Lu Petit Écolier

As I was poking about in my local Foodland supermarket a few days ago, I stumbled upon LU Petit Écolier biscuits.

Part of the attraction / interest was that these sell themselves as “European Biscuits”.
Down here in the wide brown land at the bottom of the planet, we collectively have slight tendency to think we can’t do things very well; and that stuff from Europe represents better quality and sophistication; something that’s worth paying extra for the associated cachet (go look it up). It’s also been my experience that many of the goods sold offering “European” quality have only one really special thing going for them: they come from Somewhere Else.

Anyhow, in my perverse way I found it a strange idea to send biscuits half way around the world; to then be sold with “European” as a positive attribute. Perhaps a sign that the world really is a crazy place.

A quick check found that LU biscuits come from France, and are these days a part of the giant Kraft empire; but they do have a history going back to 1846. The image of “The little schoolboy” dates back to about the same time.

If the web advertising I found this is anything to go by, LU want to stake their reputation on the Petit Écolier biscuits. The company make a range of other biscuits, but this one has prominence.

In terms of presentation, these really stand out. The biscuits are well made, cleanly formed, no excess crumbs, and the chocolate is very elegantly formed and attached (somehow) to the biscuit without making it soggy. They look really, really good.

On to the tasting. As the pack says, the biscuit is quite buttery, it has a nice texture and a similarity to a good shortbread biscuit. The chocolate (which is what we are hanging out for) although stated as “dark” is only 45% cocoa, and quite sweet.

My biggest difficulty here is getting the taste of the chocolate. By the time you have crunched the biscuit the chocolate has not really had time to melt and release flavour. What you do get from the eating is primarily a sort of richish sweetness, but the chocolate does not really have any great highlights and flavour to reach out and grab you. I tried all sorts – eating one upside down, scraping the chocolate off with my teeth. I really struggled to get a chocolate hit no matter what I tried.

In quick summary: An extremely well-presented, well-made, chocolate biscuit which will offend nobody. Because the chocolate is not as chocolatey as it could be, nor will it have chocolate lovers singing its praises or raving about it.

Mama’s Chocolate & Mint Cream Fudge

Here’s something I picked up at my local farmers market on a very hot day in Finchley. It was my first visit to the market and I wasn’t expecting to see anything chocolate related, especially on the hotest day of the year, so it was a pleasant surprise to find a fudge cellar nestled away in a shaded alcove.

This was the only chocolate variety on offer, and a quick glance at their web site reveals that they’re more into their cupcakes than fudge – and this particular variety isn’t even shown on their site.

For £2.95, you get nine large pieces of fudge, which as you can see look quite appealing. Open the bag, and there’s a very subtle fudge aroma, but not as much as I was expecting. But when you bite into it, you’re immediately hit by the less-than-subtle mint flavour.

When combined with the soft, creamy fudge texture, the effect is quite similar to biting into a peppermint cream, and it’s a little strong for my liking. The first bite of the first chunk is nice, but by the time you’ve had two chunks, it all starts to get a bit much.

The chocolate layer on the other hand is much more subdued. Even when taken in isolation, it’s not easy to pick out the chocolate. That’s a bit of a shame, because the look and texture of the fudge is spot on.

Overall though, I did enjoy this. Or rather, I have enjoyed the tree chunks I’ve had so far. The rest will be sealed away for at least a day before I’m ready to face it again.

Lindt Petits Desserts Sorbetto

During my last shopping trip, it was hard not to notice Lindt’s new Petits Desserts Sorbetto chocolates on the shelf because of the really unique packaging they’ve been given – an oversized cardboard ice cream cone that declares in no uncertain terms that they should be served chilled. That’s the twist with these chocolates – Lindt recommend that you put them into the fridge for at least two hours before eating them, assumingly to try and make them more sorbet-like.

But does it work? Well, kinda. The chocolate shell does become nice and crispy, like the cone on the box, and the filling gets colder although without taking on the texture of sorbet which is what I was expecting. So I did what anybody else would do in my position – I put the remaining chocolates into the freezer for a few hours to really turn them into sorbet. It didn’t quite freeze them solid, but it definitely helped to thicken them up to a more satisfying level.

The chocolates themselves aren’t too bad at all. Lindt don’t share just how dark the shells are, but I wouldn’t put it at much about 50%. Plus the shell is thin enough that it really doesn’t get in the way of the filling which is given star billing. The strawberry was the most muted of the flavours – not very fruity at all and not very exciting. The orange was a step in the right direction though, giving a big burst of citrus but the pick of the bunch was the lemon because it actually tastes like a really good lemon sorbet – really lemony and with enough flavour to cut right through the chocolate.

The downside? They are quite expensive considering that there are only a dozen little chocolates in the box. And their suggestion to shove them in the fridge isn’t worth the price of admission – I like putting Kit Kats in the freezer too, but that doesn’t mean I’d pay double for a special Subzero edition. So I wouldn’t necessarily search high and low to find Lindt’s Sorbetto, but I’d quite happily eat another box if they magically appeared in my freezer.

Zotter Labooko Blumenstrauß

“Blumenstrauß”, for those of you who don’t speak German means “Bouquet”, which might give you a good idea of the flavouring in this Zotter creation.

As with the Raspberry and Coconut offering, there are two different bars in one fold-out pack here. This time, the writing is all in German, but luckily the Zotter web site explains things in English.

The first bar is a 60% Ecuador dark chocolate with rose. Or rose petals, to be precise.

The chocolate has a nice, glossy finish and a rich, earthy aroma. It’s packed with flavour too. The initial, slightly bitter flavours quickly give way to a rich and creamy chocolate. Only when you get to the end do you start to pick up the hint of rose flavour. Like a very low-key Turkish Delight.

Then you’re left with small pieces of dried rose petal in your mouth. A rather unusual, but not unpleasant experience. The rose flavour is still very subtle, but the texture of the petals can be quite tough. It’s a little disconcerting to finish a piece of chocolate with a mouthful of rose bush, but that probably won’t stop you from wanting to snap off another piece.

The second bar is a 26% milk chocolate with cashew nougat and “meadow flowers”. According to the ingredients, that’s daisies, corn flowers and marigolds. None of which I’ve ever had in chocolate before.

Despite the low cocoa percentage, this turned out to be another bar I really enjoyed. It was very soft (partly due to it being a very warm day for reviewing chocolate), with a sweet, flowery flavour, finished off by small pieces of nutty nougat.

I wasn’t able to distinguish the flavours of the actual flowers, but given that I have no idea what daisies taste like, that’s probably not surprising. the base of the bar is covered in yellow, white and blue petals though, so they’re definitely there.

I would classify this as more as an exotic candy than a “serious” chocolate, which is fine by me. I just love the fact that Zotter are happy to throw all sorts of flavours at the wall and just see what sticks.

Put together, these two bars are a great little package. It might not be the kind of thing you have every day, but it’s definitely worth picking one up. If only to say you’ve had chocolate made with daisies.