Choose a custard cream if keeping the vanilla-style filling matters most; consider a bourbon cream if you would rather have a cocoa-flavoured biscuit and filling. The checked M&S chocolate-coated custard creams use milk chocolate, so a chocolate coating alone does not answer a preference for dark chocolate. Check the exact biscuit and chocolate descriptions before buying for your commute.
The deciding question is whether the filling, cocoa flavour or ingredient declaration matters most when you take biscuits with coffee.
If you want a vanilla-style centre, distinguish a custard cream from a cocoa-filled bourbon. Tesco describes its conventional custard cream as vanilla-filled, while the checked M&S chocolate-coated custard cream also retains a vanilla-style filling.
If you would accept a different filling, a bourbon cream offers a cocoa-flavoured route. Hill Biscuits and Tesco describe cocoa-flavoured bourbon products, but cocoa flavour does not by itself establish a high-cocoa dark-chocolate biscuit.
Compare the current pack rather than relying on the biscuit name. The checked conventional Tesco custard cream lists wheat and milk-derived ingredients; Tesco describes its separate Free From bourbon as gluten-free.
Choose the filling and biscuit type first. Then check what any chocolate description refers to, followed by the pack and ingredient details that matter for carrying it.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate description | Check whether the product names dark or milk chocolate. If cocoa solids are stated, check which chocolate component the figure describes; cocoa powder in a bourbon is not a dark-chocolate declaration. M&S specifies milk chocolate for its coated custard creams. | I want to know whether the chocolate is actually dark, rather than judging by the biscuit’s colour or a cocoa-flavoured description. |
| Filling and format | Read the biscuit and filling descriptions. Tesco’s conventional custard cream has a vanilla-flavour filling, while its Free From bourbon has cocoa-flavoured biscuits and filling; the checked M&S coated custard cream keeps a vanilla-style centre. | If the familiar custard-cream centre matters to me, I do not want to swap it for a cocoa filling by mistake. |
| Pack and storage | Check the quantity you will carry and the directions after opening. The checked M&S pack is 64 g, Tesco’s conventional pack is 400 g, and Hill lists its 200 g bourbon packs as a case of 12. | A smaller quantity suits what I plan to take on the commute; if I open a larger packet, I need somewhere to keep the remainder. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current pack’s ingredients and allergen declaration, particularly when switching biscuit types. GOV.UK says that any of the 14 allergens present in prepacked food must be clearly labelled within the ingredients list. | I need to check the particular product I am buying, not assume that every custard cream or bourbon has the same ingredients. |
M&S identifies the coating on its checked custard creams as milk chocolate. Hill Biscuits and Tesco describe cocoa-flavoured bourbons, which are a different biscuit type.
Check the named chocolate, the biscuit type and what any cocoa-solids figure measures before deciding whether a product fits a dark-chocolate preference.
Tesco describes a vanilla-flavour filling in its conventional custard cream and a cocoa filling in its Free From bourbon.
Decide which filling you want before choosing between the two biscuit types.
The checked formats include a 64 g M&S pack, a 400 g Tesco packet and Hill’s case of twelve 200 g packs. Those quantities call for different carrying and storage plans.
Choose the quantity you expect to use and follow the packet’s directions after opening.
Taking biscuits from an opened packet may mean carrying a separate container for the portion you need.
These product examples illustrate biscuit types and pack details; a brand name alone does not identify a dark custard cream.
Tesco describes a conventional vanilla-filled custard cream and a separate cocoa-flavoured Free From bourbon.
Its checked 64 g coated custard creams retain a vanilla-style filling beneath milk chocolate.
Hill describes its bourbon creams as chocolate-flavoured biscuits with a chocolate-flavoured filling.
Joybuy’s checked Tasties descriptions distinguish golden, cream-filled custard creams from cocoa-coloured bourbon creams with a chocolate filling.
Its checked 200 g own-brand custard creams provide a conventional custard-cream reference.
These two options address different parts of the commuter-coffee decision: a cocoa-and-nuts chocolate biscuit or a gluten-free custard cream. They are not two dark custard creams to compare directly.
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Consider this 32g cocoa-and-nuts chocolate biscuit if you are willing to choose something other than a custard cream for your coffee. It does not provide a custard-cream filling; check the product’s chocolate description if dark chocolate is essential.
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Choose the 125g custard-cream format if that biscuit type matters more to you than switching to a cocoa-flavoured bourbon. The product name identifies it as gluten-free; check the current pack for its full ingredients, allergens and chocolate details.
Not necessarily. The checked M&S coated custard creams specify milk chocolate, so read the named coating rather than assuming that any chocolate coating is dark.
Not in the checked Tesco products: its conventional custard cream has a vanilla-flavour filling, while its Free From bourbon has cocoa-flavoured biscuits and filling. Choose according to the centre you want with your coffee.
Follow that packet’s storage instructions. Tesco directs shoppers to keep its opened conventional custard creams in an airtight container, and M&S gives the same direction for its checked coated custard creams.
Read the current pack’s ingredients and allergen information for the particular biscuit you are buying. GOV.UK says that any of the 14 allergens present in prepacked food must be clearly labelled within the ingredients list; ingredient declarations differ between the checked biscuit types.