ZOMG, Candy!

I love the idea of Chuao Choco Pods. They’re the same chocolate as full-sized Chuao bars, just scaled down to just 11 grams apiece. Chuao’s chosen to market the scaling down as smart portion control. I say it’s great for candy bloggers who want just small samples!

I picked out 3 Choco Pods at Beacon Hill Chocolates for $1 each. My boyfriend treated and also let me pick out several truffles, which I’ll review later in the week.

The Honeycomb was “dark chocolate, caramelized honeycomb”. It smelled dark and woodsy. The flavor was absolutely lovely with deep raisin notes and a sweetness from the bits of honeycomb.

The honeycomb bits added a light crunch and grit, along with a slight toffee toastiness. It was a welcome foil to the intensity of the dark chocolate flavors.

Firecracker was “dark chocolate, chipotle, salt, and popping candy”. It smelled slightly sweet and smoky with a hint of allspice to the scent.

It initially tasted of cinnamon before giving way to a firey, smoky chile burn that lingered and singed. The afterburn was quite powerful.

The heat of that burn was accentuated by the presence of popping candy, which added the sound and feel of snapping in my mouth. Firecracker really was an apt name!

I really enjoyed both these bars, though Firecracker got a skotch too fiery in the finish. An OMG for the Honeycomb and an OM for the Firecracker.

Where’s the third ChocoPod that I tried? I’m saving that for next week so that I can properly wax rhapsodic about it. Stay tuned!

I bought these Moonstruck truffles at a posh gift shop in Rochester. They cost a pretty penny, so I limited myself to three: Peppercorn and Sesame (it was on sale; half off), Ocumarian, and Chocolate Malted Cream Cone.

Peppercorn and Sesame was a dark chocolate square prettily decorated with a pink speckled white chocolate topper. It had a breathtakingly sharp peppercorn scent that was echoed in its acrid flavor.

The ganache also tasted weirdly floral. A light undertone of sesame wasn’t enough to counter the off-putting acrid floralness. I can see why it was on sale. A –.

The Ocumarian was prettily molded with fluted sides and the Moonstruck logo on top. Moonstruck’s website describes it as, “a ganache of dark chocolate derived from rare and exotic criollo cocoa beans from the Ocumare Valley of Venezuela, infused with ancho and chipotle chiles.”

The thick and smooth ganache was deep and rich with cocoa flavor, while the spices brought in a latent tingly burn. The dark chocolate shell tasted deep and dusky, with an incredible intensity. An OM for the awesomeness of the chocolate that formed the foundation of this truffle.

I bought the Chocolate Malted Cream Cone because of its striking appearance and because I love malt. It was described as “a milk chocolate and malted milk-flavored French butter cream, inside a milk chocolate cone, topped with dark chocolate and finished with a dusting of malt.”

The cone itself was milk chocolate, while the top was dipped in dark. The butter cream filling was incredibly airy, more like a whipped mousse than a typical butter cream. It melted very fattily on the tongue and tasted of cocoa powder and malt.

The sprinkle of malt powder on top brought a slight crunchy grit. I love malt, and I loved this. An OMG.

These Kit Kat Framboise were free samples from Tsunami.hk. I love trying different varieties of Japanese Kit Kats! I’m also amused that these Japanese Kit Kats were named in French – framboise means raspberry.

Everything about this Kit Kat was pretty. The pink polka dots and ribbon on the outer box made it look like a little present, and the inner wrappers were pleasantly retro with their pink polka dots and chocolate brown tips.

The fingers themselves were pretty as well. The wrapper’s color combination of pink and chocolate brown was echoed in the actual chocolate: the creme filling between the wafers was pale pink.

It smelled pretty artificial, but thankfully, that scent didn’t detract from the Kit Kat’s taste. It had a strongly bright berry flavor with slightly seedy raspberry notes. The flavor packed enough of a punch to stand up to the creamy, dusky milk chocolate.

The wafers were crunchy and toasty and provided a nice contrast that highlighted the fruity chocolate. I loved this and wish it was available in the U.S. An OMG.

Usually I review Easter candies after the holiday is over – love those steep next day sales! But today, I’m actually reviewing an Easter product before Easter, thanks to free samples from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates.

These Farm Egg Truffles are made to look like (aka are not made from) farm eggs. They are mind-bogglingly gorgeous with their shiny, speckled shells. Each truffle was about the size of a real egg, if that egg were cut in half and left with a flat back.

They came in Bittersweet (dark brown with white speckles), Peanut Butter (light brown with dark brown speckles), and Coconut (white with yellow streaks and blue-green speckles).

Bittersweet lived up to its name. Its ganache was dry, rich, heavy, and thick, with almost no sweetness.

It tasted of pure chocolate goodness, lots of genuine dusky cacao flavors, and a lightly smoky cocoa finish. Sometimes simple can be so good!

Peanut Butter had a dry and crumbly peanut butter ganache. I polished off the whole thing before I remembered that I had meant to retake the cross-section photo – there were whole roasted peanuts hidden in there as well!

The whole peanuts were a great addition – dry and crunchy with a strong, roasted nuttiness. They also carried a perfect hint of saltiness that really made the classic chocolate and peanut butter combination sing.

Coconut had a thin, white chocolate shell with a lusciously creamy ganache. The white chocolate was high quality, very mellow, lightly sweet, and full of vanilla goodness.

Strands of coconut were mixed into the ganache, which added a textural contrast – that special squeaky chewiness that coconut has – and a lovely floral nuttiness.

I’m a little ashamed to say that I ate all three of these in one sitting. My friends were disappointed to learn that there was none left to share, though they delighted in eating the extra Easter truffles that Hedonist also sent me.

Peanut Butter and Bittersweet get OMGs while Coconut gets a ZOMG! For the sake of my waistline, it’s probably good that these are a holiday-specific treat.

It looks like noon on April 20th is the deadline if you want to order some for yourself in time for Easter. I promise they’ll draw oohs and ahhs and yums!

As I noted yesterday, Gail Ambrosius is a gal who really has a way with chocolate. So when I was offered the chance to try a free sample of her Parisian Praline Collection, I couldn’t say yes quickly enough.

Gail was inspired to create this line after a trip to Paris. From the press release: “I expected to see a lot of innovation, but instead I was drawn to the pralines that are available in just about every patisserie. That sweet, salty, smooth and crunchy interplay is so wonderful. I came home inspired to take that experience and put my own stamp on it.”

Note: all future notes in italics are descriptions from Gail Ambrosius/her PR team.

We’ll go clockwise, starting at the top left with the Orange Almond. “The sweet crunch of crushed candied almond and marzipan meld with the bright citrus zing of chopped orange peel.” It was a prettily architectural cylinder with a bit of crunch and chew to the texture.

At first I thought I tasted ginger. After I chewed a bit more, I realized that I was tasting the herbal zestiness of orange peel.

It was sweet and lightly spicy with just a hint of nuttiness from the almond and marzipan. The orange zest was the strongest note, which lingered in the finish, along with a delicious cocoa-ness.

Next is Pecan, a near cube with a notch in the corner. “The blend of pecan butter, candied toasted pecans, applewood-smoked sea salt and a balance of milk and dark chocolates reveal themselves in layers of smooth and sweet, salty and crunchy.”

It started off sweet with a light, grainy crunch. Then, it suddenly, unexpectedly became salty and smoky, with an almost meaty savory bacon flavor from the sea salt.

The salt brought a bright, limey tang to the chocolate and was the highlight of the show. The pecans were nice, but to me, their nuttiness played second fiddle to that smoky salt and chocolate combination.

Pistachio Bomb was a round dome with a futuristic arc slashed into the front. “Pistachio nut butter achieves next-level perfection when combined with lime zest, white chocolate, chili verde salt and a whole, toasted pistachio.”

The ganache within had an unusual mustard hue. The nut butter was a thick and smooth paste with a luxuriously velvety mouthfeel. A single whole pistachio hid in the thick of the paste.

It tasted sweet with a light nuttiness and a dairy creaminess. The spicy heat waited for a few seconds before hitting the back of my throat with a fiery wallop that was delicious and exciting!

I loved the texture and flavor complexity to this truffle. Bomb is a fitting name!

Finally, the Hazelnut, a cube with stair steps cut into the top. “Gail combines rich, thick hazelnut butter and feulletine – crushed, crunchy buckwheat crepes.”

When I tasted this before reading the notes, I marveled at the extremely light airiness of what I thought were toasty rice crisps. Turns out they were bits of buckwheat crepe! An ingenious and delicious twist on a classic.

The gianduja was lovely and nutty and unexpectedly sweet, with just a hint of fruitiness. It finished on an amazingly dusky cocoa note that I wished could linger forever.

I’ve give the Orange Almond an OM, the Pistachio Bomb an OMG, and the Pecan and Hazelnut ZOMG!s. The creative novelty and engaging complexity of these truffles were just wonderful. I’m so pleased that such wonderful chocolates are being made in America – they could hold their own against any of Paris’s finest!

I recently had a couple of spare minutes around Grand Central in New York City and managed to find my way to a Neuhaus shop. I picked up 3 truffles, sold by weight, for just under $8.

I was so eager to try them that I photographed and tasted them on my shuttle bus to JFK instead of waiting until I could get them home.

First up is a Caramel Truffle, which was described as “caramel butter cream dusted with intense cocoa powder.” It had a slight chocolate shell with a dry and crumbly ganache inside.

I loved the cocoa powder that it was dusted in. It was dry and chocolatey while being totally devoid of bitterness.

The caramel ganache didn’t taste like much besides a general fruity sweetness that was a bit too heavy for my taste. I wish that there was more complexity to this. An O.

Next is the Tiramisu, “butter cream with tiramisu taste, covered with ‘Amaretti’ biscuits.” Its chocolate shell carried a nice crunch from the bits of almond amaretti cookies. I have no idea how they kept those cookies fresh and crunchy, but kudos to them for that!

The inner ganache had a thin, fatty melt. It had a strong, fruity booziness with a definite alcoholic finish that tasted of almond liqueur.

My only issue with this was that it lacked any coffee flavors. Espresso is an important part of any tiramisu recipe, so its absence was noticeable. But the truffle was pretty delicious, even without it. An OM.

Finally, what I call the Toffee Star (I couldn’t find its official name). Neuhaus has other Stars, which are described as such: “These handmade icon pralines with their very recognizable shape were created by Neuhaus in 1958 for the World Exhibition in Brussels.”

The shape was indeed distinctive, like a little dumpling or a squashed tri-corner hat. The center was a rich, buttery chocolate caramel surrounded by a thin layer of chewy toffee, all covered by a thin layer of chocolate.

The center had a bright, fruity sweetness that was tempered at the end with a dark, cocoa-y finish. Bits of toffee embedded throughout added a light crunch and a complex butterscotchiness.

The mix of flavors and textures was just divine. I found it a hair too sweet to eat all day, thus depriving it of that extra Z, but it still manages to earn an OMG!

On Wednesday, I reviewed 2 of the 3 confections that I got to try as free samples from DGZ Chocolates. Today, I’ll review the third, the Toffarazzi, which is their best seller. And for good reason!

My half-pound box contained 9 Toffarazzi, described on the website as, “a scrumptious almond butter crisp covered with fine Swiss recipe chocolate and fresh roasted almond bits.”

Each nearly 2-inch square was a solid chunk of hard toffee with bits of almond mixed in. That toffee was then enrobed in chocolate and covered with bits of almond.

The toffee was absolutely gorgeous – it was nicely crisp and cleaved cleanly and then crumbled upon being chewed. Unlike other toffees, this never built up in the molars; it just crumbled and melted on the tongue.

It tasted of the deep complexity of burnt sugar. There was just the perfect hint of an edge of bitter toastiness that I absolutely love in my toffee.

The almond and chocolate were supporting players here. The almonds added just a hint of light nuttiness, while the chocolate brought a touch of sweetness.

But to me, this was all about the toffee. And boy was it good toffee! An OMG for a fine treat that I would heartily recommend.

These chocolate-covered potato chips came as free samples from Colby Ridge Popcorn and Gifts.

They also sent along chocolate-covered caramel corn, which I’ll review on Wednesday, and an impressive assortment of sweet and savory popcorn, which I won’t review because it’s not exactly candy (though I will say that their Jalapeno Cheddar is crazy addictive).

The chips were plain ridged/ruffled chips enrobed in milk or dark chocolate. The chips were salty and crunchy, which paired well with the sweetness of the chocolate.

The milk chocolate was sweet and matte, with malty cocoa notes and a slight caramel tinge to the finish.

Dark chocolate had a clean, smooth snap. It was bittersweet with a mild, dry duskiness and a lightly sweet fruitiness to the end.

These were a great combination of smooth and crunchy in texture and salty, sweet, and starchy in flavor. The milk chocolate gets an OM for being slightly too sweet. The depth of the cocoa flavor in the dark chocolate version made it extra addictive and earned it an OMG.

Hedonist Artisan Chocolate‘s Fruit and Nut Collection seems to be one of their year-round staples, yet I’d never tried them until now. Fortunately, I recently got a free sample box to taste.

From left to right, top to bottom, they are Dried Apricots, Crystallized Ginger, Cranberry-Pecans, Candied Orange Peels, and Pistachios.

These are a departure from Hedonist’s other truffles. Rather than having flavor-infused ganaches, these are fruits and nuts nestled in dark chocolate. The visual effect is quite stunning.

Dried Apricots featured dried apricots that were sliced into slivers. They were stiff and chewy at first bite. After a bit of chewing, the apricots’ sweetness and light fruitiness was released.

I’m not that big on apricots, dried or fresh, so this didn’t play to my taste preferences. It was a little on the chewy side but still a nice flavor combination.

Crystallized Ginger featured a single generous chunk of sugar-crusted crystallized ginger nestled in a chocolate bed. The ginger was soft with an instant give, which contrasted nicely with the snappy chocolate.

The ginger was sharp and spicy, as it should be, but not overpoweringly so, which I appreciated. Ginger isn’t one of my favorite chocolate accompaniments, but here it was tempered enough by the chocolate to work for me.

Cranberry-Pecans was a mix of chopped pecans mixed with dried cranberries. I loved the pecans, which were lightly caramelized. They brought a hint of extra sweetness, crunch, and crisp nuttiness.

The cranberry was mild and contributed just a hint of sweet and sour, but the pecan was the star here. And it shone – this was my favorite piece of the collection. I thought it was better than the bark version, thanks to the intense pecan density.

Candied Orange Peels was a shiny chocolate dome filled with chopped candied orange peels. There were two in my set. One had peels that were moist, soft, and sweet, while the other’s peels was drier, stiffer, and not as sweet.

It tasted like a toned down version of their Chocolate-Covered Orange Peels. The flavor of the peels was mostly that of citrus oil and orange zest, which paired well with the chocolate.

Pistachio was chock-full of whole pistachios. They were dry and extremely nutty with a strong saltiness. I felt like they overshadowed the chocolate a bit, as their nutty flavor was quite strong.

I enjoyed these chocolates, but I prefer Hedonist’s truffles, which are better at showcasing their mastery of crafting creatively flavored ganaches. The Fruit and Nut Collection is more about showcasing pure chocolates and pure ingredients. They were all tasty, but I find the truffles to be more exciting.

One exception, however, was the cranberry-pecan – that was a standout OMG. The rest get Os. And ooohs for being so pretty.

I got a lovely assortment of Bees and Beans’s candy bars as a free sample. They’re “handmade from whole ingredients in small batches” using local ingredients from Portland, Oregon.

There are three bars in the winter line: the Coffee bar, the ‘Bert bar, and the Honey bar.

The Coffee bar was “coffee caramel with toasted walnuts hand-dipped in 70% dark chocolate. It smelled dark and roasty, just on the delicious side of nearly-burnt.

It tasted dark and deep upon first bite. The caramel had a light pull to it and tasted of roasted coffee with a light bitterness.

The walnuts were mixed throughout the caramel. They added a serious crunch and a nutty, oily aroma. Finally, the chocolate added a layer of deep cocoa. An OM.

The ‘Bert bar was “milk chocolate, filberts, peanut butter, and crispy rice hand-dipped in 70% dark chocolate.” Its filling was a mix of milk chocolate embedded with large chunks of filbert nuts and crunchy, crispy rice.

There was a hint of peanut butteriness to the flavor as a light undertone. It mostly tasted of toasty crisped rice and the nuttiness of the filberts. There was noticeable sea salt sprinkled throughout that added a nice sparkle. An OMG.

The honey bar was my favorite of the bunch. It was “honey caramel with filbert nougat hand-dipped in 70% dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt.”

The bar was comprised of a thick layer of a soft, not-at-all sticky caramel topped with a filbert-studded layer of sweet and soft nougat, all covered in dark chocolate with a sprinkle of sea salt crystals.

Holy cow was it delicious! The nougat had a wonderfully light roasty nuttiness from the filberts, but it was the honey caramel that set this bar apart. It was absolutely limpid, with a pure honey tinge and a light hint of deep butterscotch to the finish.

The chocolate took a nice supporting role here, while the sprinkles of salt highlighted the caramel and chocolate. It was a perfectly balanced mix of flavors and textures. A ZOMG!

If you don’t live near Portland, Oregon, where these bars can be found in stores, you can get them from Etsy. They don’t come cheap, at $20 + shipping for a set of 4 bars, but those Honey bars are totally worth it!