Niederegger Marzipan Ingwer

Back during my last trip to New York at the beginning of the year, I spent my last night there going all out at a couple of my favorite stores. I kept telling myself that I would get around to reviewing the bulk of the goodies before Christmas...but so far, I have not been doing a really good job of it.

But today was just a marzipan kind of day, so into my bounteous stash I went. Happy happy, joy joy! Not only did I have marzipan, but I have marzipan with ginger in it!

This bar consists of semi-sweet chocolate (52%) that enrobes a generous slab of marzipan which is studded with bits of ginger.



First, the bar is nicely scored and molded.

The chocolate was indeed dark-looking. While my bar was well within its shelf life and showed no bloom (it was actually quite glossy), what annoyed me was that the chocolate shell had splintered away from the marzipan in several places. It's not an overly thick layer, but it is not exactly wafer-thin either. Maybe that's for the best, though. The chocolate, while not bad, never really rises beyond "meh." Its strongest flavor is a peppery warmth from the ginger. It's very brittle and doesn't have much of a melt. No, it's not awful, but I would never want to eat it all by itself.



But forget the chocolate -- let's talk about the marzipan! Omigawd, to be able to get a loaf of this stuff! Of course there is the sweet, cherry-like almond taste you expect of marzipan. It's not too sweet, it's not bitter. The texture is moist but not sticky. Grainy but not dry. It's really the perfect marzipan.

And what could possibly make such a thing even more perfect? If you guessed ginger, you would be correct. And there was just the right amount of it. You smell it and feel the heat it gives off more than you actually taste it. But it's wonderful. It's not too much and not too little, it complements the marzipan while not distracting from it.



Maybe it's a good thing that the chocolate on this bar was not better, because it may have been the only thing that kept my few remaining fragments self-control in command. If you like marzipan, you simply must get your hands on this bar.

Be sure to check out Jim's review. He loved it too.



PURCHASED FROM:
Barzini's (New York City)

PRICE:
$2.29

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
niederegger.de

Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier: The Adventurous Collection

I like to think my sense of adventure is up there. I bungee jumped long before everyone and their grandma did it. I will try just about anything edible or drinkable you can throw at me (and I've probably reviewed it here somewhere). I've even -- gasp! -- worked retail on Black Friday. Really, there is no limit to my daredevil side.

So when I got an email from the good people at Gail Ambrosius asking me if I would like to review one of their truffle collections, I grabbed my Indiana Jones hat and waited, somewhat patiently, for them to arrive.



Gail Ambrosius is an old school chocolatier who -- along with her staff, of course -- makes all of her single origin chocolate by hand in small batches. Kinda made me think of a chocolate version of a micro-brew. Gail's chocolates, in addition to being single origin, are also free of preservatives, with all natural, sustainable ingredients. (And since there are no preservatives, their lifespan is brief. These are not chocolates you can leave on a shelf and forget about for a couple of months.) Gail is clearly head over heels in love with her craft. If you read her blog -- or her biography on her site -- it is impossible not to sense how much she loves what she does.

I personally love a good truffle too, as my past truffle reviews reveal, and I was very excited about the six truffles in this collection.

So, here we go...


Cinnamon/Cayenne:



This truffle was wrapped in a bright orange foil. Hidden underneath the foil is a truffle made up of 65% Colombian chocolate, dusted with a fine layer of cinnamon.



What I loved about this truffle was that the incredibly smooth chocolate is just sweet enough that it is not bitter, but you wouldn't mistake it for a milk chocolate. The cinnamon is actually the first thing you taste. It's spicy but not overpowering. The best part is the heat from the cayenne, with just a teeny tiny peppery aftertaste. I could eat an entire box just of this truffle.


Sweet Curry with Saffron:



This truffle is made with Hawaiian chocolate. I can't say that I've ever had Hawaiian chocolate before, but it made me think of Marvo -- and that in turn made me think of Marvo doing the Truffle Shuffle -- which, for the record, I have never seen him do, but it sounds like something he would do. (Nothing but love for you, man, nothing but love!) All of that distracted me from the fact that this truffle also contains coconut. And coconut is my natural enemy...well, that may be going a little far. But it is safe to say I am not the biggest fan of the stuff. This truffle also has coriander, turmeric, cumin, and cardamom and the top is sprinkled with strands of saffron -- world's the most expensive spice.



This truffle smells vaguely like generic Indian food. The turmeric and the cumin were the strongest flavors. I picked up the coconut more as an aftertaste. The information for this truffle describes the chocolate as having a raisin-like aftertaste -- and damned if that's not the best way to describe it. Honestly, while I liked the spice and I liked the chocolate, the coconut killed this truffle for me. But I am sure coconut fans would love it.


Machu Picchu:



This truffle is filled with a ganache that is made with 65% Peruvian chocolate nibs that have been caramelized. There is also a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. The truffle is topped with candied almonds.



This truffle is like chocolate to the eleventh power. It's a little sweet, and you taste just enough of the cinnamon and the vanilla so that you know they're there, but otherwise it is just pure chocolate essence. The nibs are almost completely ground, but there are little chunks here and there that add crunch to the otherwise smooth filling. Very nice!


Lemongrass with Ginger:



This one reminded me of Thai food. The chocolate is a 70% Venezuelan chocolate that is infused with dried organic lemongrass, coconut purée, and ginger pulp. It is topped with candied lemon peel and dried safflower.



Even with the coconut I loved this truffle, mostly because the strong warmth of the ginger worked to cover up all but the last notes of the coconut. The lemongrass gives it a fresh clean taste, and the dark chocolate just wraps the whole thing up in an earthy blanket.


Rica Organica:



This one is made with chocolate that Gail herself treks to Costa Rica to get. It's a simple truffle, made only with said chocolate, plus cream and vanilla bean.



This is the most basic truffle in the mix. It is also a great example of how sometimes it is the little things that make the most impact. With this truffle, all you taste is the chocolate. It's a little fruity, a little coffee-like. It's sweetened by the cream. If you are just beginning to get into dark chocolates, this is an excellent place to start.


Shiitake Mushroom:



Not going to lie -- this single truffle was the entire reason I chose this collection out of the others available. Seriously, how could you not want to try chocolate and mushrooms together?!

The chocolate is the 65% Peruvian, and is mixed with a mixture of dried shiitake mushrooms and cream.



Anyone who says that mushrooms and chocolate do not belong together needs to be fed this truffle -- even if by force at first. The mushrooms bring a slightly chewy texture to the center. Paired with the dark chocolate, it tastes like fresh soil, coffee, woodsy happiness. It's sweet, it's salty, and it's probably going to become my new obsession.

Yeah, this was a great collection. The texture of the all of the truffles, regardless of flavor/chocolate was excellent. Just enough snap on the outer shell. The interior ganache was silky smooth and cool on the tongue. These are some of the best truffles I have ever had.

The box also included...

A bonus! (I think)



While not listed as part of the Adventurous Collection, my box also contained a couple of the Caramel Sprinkled with Grey Salt squares. Not one to look gift salted caramel in the mouth (or share it willingly), I was thrilled with the addition.

The Columbian chocolate is deep and coffee-like. The salt was everything you could ever hope for. The texture of caramel itself is super soft and smooth, almost to the point of being a butter cream. It's mildly buttery and sweet. It is at its best when you get a part of the square with a lot of salt on it. There was something about it that I just couldn't put my finger on -- and it kept me from deciding whether or not I really loved it -- or if I was really indifferent to it. But I still ate all of them, so I am leaning towards really liking it.



This collection is just a tiny portion of what Gail Ambrosius offers. Be sure to check out the website to view it all for yourself. (Sadly for my international friends, they are currently able to ship only within the U.S. So if you see something you reeeeaaaallllllly gotta have, you might want to start being really nice to your U.S. friends!)

Get your hands on this collection by any means necessary.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
gailambrosius.com

Walkers Ginger Royals

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of shortbread, ginger, and dark chocolate. So the three together should be like a trio composed of Barry Manilow, Michael Buble and Ben Folds, right? (Did I just hear groaning? I don't care, I think that would kick ass.)

Each biscuit is made of ginger flavored shortbread. According to the extensive research I did by reading the back of the box, the shortbread is is baked with preserved ginger stems and fresh creamery butter (As opposed to old creamery butter? Or stuff hawked by Fabio?), and then the biscuit is enrobed in dark chocolate. So far, so good.



How did they taste?

There is no mistaking that there is ginger in the cookies. There are little bits of candied ginger sprinkled throughout the shortbread. I have to give Walkers points for going with ginger that has fire and bite to it. The ginger really stands up for itself. I love strong, hot ginger, and it was nice that Walker's didn't wuss out and go with something more sweet or mild. The chocolate looks darker on the box picture than it does in real life, but it has a nice rich flavor to it. It's a little waxy at first...but it does look glossy and it melts well.



The shortbread biscuit is buttery and flaky. No matter what Walkers may add to, or top the shortbread with, the shortbread itself is always stellar.

I really loved these biscuits.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

PRICE:
Unavailable

CALORIES:
130 per 2 cookie serving.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Kosher. Contains milk, soy, wheat, and gluten. Not suitable for people with nut allergies.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
walkersshortbread.com

The Ginger People Ginger Chews

OK, when I saw the words "Ginger People," what immediately came to mind was the ginger kids from South Park:



Somehow, I think this is not the image that the Ginger People were going for. In any event, I love chewy ginger candy and could not resist picking up the bag I found at Trader Joe's.



Each chew is an individually wrapped little log of ginger happiness. The logs are dusted in sugar. I know they are called "chews," but I like to let them melt in my mouth.



The chews start off sweet from the dusting of sugar, but as that melts away they slowly grow warmer. The heat never gets overwhelming. (I would rate it a 5 out of 10 on a heat scale -- if you are sensitive to heat. More like a 3 if you like the burn.) It's like pure ginger happiness. It's clean and refreshing. In terms of taste because it is simply ginger that is ginger flavored there is not a lot of detail to go into. It's just one of those times when less is more.

Should you prefer to chew the candy rather than letting it melt, it has a thick, slightly sticky chew. The texture falls smack-dab between a stick of chewing gum (that dissolves, of course) and a Tootsie Roll.



I loved these chews. They're sweet, there's heat, they leave the mouth feeling clean, and if your mouth was dry to start with it will help rehydrate your mouth. (That's a diplomatic way of saying it will help you make spit.) Just really outstanding overall.

These are now officially a staple for me.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Chocri Custom Bar: Gigi's Persian Bar

It was with great excitement last month that I reviewed the first of the three custom Chocri bars that I got to create (see Gigi's Dream Lemon Bar). Chocri has been creating custom chocolate bars in Europe for years, and is now offering them in the United States.

I've said it before, but I love the idea of creating a bar that has exactly what I want in it. Visit CreateMyChocolate.com to see for yourself.



This bar was inspired by my love of Persian ice cream. Persian ice cream, if you have never had it -- and if not, you should -- is typically a base that is flavored with rosewater and saffron. (A few places where I have eaten it were either cutting costs or catering to unadventurous American customers, and they used vanilla ice cream as the base and added the rose and saffron on top of that.) There are almost always pistachios added. I have also had versions that include ginger and/or pomegranate sauce. I am not sure which of those were the most authentic version (if any) but I liked them in any event.

With this bar I used a milk chocolate base. In retrospect I probably should have used white chocolate -- and Chocri does offer white chocolate as an option. But as we all know, I pretty much hate white chocolate, so I went with milk. Also in the bar are candied rose petals, cinnamon, pistachios and candied ginger.

Just as with the last bar, I am going to rate this one based on the individual ingredients rather than the overall taste of the bar. After all, each ingredient could be great on its own, but it could be my combination that doesn't do the bar justice -- and it would be unfair to ding Chocri for my own poor choices. And if it does taste good together, well...that just makes me awesome. I guess (and modest).



The chocolate: Crocri has a really, really good milk chocolate. It's extra creamy, and you can really taste the dairy. Super smooth, fast melt.

The ginger: Soft and very sweet. If you're not into super-hot ginger, this is perfect for you. If you are into super-hot ginger...errrrm...well, maybe just eat a lot of it. It does taste good.

The pistachios: The bar uses whole pistachios! Not halves, not little pieces, but whole entire nuts. And they are crunchy and salty and delicious!

The rose petals: Super crunchy from the sugaring. The texture is nice. I didn't really notice a strong rose flavor, but they are pretty (they are a really vivid pink) and the sugar was good.

The cinnamon: Large dark sprinkles lay just on top of the chocolate. It adds a tiny bit of extra warmth and spices up the chocolate.



Once again, my compliments to the folks at Chocri for having a perfect sense of proportion. Everything was pretty equally balanced perfectly. And all of the ingredients were fantastic. (OK so the rose petals didn't really taste like rose -- but they did look good, and they were covered in sugar.) I liked the milk chocolate so much I could happily eat it plain.



While I am not rating based on the overall flavor, I have to say it was a pretty good combo. The sweetness of the milk chocolate keeps the ginger hot, but also keeps it from tasting soapy. The rose petals add color and some extra sweetness. The whole pistachios bring salt and crunch to the bar.

As much as I liked my Dream Lemon Bar, I liked this bar even more. If you would like to try it the way I put it together, it's easy: Just go to Chocri's web site and use the reorder option when making selections for your custom bar, and use this code: f9yz1e



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

Vosges Holiday Bonbon Collection

Let me say a big thank you to Vosges Haut Chocolate for ignoring the fact that I rank rather high up on the Naughty List, and for treating me to an early Christmas present by sending me this collection of holiday-inspired truffles.




There are four different truffles in the collection:

* Mascarpone & Ceylon Cinnamon Snap
* Holiday Plum Pudding
* Candy Cane Peppermint
* Eggnog & Jamican Rum

And just try tell me they aren't beautiful to look at, I dare you! Anyway, for this review, I will start with...


Mascarpone & Ceylon Cinnamon Snap:



I love mascarpone cheese so much that I have been known to eat it plain, straight from the container. Mascarpone, should you not know, is a type of super-rich cream cheese that can be eaten on its own -- or mixed into anything and everything. In my family, we make cannoli filling with it. (Should you want to try my family's version pick, up a copy of Henry Hill's The Wiseguy Cookbook. The cannoli recipe on pages 86-88 is actually my mother's.)

And keeping with the Goodfellas theme, Ceylon cinnamon is basically the Godfather of the cinnamon world. All other cinnamon-type products, while still members of the family, are various levels of underbosses, capos, and plain old soldiers. The cinnamon is sprinkled generously atop the 45% deep milk chocolate shell. Inside is the mascarpone. This truffle also contains organic sour cream.



Giving the truffle a sniff from the top, it's the deep woodsy spice of the cinnamon that you notice. Once you get into the center of the truffle (normally I would just bite and dig in, but for the sake of pretty pictures we sliced the truffles first), what immediately stands out is the rich dairy smell of the cheese.

When I bit into this truffle, for a split second I swear all I saw was blinding white light and unicorns! There might have been a rainbow or two, and Barry Manilow was in the background singing a soaring crescendo. Yeah, this truffle is just that good. You start with a little heat from the cinnamon on top, then when you break through the deep milk chocolate shell, the cool silky filling flows into your mouth. It's sort of like an extra creamy chocolate mousse, mixed with a healthy dose of my beloved mascarpone cheese. The deep milk chocolate was the perfect choice. It's creamy enough that it didn't get lost in the strong dairy of the cheese, and yet not dark enough that it was bitter or upstaged the cinnamon. If I didn't know the sour cream was in there I wouldn't have noticed it -- but you know what? I don't care! If you only try one Vosges truffle in your lifetime, make it this one!


Holiday Plum Pudding:



I don't have much base of reference for plum pudding. About all I really know is that the Cratchits (the family from Dicken's "A Christmas Carol") seemed to think it would not be Christmas without it. Oh, and that the traditional version is a type of steamed pudding made with different dried fruits, liquors, nuts, and is often topped with hard sauce. But I can't say I've actually had one.



The Vosges version contains plums, Armagnac (a type of brandy), and marzipan, and is covered with 65% dark chocolate.

The truffle is topped with a pretty little piece of edible silver foil. What made this one stand out was the texture. The center, rather than being completely smooth, is layered. The top portion of the filling is the same silky creme as the others. Then right below that is a layer of what looks like finely chopped plums, and on the bottom of that is the grainy marzipan layer.

I loved the overall flavor. It was lightly boozy, and the plums were plump and sweet. The dark chocolate takes the edge off of the sweetness and melts nicely. I hate to say that what ruined this truffle for me actually was my beloved marzipan. Mind you, the flavor of the marzipan was good: almonds with mild cherry notes. It was the texture I didn't like. It was like a very loose, grainy fondant. Had it been smoother or firmer, I would have really loved it as is...did I mention that the plums were really sweet?


Candy Cane Peppermint:



It's hard to get more simple than all natural candy cane pieces, peppermint, and 65% dark chocolate. And simplicity is often a virtue.



I liked the fact that the top is where the crunchy bits of candy live. It gives a little contrast in texture, and the red bits look like shards of stained glass. The outer 65% dark chocolate shell is a really deep woodsy, earthy chocolate. There's some coffee flavor. On its own it would be a bit too bitter for me -- but paired with the sweetness of the smooth mint center, it's perfect.

The center is very cool on the tongue and the texture is almost like pudding. The chocolate is so smooth and rich I could practically drink it. The peppermint is brisk. It's very natural, not mediciny or artificial. Overall it worked beautifully.


Eggnog & Jamaican Rum:



WOOHOO! Eggnog! Eggnog with RUM! As I have said before, in honor of my best friend who is from St. Croix, I am partial to Cruzan rum. But Vosges didn't get that memo and instead they opted to use Appleton Estate rum. Appleton has been distilling rum since 1749 and is the oldest distillery in Jamaica -- so it's safe to say that they know a thing or two about making rum. The truffle also contains nutmeg and ginger, and it is all wrapped up in white chocolate from the Dominican Republic.



I went into this truffle excited because it's eggnog and rum, but also a little worried, because it's a white chocolate truffle and I am just not a fan. But if anyone could make white chocolate doable for me it would be Vosges, so...

The truffle smelled sort of like rum and steamed milk. I didn't get the eggnog or the ginger at first. But the truffle center is like the best eggnog ever. It's creamy, it's rich, it's custardy. The nutmeg is there. The rum is strong enough that its presence is known, but it doesn't over power the other flavors. The ginger is represented by little soft bits of ginger that go unnoticed until they explode in your mouth. Yum! The white chocolate... OK, again let's remember that I don't like white chocolate. I did find that the outer shell seemed dry -- and that was not the case of the dark or the milks. It was creamy tasting, and there were good vanilla notes. If you are a fan of white chocolate, I expect you will love the shell. I loved the filling...oh, the bad things I would do for large quantities of that filling...

Overall, even with the couple of (minor) qualities I didn't care for, this remains a truly stellar collection. The Mascarpone/Ceylon Cinnamon Snap alone is so good that no matter how the other three flavors had turned out, I still would have been happy.

Absolutely outstanding.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

Let me remind those of you who are still shopping for the perfect gift for the old friends and loved one (or for yourself) that Vosges Haut Chocolate is offering my readers 10% off orders placed by December 31st. Just be sure to use the special code BLGF09 when checking out.