A Gansito (which translates to little Goose in spanish) is a chocolate covered creme filled snack cake with chocolate sprinkles, that has an added layer of strawberry jelly just below the layer of creme. I first tried these years ago when I lived in a town with a dense Hispanic population. I often shopped at the Spanish markets in town, and that's where I stumbled upon this snack made by Marinela.
A popular opinion by many right now across social media, is that these blow away all other snack cakes on the market. I however, can't qualify that statement. To me it's like comparing apples to oranges. For purposes of this review however, I will go ahead and compare them to the most similar snack cake I can liken them to on the market right now, being.. Hostess Chocodiles aka Fudge covered Twinkies.
So right out of the gate Gansitos look very impressive. You've got a nice thick layer of chocolate all the way around except for underneath, where it's skimpy at best. The chocolate sprinkles are a nice touch and appear to be made of a darker chocolate.
Upon dissecting the cake, the first thing I noticed was the layer of creme and strawberry filling. I also thought it was an interesting move to have both layers up so high on the snack cake. The second thing I noticed was the consistency of the cake itself. It was totally different than that of a Twinkie or Chocodile, and resembled angel food cake, being much less dense and more dry.
I took my first bite of my Gansito and enjoyed the instant pop of chocolate flavor. Most of the sprinkles are embedded in the top layer of chocolate, so they don't fall all over the place when you bite into the snack cake. I thought they would be overkill, but they really are not. As I started chewing, the chocolatey flavor was immediately toned down by the dry and much less sweeter cake.
In the end, it all comes together with the strawberry filling kicking in. The creme filling was definitely not the star of this snack cake, and tends to get a bit lost with everything else that's going on, simply because there's not enough of it. Nevertheless, if it were absent altogether, the snack cake might have been too entirely dry for my taste.
At one time, if I had to choose between a Chocodile and a Gansito, I would have hands down chose the Chocodile. The Chocodile has more cream filling, a better coverage of chocolate all the way around, tastes more like fudge, and the sponge cake is more moist.
At one time, if I had to choose between a Chocodile and a Gansito, I would have hands down chose the Chocodile. The Chocodile has more cream filling, a better coverage of chocolate all the way around, tastes more like fudge, and the sponge cake is more moist.
However, the Gansito tastes more fresh and not as mass produced as the chemical laden Hostess snack cakes of our era. This is something I'm coming to appreciate more as I age and have shifted my eating habits quite a bit. The flavor combo also pops! If I ever have a craving for a quick strawberry-chocolate snack, I'll be reaching for a Gansito.
All in all this is a solid snack cake. One that I'm sure I will occasionally indulge in now that it's back on my radar. Do not sleep on Marinela snacks! Step out of your comfort zone and reach for one. You may be pleasantly surprised, and in turn, a whole new world of snack cakes may be opened up to you.