Hello, dear friends! It’s time for the second installment of the mini ice cream-inspired Hershey’s series. Let’s meet this chocolate bar, which I’ve been waiting to taste as soon as I read its name!

Inspired by birthday cake-flavored ice cream, Hershey’s new chocolate bar is everything that anyone who loves desserts would adore. Named “sprinkles ‘n’ crème” in my corner of the world, it’s called “birthday cake” (gâteau d’anniversaire) in Canada. Although I celebrated my birthday only a few months ago, I’ll never object to another round of birthday cake – especially in the form of chocolate!

Typically, birthday cake batter comprises of vanilla cake layers that pops with colorful funfetti sugar sprinkles. Oh, and we can’t forget classic white buttercream, which binds every layer together. It’s one of those cakes that reminds everyone that it’s the simplest and littlest elements that light up our lives, like admiring glows from fairy lights on a cold autumn’s night.

A distinctive aroma burst into the atmosphere as soon as I began unwrapping the chocolate, almost like a jovial genie that’s finally being set free after living in a lamp. That scent was familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. That, most positively, isn’t a regular birthday cake. It was rather indescribable at the time, but the chocolate possesses an aroma that spells ‘J-O-Y’. As I expected, bright funfetti sprinkles stood out with a cream-colored backdrop. They were so ready to get the party started!

There was only one way to find out what that scent (which had been teasing my nose as I snapped each photo) was exactly: I had to take a bite in the name of science. Upon tasting it, the mystery was solved: it tastes like bubblegum ice cream! That explains the aroma! I was expecting to taste something that’s close to vanilla cake batter with sugar sprinkles, but this is a pleasant plot twist that made the experience a tad more adventurous!

I was quite fond of bubblegum ice cream in my early-to-mid teens. My go-to treat during the school holidays was a scoop of baby pink bubblegum ice cream with chocolate sprinkles from The Marble Slab Creamery. With the bubblegum era being too many moons ago, this is my very first taste of a bubblegum-ish treat as an adult!

I’ve got to say, this chocolate will most certainly make any bubblegum ice cream fan beam from ear to ear. It is my first encounter with a chocolate bar like this in the sweet tooth realm, especially in both taste and texture. A creamy white chocolate base adds an ice cream-like touch. Those chunky and crunchy sprinkles fill the chocolate like fireworks that illuminate a beautiful night sky, adding a lovely textural contrast to white chocolate. Each sprinkle has a bubblegum/gumball-like shade, which fits the experience to a ‘T’.

White chocolate, which seems to be the ‘base’ for Hershey’s ice cream-inspired range, is the perfect canvas for birthday cake’s flavor to shine. White chocolate hasn’t made a complete disappearance, rather, it elevates the sprinkles.

Bubblegum ice cream is one of those flavors that bring a nostalgic flair. Although my taste buds have evolved, I loved munching on the chocolate bar. I feel like it is heaps of fun to share the ‘ice cream’ chocolate wedges with people who are as cheery as the vibrant chocolate… much like sharing slices of a birthday cake at a birthday celebration.