Cadbury's Flake chocolate bars don't melt and here's why

Crumbly not melty

published 2 November 2016

Crumbly not melty

Disclaimer: When it comes to consuming chocolate, our preference is to eat it cold, from the fridge. Nothing* is more satisfying than pulling a Mars Bar out of its chilly surrounds, slicing it open and marvelling at the perfect lines of milk chocolate, caramel and nougat (talking of nougat, spare a thought for these random 90's chocolate bars that we wish still existed). Dreamy.

*Slight exaggeration.

In comparison, room temperature chocolate is a bit rubbish, but there will always be a special place in our heart for melted chocolate. Be it in fondue form, or a simple hot chocolate, we’re always there for it.

Which is why this mind-altering news about The Flake has really, really confused us.

Imaginary drum roll please: Apparently, it’s pretty much impossible to melt a Cadbury's Flake.

We’ll give you a few moments to process this info, and enter your mind palace to retrieve the information from your home economics lesson a decade ago where you learnt that all choccy melts at around 40 - 45 degrees C.

It doesn’t take a lot to melt it, in fact, merely looking at a Cadbury’s button will drive it into a melting frenzy. But when it comes to The Flake, come hell or high water, you will not be able to get the bloody things to liquify in a microwave (or bain marie).

Apparently, even when you put it over a pan of boiling water, it resolutely refuses to melt. And that is because these Cadbury's bad boys are structured very differently than your average Dairy Milk.

Apparently sorcery did not create this beast, science did. Luis Villazon from Science Focus, take it away… 'Although Flake is made from milk chocolate, the manufacturing process gives it a different arrangement of fat and cocoa solids, so the melting fat isn’t able to lubricate the cocoa particles to the point where they can flow.

‘In a bain marie, a Flake will never melt. In the microwave, it eventually just burns.’ To reiterate, in a bain marie, a Flake will NEVER melt. It’s the cockroach of the chocolate world.

We put it to the test.

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Holly Rains is the digital editor of Marie Claire UK. She has over 10 years journalism experience, working as an editor and writer, specialising in digital media, content strategy and dog breeds. Prior to Marie Claire, she has held senior staff positions at ELLE UK, Grazia and Company magazine.

Holly is a frequent speaker, panelist and interviewer on a range of subjects including media trends, careers and entertainment. From working with Reuters to provide global red carpet coverage for events like the BAFTAs, to discussing fashion and beauty trends on network TV, she was also the host of the Marie Claire series ‘Holly’s First Dates’, where she regularly interviewed a mix of inspiring woman and A-list celebrities (including Jack Black, Dakota Fanning and Renée Zellweger) - a series which garnered half a million views in its first two months. And was approved by The Rock.

Her love of office-based meetings means that the days of discovering the melting point of Cadbury's Flakes are long gone, but when she isn't dreaming of scheduling in meetings, she likes to think about social media, and how best to avoid it whilst still retaining the title of 'digital' editor. She also likes learning about emerging technology, Influencers and how to become a Financially Responsible Adult.

Contact Holly: holly.rains@futurenet.com

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We put it to the test.