If you live outside of Germany, you may not have heard of Halloren, but they’re actually the oldest chocolate factory in the country. Based in Halle, near Leipzig, the factory opened in 1804, and originally made gingerbread.
The company is best known for these Kugeln (chocolate balls) which consist of a thin layer of chocolate and a soft marzipan-like filling. They come in many flavours, including these two seasonal variations; Plum-Rum and Eierlikör (egg nog).
The former has a thin coating of “full milk chocolate”, but there’s no cocoa percentage listed on the packaging. To be honest though, it doesn’t really matter as the chocolate is really just there to hold the filling in place.
That filling is soft, but lumpy. A little like a very soft marzipan, but with a strong alcoholic flavour and a lot of sugar. There is a pleasant fruitiness to it, but it’s really far too sweet for my liking.
The Eierlikör flavour is coated in a dark chocolate, but again, there’s no indication of cocoa content. The filling in this one is a little firmer, and flavour-wise seems a little less alcoholic and the Plum-Rum version. But it’s also a little less interesting and just as sweet.
There’s no doubting these little chocolate domes look fun, but they’re really only going to appeal to those with a very sweet tooth, and I suspect they only truly appeal to people in Germany who have grown up with them and love them. But if sweet, alcoholic confectionery is your thing, you can buy them online via the Halloren website.
When you think of Christmas chocolate, the chances are that images of giant tins of Quality Street or Cadbury Roses come to mind. But Christmas chocolates don’t need to be laden with sugar and additives. How about something handmade with simple ingredients and free from additives this year?
This elegant selection from London chocolatier Paul Wayne Gregory contains just three different chocolates, each wrapped in 65% dark chocolate. Salted caramel, Passion Fruit and Christmas Pudding flavours.
The salted caramel – unusually coloured blue – has a soft but firm centre with a silky smooth, buttery texture. The flavour is quite delicate and not too sweet, and reminds me of a butterscotch. I really enjoyed the simplicity of this chocolate. It’s uncomplicated but delicious and very easy to eat.
In yellow we have a have a passion fruit ganache, with a similar soft, smooth filling. This time, the chocolate features a tangy, fruity flavour that works perfectly with the dark chocolate.
Finally, in red, we have a “Christmas Pudding ganache”. Made with seasonal spices, rum and real Christmas pudding, this is the real festive showpiece of the box. The filling is soft and smooth, but not as buttery as the caramel of passion fruit. But it really does taste like Christmas pudding! The rum is quite prominent, and it’s quite rich, but it’s the perfect complement to the other chocolates.
I really enjoyed this simple, delicious and beautifully presented selection. They’re a little different from your average festive chocolates – perfect for sharing, or simply as a gift for someone special.
We don’t often do restaurant reviews on Chocablog, but when Hotel Chocolat open a restaurant where every item on the menu contains cocoa or chocolate in some form, we think it’s worth writing about.
The restaurant in question, Rabot 1745, is located in Borough Market, just around the corner from Hotel Chocolat’s old Rabot Estate café. It replaces the café and shop, and continues to sell a range of cocoa products to local foodies.
As with Hotel Chocolat’s Roast + Conch cafés, chocolate is made from the bean on-site. I love the fact that anyone can walk in from the street and see exactly how chocolate is made. I’ve encountered many European artisan chocolate makers who are so secretive about the process that they wouldn’t dream of letting the public see how they make chocolate, let alone place their conches in the middle of a shop.
That level of openness would be unthinkable for some chocolate makers, and I think it’s fantastic that a British Company is leading the way, both in terms of transparency and simply getting people to ask questions about where chocolate comes from. Hotel Chocolat have managed to retain the magic of chocolate making while cutting through the mystery of what is actually a very simple process, and I hope others follow their lead.
The dining area in Rabot 1745 is upstairs from the shop, and I’m struck by how well thought out the decor is. With lots of natural wood and subtle lighting, it’s both stylish and laid back.
The menu – which is available to view online – is varied and enticing, with something to suit all tastes, but everything has cocoa in some form. The real question is, does the cocoa enhance the dishes, or is it just a gimmick?
I opted to start with the Cacao-Crusted Ticklemore Goat’s Cheese, served with carpaccio, pumpkin purée, seasonal leaves and nib dressing. Not chocolately, but beautifully presented and delicious.
For my main course, I opted for the Cacao Marinated Beef – short horn rib-eye steak with winter vegetables, white chocolate horseradish mash and red wine cacao jus.
The meat was absolutely delicious, if perhaps a little overcooked for my liking. The cacao elements helped lift the flavours, but as with the starter, unless you’re looking for them, you might not notice. The mash was sweet and creamy, although being spread out on the plate, didn’t stay warm very long. Not that it lasted very long anyway.
My friend opted for the shoulder of lamb with cacao balsamic, which was sweet and tender and went down equally well.
For dessert, I opted for the most indulgent and chocolatey option on the menu – the “Mousse Collection”. Consisting of three mousses, each made from a different chocolate; a St Lucian 50% with sea salt, Vietnam 80% with kirsch-soaked cherries and 90% Ecuador with toasted almonds. The St Lucia mousse was the hands down winner for me, followed by the Ecuador.
I thoroughly enjoyed the food, atmosphere and whole experience of Rabot 1745 and will certainly be back. But most of all, I love Hotel Chocolat’s experimental and innovative approach to presenting real chocolate in new and exciting ways. Whether you’re a hardcore chocolate lover or just someone who loves great food, I highly recommend a visit.
Rabot 1745
2-4 Bedale Street
Borough Market
London
SE1 9AL
www.rabot1745.com
Beschle are a Swizz chocolatier who have been around for well over 100 years. They produce a wide range of bars and filled chocolates, including a rather tasty pistachio & fleur de sel bar that we reviewed a couple of years ago.
This bar is a little different though. It’s a white chocolate, flavoured with green matcha tea. It’s actually very similar to the Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé Matcha Tea bar I reviewed back in July.
I have to admit, I do like the packaging of this bar. The design is simple and elegant, and the box opens to reveal an a gold wrapped bar. But it’s only when you unwrap the foil that you see just how unusual this bar is…
Despite the colour, this is actually a 36% cocoa butter white chocolate. That’s a lot more cocoa content than many milk chocolates, which is quite surprising for me. Of course, cocoa butter doesn’t have much flavour, so the dominant flavour is the matcha tea. It’s not quite as stron as it is in the Rózsavölgyi bar, but it’s still quite strong and very distinctive.
But there’s something else going on with the taste too. As the chocolate melts, you’re left with a very noticeable fruity, citrus edge. It’s a flavour strong enough that it made me go back to look at the ingredients, and sure enough, one of the last ingredients is “acidifier (citric acid, lactic acid)”. I don’t know if this has purely been added to give the chocolate that fruity edge, or if there’s some other reason for it.
I’m in two minds about it. I do actually love the little bit of zing it brings to the bar, but I don’t think it’s entirely necessary, and I’m not a fan of unnecessary ingredients.
Overall though, this is an unusual bar that’s worth seeking out, particularly if you like green tea. I polished off my bar very quickly, and I’d certainly consider buying more.
