One of my favorite flavor profiles is chocolate with berries and I recently tasted two products that feature this delectable combo of fruit and cocoa.
Magnum Double Raspberry Ice Cream Bar - 5 STARS
Can an ice cream bar really be so exceptional that it merits five whole stars? I assure you, this one can! In fact, if you don't live in isolation, this frozen treat has the potential to endanger your relationship with anyone who also develops a taste for it because it will make you greedy about sharing. Ever since Magnum's products filled supermarket freezers, they have set a new standard for individual ice cream novelties but this particular variety has to be their most extraordinary creation yet.
The filling is a mellow, raspberry-flavored ice cream. It's encircled by two layers of mild dark chocolate and sandwiched between those two chocolate layers is a thin coating of raspberry sauce with a more intense berry flavor. The double chocolate layers crack and splinter as you bite into the bar and then as they melt on your tongue, your taste buds get a shock of the raspberry syrup oozing out from between the chocolate chunks. The berry flavor in the ice cream is very mild, so it not only creates a base on which the more intense sauce builds--it also continually refreshes your palate after each bite of the rich chocolate and berry coating. I really can't imagine any way to make this better, and hence the five stars. The double layers do seem to make it a little messier to eat, but seriously, it's worth it.
Pepperidge Farm Raspberry-Flavored Chocolate Milano Cookies - 4 STARS
Pepperidge Farm's curvy Milano cookies have a smooth exterior that caresses your tongue, a texture which is an unexpected contrast to the crispness your teeth are met with as they penetrate that exterior. In between two layers of this outer crisp is a thin layer of chocolate. Pepperidge Farm has expanded the Milano line to include multiple flavor varieties, one of which is raspberry. The berry flavor is actually infused into the chocolate but it is very mild so your buds first perceive the chocolate flavor and then the berry aftertaste comes a second later and lingers only briefly on the tongue. The diversity of textures and layers of flavor provide lots of stimulation for your palate so it's a memorable tasting experience. My only beef is that I would like to taste more of the raspberry-flavored chocolate filling, but that's only because I want a little more of a good thing. Otherwise, this has become a household favorite and is a cookie that I'm keeping regularly stocked in my snack drawer.
