Lotus Biscoff: Spread (crunchy)

Product name: Lotus Biscoff: Spread (crunchy)
Purchase details: £1.79 for a 380g jar (tesco.com)
Calories: 572 per 100g
Country of origin: Belgium

Although I’m not generally familiar with the brand of Lotus Biscoff biscuits, I’ve been wanting to try their spreads for a while and have even seen positive comments from my non-blogger Facebook friends about them. I’m not surprised, though...they’re essentially liquidised biscuits!

Due to the usual high store prices, I’d always assumed that these Lotus Bakeries jars had been imported from America, but they were actually from Belgium. Either way, I’d been waiting for an offer to come along and I immediately snapped up a jar of this crunchy spread, as well as a smooth one, as soon as that happened. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one who was keen try these spreads – I’d fully intended to review the smooth one first but, when I took off the lid, I discovered that some nasty shopper had stuck their finger through the foil layer in-store and helped themselves to some – thanks to Tesco for refunding me for this...I’ve been able to pick up another jar before the offer runs out!

Anyway, this crunchy variety of ‘the original caramelised biscuit spread’ was represented by a yellow lid and I loved the visualisation of a Lotus biscuit being turned into the spread. Although not relevant to me, I was impressed to see that it was both vegetarian and vegan, and the spread also contained no added flavours or colours, and no hydrogenated fat. What it did contain was 65% biscuits which resulted in a product that looked like a slightly darker-than-normal peanut butter.

Whilst nutritional information was provided, there was no suggested serving size, so how calorific or not a snack it was fully depended on how much was used and what it was served with! So far, I’ve only consumed it on ‘naughty’ days, and I think I might have to keep it that way because it was just so good – who needs bread when you’ve got a spoon?!

The spread was pretty thick and, whilst the crunchy bits weren’t really visible, they could be felt easily with the knife. The deep scent incorporated both caramel and biscuits but also hinted at ginger snaps – although it was very good, it was also on the verge of being a bit much.

On trying the spread on its own, it was very crispy but with the fabulous thick texture I’ve come to associate with peanut butter. In terms of flavour, it was quite like digestives but with a sweeter yet darker caramel element.

On bread, this crispy texture remained really noticeable and the flavour was still good too. The best bit, though, was the way the gloopy texture combined with the dough of the bread, making the roof of my mouth very happy indeed.

Finally, I sampled some of the spread on toast. The heat caused the spread to melt pretty quickly and the flavour and texture remained really good (although it wasn’t really possible to differentiate between the ‘crunchy’ aspect of the spread and the toast). Despite forgetting to check the toaster’s settings and subsequently cooking it for longer than I would have liked, the sweetness of the spread really helped disguise the slightly burnt bits, so I still enjoyed every mouthful...praise indeed.

This really was an excellent product and I can’t wait to eat the rest of it! There are quite a few biscuit spreads on my wish list right now and, if they’re all this good, I’m going to have to be keeping an extra-close eye on my waistline in the coming months.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.75/10

Marcheurs De Chocolat Belgian Chocolate: Flaked truffles

Product name: Marcheurs De Chocolat Belgian Chocolate: Flaked truffles
Calories: 236 per 40g serving (660 per 112g box)
Country of origin: Belgium

So we’re over half way through August, and it’s nearer to next Christmas than last, but I’ve finally got around to eating the last edible gift I was given in December 2013!

These Marcheurs De Chocolat Belgian Chocolate: Flaked truffles were part of the Walkers Chocolates brand and, like many of their other products, I’ve seen them in discount stores quite a lot. As was the case with me, this made them a good add-on present!

The ‘truffles covered in Belgian milk chocolate’ came in a royal blue box that featured a photo of the chocolates but, despite this looking promising, I was a bit apprehensive on opening it as it rattled quite a lot and I was convinced almost all of the flaked chocolate would have become detached from the truffles themselves. As it happens, I was pleasantly surprised to find things hadn’t got as messy as I feared, and there were also more truffles inside than I’d expected – 11 (although this would have been frustrating if I’d been aiming for the quoted three servings!).

I was disappointed to see that, after the main ingredient (sugar), the truffles mainly consisted of vegetable fat. However, there was a strong smell of cocoa powder, and the chocolate itself contained a minimum of 25% cocoa solids and 14% milk solids.

Whilst widely the same in appearance (generally round with flat bottoms and coated generously in chocolate flakes), the truffles were slightly different shapes and sizes, and they were lovely and soft to cut through. They seemed to consist of three layers: a truffle centre that looked a bit like a fluffy  mousse, a chocolate coating, then the flaked chocolate. However, unlike what the picture on the box suggested, these layers were all the same shade of brown.

The chocolates had a nice texture – they were really soft and squidgy and had a melt-in-the-mouth feel as the different elements melded together. Even the flakes were soft, although they did add a contrasting bumpy surface.

Unfortunately, I really wasn’t a fan of the flavour, which is unusual for me with chocolate! It just tasted weird and, although there was a chocolatey aftertaste, the overall feel was one of staleness. As is often the case with truffles, there was a slightly bitter aspect to the flavour, but I just felt that the chocolate’s taste could have been so much stronger and better. Furthermore, although there was no denying that the truffles were rich, the absence of cream in the ingredients didn’t go unnoticed.

I wasn’t expecting great things from these budget Flaked truffles but it was a shame that the area where they fell short was, for me, the most important: taste! I’ve definitely ‘spent’ my calories on better snacks...

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 4.5/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 6.63/10

Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates: La perlina (milk truffles)

Product name: Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates: La perlina (milk truffles)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 66g box of eight truffles (Poundland)
Calories: 53 per truffle (424 per box)
Country of origin: Belgium

I’d never had these ‘Belgian milk chocolate truffles’ before but, since they were made by Guylian, I wanted to give them a go.

The white and gold box tied in nicely with the branding of the seashells products and there was also a brief history of the company on the inside cover which taught me something new – it was named after the founders, Guy and Liliane...clever!

Despite being ‘premium chocolates’, their cylindrical appearance made them look quite standard. Decorated with simple lines, the chocolate shells contained a ‘smooth truffle filling’ that looked a bit like a mousse and made up 55% of the product. Free Translation told me that ‘perlina’ means ‘bead’ but I couldn’t quite see the connection!

The milk chocolate contained a minimum of 31% cocoa solids and 23% milk solids and was quite slippery to the touch. Up close, it did smell simply of chocolate, but this wasn’t detectable from a distance.

The product description of ‘a delectably smooth milk chocolate filling’ that had been ‘enrobed within the finest Belgian milk chocolate for an exquisite taste sensation’ suggested that it was the truffle itself that was the star of the show. These centres were really smooth and moist and melted in a way that was not dissimilar to Lindor, although they were more solidified, despite appearances.

The main flavour was cocoa and there was a slight bitterness mixed in with creamier elements of the product. If I’m honest, whilst very rich, I didn’t think the truffles had the best taste in the world. The centres were very nice, if a bit plain, but there was something about the chocolate shells that, initially, didn’t quite seem to match up to their contents. However, the taste did quickly become addictive, and the chocolatey buckets were by no means unpleasant.

The downside of the shape was that the chocolates weren’t great for melting as they were a bit too tall to comfortably suck on. However, doing so did seem to improve the cocoa’s flavour before reaching the filling.

There was certainly nothing wrong with these Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates: La perlina (milk chocolate) but there wasn’t really anything about them that stood out as special either. They may not have matched up to my enjoyment of the Original praliné bar but they were still a substantial treat. I hadn’t thought eight in a box sounded like many but they turned out to be more than enough!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Guylian Belgian Chocolate: Original praliné

Product name: Guylian Belgian Chocolate: Original praliné
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of three bars (Poundworld)
Calories: 211 per 40g bar
Country of origin: Belgium

When I was kid, we were quite often given boxes of Guylian seashell-shaped chocolates and I absolutely loved them. In fact, for many years, I thought praline was called ‘Belgian chocolate’ as that was my only experience of it! It’s been a long time since I last received Guylian as a gift so I was delighted when I found the product in a bar format recently.

The ‘Belgian chocolate with praliné filling (42%)’ bars were each divided into four pieces that were topped with milk and white marbled chocolate seashell shapes taken from the usual designs (found here). I had no issue with the shells or the seahorse but I tried not to focus on the shrimp as I can’t stand real seafood! The bars came in good quality, fresh white wrappers that featured a metallic brand name and tips, as well as an image of the product. The reality of the bars was very much the same although I did find that the chocolate was slightly discoloured.

The bars had a milky chocolate scent up-close but they didn’t really smell nutty. Thankfully, though, the taste didn’t disappoint. On placing a piece on my tongue, the smooth chocolate coating had a creamy taste with a slight bitterness (it contained a minimum of 32% cocoa solids and 19% milk solids). After a couple of seconds, the hazelnut flavour began to emerge and this lovely nuttiness mixed well with the chocolate’s sweetness. The outer part of the bar had a nice melt to it and this then met with the slighter rougher praline which matched up to its soft and crumbly appearance. This, too, melted nicely, although its graininess made it feel pretty sugary.

The seashell shapes also made the bar nice and chunky to chew. I’ve always loved the inclusion of the white chocolate in Guylian products (containing a minimum of 27% cocoa solids and 23% milk solids) but, in this case, I would have liked it to be more of a feature – imagine if it had been swirled in with the outer chocolate coating too!

I’m so glad I found these Guylian Belgian Chocolate: Original praliné bars – they tasted just how I remembered and I found them to be delicious.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.63/10