Chocolate #2 of the Day
Läderach Chocolatier Suisse
FrischSchoggi Heart Caramel Almond
Good +++
Weight: 1.167 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total heart
Calories: 187.3 calories in 1/3 of heart
Cost: N/A - gift from Läderach*
Purchased from: N/A - gift from Läderach
Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Mother's Day Series -- featuring one sweet and light and one deeper and darker chocolate each day--reflecting my mother's love of sweets, and my love for darker chocolate.
Today's FrischSchoggi (Fresh Chocolate) Caramel Almond Heart chocolate was distributed by Läderach Chocolatier Suisse ("UK Lmted.") and produced in Switzerland. (See earlier post today (May 3, 2022) for a write-up on Läderach's lovely, sweet Strawberry-Curd Heart.)
Läderach premium chocolates are manufactured from bean-to-bar in Switzerland, and the company has retail shop locations in U.S. cities, including one in Palo Alto, CA.
Today's, generously-sized, attractively packaged "heart" was one of four Läderach's heart-shaped chocolate offerings (featured this week) for Mother's Day.
A solid field of ebony-colored, 36% cacao chocolate was decorated with small shards of golden caramel/toffee. When broken apart, the thick, well-tempered chocolate pieces revealed a generous helping of embedded, crunchy (I'm assuming roasted), caramelized almond chunks.
The aroma for this chocolate: sweet dark chocolate (fudge nut brownie) with brown sugar/caramel, nut (almond), faint green, very faint lemon herb (oxalis) notes. I applaud the makers for allowing some of the pure cacao notes to shine through. (Over-processed cacao often leads to rather bland chocolate with an absence of flavor complexity.)
Yes, this was relatively sweet dark** chocolate, but it exceeded my expectations. The well-balanced, contrasting/layered flavors and textures resulted in an addictive blend of chocolate (that tasted much darker--more like 50%--than 36% cacao), nut and caramel.
Vanilla added chocolate baked goods-like warmth and flavor depth. And a light touch of salt meshed nicely with this chocolate, vanilla, caramel and nut blend--adding addictive sweet+salt snack appeal that also helped balance the sweetness. Definitely a great gift for Mother's Day.
Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa paste, almonds (15%), cocoa butter, glucose, butter (milk), soy lecithin, vegetable oils (rapeseed), salt, Natural Flavors, sunflower lecithin. (Chocolate with 36% cocoa min.).
Allergen-related information: (Contained milk, nuts (almonds), soy ingredients.) "May contain egg, other gluten (inclu. wheat), other nuts."
* Pricing and availability: Pricing for this dark chocolate Caramel-Almond Heart online was listed as $15.90 (USD) on Läderach's website. Note: This and some other Mother's Day items were already listed as out-of-stock; although retail stores may still have inventory. So, it would be best to act soon if you're interested in these Mother's Day gift chocolates.
**Chocolates marked as "dark chocolate" in the U.S. generally start at 50-55% cacao (solids) and go all the way up to 100% cacao bars/chocolates. (A 55% cacao chocolate might contain as much as 45% sugar; and 100% cacao items contain just cacao, with no added sugar.)
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