Here’s part two of my review of my free sample of Derry Church Artisan Chocolates (continued from Monday). Today, we’ll review the Plymouth, Savannah, Tangier, and Veracruz. [Note: All text in quotes is taken from the website descriptions]
The Plymouth was “a smooth, creamy pumpkin caramel with just a hint of pumpkin pie spice, then piped into an excellent, intense European bittersweet chocolate mould.” The mould itself was a gorgeous swirly square with two-tones of chocolate.
It smelled like pumpkin pie spice. The soft, creamy ganache inside tasted just like pumpkin pie with a strong clove finish. I love all things pumpkin (including pumpkin chili – seriously, it’s delicious!), and I greatly enjoyed this.
The Savannah “starts with fresh, ripe peaches (whenever possible) [that’s] reduced to a thick, sticky-sweet puree and blended into a fine European white chocolate ganache [and piped] into a fine European bittersweet chocolate cup, [all] topped with a brown sugar and toasted oat crumble mixture, and drizzled with… more white chocolate.” Phew!
This tasted just like dessert – a wonderful peach crumble or sweet peach jam. The oat crumble topping was like an oatmeal cookie, and the flavors played off nicely against the cute little chocolate shell. It made me rethink what a truffle could be, and that’s a good thing.
The Tangier had an “African honey and tangerine juice reduction… ground, toasted cumin, and the zippy heat of the cayenne chili.”
If I remember correctly, the inside of this had two layers, a gooey honey/caramel and a creamy chocolate ganache (my tasting notes say caramel plus ganache). It tasted sweet with overtones of orange oil. The chocolate and orange flavors went together nicely, but I didn’t get any cumin or spice notes, which could’ve elevated this to another level.
Last, but not least, the Veracruz: organic cream infused with vanilla beans, which is then turned into a white chocolate ganache that’s piped into a bittersweet base. As the website description brags, “You can actually see the vanilla seeds throughout the ganache!”
The ganache had a thick frosting-like texture to it. It tasted strongly of genuine vanilla, but it was also rather cream cheesy. Unexpected, but appreciated (in addition to loving all things pumpkin, I also love all things cheesecake). The chocolate base brought a sweetly fruity finish to the piece.
I’d give the Tangier an O, the Veracruz and the Plymouth an OM, and the Savannah an OMG. Derry Church Artisan Chocolates is doing some nice work. I only reviewed 8 truffles; they’ve got 27 in their line-up!
Chocoblog tasted a wider variety than I did, so be sure to check out their review as well.
Varsha