This is one of the bars Holly gave me at the Real Food Festival recently, and it’s been sat in my chocolate stash begging to be eaten, so I thought it was about time I tried it.
The colour is the first thing you’ll notice here. It’s a pale pink with small flecks of red throughout. It looks as though it should taste nice and fruity.
But it just doesn’t have that fruity edge I was hoping for. There’s plenty of real, freeze-dried strawberry in there, but the pieces are very small and the flavour very subtle. So while the white chocolate is certainly not the sweetest I’ve had, it still dominates the overall flavour, and I found myself craving that sharp, citrus edge just to counteract the sweetness.
The heat from the chilli is much more evident than the strawberry though. It’s never overpowering, but it makes itself known loud and clear. I did enjoy it, but I wasn’t convinced it belonged in this particular bar. I would have preferred to have had this is a light and fruity summer chocolate, without the chilli heat.
That said, this bar still disappeared very quickly. It’s very easy to keep breaking chunks off throughout the day as little pick-me-ups without even noticing. It’s certainly not my favourite from Chocoholly’s ever growing range, but… y’know… I still want more.
Damien Allsop is another Michelin standard Head Pastry Chef turned chocolatier, and he has taken an unusualk approach to many of his products, including the CH20colates Dom reviewed (and didn’t much care for).
It isn’t very often that someone comes up with a new way of making confectionery, but these ‘Clouds’ from Damian Allsop seem to use an unusual process to arrive at a whisper-light, almost meringue like centre which is then coated in chocolate.
As you can see, the box contains six of these little hemispheres which are flavoured with coffee and anise, itself a somewhat unusual pairing. They’re rather attractive to look at too.
I quite liked the white decorative detail, although some definitely had more than others (that’s hand finishing for you I suppose).
Crack one open and you can see the filling. Light and creamy in colour, the darker spots are (I think) where the coffee lies. The centre is made from a foam which is then freeze dried so it resembles the honeycomb filling of a Crunchie (but is infinitely lighter). These things are light – really light.,
When I met Damian he was giving out samples of his wares, and as a result I think he sold quite a lot of both these and his water ganaches. From the sound of things, these Clouds might well be the better choice, and while the chocolate content might not be terribly high, they certainly do deliver on flavour. Once you’re through to the centre and the light, crispy foam begins to melt the anise is there almost immediately. The filling dissolves quite rapidly and then something quite strange happens. Those little blobs of coffee join in and you suddenly find you have a mouth full of liquorice. That’s right, liquorice flavour. Not a very strong, overpowering liquorice, but that’s definitely the end taste.
It’s a bit of a surprise at first, and great for catching friends unawares and even though I haven’t eaten liquorice in a very, very long time (never liked the stuff) I did rather enjoy the light, subtle liquorice flavours of these Clouds.
I’m afraid to say that Damian Allsop’s website is still less than helpful in terms of product information, but he does have the online shop up and running, so if you fancy trying these for yourself it isn’t impossible. I’d say these were more after dinner treats or a novel (not novelty) gift rather than a daily chocolate treat to munch on, and if you have a penchant for the slightly strange then these will be right up your street. Personally, I thought they were fun, interesting and somewhat unusual but not really up there with some of the more exotic creations that pass through Chocablog country.
Update: This competition is now closed.
Father’s Day is coming up on June 20th, and to celebrate, we’ve got together with one of our favourite chocolatiers – Chococo – to bring you a chance to win this rather fabulous chocolate hamper, packed full of stuff Dads will love! The hamper includes:
- A box of 9 fresh chocolates and truffles (including Old Thumper beer and curry flavours!)
- Mini Purbeck marble cake
- A bag of dark chocolate oak-smoked chilli slabs
- A bag of dark chocolate tools (!)
- Grenada Chocolate Company 71% bar
- Grenada Chocolate Company 82% bar
To be in with a chance of winning the competition, simply subscribe to our daily email updates and answer to the following question in the entry form below.
And if you’re stuck, you’ll find the answer on Chococo’s Web Site.
Name the town where Chococo’s factory & shop is located. Is it..
- Birmingham
- Swanage
- Duckage
Please make sure you read all the rules before entering your answer in the form below.
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Competition Rules
- To enter, you must be subscribed to our email updates service and use the same email address in the entry form above. You can unsubscribe afterward if you like, but you must be on the list on the competition closing date for your entry to be counted.
- One entry per person only.
- The winner will be picked at random from correct entries and notified by email. The name of the winner will also be announced on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
- Chocablog staff writers and Chococo staff may not enter.
- The competition is open to UK residents only.
- The competition closes on Saturday 12th June 2010.
- The judges’ decision is final.
- Rules are subject to change without notice (if we’ve forgotten something because we’re a bit slow)
Can you tell what it is yet?
After my review of the chocolate coated worms and crickets was published, Chocablog reader Amy kind of dared me to review these. So I did.
For about a pound a go (plus postage) I found myself in possession of five of these not-so little blighters. When I say not-so little, check out our Chocablog standard 20p comparison picture.
Not exactly tiny, are they? While we’re about it, can I also say that this one in particular isn’t particularly well-disguised. No doubting what lurks beneath that rich dark coating.
Anyway, I have always said I’ll try anything once (although I did pass on the sheep’s eyes once) so in it went.
Can you imagine eating a giant ant? Think crunchy bit, then think soft squishy bit. Now allow the soft squishy bit to roll around in your mouth for as long as you can allow it to. It has a woody, earthy taste to it, as you might expect from an animal that has spent most of it’s life eating leaves. Beyond that and the chocolate (which does actually act as an interesting counterpoint to the ‘filling’, but let’s face it, who’s thinking chocolate at this point?) what you have left is, well, antennae and legs. Stick like crispy bits which have no flavour and are a bit of a pain to crunch down.
As a chocolate experience I’d rate chocolate covered giant ants pretty low down the scale. As one of the weirdest things I’ve ever eaten, I’d say they were up there.
Oh, and I have a few left. You never know, I might have them about me from time to time.
