Chocoablog’s very own Kath Lockett has been back on the radio again, talking about Dalek Cakes, hot chocolate, Lindt and chocolate recipes in general. Well worth a listen.
And you can find the Lindt Recipe Book here.
Update: This competition is now closed
It’s been a while since we last had a competition, so we thought it was time to give away some more chocoolate!
Up for grabs this time is 1kg of some of our favourite chocolate. The actual prize will be a mixture of chocolates and will almost certainly vary from the picture above, but we can guarantee that it will be good stuff and there will be at least 1 kilo.
That’s enough to last you… well, all day, if you’re anything like us!
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning all this chocolate is to subscribe to the email version of our feed.
That means not only could you win all that delicious chocolate, but you also get Chocablog delivered to your inbox every day without having to lift a finger.
Once you’ve subscribed, just complete the form below and tell us why you think you should win! If you’re the lucky winner, we’ll do our very best to get you your chocolate in time for Christmas. Good luck!
I have to admit, my heart sank a little when I saw this in the shop.
I love Toblerone. Proper, original, unadulterated Toblerone. And I just couldn’t see how a dark chocolate version could possibly work. I know it’s been around for a while now, but we’ve not reviewed them and this is actually the first time I’ve seen them on sale.
Needless to say, I added it to my chocolate basket and proceeded to the checkout.
As you can see, it looks just like a regular Toblerone, only darker. It has the same distinctive shape and flecks of white nougat.
According to the label, the chocolate is “Swiss Plain Chocolate” with a minimum of 50% cocoa solids. I always worry when I see the words “plain chocolate”, because more often than not, that’s exactly what you get – very plain chocolate.
In this case though, it’s quite nice. It has a much fuller flavour than something like the Black Magic bar I reviewed earlier this week. It might actually be too strong a flavour, as it does have a bit of an aftertaste. Not a bad aftertaste, but I don’t particularly want to be tasting dark chocolate a day after having eaten it…
But the real problem is that this just isn’t doesn’t taste like Toblerone any more.
What makes a Toblerone is that wonderfully creamy milk chocolate with a hint of honey in the chewy nougat bits. But here, you can’t taste anything but the chocolate. Even if you let the chocolate melt away in your mouth, so you’re left with only the nougat, the flavour is only barely discernible. The dark chocolate simply overwhelms everything that makes a Toberlone.
Like the Fruit & Nut variety, this seems to be nothing more than a half hearted attempt by Kraft to expand the Toblerone brand. Sadly, I think it may just end up doing exactly the opposite – this makes me not want to by Toblerone any more.
On a recent vacation to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I found my way to this shop. Top priority. And it was as much as I had expected. Why, they even have an altar to chocolate.
Kakawa is most known for its elixirs, which are made using old Aztec, European, and Colonial recipes. Drinking chocolate, not hot chocolate. Since there were quite a few to choose from, the clerk told us that we could sample as many as we needed to find one we liked. I found the Aztec Warrior (made from 99% chocolate) a bit too warrior-like for my tongue. It wasn’t the intensity of the chocolate itself, but that 1% of spices (including chili) that made me cringe slightly. Although chocolate and orange isn’t my favorite, I was tempted to get the 1666 Italian Citrus. A much lighter, smoother taste after the Aztec Warrior. But my ultimate choice was the 1692 French. It was gentle and sweet at the same time as it was dark, ending in a taste of cloves. I had imagined these elixirs to be thick, stiff things, but while thicker than hot chocolate, they’re smooth and liquid enough to be pleasant. They cost $3.50 for the smaller cup, which is about three ounces.
Now to the service. Excellent. I guess that’s what happens when chocolate enthusiasts get together. Since we were the only ones there for almost the entire time, we got to chat with the clerk. He spread chocolates out on the table for us to sample. I was tempted to try all of them, but prudence bid me stop at four tastes.
One of these my family decided to purchase: Kakawa’s own handmade Chili Chocolates. They’re made from 80% chocolate and a four chili blend that includes a kind grown only in Santa Fe. Be warned that these are nothing like Lindt Creation 70% Chili, which wasn’t at all spicy to me. As soon as one of these hit my tongue, I could taste the spice and it only became more intense. The chocolate seems nice, but I wasn’t able to pay much attention to it because of the spice. My less squeamish companions assure me of its worthiness and its ability to blend with the chili. It is a nice taste, if you’re alright with spiciness. These are nine dollars per fourth pound. I also purchased three bars, which I’ll be reviewing next.
So if you’re ever in Santa Fe, definately stop here. Be prepared to spend a little money, but it’s worth it. It’s also a great place to just hang out at the end of the day.
And did I mention how good the service is?