Notes on chocolate: the Easter choc-a-thon is on its way
Usually, Easter-chocolate testing is quite fraught, intense and messy, with everything coming in at once, so that a frantic load of uncouth shovelling ensues. But this year, with Easter being a little later than usual (20 April), I've been able to enjoy a treat or two with more leisure. I have some really good recommendations for you over the next few weeks
My first one is Asda's Exceptional Hand Decorated Orange and Ginger Dark Chocolate Egg, £9.98. It's not super dark at 54% cocoa, but it's a really good-tasting egg from a supermarket, with bits of candied orange peel and crystallised ginger. If milk chocolate is more your thing, then look along the Asda shelf to the Caramel, Pretzel and Honeycomb (33% cocoa) milk chocolate egg, £9.98. If you like sweet and crunchy, munchy eggs, then this one is definitely worth trying. I have more supermarket recommendations coming next week.
Looking at craft chocolate, Chocolarder has three excellent offerings at £13.50: the 50% Milk Chocolate Hot Cross Bun; 70% Dark Chocolate with Candied Orange Peel; and 50% Milk Stroopwafel. I thought the orange would go down the best and it was well received. I'm a bit over spiced chocolate just now, so the HCB wasn't my favourite, but it might be yours. However, the Stroopwafel was extremely popular with its creamy, dreamy dark milk and bits of crispy stroopwafel.
Talking of orange, Lakrids by Bülow's new offering is Golden Oranges, £14.95. I half expected these to be orange, but they look very muted. I think they missed a trick there. Inside is liquorice, caramelised dulce chocolate and crunchy bits of caramel with, of course, a burst of orange. They taste like a Chocolate Orange, but with an edge of liquorice. Delicious.
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