Arnott’s Tim Tam Sweet Surrender
As most of you know, Arnott’s Tim Tam chocolate biscuits are huge in Australia, but every now and then they try and release some new flavours that
- taste chemical-laden and ordinary; and
- die a marketing death never to appear on the shelves again.
Thus, when their Sweet Surrender ‘Choc Hazelnut flavoured mousse’ and ‘Crème Caramel’ appeared a couple of months ago, I studiously ignored them.
And it appears that most of Australia – once bitten, twice shy – did exactly the same. Until now, when they are on sale at half price and were in my shopping trolley before I could say, “Dammit, these new varieties only have nine biscuits per pack instead of the eleven in the classic Tim Tams.”
After photographing them on a fairly humid day, they were at their optimal serving level – not quite melted but just about there, ready to give their highest and strongest flavour reading. Plus it was morning tea time and I’d just fasted for a cholesterol test and was starving.
When they were opened, they did smell rather inviting. It was interesting to see that the Crème Caramel (in foreground) appeared to be coated in a slightly lighter-coloured chocolate. Would the olfactory promise extend to the taste buds?
It is with a great deal of pride and relief that this time, dear readers, Arnott’s have outdone themselves. These are NOT some weirdly-flavoured marketing flops, but very nice renditions of a classic.
The choc hazelnut mousse has a creamy praline filling, good chocolatey and crunchy biscuits and nice firm and flavoursome chocolate on the outside. There’s some kind of gooey stuff in the middle which was slightly more annoying than enhancing, but that’s only a minor quibble. The worse news is that one biscuit gives you a hefty wallop of 4.7 grams of fat of which 2.6 grams are saturated.
The crème caramel tasted even better. A lighter, caramel-inspired biscuit, with lighter chocolate (34% cocoa solids compared to choc hazelnut mousse’s 37%, so my eyes weren’t deceiving me) and a gorgeous crème filling with a dollop of stretchy caramel for extra oomph. Simply scrumptious. Again, one biccie hands out 4.6 grams of fat of which 2.3 grams is saturated. Fingers crossed my cholesterol results are good ones.
Get these before they disappear, because they’re not gimmicky but are good.
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- Filed under arnotts, australia, bisucit, creme caramel, hazelnut, milk chocolate, tim tam.
Never tried those (and probably won’t have the chance to, as they only seem to be available Down Under), but I must say the name sounds nice enough.
You know, a few years ago I was watching Graham Norton on BBC America and he had some Australian pop star (Natalie Umbruglia, I think?) on his show, and she was talking about how much she LOVED Tim Tams….I found a website that had imported cookies and stuff, and I found some. (I had a coworker homesick for goodies from Down Under, so I got some for her, too.) Natalie explained on the show that she takes a small bite out of opposite corners and then sucks her tea through them. I tried it – it’s a horrible melty mess, but it tasted DIVINE. (Tea was PG Tips, of course.)
So – if I ever find those, I’m sure to try them. Makes me hungry just looking at the pictures, and I just ate breakfast. 🙁
Something I’ve always fancied having a go at. I’m not sure whether or not they’re readily available in the UK.
The tea slurping thing sounds great fun.
Oh, and how did the cholesterol test go?
You know I’ve never been a fan of slurping my tea through them because they just go horribly soggy and sticky, which is exactly how you *don’t* want a good Tim Tam to be.
Cholesterol test is FINE (pumps fists in the air!), so enormous chocolate consumption lifestyle can continue!
I think I can sense a sudden bout of depression descending! I need someone to send me over an emergency “medical kit” with these packet in there to ward of the depression.
Big yay and woo to you then.
See, dark chocolate is good for you!
Molly – You’ve just described what’s known as the ‘Tim Tam Slam’. Delicious but VERY messy!
You know, I’ve never done this. Must be a bad Aussie. Tim Tams need to be cold. Great in winter. In summer the chocolate is very sticky and gooey, but the warmth also emphasises the sweetness, and these days I find that a bit hard to take. The kids, though, will go through a packet in a single sitting.
Oh look what I found…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHzMfZ1FaqA
We just opened a pack of the creme caramel this evening. Good. Very good. I went back for a second. If the kids leave any I’ll soon go back for a 3rd.
I’m not a big fan of Tim Tams and canquite easily eat one biscuit and hand the rest of the packet to anyone who wants it. But as new flavours come out I will try them, if I happen to be shopping for biscuits. (Mostly I skip that aisle). I haven’t bought bikkies for a long time so didn’t know about these. I’ll give them a go, and if I don’t like them I’ll take the rest to my kids.
I like the new Crush Tim Tams…