Bryan's been away on business trips a lot lately. Although it's tough having him gone so much, one side benefit of all his international travels is that he brings back presents. :) Here's the bounty from Switzerland.
I opened the gold striped box first.
Sprüngli is one of the best known chocolate makers in Switzerland. It came highly recommended by several of Bryan's European coworkers. It's not cheap! He purchased 2 boxes and 6 bars of chocolate for $120!
Each of these delectable little squares is filled with a soft, creamy chocolate filling that is spiked with rum and kirsch. It tastes phenomenal. Not only is the chocolate super high quality, the hard liquor gives the inside a deep, dark bitterness that I love.
I have to be honest about my chocolate tastes here. I'm kind of picky. I'm not a huge fan of hazelnut (*
gasp!!!*) and I typically do not really like chocolate truffles that much (
*double gasp!!!*). Instead, I am a fan of really dark chocolate. I also love the mixture of coffee and chocolate.
When I first saw these, I was afraid they would be like all those other hazelnut filled chocolate truffles. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the deep and rich chocolate flavor which was nicely intensified by the rum and kirsch. The overall flavor was exquisite. I loved it. Of the two above, I like the darker chocolate one better (because it's even more bitter!) but both are excellent.
He also bought several solid chocolate bars, since he knows I don't love truffles and I typically enjoy the the rich, dark flavors of dark chocolate. In this case, he picked up 60%, 65%, 70%, and 75% chocolate bars. I have not tried them all yet, but so far, I am quite pleased. :)
I was bummed to find out that I missed out on one of Sprüngli most famous items: their mini-macarons, called the Luxemburgerli. I missed out on a macaron!! Unfortunately they don't keep well so Bryan was unable to bring them back for me. Sad. They are so cute. You can see pictures on their
home page.
Oh well, maybe that means it's time for me to make some more macarons . . . . stay tuned!
o m g. yum. i'm drooling.
ReplyDeletep.s. i don't know why it's taken me so long to find your blog, but i'm so glad i have!! your post on thomas keller's simplified ratatouille was genius.
gah!!! You're so lucky. Macarons from Bouchon and now gourmet chocolate :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the macaron post. I've been meaning to make some for awhile now. Maybe I can start with your recipe!
Wow -- these are beautiful! I started singing "I've got a Golden Ticket" when I saw the pics. :D We received a gift of German chocolate with pink peppercorns recently, but haven't cracked it open yet. Have you tried Finnish candies? They seem to prefer salty/licorice flavors; intense, but interesting!
ReplyDeletehi! first time reading your blog. the chocolates and pics are gorgeous.. i don't like hazelnut either!! have you ever had chocolate with sea salt? it's weirdly addictive!
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have such a nice boyfriend (husband?)! The chocolate looks incredible, all of it, so beautifully packaged. I'm with you--not much for chocolate truffles either.
ReplyDeletethese are gorgeous! lucky you! Such great pictures
ReplyDelete- Whitney