Lindt Lindor: Peanut butter

Product name: Lindt Lindor: Peanut butter
Purchase details: £0.40 for a 12g truffle (Bold Street Sweets)
Calories: 73 per truffle

It’s only relatively recently that I discovered that Lindt Lindor: Peanut butter existed. As with most interesting peanut butter products, the variety isn’t generally available in the UK. However, my colleague recently took a trip to Bold Street Sweets and informed me that they were selling them. It didn’t take me long to get down there myself and buy a few to sample and I wasn’t surprised to be told by the lady who served me that they had been ‘flying out’.

The copper wrapper wasn’t dissimilar from the UK’s hazelnut variety that’s found in the Assorted box and there wasn’t really anything to go on in terms of information. However, I was able to find the Peanut butter truffles on Lindt's USA website. This claimed that the favourite ‘flavour combination’ of milk chocolate and peanut butter was being delivered ‘in a single, deliciously gourmet experience’ with the ‘delicate milk chocolate shell’ holding an ‘irresistibly smooth peanut butter and milk chocolate’ centre.

From the outside, you wouldn’t have guessed that this particular Lindor variety held an inner secret. However, on cutting a chocolate ball open, the difference was immediately clear. Instead of being solidified, the centre was thick and molten and, despite being a darker shade of brown than peanut butter, it was clear from the texture that this was incorporated in the mix.

I can’t say the truffles had a specific peanut butter scent but there was a nutty element within the chocolate aroma. The thick outer shell was milky but also provided a cocoa hit that mellowed the stronger inner flavour. This filling was properly liquidy and had a prominent roasted nut aspect along with a salty aftertaste. Whilst I’d love to rave about it, I did find the peanut butter flavour wasn’t as pure as I’d have liked, and it also had an almost alcoholic tint to it too. Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable.

The texture may well have been out-of-the-ordinary for Lindor but I think I actually preferred it!  Instead of melting in the mouth and bordering on sickliness, the filling was already molten and literally popped out of the shell when a little pressure was applied, leaving behind the tasty chocolate to savour as a nice change.

These Peanut butter truffles weren’t exactly how I expected but I was quite impressed that they weren’t totally predictable. I think the flavour could do with a little work but the chocolates were still great and I maintain that they should be more widely available!

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

Ritter Sport White Whole Hazelnuts

Product name: Ritter Sport White Whole Hazelnuts
Calories: 571 per 100g bar
Country of origin: Germany

For some reason, I’ve turned down the opportunity to purchase a bar of Ritter Sport White Whole Hazelnuts time and time again – I wrongly thought that I’d tried it before and that it was a less exciting flavour offering. Thankfully, all has not been lost, as I was sent this bar to sample from an online survey panel.

I thought the bar’s wrapper looked divine since it was designed to look like the creamy white chocolate full of ‘crunchy roasted whole hazelnuts’ within. Apparently, 23% of the product was these nuts, whilst a further 3% was taken up by ‘crispy rice’. Whilst not provided on the wrapper, I was also able to obtain the nutritional information from Ritter Sport's website.

On unwrapping the 16-square bar, it was immediately obvious that the nuts really were whole and scattered throughout the chocolate. Along with the rice, they were visible on both sides of the bar, giving the overall appearance of a chunkier Weisse Cocos. The hazelnuts also took centre stage in terms of the scent, although there was a slightly milky aroma too.

The chocolate’s sweet taste also had a milkiness to it which worked fantastically with the quite juicy and liquidy melt. This texture seemed to be thinner than normal due to how packed full the chocolate was of other stuff which, presumably, meant there was actually less of it! I also found that the white chocolate flavour wasn’t as strong as I’d have liked but, on the plus side, it wasn’t too sweet or sickly.

Due to my passion for white chocolate, I thought I might find this product too busy with the nuts and rice, and it was certainly lumpy when melting and not really worth it for the chocolate itself. However, the chewing texture was fabulous. Whether eating with the chocolate or after it had melted, the brilliantly combined crunchy and crispy mouthful was really tasted and I absolutely loved the toasted aspect of the hazelnuts.

I felt nothing but love for this combination of white chocolate and hazelnuts and, having eaten a lot of nut-filled chocolates in my time, I was particularly impressed by the quality of the hazelnuts that left no funny aftertaste. I definitely should have tried this variety sooner and I’ll certainly be buying it in future.

Appearance: 8.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 9/10
Overall score: 8.25/10

Glico Mikado: King choco (praliné)

Product name: Glico Mikado: King choco (praliné)
Purchase details: £1.39 for a 51g box (Tesco)
Calories: 128 per 25.5g six biscuit portion (21 per biscuit)
Country of origin: France 

I was very excited to find this new variety of Glico Mikado from Mondelez International. As the name ‘King choco’ suggested, these biscuit sticks had a bit more going on than normal Mikado and, as a result, were more calories. However, they were still a nicely low-calorie snack.

I loved the imagery of the melted chocolate being poured onto the green box’s logo, and the raised chocolate rings on the picture of the treat looked like a cool little feature too. Designed for ‘chocolate lovers’, these praliné  ‘crunchy biscuit sticks’ were simply described as ‘chocolate with hazelnut flavour’ on the front of the box, but reading the back revealed that this was achieved by an infused chocolate coating  (47%) beneath the ‘lovely milk chocolate swirl’ (21.6%) that finished each piece off. What a fantastic amount of chocolate!

The packet was designed to provide two portions but I prefer to eat Mikado biscuits one or two at a time to use up spare calories. However, this didn’t in any way diminish my enjoyment of them.

The chocolate had a more matt appearance than the box had suggested, and the swirled chocolate was unsurprisingly more uneven and less perfect, but I loved how thick and dark the coating looked against the white biscuit core. Even better was the rich aroma that was emitted, incorporating cocoa, milk and nuts, yet remaining mouth-wateringly sweet.

As I’ve come to expect, the biscuit was pretty standard and plain, but this provided a great basis for the chocolate casing. I just loved the depth of the chocolate and how it provided a softness before reaching the crisp centre. This really thick feature was something that’s not present in the more standard Mikado varieties and it meant that you could choose to enjoy a few seconds of melting if preferred.

The chocolate had a dark chocolate taste with hazelnut undertones. It was really flavoursome with a slight bitterness and, to me, it tasted like a more sophisticated and less nutty Nutella. 

I’d noticed on my receipt that these biscuits came up as ‘kids’ biscuits’ but, if I’m honest, I think these were too good for children! Their flavour felt a bit too dark and grown-up for kids, particularly when considering the sweeter alternatives such as Lu Glico: Mikado (Daim) which seem like a more appropriate after-school treat.

Parents should definitely keep these King choco (praliné) biscuits for themselves!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.88/10

The Custom Cupcake Company Ferrero Rocher Cupcake

Product name: The Custom Cupcake Company Ferrero Rocher Cupcake
Purchase details: £2.00 for one cupcake (The Custom Cupcake Company)
Country of origin: England

I treated myself to another cupcake from The Custom Cupcake Company this week. I’d actually bought the Ferrero Rocher Cupcake before as I knew it would be a variety my Mum would like but I didn’t try it for myself on that occasion. However, it was on my wish list for future visits and my Mum had also given it her seal of approval...although she had said it didn’t taste like a Ferrero Rocher!

I had read the product description on the store’s chalkboard but, by the time I got home, I couldn’t remember the details. I did know it involved some kind of hazelnut filling, though, and I was basically expecting a Nutella centre.

Being a fan of the cake’s flavour inspiration, I was slightly surprised by its apparent peanut topping sitting on some kind of chocolate frosting. This was by no means a bad thing in itself but I knew that real Ferrero Rocher chocolates only contain hazelnuts so I wasn’t sure why these hadn’t been used instead. This topping also meant the treat predominantly smelt of peanuts, although there was a slight chocolate cake scent too.

The cake’s sponge was an incredibly dark chocolate colour and I gasped when I cut it open – the filling was so deep and fudgy! I felt I had no choice but to tackle it with a spoon.

On its own, the sponge had felt a little dry and powdery but it had a strong and slightly bitter chocolate flavour that worked well. It turned out this lack of moisture wasn’t an issue when combined with the other components anyway. The really chocolatey frosting was pretty smooth and, despite being lovely and sweet, the wealth of salted peanuts offset this and made the texture feel like that of peanut butter – always a winner!

The inner filling also aided the texture, resulting in an overall feel of chocolate fudge cake with an added crunchiness. It also turned out this wasn’t simply Nutella after all. Whilst it had nice hazelnut hints, its chocolate flavour was particularly strong – much more so than I was expecting.

I definitely agree with my Mum’s conclusion that this cupcake didn’t taste like a Ferrero Rocher, but it was very much a deliciously rich treat. It was so chocolatey that it burnt the back of my throat a little!

Now...what to try next?!

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