In the latest next instalment of our sweet encyclopaedia, we've rounded up some of the most delicious candy, chocolate and confectionery that begin with the letter ‘B’.
There’s no denying that at the Sweet Hamper Company, we think of ourselves as candy connoisseurs. From traditional classics to contemporary favourites, there's not much we don’t know about sweet treats!
Each month, we’ll be delving into the delicious detail of every sweet we can think of – a complete A-Z of sweets – giving you the low down on the finest, most downright delectable sweets on Earth.
Don't forget... many of these sweets can be found in our wide range of sweet hampers, sweet boxes, sweet cones and other sweet gifts. The perfect treat for the special people in your life!
The Best Sweets Beginning with 'B'
Bonbons
A small sweet made up of a milk chocolate outer shell and a soft sweet filling, Bonbons are absolutely delicious! They have that rich and heavenly chocolate warmth at first taste, then along comes the wonderful gooey caramel, toffee or praline flavour from the centre of the sweet to truly tantalise the tastebuds.
Texture-wise, the crisp chocolate coating combines wonderfully well with the dreamy creamy centre for a match made in heaven. This fabulous filling is usually caramel, toffee or praline but it can be anything!
The history of the classic bonbon stretches back to 17th century France. No surprises there... those French really do love their sweet treats!
Bonbons made using the finest cocoa beans were originally served in the French royal court in the 17th century. Word soon spread about these little mouthwatering morsels, and they were soon made throughout Europe, served in beautiful ornate containers and given as a gift on special occasions.
Authentic bonbons are made by filling moulds with liquid milk or dark chocolate, then by pouring the excess chocolate away to form a shape with one open side. Next, the filling is poured into the chocolate casing, before the open side is sealed by pressing another layer of chocolate over the mould.
Check out the authentic Parisian bonbon making process here!
Black Jacks
An old school favourite, Black Jacks are an iconic British black and white sweet that have a big hitting, distinctive aniseed flavour. It's a taste that certainly divides opinion... much like Marmite, you either love them or you hate them!
Black Jacks have been a favourite of sweet tooth candy lovers since the 1920s. However, it wasn't until the 1970s that their popularity truly exploded. School kids loved the liquorice taste, a flavour that was unlike any of the other popular sweets you'd find in the local sweet shop or candy store. Plus, kids love the fact that they turn your tongue black!
These beloved (by some!) stripy sweet treats are slightly chewy and come in a bitesize square shape. Despite their retro sweet status, they are stilled very popular with kids and adults today.
Bubble gum
Like chewing gum with added fun, there's not a child around who doesn't instantly fall head over heals in love with bubble gum. Who can forget that sheer joy of actually managing to blow that first bubble?
Like so many sweet treat inventions, bubble gum was in fact discovered by accident. Walter Diemer, an accountant for a German chewing gum maker, was experimenting during one of his work breaks when he stumbled across a formula for chewing gum that was far stretchier and less sticky than your average gum.
The result was "Blibber Blubber", later changed to "Dubble Bubble." It remained the go-to chew for decades, until Bubble Yum, Bubblicious and Hubba Bubba burst its bubble in the '70s to become the new favourite.
While bubble gum can come in a variety of flavours – think strawberry, blueberry, vanilla or raspberry, for example, there's actually an individual bubble gum flavour. Formed from a mix of synthetic 'esters' – chemicals that have a fruit juice fragrance – bubble gum flavour has a fruity blend with hints of strawberry, banana and pineapple.
Barley sugar
The original hard candy, barley sugar candy is one of the most traditional sweets out there. The story goes that it was invented by a French nun in the middle ages (1600s to be precise) who was experimenting with medicinal remedies. Known for her sweet habits, she created the little yellowy orange marvels by boiling down refined cane sugar and barley water, creating a hard shelled classic that would stand the test of time.
From sweet-toothed sisters to French nobility and, eventually, to modern day school children, barley sugar candy is adored the world over. There's something about rich, sweet, fresh flavour, with a hint of orange and lemon juice, that really gets the tastebuds going.
Barley sugar candies are solid and smooth, with a taste and texture that makes you think of lazy summer childhood days. A true classic, these sweets are as nostalgic as it gets!
Butter Mintoes
Known for their rich buttery taste with a hint of mint, Butter Mintoes are based on the original Nuttalls Mintoes, made way back in the early 1900s. The man behind it all, William Nuttall, who also invented butterscotch, branded them "the five minute mint."
By the 1970s, Mintoes were one of the most popular sweets around. After the Nuttall candy company sold the trademark to the name, they became manufactured by sweet companies all over the world.
It's the unusual yet unforgettable combination of butter and mint that makes the Butter Mintoes flavour so popular. The golden cream colour and the chewy texture add to the allure of this hugely popular candy.
Boost
One of the most popular chocolate bars in the U.K. and it's easy to see why... Boosts are all-out chocolate indulgence contained within one irresistible bar of chocolate. A triple-layered, tastebud tingling sensation, Boosts consist of an inner layer of lusciously smooth chocolate mixed with biscuit pieces, wrapped in chewy gooey caramel, with a final layer of delicious milk chocolate.
Made by Cadbury in the U.K. in 1985, Boosts were originally a coconut caramel bar. Five years later, the biscuit version was launched, which proved much more popular. By the mid-90s, the biscuit Boost was king.
Those looking for a light treat, look elsewhere. For those who like their chocolate bars on the extra decadent side, however, a Boost is as good as it gets!
Bounty
Bounty is a coconut-filled, chocolate-enrobed candy bar manufactured by Mars, Incorporated, introduced in 1951 in the United Kingdom and Canada. It is a direct emulation of the Mounds bar introduced by Peter Paul in 1936, and also copies the milk chocolate enrobing of Hershey's Almond Joy, introduced in 1948
Bounty has a coconut filling, enrobed with milk chocolate (in a blue wrapper) or dark chocolate (in a red wrapper) and is usually sold as two small bars wrapped in one package.
Although Bounty is no longer distributed by Mars in the United States, similar products, such as Mounds and Almond Joy, are marketed by the Hershey Company.
Bourneville
A classic British chocolate named after the village near Birmingham, England, Bournville is a delicious dark chocolate bar produced by Cadbury. It contains cocoa from 44% to 50%.
Big Turk
Produced by Nestlé, the Big Turk candy bar is a big bold chocolate coated joy.
Ingredients include sugar, glucose, modified corn starch, cocoa butter and milk, for a Turkish Delight style bar coated in chocolate.
Breakaway
Breakaway is a chocolate bar with a biscuity centre and a milk chocolate coating. Milk chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar dried milk, whey powder and vegetable fat make up the ingredients of this chocolate bar, which is still popular today.
Sugar, whole oat flour, coconut is also available in this delicious candy bar.
Butterfinger candy bars
A vintage American candy bar with real decadent appeal, Butterfinger candy bars consist of a peanut butter centre, with a flakey, chocolate coating. It also has the flavour of rich cocoa.
The contrast of the crispy outside and the soft rich chocolate centre makes them one the most loved chocolate bars in the U.S. Butterfinger candy bars are absolutely delicious!
While in the U.K. we have Snickers, other candy bars don't really comes close to this one-of-a-kind candy bar. While it previously nigh-on impossible for sweet-toothed Brits to get their mitts on Butterfingers, supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Tesco have gotten on board and now sell this American classic.
Invented by Otto Snerling of the Curtiss Candy Company in Chicago in 1923, they become known as 'Butterfingers' after a public competition to come up with the best name. After Ferrero bought the Butterfinger brand from Nestlé in 2017, the taste has got even better, with a higher cocoa count and increase in roasted peanuts.
You can also get these candy bars in a bitesized version known as 'Butterfinger Snackerz.'
Baby Ruth candy bar
Another scrumptious, vintage all-American candy bar, Baby Ruths are a chewy, nutty, multi-layered marvel that are just so good! Take a layer of smooth milk chocolate-flavoured nougat, add another of deliciously indulgent caramel, and top it all off with crunchy chopped nuts for a triple act that tantalises your taste buds!
So, an old school candy bar named 'Baby Ruth'... it's got to be named after a certain baseball legend of the same era, right? Well, that was up for debate actually. According to the Curtiss Candy Company who made Baby Ruth candy bars, they were inspired by the former President Cleveland's daughter, Ruth.
Babe Ruth disagreed and soon released Ruth's Home Run candy bar, which failed to catch hold. It all ended up in court and, long story short, the Baby Ruth candy bar prevailed... so much so that over 80 years later it became the official candy bar of major league baseball.
Baby Bottle pop
An imaginative, silly, sweet treat that shook up the candy industry at the turn of the millennium, Baby Bottle Pop come in the form of a baby bottle. The idea is to dip the lollipop bottle tip into the bottle, where you'll find flavoured powdered sugar.
With a variety of flavours that include strawberry, cherry, blue raspberry, watermelon, bubblegum, green apple and grape, Baby Bottle Pops have been a popular item at American kids' birthday parties, pool parties, scavenger hunts, baby showers and more.
A U.K. version of Baby Bottle Pop, known as Super Baby Bottles, is made by Swizzels – the company behind Refreshers and Love Hearts.
Bottle Caps
The epitome of the nostalgic magic of candies of yesteryear, Bottle Caps little round tablet candies with a refreshing, tart, blissfully fizzy flavour that pops in your mouth. With flavours designed to bring soda pop to mind – we're talking root beer, cola, cherries, orange, and grape – Bottle Caps have been a popular candy ever since they first burst onto the scene back in the 1970s.
Back in the day, Bottle Caps came in a cylinder with a genuine metal bottle cap for a lid – you needed a bottle opener to get at them! Ah, the 70s... of course, times move on and while the company has changed the packaging and the appearance (they don't really look as much like a bottle cap anymore) the original recipe is still used and the flavours are still there.
Blow Pops
Bringing the best of both world, Blow Pops blend the childhood charm of a lollipops with the all-out fun of bubble gum, making them a uniquely popular American sweet. A terrifically chewy bubble gum centre is enveloped by a fabulously fruity hard candy shell, making the world's first bubble gum lollipop.
Flavours range from the straight up traditional to fun and contemporary – take your pick from grape, strawberry, cherry and their popular own-brand flavour Blue Razz Berry.
Bit-o-Honey
Another old-school American candy bar, Bit-o-Honey was originally a six-pieced honey-flavoured taffy, mixed with almond bits for a creamy nutty taste. Kind of like a honey-tinged nougat, or a Spanish turron, it delivered serious flavour, combing corn syrup, coconut oil, egg whites, real honey, sugar and milk for a rich, chewy bar that would send kids' taste buds into overdrive!
Over time, the candy bar shape gave way for individually wrapped smaller Bit-o-Honey sweets – less likely to get stuck in your teeth!
Other popular candy and chocolate that start with B
Bar None
An iconic American candy bar invented in the 1980s.
Balikutsa
An extremely sweet candy made from cooked, molten and sticky sugarcane.
Bergamot
A square, flat golden coloured sweet from Nancy, France.
Berlingot
A caramel flavoured hard candy.
Bubblicious
A popular bubble gum brand that originated in the 1970s.
Other sweet desserts that begin with B
- Black Forest Gateaux with whipped cream
- Blackberry pie
- Butter pecan ice cream
- Banana splits
- Boysenberry pie
Check out our retro sweet hampers, sweet subscription boxes and sweet cones, where you'll find most of these sweets and more!