Choklit: A Chocolate Blog

Chocolate Week!

2008-10-16T10:43:00.005+01:00

Let us not forget that in the UK this week (13-19th October) it is Chocolate Week!

It is a week of talks, demo's, tastings etc. at various chocolate establishments around the country, with many retailers offering some discounts on their products, including Willie Harcourt-Cooze (him of Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory), Oxfam and the Ethical Superstore, along with many seriously gourmet chocolatiers. And Hotel Chocolat are running a competition to win a years supply of chocolate (a year's subscription to the Chocolate Tasting Club) in store.

The website has all the information, including events, offers and a guide to chocolate.

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

2008-08-31T18:14:00.007+01:00

Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I've been rather busy the last couple of weeks, and my Cupboard of Love is looking woefully empty and I haven't had the chance to fill it up again, let alone eat any of it. I promise to turn over a new leaf.

HOWEVER - tomorrow, it is my boss's 30th anniversary with the company that I work for. So, in true chocoholic style, when asked to bake him a surprise cake, I spent a long time looking for the ultimate cake recipe. And in fact, came across The Ultimate Chocolate Cake recipe, from Angela Nilsen on the BBC Food site.

Click here for the recipe - you won't regret it. In fact, I think you should go and bake it right away.

Baking this cake today was not without incident. I upscaled it to 10 inches as it is to go round a few people, and like the muppet I can sometimes be, when I went to take it out of the oven, I did it with one hand. And promptly dropped it all over the floor.

Luckily cake number 2 went without hitch, and at least I got the smell of this amazing cake baking throughout the flat twice in one day. Well, you have to look for the silver linings sometimes, no matter how hard they are to find.

And what chocolate did I use? For the actual cake, I used Sainsbury's Belgian Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa) which I am very fond of as a dark chocolate. For the ganache, you might think it is an interesting choice, but I used Cadbury's Bournville. The cake itself is very dark and rich, and so I wanted something a little lighter and sweeter for the ganache. It actually works quite well.

If you are looking for a chocolate cake recipe, your search has ended . . . .

(edit: better photos uploaded)

Ritter Sport Peppermint

2008-08-08T20:43:00.003+01:00

I have to apologise - I was enjoying this bar so much, I forgot to take photographs . . . blush . . .

My last current offering from Ritter Sport - the Peppermint Bar. In the normal square format as all the others, it is a dark chocolate filled with a soft peppermint fondant. I am a big fan of the peppermint and dark chocolate combination, so was definitely looking forward to sampling it.

The dark chocolate was really tasty - I am not sure of the percentage cocoa solids, but it had a nice smooth flavour, with no hint of bitterness.

The best bit however is the peppermint filling. It has a good strong peppermint flavour and aroma, but does not overpower the chocolate, giving a fantastic balance between the flavours. What I was even more impressed with that even on putting this in the fridge, the fondant remains soft and melting - in fact, being chilled just adds the whole delight of this bar. Rather like peppermint choc chip icecream in block form. Or that lovely cool minty sensation you get after brushing your teeth!

I really loved this bar - no wonder I didn't realise I had no photos!!! I will have to add some in the very near future when I indulge in this bar again :)

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
No nutritional info available

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Monoprix Gourmet Noir aux éclats de fèves

2008-07-30T11:14:00.004+01:00

Another Monoprix Gourmet bar from Paris - this time a 72% dark chocolate bar, crammed with toasted nibs of cocoa beans.

My pathetic attempts at trying to explain the blurb on the packet, is that the toasted cocoa nibs give a taste that is reminiscent of coffee beans.

Same presentation as the last Monoprix Gourmet bar I reviewed (pictures to come) and you are greeted with a lovely deep chocolate aroma as soon as you open the bar.

The chocolate is fairly reminiscent of Lindt's 70-odd% chocolate, with a deep, not too bitter smooth cocoa taste, with an undertone of vanilla.

The best bit though is the toasted cocoa nibs - they lend a lovely crunch to the bar, and add a superb intense chocolate taste as you eat the bar. And yes - a slight hint of toasted coffee beans which I have always been fond of the flavour of, but only a hint mind you. Which I suppose is correct, considering it isn't actually coffee!

Highly recommended - if you like dark chocolate and happen to come across this French offering on your travels, then please try it!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: to come
Fat: to come
( per 100g)

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Monoprix Gourmet pépites de caramel

2008-07-23T22:13:00.005+01:00

Les pépites de caramel taquinent le palais tandis que le chocolat au lait l'enrobe de sa douceur.

Translation: The nuggets of caramel tease the palate while coated with the softness of milk chocolate. You get the gist . . .

Yep - this is the first of five bars brought back to me from Paris for me to review. Oh it's hard people knowing that you write about chocolate!

The bar is kind of a Lindt presentation - it comes wrapped in foil within a box, and split into the same 10 segments. The bar consists of milk chocolate, with a liberal amount of crunchy caramel bits.

The chocolate is quite nice. It doesn't have the same smoothness and creaminess of Lindt, but it has a good chocolate hit (albeit with that slight burn you can sometimes get at the back of your throat) and contains a relatively decent 32% cocoa solids.

There are two ways of eating this really - the normal way would be to crunch straight into it I suppose, and eating it this way, it really becomes just crunchy chocolate as the caramel is a little overwhelmed by the relatively strong cocoa flavour.

However on my last square, I let all the chocolate melt away leaving me with copious amounts of caramel bits in my mouth. And much to my delight, the caramel is good - sweet, buttery and with a nice salty aftertaste as you crunch on the remnants.

Really a very nice bar - amongst my French stash, I have another one from Monoprix Gourmet, but I haven't decoded it yet to see what it is!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 526
Fat: 29.0g
( per 100g)

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Normal service will resume shortly

2008-07-20T21:01:00.003+01:00

Apologies for the hiatus in posts - real life has been getting in the way.

Last weekend I was Maid of Honour for my best friend, and have spent much of that time recovering my energy, if not having to go on work dinners and the like.

You will be glad to know that I kept up the good chocolate work though and made their wedding cake - 3 tiers of double depth White Chocolate and Dulce de Leche cheesecake (recipe here for the normal size). I have included a picture below of the completed cake (as I am just a tad proud of it), and it went down very well :) Not bad, for my first ever wedding cake! I don't know if I'd do another one in a hurry, but it was an interesting experience.

Happily, my friend and her lovely new husband went on honeymoon to Paris, and has brought me back 5-6 French bars to review - yay!!!

So as said above - normal service will shortly resume.

Ritter Sport Whole Hazelnut

2008-07-09T19:08:00.001+01:00

Another Ritter variety in my sights this evening - the Whole Hazelnut version. A milk chocolate with "hand selected whole hazelnuts" no less! The UK equivalent (Cadbury Whole Nut) is one of those bars I do like to indulge in every so often - a comfort food if you will, so I was curious to see how this one compared.

As you open the packet, there is a lovely hazelnutty smell, which I have never really got from the Cadbury version, with the nuts being overwhelmed by the very distinctive, strong tasting Cadbury milk chocolate. Not so here, the milk chocolate and hazelnuts are paired beautifully.

As before, the milk chocolate in this is lovely - creamy, rich and with a relatively good 30% cocoa solids (relative to the so called "dark" chocolates I have had with the same amount). It melts smoothly and compliments the crunchy, fresh-tasting hazelnuts which are copiously scattered throughout the bar. Very moreish.

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
No Nutritional Info available

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Côte d’Or Experiences 70% & Raspberries

2008-07-08T21:35:00.005+01:00

I have a feeling that this was primarily called "Noir Framboise" but it appears to have been renamed for those Brits who can't speak a word of French (or be bothered to read the packet to see what it contains).

It's a while since I have had a Côte d’Or bar, and certainly the first one since starting this site. I am also a big fan of raspberries, so snapped this up when I laid my peepers on it - coming to the bar itself described as "Smooth and rich 70% cocoa solid DARK (sic) chocolate with a thin layer of raspberries enveloped in chocolate."

On opening the bar, you are hit with that lovely intense bittersweet dark chocolate smell - always one of my favourites. You also get a hint of the raspberries therein. The dark chocolate is glossy, and emblazoned with the traditional Côte d’Or elephant. Cute.
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I was a little worried about how apparent the raspberries would be, as on the ingredients they are listed as a paltry 1.1% of the ingredients. However, it can be tasted (there are other fruit ingredients in there as well, I suspect to help it along) and it compliments beautifully the chocolate. The dark chocolate is smooth and rich, and is one of those chocolates with that odd ability to stay cool in your mouth, even as it melts. And as it melts, you get the odd little bit of candied raspberry to bite on, for even more a fruity reminder of the contents. If you munch your chocolate, you may not notice these candied pieces, but if you let it melt on your tongue, they become very apparent.

I loved this bar - it tasted smooth, rich and above all, fresh tasting. Côte d’Or never seems very bitter to me anyway (lets see, I have an 86% one in the Cupboard of Love . . . ) but the raspberry flavour certainly counteracts any bitterness there may be. A really lovely combination.

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 580
Fat: 46.0g
( per 100g)

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Ritter Sport Praline

2008-07-06T17:14:00.001+01:00

I've only ever tried one of the Ritter Sport varieties in the past, and I have a feeling it was the marzipan one which I am not a big fan of. However, happy to put the past behind me, I grabbed a couple of these to try (the other one being the Hazelnut one).

Having had a very positive experience with another German brand, Milka, and having heard good things generally about Ritter, I wasn't disappointed.

This particular bar is described on the front as having "the finest praline filling". Now, that's a pretty steep claim and I don't know about it being the finest, but it was a very enjoyable bar nonetheless. The milk chocolate is very similar to the Milka range, being very creamy with a good cocoa flavour and starts melting as soon as you put it in your mouth, or even indeed on your fingertips. The filling was a very smooth, chocolatey praline with a good taste of hazelnuts - in fact, there is a beautiful praline nutty aroma as soon as you open the packet.

Delicious and highly recommended. There appears to be an increasing variety of this range becoming available in the UK - try them if you haven't already!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
No nutritional info available

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Cadbury Boost

2008-07-05T13:58:00.007+01:00

I remember the good old days when you used to be able to get Boost's in 3 different varieties - if I remember rightly it was Biscuit, Coconut and Peanut. Coconut was always my absolute favourite, but then Cadbury made the decision to narrow the Boost range down to just one. Joy of joys, it was my least favourite of the bunch and what we have today - the Biscuit Boost.

First of all - let's not be fooled here. Cadbury decided to tag it with the line "Charged with glucose". In simple terms, a massive third of your recommended sugar allowance! But that's okay - Cadbury certainly wouldn't be the first to take something like that and make it sound like the chocolate equivalent of an energy drink.

What we have is basically a caramel "tube", with a biscuity filling and a thick milk chocolate coating. Taking this bit at a time; milk chocolate coating? Well, Cadbury chocolate is as it always is - distinctive, smooth and very sweet. Caramel? Soft chewy texture (with a bit of leakage on mine) and tastes pretty much like the softer Caramel in the Cadbury Dairy Milk with Caramel, or whatever they're calling it now. I can't keep up. Anyway - sweet, sticky. Fairly average really.

The filling is where I become a bit unstuck (and not a caramelly way!). It has the biscuity bits in, yes, which give it a nice bit of crunch. I like them. However, they are suspended in some "stuff" that I can't quite place. It is soft sort of truffley texture with a rather insipid taste. A bit like instant drinking chocolate. They don't even describe it on the wrapper. And quite frankly, when I looked at the ingredients (which I don't do that often) to try and get a hint of what it might be, there was so much crap in there, I almost regretted eating the bar.

Almost. But it was okay for a one off. I won't be running out to get another one any time soon. Unless of course they bring back the coconut version, in which case I will have to build a new "cupboard of love" . . .

(what I did find interesting was that on doing a search for "Boost" on Cadbury's home page, not one result came back. Not one!!!!)

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 315
Fat: 17.8g
( per bar)

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Waitrose Ginger Truffle Bars

2008-06-30T20:48:00.005+01:00

Don't you hate it when you really look forward to something, but it just doesn't come up to expectation?

I am a big fan of Waitrose. Every so often when I am feeling flush, I will go and do my weekly shop there and buy all those indulgent things that I love. Nice cheese, olives, dips . . . and of course, chocolate. I also like chocolate ginger, so threw this straight into my basket when I saw it.

These bars seem to be modelled somewhat on the Thorntons brand, with similar offerings - ginger, praline etc. This one specifically is a dark chocolate shell, filled with a ginger milk chocolate truffle and comes in two bits, A La Bounty style.

And yes - your eyes do not deceive. More bloom than the Chelsea Flower Show. Not a good start, but hey, the weather has been hot. (Hmmmm . . . .)

And it was downhill from there. The "plain" chocolate (their words in the ingredients list, not mine) is a measly 31% cocoa solids. I've had milk chocolates with more than this. I found it tasteless and insipid. The truffle inside was a little better with a nice ginger kick, and little bits of fresh tasting ginger, but the truffle was too dense and again, didn't really have that cocoa hit.

A little disappointing - I was expecting more from Waitrose. Let's hope the praline version I bought at the same time isn't quite so lackadaisical . . .

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 94
Fat: 6.1g
( per bar)

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Nestle Heaven Praline Perles

2008-06-25T21:26:00.008+01:00

Sorry for the brief hiatus in posts - what with hen-do's and new jobs, I haven't really had much time to devote to my chocolate!

However, in a haze of tiredness the other night, I grabbed these in my local Tesco Metro, thinking they looked like something nice to nibble on.

These are small (smaller than Lindor) balls of a Swiss milk chocolate shell, filled with a "soft, rich hazelnut praline".

I've never massively got on with Nestle chocolate and to be honest, these are not really an exception. The milk chocolate is smooth and creamy, but has a bit of an odd taste that I can't quite place. The praline is fairly pleasant, but a little bland - I would have liked a touch more hazelnut taste and I always like a little texture in my praline, just to remind me that it has nuts in!

I kind of get the impression with these that they are trying to emulate Lindor (well, imitation is the best form of flattery they say!) and they really are not a bad confection. But they don't pull if off as well - the milk chocolate isn't that gorgeous melty Lindt quality, the centre is smooth but not as smooth, and they are a lot smaller. If I have more than a couple, I also get that slight back of the mouth burn that you can get after something very sugary.

But saying that, this box cost a little over £2 and you get about 16 in the box which is quite generous, so are really not bad for the price. If you are looking to grab a quick, pretty looking treat next time you are in a supermarket, you could do much worse.

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 147
Fat: 10.2g
( per 4 sweets)

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Lindt Lindor Orange bar

2008-06-16T14:03:00.004+01:00

Being a HUGE fan of Lindor truffles, I was curious to see how it would translate to a bar. The answer? Very well.

This particular variety is the dark chocolate orange flavoured Lindor bar, and Oh. My. God. I could live on this stuff till the end of my days.

The generously sized bar (150g) is a dark chocolate, of a minimum of 43% solids. Now, this is quite low for Lindt, but actually, that's fine with me. The dark chocolate is just bitter enough to compliment the filling, without overpowering it and the two go together perfectly.

And the filling? It is the masterliness of Lindor that gets me every time. A smooth, unctuous filling that starts melting just by looking at it, with a silky smooth texture that stays cool in your mouth as it starts its journey to liquidity and in this case, flavoured perfectly with the zesty flavour of oranges.

Absolutely beautiful - if you see this bar, grab one, please!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
No nuritional info available

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Milka Alpine Milk Chocolate Cream

2008-06-15T13:48:00.006+01:00

Another offering from Milka - the Alpine Milk Chocolate Cream bar. That is, milk chocolate filled with a cream flavoured filling.

After enjoying my Happy Cow bar the other day, I was looking forward to this one. And luckily I wasn't disappointed.

The milk chocolate shell is like other Milka Alpine Milk Chocolate - rich and creamy with a good level of cocoa flavour for a milk chocolate.

The filling doesn't really distinguish itself much from the shell - rather being a slightly softer, truffle textured filling with the same milk chocolate flavour but with a hint more creaminess and smoothness of flavour to the outside.

I'd probably say this one is even easier to eat than a bar of solid Milka chocolate - it is slightly less sweet due to the cream filling, but has the same level of smooth meltiness (can't think of a better word!) that all Milka chocolate seems to have.

One word. Yum.

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 152
Fat: 11.0g
( per 25g)

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Toblerone (dark chocolate)

2008-06-12T20:59:00.006+01:00

I have been quite a fan of Toblerone throughout my life, but until today, I had never tried any other variety, bar the well-loved milk chocolate version.

The dark version of Toblerone is Swiss plain chocolate, with honey and almond nougat pieces. Cocoa solids are 50% minimum, which isn't the highest around, but reasonably respectable for "family" chocolate.

The chocolate reminds me quite a lot of Cadbury's Bournville (as far as I can remember anyway, as I haven't eaten this for many years!). It melts smoothly, is quite sweet for a dark chocolate and is therefore very easy to eat. The honey and almond nougat gives a nice crunch, but the plain chocolate does rather mask any honey or almond taste, unless you have any bits left in your mouth after all the chocolate has melted.

Overall I liked this. It is a nice addition to the Toblerone range (I must try the white one next!) and is good for sharing with family, as children would most likely be quite happy eating this dark chocolate due to its sweet, smooth taste, as compared to say a 70% chocolate which is generally a more acquired taste. I personally like the milk chocolate version better, as I prefer very dark, if I am eating plain chocolate, but this is not far behind in the taste stakes.

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 125
Fat: 7.6g
( per 25g)

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Milka Happy Cows

2008-06-11T17:55:00.001+01:00

Milka seems to be making a bit of a resurgence in the UK, with more and more varieties seemingly being available every time I go to the supermarket. I have sampled Milka at the odd stage through my childhood, and remember finding it rather tasty and as you can currently pick these up for the fabulous price of 56p for a 100g bar at Sainsbury's, how could I say no?!

This is described as "Alpine Milk and White Chocolate" - basically a milk chocolate bar, with white chocolate splodges on the top to look like the coat of a spotty cow.

The milk chocolate is fab - very rich, creamy and melts rather seductively on the tongue. I couldn't see what percentage was cocoa, but it really does have an intense chocolatey taste, as all good milk chocolate should have. The white chocolatey splodges don't really add anything to the taste (and after I extracted a bit to taste on its own, it wasn't very strongly flavoured after experiencing the milk chocolate) but I think they are mostly for the cow appearance. The milk chocolate is quite sweet, but not so sweet that if you were really hungry and ate the whole bar, you would make yourself ill. It reminds me a little of Galaxy actually - but with a stronger chocolate taste.

Really, really good milk chocolate - if you see any of these on special offer, I urge you to stock up!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 113
Fat: 7.4g
( per 25g serving)

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Lindt Creation 70% Caramel

2008-06-10T22:19:00.007+01:00

I was really, really looking forward to this. Lindt dark chocolate and caramel in one package - what could be nicer?

This, like the Chilli version, is a fairly hefty 150g bar. It consists of 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate, filled with a chocolate truffle and a layer of caramel.

Almost everything about this bar is perfect. The dark chocolate shell is Lindt's usual high standard - not too bitter, satinny smooth and with lovely overtones of vanilla. The truffle inside is rich and velvety smooth and then there is the caramel.

Now caramel is one of my favourite things. But this is my one little problem with this otherwise beautiful bar. With all the strong flavours of the truffle and the chocolate, I can barely detect it. Tasting it on its own, I found it a little bland and certainly not with enough guts to stand up to 70% dark chocolate. A little more saltiness in it would have set it off a treat against the sweetness of the chocolate. It's a shame - but its still an extremely tasty bar. Just don't buy it for the caramel . . .

PS. I apologise about the crappy photographs of the packaging on these Lindt Creations - black glossy boxes are really hard to photograph!!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 165
Fat: 12.3g
( per 30g serving)

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Toffifee

2008-06-08T13:42:00.006+01:00

Two of these have been sitting in my fridge for a couple of weeks, after being brought back from Wales by my flatmate. A comment on Jim's Chocolate Mission reminded me about them, so thought it was time I fished 'em out! Due to them being given to me an envelope, I don't have a picture of the original box, but you can take a look at them over at the official website.

I can remember these as far back as I can - they always make me think of Woolworths as I don't think I have ever seen them sold anywhere else!

To describe them, they are a toffee shell, filled with a hazelnut, "nougat" and topped with a chocolate disc.

They don't contain the best quality chocolate (and nor do I expect them to at the price) and I am not sure why it is described as nougat (think more of a thick chocolate spread), but what they are is an interesting blend of textures - the chewiness of the toffee, the crunch of the nut and the smoothness of the chocolate. The toffee tastes like your typical cream toffee, with a nice smooth texture and is probably my favourite component of the sweet.

So altogether, nothing overwhelms anything else, no part is particularly "special", but what it is is quite moreish and very easy to eat, mostly because they are not too sweet, and therefore not too sickly. If you like chocolate, toffee and nuts, you will probably enjoy these - an inexpensive treat.

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 535
Fat: 31g
( per 100g)

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Lindt Creation 70% Chilli

2008-06-05T19:07:00.000+01:00

I picked up a couple of these Lindt Creation 70% bars to try - there are 3 I think in the range. I have not tried chocolate with chilli before, and it seems to be popping up all over the place.

This is a 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate bar, with a dark truffle and soft cherry and chilli filling.

The chocolate is up to Lindt's normal high standards - I love their 70% dark anyway, as it has a lovely balance between sweet and bitter, with an intense cocoa flavour. It smells as good as it tastes as well.

The filling is a soft dark truffle - this melts pretty quickly and sits well with the rest of the filling - a cherry and chilli thick syrup. I was a bit worried about the cherry flavouring, not being a massive fan, but I needn't have been. It is balanced perfectly - it has the intense cherry taste, but not the sickly sweetness that you often get with fillings of this type. The chilli is also apparent - not enough to blow your head off, but just enough to leave a pleasant warmth in your mouth after eating. The cherry and truffle filling melts away very quickly and the chilli flavour lingers to meld with the dark chocolate shell as it finishes its slow smooth melt in your mouth.

It's not a bar I could eat a lot of at once, but I like this a lot. I am looking forward to trying the Creation 70% Caramel that is awaiting attention in my "cupboard of love"!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 150
Fat: 10.2g
( per 30g serving)

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Hershey's Cookies 'n' Chocolate bar

2008-06-04T20:53:00.009+01:00

I have never had a Hershey's bar before, and this was kindly bought for me by another colleague (thanks Alex!) who lived in the States for a while but doesn't like the "national" chocolate of America at all. "Be honest!" he said.. Not a problem.
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This bar is, I presume, the milk chocolate version of the Cookies 'n' Cream variety - only instead of white chocolate, this is cookie pieces set into milk chocolate.

First impressions on opening this was the smell. The bar smelled like the really cheap chocolate you can get in things like unbranded foil wrapped hollow eggs in Easter gift baskets, if you know what I am talking about? A kind of cross between stale chocolate, and powdered Nesquik . . .

I can't say that the taste was much better. From what I can gather, this is one of the better liked bars, but I found the chocolate tasted as it smelled - rather cheap. The texture was rather waxy and sat for a considerable time in my mouth before begrudgingly starting to melt. The cookie pieces were relatively okay - not too much taste, but a nice crispy texture. And overall, there was unfortunately a rather stale aftertaste as well.

Looking at the ingredients, I am not too surprised. The milk chocolate has a massive (inject note of sarcasm here) 10% cocoa solids. And uses powdered milk. You see - I told you it tasted like Nesquik!

Not really to my liking I'm afraid - and not particularly impressed. At some point I will review other Hershey bars, but it won't be for some time! What I do find quite interesting is that Hershey actually manufacture Cadbury's in the USA - now that would be interesting to try.

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 230
Fat: 12.0g
( per bar)

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Cocoa Bay Dreamy After-Dinner Selection

2008-06-02T19:33:00.003+01:00

I picked up this pretty box a few weeks ago in Sainsbury's when it was on special offer. Later when I looked at it more closely, I was surprised to see that it is in fact an offering from Ashbury - the makers of the Gordon Ramsay selection that I reviewed a couple of months ago. That was a slightly mixed bag, so I was looking forward to seeing what they had to offer.

The box is lovely - a pretty turquoise affair, with a magnetic flap to keep it closed. However, I do have a little gripe - the depth of the box insinuates a double layer of chocolates. Imagine my disappointment to find just the one! So, a massive box for 15 chocolates (2 each of 7 varieties, plus 1) - are they worth the space? As there is only seven "designs", I will outline each of them. By the way, all chocolate is described as "Belgian" and the dark chocolate is 70% cocoa solids.

Caribbean Cocktail: This was a butter truffle filling, flavoured with concentrated pineapple juice, creamed coconut and rum and surrounded with an extremely thick milk chocolate shell. The truffle was pleasant with a nice buttery taste, a hint of rum and pineapple, but unfortunately I could not taste the coconut. I find that the milk chocolate they use is pleasant enough - smooth and creamy, but not with a strong enough chocolate "hit" to balance out the stronger flavours of the fillings, and comes out as a little bland.

Passionfruit Heart: A very pretty heart shaped truffle in white chocolate with red glazing, filled with a white chocolate truffle flavoured with passionfruit juice concentrate. The passionfruit flavour is very strong - perhaps a little too strong, but as there wasn't much truffle in it, it wasn't too overwhelming! The white chocolate has a stronger flavour than the milk, so doesn't get as lost as the milk chocolate does.

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Dusted Marc de Champagne Truffle: I love the truffle filling of this - smooth and silky with a nice champagne kick. It is in a very thick milk chocolate shell, dusted with icing sugar, but as before, I think the milk chocolate is just a tad bland to stand up to the flavour of the filling.

Strawberry & Black Pepper: The first dark chocolate I tried, and again - the actual chocolate seems a tad tasteless, considering it is 70% cocoa solids. This is filled with a white chocolate truffle flavoured with strawberry concentrate which had more flavour, but the master touch is the light dusting of black pepper over the chocolate. It doesn't seem very apparent when you are eating the chocolate, but leaves you with a pleasant touch of heat in your mouth afterwards.

Almond Trilogy: My least favourite of the box, supposedly an almond praline surrounded with marzipan and coated with dark chocolate studded with caramelised almonds. I could not differentiate between the praline and the marzipan, and the caramelised almonds did nothing except give some crunch to an already dry chocolate. The chocolate even looked dusty!

Earl Grey & Jasmine: Dark chocolate containing a milk chocolate ganache flavoured with a blend of Earl Grey, bergamot and jasmine. I am fond of Earl Grey and was disappointed not to to taste it. There was a slight flowery overtone, which I assume comes from the bergamot and jasmine, but I definitely did not get Earl Grey.

Framboise: A white chocolate shell, filled with a white chocolate ganache scattered with freeze-dried raspberries. The overall flavour is pleasant - the raspberry doesn't overwhelm the fairly good white chocolate. I don't particularly like the texture of the freezedried raspberries though - they are quite tough and gritty.

Overall - its not a terrible box, there are some quite interesting combinations there, even if they are not quite pulling them all off. Some of the chocolates are very nice, and others I could quite happily never taste again. I think the main problem on these is the price - I got these on a special offer of £4.99, which I was quite happy to pay. However, the normal price is double that, at £9.99 - I think this is hideously overpriced for these particular chocolates, especially when you consider you only get 15 in the box. But if you see them on offer, by all means give them a shot!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 131
Fat: 8.6g
( per 2 chocolates, estimated)

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Filthy Seductive Strawberry & Cream Bites

2008-06-01T19:12:00.004+01:00

This is my second review of the Filthy range, having already reviewed the Filthy Cheeky Chocolate Bites, and quite simply, loving them. These are only available from Sainsbury's, and I had to wait a few weeks before the strawberry version was available, but hurrah, here they are!

As before, I love the packaging of these, unfolding like a big flower to reveal the chocolates within, that have been made with Belgian milk chocolate and fresh cream. To nick the description from the box, these are "Strawberries whipped with lashings of double cream. Restrained in thick, hard Belgian milk chocolate". Now if that isn't suggestive, I certainly don't know what is, but the whole packaging (and the website if you take a peek) is designed to be just that.

Down to the chocolates inside, and there are 12 generously sized chocs. The filling is very different to the Chocolate Bites - where that was quite dense, the Strawberry & Cream filling is a very light whipped cream, with the fresh flavour of strawberries. Nothing here tastes artificial, as is so often the case with fruit flavoured fillings and the milk chocolate is creamy with a good chocolate flavour. My only gripe would be that the chocolate is described on the box as being "thick", which I disagree with. Slightly more chocolate would be good!

These are lovely - if you are in Sainsbury's, I urge you to pick up a box from this range. I think these strawberry and cream chocs would be perfectly suited to a champagne picnic with your current amour :)

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 65
Fat: 5.6g
( per bite)

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Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate Swirl with Fudge Pieces and Crispy Malt Balls

2008-05-31T16:43:00.011+01:00

Hmmm, well this is a mixed bag.

These slab type of chocolate bars seem to be popping up everywhere, after being popularised by Hotel Chocolat. I wasn't expecting the same quality, being a sixth of the price and a third of the size, but as this is in Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range, I was expecting something reasonably good.

This offering is a fairy hefty 180g slab of a swirled mixture of milk and white Belgian chocolate, decorated with fudge pieces and malt balls.

The chocolate itself is not bad at all for the price. The milk chocolate has a good strong milky cocoa flavour, which tastes more chocolatey than its 30% cocoa solid statistics. The white chocolate is sweet and creamy, and doesn't overwhelm the milk chocolate.

So why then do they have to ruin it, by putting topping bits on it? The malt balls are inoffensive, not lending any flavour, just giving a hint of crispiness. The fudge is awful. I mean, really dreadful. Imagine what dessicated fudge would be like in texture and flavour, and you are probably close. Fudge in my eyes can be chewy, but not to the extent that you have to forcibly crunch on it to get your teeth through.

So as I said - a mixed bag. Chocolate - not bad, but the toppings? Oh Sainsbury's, you could do it better!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 532
Fat: 30.2g
( per 100g)

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Divine Fairtrade White Chocolate

2008-05-28T21:38:00.004+01:00

I'd never previously got round to trying any of the Divine Fairtrade range, and a couple of weeks ago sternly I pulled myself together and put this Divine White Chocolate bar in my shopping basket.

Personally, I have noticed the growing presence of this Divine range and for a little bit of background info, they are a Fairtrade company that is owned by the cocoa farmers cooperative Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana, who receive a fair price for their product, along with a share of the company's profits.

Being a bit of a girlie girl, I love the packaging of these bars. The bar is a six chunk 45g individual bar (although you can get 100g bars as well).

Quite honestly, this is one of the best white chocolates I have tasted, not that I eat it a huge amount. I am not keen on overly sweet white chocolate (and so many of them are), and this has a lovely balance. The best way to savour it is to let it melt on your tongue, where it melts so smoothly, and releases a perfect balance of vanilla, cream and cocoa buttery goodness. Really rather nice!

And for those of you who are interested, they have just released a range of mini-cookies, muffins and brownies in Waitrose!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 244
Fat: 13.6g
( per 45g bar)

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Guylian Praliné bar

2008-05-25T19:45:00.005+01:00

A couple of months ago, I reviewed the Guylian Milk Chocolate Truffles, and was a little disappointed in their blandness.

However, Guylian are perhaps best known for their praline truffle centres, and handily, they do it in a bar version, and all at the bargain price of 44p!

Guylian's presentation, I have to say, cannot be faulted. From their famous seashells, down to this, a small bar, it is all beautifully designed. The bar is divided into four, each one with a relief of a seashell or creature on top and marbled with a mixture of white and milk Belgian chocolate.

The chocolate is very nice - the white chocolate is more for decoration as I couldn't really discern it from the rest of the bar, but the milk chocolate is smooth and melting, with a good cocoa taste (although the wrapping does not tell you cocoa solid percentages).

The praline truffle inside is, I am happy to say, much better than the milk chocolate truffle centre. A smooth textured truffle, with a fantastic hazelnut flavour - this really is very tasty.

I really, really enjoyed this and will be looking out for the orange flavoured one, orange chocolate being a favourite of mine!

HOW NAUGHTY IS IT?
Calories: 211
Fat: 13.2g
( per bar)

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