It seems as though someone in New Zealand has been listening to our pleas because Whittaker’s seem to be slowly-but-surely releasing a few more flavours in their blocks here in Australia that had previously just been enjoyed by fortunate Kiwis and tourists. Here is one of the latest goodies to have made the trip across the sea.
This is about the closest competitor we have to Cadbury’s best-selling and much-loved Caramello block. The Whittaker’s version contains 33% cocoa solids – Cadbury’s is around 27% – and identifies where the cocoa is sourced from – Ghana. Question: do any of Cadbury’s products state what country their cocoa is from?
Back to the golden block in my hot little hands. Whittaker’s dark chocolate tends to be a bit on the gritty side but their milk chocolate delivers a much softer and creamier mouth feel. Trying some of it filled with runny caramel on a rainy night in was an exciting prospect.
As you can see, Whittaker’s blocks consist of solid, chunky rectangles that would definitely pack a painful punch if used to wallop someone (what a waste of good chocolate that would be) and promise a ‘satisfying feed’ rather than a ‘gourmet taste’.
Before biting into it, I erroneously read the back ingredients panel and found to my dismay that the caramel has – amongst the expected stuff like glucose, condensed milk, flavour and syrup – the rather unappetising ‘confectionery fat’. Another question: what kind of ‘fat’ is confectionery fat? Is it called something else on other labels to make it sound better?
These niggling queries were soon thrust aside when I tasted the flowingly sweet and distinctly honey-tinged caramel. Deeee licious!
Love Chunks is a Caramello King from way back and reckons that Cadbury still edges out Whittaker’s but I’m not so sure if that’s just loyalty or a superior palate because I’d certainly struggle to able to tell them apart if blindfolded. Whittaker’s Creamy Milk Caramel packs a very flavoursome and sugary kick that needs to be eaten with a drink of coffee, tea, water or milk to rest the tastebuds and allow you to reach for more.
It also ‘eats’ very well, as in like a quaffing wine – it goes down far too quickly, and a 250 gram block disappeared in one evening between two consenting adults. Oooops!
This bright golden-clad milk chocolate is made by the Venezuelan company El Rey, or “The King.” Though I’m sure everyone would love their chocolate to be king, the name also refers to the origin of the cacao, unsurprisingly in Venezuela. They believe it to be “the most aromatic and flavorful in the world” and have the Carenero Superior line to display this. A family business since the late ’20’s and only the second Venezuelan chocolate company, El Rey keeps to fairly traded chocolate from their own country.
The Caoba bar, named for a tree that shades cacao plants, is the only milk chocolate in the range (there are also four darks and one white.) It’s still pretty high up at 41%, which can make for a lovely chocolate, but this one’s different somehow. The ten squares, neatly stamped with the El Rey logo, smell rather like a Hershey’s bar. Um. It probably tastes something like Hershey’s, too . . . “all grown up.” It has that strong, milky caramel sweetness, but embracing chocolate instead of grease. I wonder if Hershey’s would taste like this if its production got more attention. There’s also the same innocent marshmallow flavor note in there as in Amano’s Montanya bar, also made from Venezuelan beans. The mouthfeel is nice, with all the softness of a milk chocolate, but a slower melting. That seems to be the biggest influence of its higher percentage. I might not have guessed it to have reached 40% content.
It’s a nice bar, above the average even if I wouldn’t call it King of all chocolates. Still some sort of royalty, maybe. It makes a good option when you just want a sweet, straightforward milk chocolate, but still don’t feel like going onto the candy bar level.
From Valrhona comes this bar of Venezuelan Chocolate made with 64% Criollo beans from a small plantation near Lake Maracaibo. I believe it’s the first chocolate I have had which has had a vintage on it rather than a sell by date, and that impression is definitely continued with the label.
It has very light, almost fruit-like top notes with an underlying rich, full cocoa flavour. It isn’t the most complex of chocolates, but what it does have is a full, rich cocoa flavour with creamy mid tones and a berry-like top note with a very pleasing soft mouthfeel. The finish is clean and I could cheerfully have continued ‘tasting’ until the whole bar was done.
Valrhona seem to be raising their profile here in the UK, and with little ‘special’ offerings like this, they would definitely have mine – provided they don’t charge silly money.
It’s been a while since we reviewed any Hotel Chocolat offerings, and I can’t even remember the last time I reviewed a proper box of chocolates from them. But this large (390g) box turned up on my doorstep last week demanding to be eaten, and who am I to refuse?
The box is packed with an assortment of milk chocolate truffles and ‘micro slabs’ (at least that’s what I call them) of solid milk chocolate of different varieties.
There are two of each chocolate, so this is perfect for sharing (and perfect for greedy chocolate reviewers like me).
So let’s see what we have here:
The Slabs
50% Cocoa Milk Chocolate
A wonderfully rich and flavoursome dark milk chocolate. Just the right balance of sweetness and cocoa flavour. Delicious.
40% Cocoa Milk Chocolate
Milkier and creamier than its 50% counterpart. The difference is noticeable, not just in the creaminess, but in how much more subtle the cocoa notes are.
Praline Milk Chocolate
A very soft and smooth little slab of milk chocolate and finely milled hazelnuts. Basically a Gianduja. Very nice indeed.
Honey Milk Chocolate
I’m not a fan of honey, and this little bar is packed with it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a honey milk chocolate before, and having tasted this, I know why. It’s way too sweet with significantly more honey flavour than chocolate flavour. Honey fans may like it, but personally it just made me feel sick.
Caramel Milk Chocolate
My favourite Hotel Chocolat milk chocolate. Smooth and creamy with a hint of caramel. Yum.
Cookie Crunch
The same deliciously soft and creamy caramel milk chocolate with cookie pieces. Unfortunately my the two chocs in my box only had 4 pieces of cookie between them, so I can’t say they added a lot.
The Truffles
Pecan Praline
A large square of pecan praline with ‘crushed crispy pancake pieces’ which give it a really interesting texture. It’s crunchy, but also soft and smooth because those pieces are so tiny.
Caramel Mini Truffles
You get four of these little round caramel filled balls. The semi-liquid caramel is delicious, but it’s very sweet and the rich milk chocolate doesn’t quite manage to take the edge off that sweetness. Could be helped by a touch less sugar and a little bit of sea-salt, but still very nice.
Cinnamon Crunch
A light, soft almond praline with crunchy bits and cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon. Definitely a winner with me.
Fruit & Nut
The leaflet describes this as a ‘light chocolate praline with nibbly pieces of roasted hazelnut’ and ‘succulent chunks of juicy sultanas’, but I found it to be quite heavy, and the sultana was barely noticeable. Not fruity at all. The leaflet also describes it as being ‘finished with a whole roasted hazelnut’, which it clearly isn’t – not even in the picture above the description. Definitely something wrong with this one.
Coconut Cube
Not a mini-Bounty, but a rich milk chocolate with two distinct layers of smooth filling. A dark macadamia praline and a white chocolate and coconut layer. A bit too sweet, and not coconutty enough for me. I think I would have preferred the Bounty.
Citrus Bite
A hazelnut praline with orange oil and puffed rice. The only fruity choc in this particular box, and it’s not bad a all. The praline is slightly heavy and dark, and I’d prefer something a little lighter, but the orange oil certainly helps to cut through the sweetness.
Gianduja Crest
Very smooth Gianduja (hazelnut and chocolate paste) in a milk chocolate square. Rich, but delicious.
Macadamia Bite
This one felt a little out of place. It’s filled with a macadamia paste and a whole macadamia nut rather than a praline, and I found it a little too nutty for my tastes. The flavours just didn’t quite work for me.
Caramel Fudge Praline
Probably my favourite chocolate in the box – and the least chocolatey. Almond praline with a tasty fudge, covered in caramel milk chocolate. It’s sweet, but it’s light enough in texture to be quite moreish. Very nice indeed.
So there you have it. This is a quality box of chocolates, but to get the most out of it, you’re going to need two things – a very sweet tooth, and a friend to share them with. If you have both those, it’s worth giving a go.
But they are very rich and there’s a lot of large chocolates here. If, like me, you try eating them alone, you’ll almost certainly end up in milk oblivion.
