Celebrate with Caramilk

I have to admit, I was curious when I received a press release about one of Independent Distillers Canada (IDC) new alcoholic beverages based on Cadbury’s Caramilk bar—Caramilk Cream Liquor.

Caramilk Cream Liquor (Suggested Retail Price $27.95) is made with real cream, double distilled vodka, and fortified with brandy, offering a delicious combination of smooth caramel and rich chocolate flavours.  When entertaining, offer your adult guests a little something extra by drizzling Caramilk Cream Liquor over dessert, adding a splash to coffee or hot chocolate or simply serving over ice or at room temperature to enjoy the subtle flavours.  Caramilk Cream Liquor also makes a perfect stocking stuffer or hostess gifts for the adults on your list.  Caramilk Cream Liquor contains 17% alcohol and is available in a 750 ml bottle.  For an extra special Holiday touch, a free festive bottle bag comes with purchase at select retailers.

I was intrigued to try the Bailey’s-like liquor, even more so because it was touted for use in a large variety of recipes as well  and I was curious to see how sweet this was.  Bailey’s, whilst a perennial favourite of mine, can sometimes be a little on the sweet side and I could only imagine that the whole “Caramilk factor” might make this too sweet.  A small glass proved me wrong, however, the brandy cutting the sweetness quite a bit so it was not at all cloying. Like Bailey’s, I would recommend this be consumed in moderation and it was much nicer on ice than at room temperature.

The recipes that accompanied the bottle were a variety of festive treats and I was excited to try the Caramilk muffin recipe.  Even though I am not home over this holiday period, I remember from when I was little, we would always go over to my Nana’s house on Christmas morning, and sometimes New Year’s Day, for a special breakfast and these muffins, whilst a perfect snack for anytime of the day, would be a great addition to anyone’s (adult) holiday breakfast table.  They’re kind of like a grown up version of the festive cupcakes I made with Les Petits Chefs a couple of weeks ago.

The add-ins I used were chosen because I had them on hand and I liked the festive colours of the cranberries against the pale muffin.  The addition of chopped up Caramilk bar is genius and I will be baking again with them – the filling melts as the muffins bake, creating a gorgeous, gooey, caramel throughout the muffin.  If you have leftovers, a quick zap in the microwave or gentle heating on a low temperature will “wake up” the melty caramel-y, chocolatey goodness!


The resulting muffin was light and fluffy with a very very subtle hint of alcohol. They are not overly sweet and I loved the tartness of the cranberry against the sweetness of the muffin and the nutty walnuts.  A perfect morning treat for the holidays (and beyond!)

Thanks to Julie from Broad Reach Communications for providing me with a sample bottle. Cheers!

54 thoughts on “Celebrate with Caramilk”

  1. I did not know about this new liquor. Your recipe sounds wonderful and I agree, it was genius to add the Caramilk bar, not to mention 1/2 cup of the Caramilk Liquor!

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  2. I love Caramilk, unfortunately you can’t get anything Cadbury in South America, only Nestle 🙁

    I did buy Bailey’s for Christmas though, it was pricey by Ecuadorian terms but oh so worth it.

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  3. Caramilk Cream Liquor!? This could get dangerous! 😉 The
    chopped up chocolate in this muffin sounds delicious. I have to see
    if I can find this liquor in my grocery store. Yummy!

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    • See Jason’s response re: the alcohol. And really – if you are worried about the calories, these probably are not the muffin for you 😉 I don’t think they would be overly calorific though – they were fairly small compared to most store bought muffins.

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  4. Oh dear… they have turned one of my favorite candy bars into liquor … this can’t be good (well, I am sure it is good.. and that’s the problem!) . Adding it to muffins though makes it all right .. great idea!!

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  5. Mardi your muffins look amazing. I made cupcakes with the Caramilk-Cream Vodka Coolers a while back and they came out amazing, everyone loved them. I’m sure the liqueur is just as tasty. Great idea using it in the muffins.

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  6. I have never heard of this tasty delight before and of course you found a non-cocktail way to use it that makes it pop!

    As far as the alcohol goes, you would expect 40-50% of it to be retained after cooking it for that long. Eight ounces of 17% liquor that cooks off to 50% divided by 12 muffins is 0.06 ounces of alcohol per complete muffin. You will perceive it, and even if you ate all 12 (ehhh, not a good plan for other reasons) you would only get 2/3 of an ounce of pure alcohol. That is less than a shot and a half of something 100 proof. That is certainly a stiff drink, but is not going to put you out for the rest of the day!

    Jason

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  7. You must know that I wear a crown for being the ‘Queen of adding Booze to almost anything Sweet’ right? These sound like they have to be included in my repertoire. Cadbury is so associated with Easter in our traditions; smart way to move it to the Christmas holiday as well!

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  8. Hehe, I read this aloud to Eric who claims the Caramilk is the “best ever”. I can almost taste these muffins, and I love the addition of the cranberries.
    Happy New Year to you and Neil! I wish you the best in 2011 and hope that our paths cross somewhere!

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  9. You are so impressive, you’re on holiday AND you’re all over the blog posts like a trooper! I’m only in Spain for a few days and I’m struggling to keep up with Twitter!

    These look beautiful. I’m not sure what Caramilk is, but if it makes it onto the UK shelves any time soon I’ll be picking up some to give it a try!

    Jax x

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  10. The idea of basing a liquor on one of my favorite chocolate bars blows my mind! And I never would have thought to add it to a muffin recipe but it really sounds fantastic. I’d be tempted to add a splash or two to my cup of coffee while eating this 🙂

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  11. Mmmm, I’d love this. I’ve tried a few chocolate style liquors but I like the recommendation that its not cloyingly sweet, sounds perfect. Thanks for sharing 🙂

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  12. sounds like a luscious addition to coffee! like maybe tomorrow morning . . . you know, first day back at school and all . . . 😉

    Reply

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