When I heard my friend Rebecca had started making brownies, I knew I had to try them. Obviously, being a worldwide expert in the subject, it was only right that I beg her to send me some “review samples”. Amazingly, she agreed and a box of ‘BiteMe Brownies‘ duly arrived at my door.
The packaging is simple and elegant. A plain box tied with a ribbon, simply wrapped in brown paper for posting. There isn’t really any need for anything more, as the brownies perfectly fill the box and aren’t going to get battered around in transit. Mine arrived in perfect condition.
As you can see, I have two flavours here; a Belgian milk chocolate brownie and a dark chocolate one. BiteMe also other flavours including orange and coffee caramel which sound rather good. I specifically asked to try unflavoured ones (I’m hoping I’ll be able to persuade Rebecca to send the flavoured ones to try later).
The first thing I noticed was that rather than being thick, the brownies are actually quite slim, but come in two layers. This was actually quite welcome, as I’ve had far too many oversized brownies in the past. These ones are just right for enjoying with a cup of tea. They’re satisfying, but they’re not so big as to make you ill. Unless you’re me and you eat four at once.
The flavour and texture is quite light as well. They do have a soft and moist centre, but it’s nothing like Paul A Young’s killer brownies of death. It actually turns out to be quite a pleasant change to have a brownie that isn’t so rich that I’m bouncing off the walls after eating it.
That said, I do think these could do with just a little more chocolate. I particularly liked the dark chocolate version, but the milk chocolate one was a little sweet for my tastes – which on past experience usually means that the average chocolate lover will go mad for them.
You can buy BiteMe Brownies online (link below) in a range of different flavours. I have my eye on ‘The Ninja One’ myself…
Let me commence with my usual two-sided commentary on Godiva, that infamous company with which I have such a complicated relationship. When I was last passing through a Godiva store, I decided to take away a box of Red Velvet Cake truffles from the Ultimate Dessert Truffles range. Having so much enjoyed World Market’s take on Red Velvet, I couldn’t resist making a comparison.
Needful to note for such a comparison is that the four-piece/79 gram Godiva box is, what, five times the price of the World Market bar? At least the box is pretty. The bottom piece is striped in pink and red, and a pearly shine sets off the lid, whose swirly design is appropriately dessert-like. A lavender ribbon completes the frivolous, shiny candy shop look. I’m finding it all more interesting than Godiva’s regular plain, gold boxes. At least when I’ve finished the truffles, I know I’ll have a box left that looks delightfully like a chocolate syrup-covered scoop of vanilla ice cream in a pink and red dish.
The four dessert truffles have a standard Godiva look, sleek and not rustic or handmade. The plastic setting that keeps them in place (although not, as you can see, in upright position) doesn’t help me feel like I’m unearthing anything special.
As opposed to World Market’s inclusion of marshmallow bits, the element translates here to the truffles’ white chocolate shell. Underneath that shell is another one in dark chocolate. The World Market version tasted more like a standard red velvet cake, while the Godiva truffles have more richness. Without a label, I doubt I would be thinking red velvet. With the label, I can taste at least touches of the cake. The “redness” is miniscule, but the ganache easily associates with a general moist, rich cake. The white chocolate is an absolute must for the overall combination to work.
I can quite happily finish these truffles. They reach the indulgent level where sweet and rich collide (like in a dessert). They just don’t put me in awe, as Godiva never seems to for me these days. But I definitely prefer their more flavored pieces like this to the plainer ones. Not a gift I would mind receiving.
I nearly didn’t review these Lindt Stracciatella. For one thing, they’re white chocolate, which we don’t like to overdo, but we also mentioned them briefly four years ago as part of an Australian Lindt selection.
According to the Lindt press release that came with them though, these are new in the UK this Christmas. But the real reason I want to write about them is that they’re utterly addictive, despite the fact that they barely qualify as chocolate at all.
So what are Stracciatella? Just like the Lindor we’ve all seen before, these are individually wrapped balls. But these are white chocolate with what Lindt describe as a ‘smooth white praline centre’ with small pieces of cocoa nib.
According to the box, it “tastes like cookies and cream”. It does to a certain extent, but it would be more accurate to say “tastes like butter and sugar”. Putting a whole Stracciatella ball in your mouth is really like sucking on a knob of butter. Or injecting lard. The texture isn’t just creamy, it’s ultra smooth and glossy, unlike anything else I’ve tried recently.
After a moment or two, the sweetness kicks in and starts to build. As the ‘chocolate’ melts, it just gets creamier and sweeter and glossier. And then you encounter the tiny pieces of nib, which frankly are a little odd. Cocoa nibs of course aren’t sweet at all, and can often be quite hard. They do give a slightly biscuity flavour to the white chocolate gloop that now covers your entire mouth, but they do nothing to cut through the sweetness, and barely add any texture.
Yet as sickly sweet as they are, Lindt Stracciatella are utterly, utterly addictive. It’s a kind of addictiveness that lies somewhere between a can of Pringles and smoking crack. When the box is opened, it’s very difficult to stop, and then you just feel dirty afterward. Or maybe that’s just me.
Would I buy these? No. But only because I would eat them all and feel bad. If you’re a hardcore white chocolate lover, then they may be the best thing you’ve ever had. But opening a box is something best left to those with more self restraint than me.
This bar was a gift from Chocablog advertiser Chocolatiers, an online chocolate retailer specialising in fine chocolate bars. Somebody clearly knows about my love of Madagascan chocolate!
Menakao is a Madagascan bean-to-bar chocolate. The chocolate is produced on the island rather than the beans being shipped off to a factory somewhere else. Obviously, that’s better for the environment and the local economy as more of the profits go back to the people who actually matter. But this kind of approach can often result in a better chocolate. A little local knowledge is combined with direct contact between the farmer and the chocolate maker. It’s how all chocolate should be made.
The packaging is simple, if a little rustic, which coincidentally is exactly the wording they use on the back of the box to describe the chocolate.
My first thoughts on opening were that the flavours are probably going to be a little bit too much. Madagascan cacao has very vibrant and distinctive flavour notes, and the addition of both nibs and salt are only going to intensify that. But still I couldn’t wait to try it.
As you can see, the chocolate certainly lives up to the ‘rustic’ monicker. I’m sure there were less loose ‘bits’ when it left the factory, but I have to say I quite like the way it looks. It has the appearance of something that has been made by hand, rather than an intensely glossy high end chocolate.
The nibs are embedded into the underside of the bar and only add to the rustic appeal for me.
The flavour is wonderful. It’s rich and fruity, almost tasting of fresh orange. I can’t really taste the salt, but I can only assume it’s what’s helping lift those fruity notes to a different level. It has a little less acidity than most of the intensely citrus Madagascan chocolates I’ve tried, and it’s very easy to eat.
The texture and flavour of the nibs gives an added dimension as well. There’s a delicious crunch to the chocolate, and when everything else has melted away, you’re left with rich, intensely chocolately nibs. It’s the perfect counterpoint to the slightly sweet 63% chocolate.
I like this bar a lot. It’s certainly more rustic and perhaps not as rounded as other Madagascan chocolates, but it’s definitely a bar you should try. And at £3.35 for 75g, the price is right too.
