A few weeks ago, we had an intelligent, thoughtful and excited reader by the name of Tam get in touch:
Hi Guys!
I’m so confident of Lindt’s ‘Lindola’ collection, (found in Aussie Woolworths thus far) I’ll buy a box for our ‘local Chocoblog reps’ to try if they can’t source it themselves. The flavours in this box are mostly lighter to taste but also have some darker ‘kisses’ as well. They have a lingering flavour, and would work wonders over a coffee and, maybe some conversation if one is so inclined that way between mouthfuls and fistfights!
Luckily for Tam and her wallet, I managed to find some quite easily on my own at the local supermarket. Life’s good when Lindt is now pushing Dairy Milk further along the shelves.
Lindola has a few of the ‘classics’ included that we’ve reviewed and loved before, such as the dark chocolate-covered Caramel Fondante, the exquisite Almond Cornet, cookies-n-cream-inspired Stracciatella Dome (also available in boxed Lindor balls whenever the enigmatic Lindt folk are in the mood), their ruggedly handsome Brownie and the top notch Gianduja Crème. All are magnificent and worthy of their place in a box rather confidently subtitled ‘Prestige Gourmet Assortment.’
The whiff of quality chocolate and ingredients is evident the second the plastic is removed and the tiny protective layer is flung away in eager anticipation. Resting in gold, they look rather pretty too. But what of the other four flavours?
Firstly, the Marzipan Buchette, or the rectangular one with the dark stripes on it. Now if you’re not a marzipan fan, don’t reject this immediately because it is subtle and seductive. There’s not the usual gritty white almond paste in here, but a fine, mousse-like interior with a hint of almond liqueur. This is a lovely introduction for nervous anti-marzipan fans who might want to keep an open mind.
Secondly, the knobbly looking Macadamia Croquer. Macadamias tend to be found in airport departure lounges and are overpriced, soggy and coated in god-awful compounded chocolate. Not this little treasure. Lindt have managed to keep the macadamia pieces wonderfully crunchy as they’re encased in a thick layer of milk chocolate to munch through before hitting the silken inner praline inside. A real macadamia masterpiece that would be great in a block, hint hint.
Thirdly, the Cappuccino delice. Actually, I think I have reviewed this before, but it’s worth it for the surprise factor. The white chocolate (milk froth?) on top hides a deliciously dark coffee crème inside that sits atop a layer of milk chocolate (coffee grains?). This really is a cute rendition of a cappuccino that is not sickly, but serious.
Last but certainly not least is the Pyramide Noir. This is a revelation and a shame that Lindt is teasing us by only putting two in the box. The melt-in-the-mouth dark chocolate dissolves to reveal an even darker, creamier filling inside that’s studded with tiny, crisp wafer pieces. This is my favourite of them all and my dreams would come true if this could be made into a block.
Overall, this is a gorgeous representation of what Lindt does so well. If you gave someone a box of these babies they’d know that you value them!
Kshocolât are a Scottish company whose products have been finding their way onto supermarket shelves for a while now, and Dom has had a few things to say to them about their products before now.
These Mini Orangettes are (to quote the bag) “tiny pieces of crystallised orange enrobed in dark chocolate”. By dark chocolate they mean a 53% cocoa confection, and when the bag is opened and contents revealed, they look dark enough, if a little too shiny.
The shininess becomes more worrying once one of these morsels is on the tongue. It appears to be some sort of waxy finishing coat (choco-Ronseal?) and although it’s pretty thin and doesn’t hang around for long, it’s somewhat disconcerting on the palate.
Unpleasant coatings out of the way, the next real taste is a slightly bitter chocolate taste followed immediately by the sweetness of the crystallised orange. No, more immediately than that. A rush of sweet orange, then more sweet orange. The chocolate could be almost anything. In fact what it’s most like is one of Hershey’s less palatable efforts. There’s a slight mustiness to the taste which is very off-putting. Far better to bite down on the thing and allow the orange to obliterate everything.
It has to be said that the most enjoyable part of these was the orange. Not a great recommendation for a company called Kshocolât.
Yes, it’s that time of the week where we go abduct random people we’ve seen on TV and interrogate them about their chocolate-eating habits. This time we put the spotlight on actress Clare Wilkie – best known for her roles in EastEnders and period drama Berkeley Square.
(We won’t mention Crossroads or Eldorado, Clare. Promise.)
Chocophile:
Clare Wilkie
- Occupation:
- Actress
- Web Site:
- www.clarewilkie.com
Interrogation Begins:
- Milk, dark or white:
- Dark – 70% cocoa. It’s healthier so you can eat more!
- Your guilty chocolate pleasure:
- All chocolate – I’m not fussy!
- Favourite childhood chocolate:
- Milky Way. At school my nickname was The Wilkie Bar Kid…
- Fruit or nut:
- Nutty
- Crunchy or chewy:
- Crunchy
- Average chocolate consumption:
- I eat it all day – I wake up and reach for it.
- Give or receive:
- Receive… obviously!
- Least favourite chocolate:
- Bounty. Coconut = ugh!
Clearly we are dealing with an expert here. The subject shows in in-depth knowledge and we were particularly impressed with her reasoning for preferring the dark chocolate option. Top marks!
Upon debriefing, the subject also revealed that she can currently be seen in the play Rookery Nook at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory.
Yes.. you read that right. Chocolate Factory. We’ll definitely be continuing our investigations there…
This American import was sent to us by HandyCandy. It describes itself as “Bursting with peanuts, rich caramel and chewy nougat” – which sounds a little familiar – and also informs me that it’s the “Official Candy Bar of Major League Baseball“.
I’m not sure why baseball needs an official candy bar, but luckily I’m the Official Candy Bar Eater of My House, so I think I should be OK to review it.
First impressions: nobbly.
It actually looks a lot more like a Cadbury Picnic than the Snickers-type bar I’d expected. The surface is covered in whole peanuts, which leads me to believe they are trying to escape for some reason.
Inside, there’s a fairly big ‘slab’ of sticky goo, and I can’t quite work out if that’s meant to be the caramel, the nougat, or if they’ve been mixed up into some weird carougat / nougamel concoction.
Taste-wise.. it’s interesting. It’s very sweet and that weird sticky goo in the centre has a foamy texture that feels like you’re eating half-melted polystyrene. But all those peanuts do help give it some flavour and texture, and it’s one of those things that grows on you – I quickly polished off the whole bar and promptly felt ashamed for having enjoyed something so very average.
As for the chocolate.. well, you can’t taste it at all. All the sugar and peanuts overwhelm any flavour that was there. As far as I can tell it’s just there to stop the peanuts falling on the floor anyway.
This is definitely a candy bar rather than a chocolate bar – but I don’t think anyone buying it is going to expect anything else. I had very low expectations of it, and I’m happy to report that Baby Ruth lived up to them quite adequately.
