There’s nothing quite like finding good chocolate in unexpected places and that is happening more and more in Eastern Canada. I’m not complaining. And so when I made my first ever Amedei sighting in town, I jumped on the small, perfectly formed box without paying much attention to the contents. I simply had to have it.
Whilst better known for their stunning chocolate bars, I was fairly confident that their boxes would be more than adequate. And once I realised I had some truffles, I began to check out the box for more information.
It turns out that they don’t scrimp on the chocolate, even though they probably could have – the milk chocolate is a perfectly acceptable 32% while the dark chocolate is a robust 66% and, rather surprisingly the white chocolate (which is listed as white milk chocolate…) has a decent 29% cocoa solids.
Here’s the rundown of the contents:
Delizioso – milk chocolate on the outside, and the inside is a lovely creamy hazelnut centre with tiny bits of the nuts themselves to add some crunch. A rich, full flavour and a rather nice way to start the box.
Passione – probably the booziest chocolate I’ve had in a long, long time. This is the kind of rum truffle that doesn’t mess around – lots of rum and just the right amount of dark chocolate to add a counterpoint.
Tartufo – the combination of dark chocolate dusted with bitter chocolate means that it takes a while for the hazelnut paste inside to get a chance to shine. But it does eventually and that’s when things really begin to happen. The most decadent truffle of the six and definitely my favourite from the box.
Solare – more milk chocolate with a zabaione centre or for those without Wikipedia access, some Italian custard with a splash of wine. A good balance between the sweetness and the creaminess.
Capriccio – more alcohol, but this time some grappa and a lot less of it and the sweetness of vine flowers get pretty close to overwhelming it. Throw in some white chocolate and there isn’t much room left for the grappa. A bit too subtle compared to the rest of the box.
Vin Santo – dessert wine truffle this time although the end result isn’t that different from the Solare one. Not necessarily a bad thing.
A very satisfying collection, even if it was a little heavy on the hazelnut/alcohol theme. The one problem with the box is that these are tiny little truffles – the 12 in the box weigh in 120g, making it very easy to get through very quickly. And I did. And at the end, I was genuinely sad that they were all gone because I thoroughly enjoyed them.
I’m hoping for another Amedei sighting again very soon…
It might surprise you to know that blogging about chocolate isn’t my day job. I spend most of my day doing web development, designing sites for clients and writing code. Chocablog and sister site World Chocolate Guide are really just my way of combining my passion for chocolate with my love of web development.
One of the things I’ve wanted to do for a while is to write an iPhone app, and I’m pleased to say that I’ve now accomplished that goal and the World Chocolate Guide iPhone & iPad app is now available in the App Store!
The app is designed to help you find great chocolate shops locally and around the world. You can view the closest shops as a list or on the map, and you can filter the list to show only shops that sell fresh handmade chocolates, hot chocolate, cakes and patries, and those that have café areas.
But you can also access our database of chocolate brands and chocolatiers. Find your favourite brand, read all about it and even find the closest retailers. And remember, if your favourite chocolate shop isn’t listed yet, please take a moment to tell us about it!
We do hope you’ll give the app a try. It’s a very reasonable (we think!) 69p or 99 cents, and there’ll be an Android version available very soon. Maybe even Blackberry and Windows Phone versions if the demand is there. Let us know what you think and what features you’d like to see in the app!
Click here to download the app (iTunes Link) or search the App Store for “Chocolate Guide”.
Back in June, Sunshine & Butterflies owner and chocolatier Martin Hopper sent us a little box of chocolates to try. They were simply packaged handmade chocolates that had a home made rather than artisan feel.
Recently, another box of six arrived and I was curious to see how they compared. Being February, there is a ‘love’ theme to these chocolates, but they’re not specifically Valentine’s chocs, so I don’t feel too bad that I didn’t get around to reviewing them until after Valentine’s Day.
The chocolates in this ‘Limited Edition’ collection are:
Stawberry & Champagne Truffle
This white chocolate is decorated with a huge slab of freeze dried strawberry, which really didn’t work for me. Freeze dried fruit is great in small doses, but bigger pieces become a little like cardboard when you eat them. Aside from that, the chocolate itself is very pleasant. Not too sweet, with a gentle hint of champagne. I’d much rather see it with smaller pieces of strawberry though.
Honey Ganache
This chocolate is apparently decorated with bee pollen. Nice. Except I hate the flavour of honey with a passion, and although it’s relatively subtle here, this definitely wasn’t for me.
Almond & Vanilla Ganache
A dark chocolate with a thick shell, with a white chocolate ganache filling, decorated with flaked almonds. The shell on this chocolate was a little thick, making it quite difficult to bite through. The white chocolate filling is pleasant, but the dark chocolate has no particular flavour of its own. Needs better quality chocolate and/or a thinner shell.
Red Rose
A dark chocolate with rose ganache, decorated with raspberry powder. I like this one – raspberry and rose go together well, but the shell is still too thick.
Fig & Ginger Truffle
A dark chocolate with what appears to be whole pieces of fig and crystalised ginger in the centre. The flavours are interesting, but there are tiny crunchy pieces inside that make it feel a little like you’re chewing sand, which is a real shame.
Passion Ganache
A dark chocolate with a white chocolate ganache that apparently contains hibiscus, citrus, rose hips, mango and passion fruit. There’s a little too much going on to pick out individual flavours, but it’s pleasant enough.
Last time I reviewed Sunshine & Butterflies, I made the comment that the chocolates were a little ‘rough around the edges’. I was hoping that attention to detail would improve with time, but if anything, these are a little rougher. Having said that, if you’re looking for a gift that says “home made”, these aren’t too bad, but with the market for quality chocolate exploding at the moment, I’m afraid these aren’t something I would buy myself.
Iain Burnett is one of the (many!) excellent chocolatiers that we somehow haven’t managed to get around to reviewing in six years of writing about chocolate. Trained in Belgium, Switzerland and France, Iain is an artisan chocolatier with a stack of awards to his name. Last year alone he took home a total of five Academy of Chocolate Awards for his creations.
His chocolates look as good as they taste, so for this particular review I’m going to keep the words to a minimum and concentrate on showing you the pictures!
First up, this selection box featuring 20 chocolates. It’s a great looking box, with a nice magnetic catch to keep the chocolates inside safe with a minimum of fuss.
As you can see, there’s a good mix of chocolates inside. Some of the flavour highlights are: Raspberry, Orange & Clove, Ginger, Garden Mint, Marzipan, Lemongrass and Lime and Espresso,
The flavours are varied and some work better for me than others. The raspberry truffle has a hint of black pepper for a little heat at the end, which was quite nice. I’m personally less keen on spices like clove in my chocolate as I think it can be a little overpowering.
The Garden Mint was a strange one, having the exact same flavour as Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum. When I first tried this chocolate, it was quite cold, having just been delivered, and the texture of the truffle inside was quite firm, adding to this rather odd effect.
My favourite of this box though was the chocolate covered dark Velvet Truffle, made with 70% São Tomé chocolate.
Which neatly brings me to the second box I received. Milk chocolate Velvet Truffles, dusted in cocoa rather than being enrobed in chocolate. Sounds simple, but they’re extraordinarily good.
With a perfect cuboid shape and a box designed to fit 18 chocolates without any extra packaging, they certainly look distinctive. And they look even more distinctive individually.
They taste… amazing. They are the smoothest, meltiest, most wonderful plain chocolate truffles I know.
There’s only one way to eat them. Just let one of the cubes sit on your tongue and let it melt slowly. First the cocoa powder releases it’s intense chocolate flavour, then as it melts, the flavour becomes smooth, sweet and buttery – but none of that chocolatiness fades. They’re simply divine.
So while the selection box is good, these simple unflavoured truffles are to die for. They’re sold primarily as wedding favours, but I recommend buying them in bulk then just keeping them to yourself. These aren’t for sharing.
