Teuscher Boston: Walnut Gianduja

Everything has to come to an end. Even good things. Even really good things, like a box of chocolates from Teuscher. I won’t be able to write about their truffles, giandujas, or pralines for a while, because this walnut gianduja was the last piece from the box I picked up on my trip to Boston.

As I wrote yesterday, I’m not the world’s biggest walnut fan, and prefer other nuts, like hazelnuts and almonds. Since this gianduja is topped with a gigantic walnut half, the walnut flavor permeates the entire creation, including the smooth, milk chocolate coating.

Inside, the gianduja is sweet, but not too sweet, and carries a definite walnut flavor thanks to the finely-ground bits of walnut blended into the gianduja. While I don’t particularly enjoy walnuts, the incorporation of the walnut offsets the sweet gianduja and milk chocolate coating nicely, so the end result is a gianduja that is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

Although I wouldn’t pick this gianduja for my next box because of my own personal preference, those who like walnuts and milk chocolate would likely find this quite pleasing. Now I must figure out when I will get my hands on that next box.

While I don't have a new box in my possession, I do have other great news to report: after all the discussion about using lavender in baked goods, Lauren from Once Upon a Brewhouse has some great ideas, including lavender-scented marshmallows in hot chocolate - you must read about it.

Teuscher Boston: Hazelnut Gianduja

IMPORTANT: Before you get distracted by this combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, don't forget that you can go vote for my vanilla-lavender scented white chocoalte custard in the Holiday Recipe Exchange.

Now it's time to talk hazelnuts...gianduja, to be exact

Even without the novelty of the layered effect of the Teuscher zebra gianduja, it’s truly a delicious creation. Teuscher seems to do a great job with simple, plain giandujas, so I was eager to check out the hazelnut gianduja, which prominently featured a whole hazelnut on the top of the creation.

The milk chocolate covering the gianduja and hazelnut was exceptionally soft and creamy, which made it easy to seamlessly bite into this creation.

The gianduja itself carries a strong hazelnut flavor, which goes nicely with the crunchy hazelnut on top. There’s a slight graininess to the gianduja that prevents it from being super-smooth, and the dominant flavors are hazelnut with a powdered sugar undertone; chocolate is not that strongly featured in this gianduja. It borders on just a little too sweet, but doesn’t quite cross the line. I enjoyed it, but I favor the almond gianduja instead.

Teuscher Boston: White Chocolate Gianduja

Given the Teuscher was one of the first truly luxurious chocolatiers I got hooked it, it shouldn’t be surprising that this is the third round of Tuescher truffle reviews in the past four months.

My justification? Each round of reviews featured a different shop. Chicago first. Then Philadelphia. Next up: Boston, where I first discovered Teuscher many years ago.

Though I picked up two previously-reviewed favorites in my box – the zebra and almond giandujas – I filled the other seven slots with others I hadn’t reviewed. Including the white gianduja.

The white chocolate on the outside is very soft, and is clearly constructed with high-quality cocoa butter. This softness makes the gianduja easy to bite into, and the shell blends seamlessly with the gianduja filling.

The gianduja itself features a subtle hazelnut flavor enhanced by what tastes like powdered sugar. The interior is also quite smooth, with minimal graininess in the gianduja that results in a wonderful melt. It’s a very sweet creation that is not for those who shy away from sweet treats. Luckily, I enjoy my sugar, and I will likely include this on my future lists of “must-get-creations” during my Tuescher visits.

Easter, Italy, and Twitter

I have to tell you, I'm having a hard time letting Easter go. I still have Easter candy I have not blogged about. (Geez, I still have Valentine's Day candy I haven't blogged about.) My eyes are bigger than my blog.



I also have a twitter account which an increasingly large number of people are following me on. And I have yet to tweet. It's not that I don't have anything to say - anyone who knows me will tell you I have far too much to say. I just am overwhelmed by all the different electronic options. No tweet today, maybe tweet tomorrow.



Facebook is great, but also annoying. I don't want to be kidnapped, sent a virtual drink, or engaged in a virtual snowball fight (although there was a chocolate snowball that I found pretty funny). I love all the people that do these things and I don't want to not play, but for God's sake - I have to get some work done! How does the rest of the world do it? Between dealing with my e-mail, writing this nutty blog, actually working and let's not forget managing my match.com love life - I AM OVERWHELMED! My Facebook and Linked in accounts languish. I am a social media slackard. I'm sure my online connections think I'm a beeoch - I just can't handle it all. It's hard enough for me to stay focused. As you can see.



Back to Easter. I decided to dedicate my final Easter post to Italy. After all, they deserve it:

"The April 6 quake, the worst to hit Italy in three decades, killed more than 290 people and has left tens of thousands more homeless."

Can you imagine how terrifying that earthquake must have been? No way to escape, nowhere to hide - houses, streets crumbling around you? It's easy to forget things if they don't happen in your country/state/city/neighborhood. We're all pretty self absorbed. We're fascinated with ourselves. (Tweet, Tweet.)




The Italians have given us many gifts - especially in the realms of art and food. I have yet to visit Italy, but it is on my list. And I'm moving it up even higher after eating these Easter chocolates!!





The first I bought at Williams Sonoma, but they are made by Caffarel: http://www.caffarelkuwait.com/index.html



The song that plays when you go to their website is beautiful!! I have no idea what the words mean, but it is gorgeous! It MUST be about the love of chocolate - there really is no greater love.

See how pretty these are? Five different colors of paper wrapping three different colors of foil and three different flavors of chocolate egg. They are a treat to open! And because they are so carefully and beautifully packaged, you know they will be delish! This is a case in which you can judge the chocolate by its wrapper!

The three flavors are torroncino - this one was a challenge to find the translation of - many times it was referred to as an ice cream. But what it is (as far as I can tell) is almond paste with lemon flavor. It is really wonderful. The lemon is definitely noticeable but doesn't ruin the confection at all.

Gianduja (or, more commonly, gianduia) is a sweet chocolate containing about 50% hazelnut paste. It takes its name from Gianduja, a Carnival and marionette character who represents the archetypal Piedmontese, the Italian region where hazelnut confectionery is common. (Can you say Wikipedia?)

mandorla - this one is also an almond paste - tastes like almond extract which has always somehow reminded me of cherry. It was my favorite.

Now we're in the big league with these eggs - this ain't no Hershey or Mars. These are "traditional Italian Easter eggs created by and for chocolate connoisseurs." Oh hell yeah! Let me continue from the label: "An Italian Easter tradition, these exquisite chocolate eggs are created by a renowned Turin confectionery, founded in 1826 (we didn't even have chocolate in the US back then) by Pier Paul Caffarel. The bittersweet chocolate shells are made from couverture, produced using the finest South American and African cocoa beans. (I don't think there are any other kinds of cocoa beans, but hey, it sounds great!) Place these festive eggs in an Easter basket or scatter them on a table for a decorative Sunday brunch." Oh la la! Or get thee to Williams Sonoma and see if you can get some for 1/2 price and keep them all for yourself! Eggs this high speed should be wasted on no child. And no egg should be left behind.

All hail the Italians!!

Next up is this cutie from Vosges:

Not made in Italy, but this is Vosges Italian Bunny - and on the package he speaks "I enjoy the beautiful scenery of my native Sicily. My long ears help me hear very well and my large hind feet enable me to leap high. Nibble on my paw and you'll see that hazelnuts, almonds and deep milk chocolate run in my family! Buon Appetito!"

Not sure a chocolate bunny would actually encourage anyone to devour him, but hey, it's creative in a creepy kind of way. This is a solid gianduja bunny - made of almonds and carmelized hazelnut paste and deep milk chocolate. Now THAT rocks!!! Palmer and Russell Stover ain't got nuthin' on Vosges. What could be better than a chocolate rabbit with nuts? Why hasn't anyone thought of that? And isn't he just adorable?

So we finish Easter with a gourmet flourish and a tribute to a country that has given the world much beauty and pleasure. Send them good thoughts as they recover and rebuild and be grateful that your home is still standing and your loved ones are safe. We are much, much luckier than we ever realize or appreciate.

Here's to Italy, here's to chocolate and here's to you! (Just pretend that's a Tweet.)