only smell cheese so refused point blank to taste it. The middle one loved the it and said it tasted just like chocolate cheesecake. And now all her friends at school are so excited to hear about this chocolate cheese they can’t wait to try it.

Although it’s called Philadelphia Chocolate Light, this isn’t because it’s light in calories! It’s made using medium fat cream cheese which is classed as ‘Light’. However, a serving of chocolate cream cheese has 86 calories compared with 47 calories for the medium fat cream cheese and 74 calories for the Full Fat cream cheese.

As would be expected with chocolate as a large part of the ingredients, it’s also high in sugar with each 30g tub containing roughly two and a half teaspoons of sugar.

Overall Verdict: Delicious, very chocolaty but probably best enjoyed by those who already like chocolate spreads. And thinking about it, Philadelphia Cadbury Chocolate Cream Cheese would be an ideal ingredient for making a chocolate cheesecake.

There are books available on Amazon which specialise in Philadelphia Cheesecake recipes such as this highly recommended Kraft Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese Cheesecakes. (Not ideal for those on a diet!)

Philadelphia Cadburys Chocolate Light and Mini Tubs are available in larger supermarkets.

Nutrition Information per serving (30g): 86 calories, 1.9g protein, 10.0g carbohydrate, 10.0g sugars, 4.0g fat, 2.5g saturates, 0.5g fibre, 0.17g salt. Suitable for vegetarians.

Per 100g: 286 calories, 6.3g protein, 33.3g carbohydrate, 33.3g sugars, 13.3g fat, 8.3g saturated fat, 1.6g fibre, 0.57g salt.

Ingredients: Medium Fat Soft Cheese 56%, Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Fat-reduced Cocoa Powder, Cocoa Butter, Skimmed Milk Powder, Whey Powder, Vegetable Fat, Milk Fat, Stabilizers (Locust Bean Gum, Carrageenan), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E 442), Flavourings, Citric Acid.


© Diets and Calories 2012