Artisan Confections: Part 3

Now that I’ve returned to DC for a few days, it’s time to get back enjoying to the local chocolates for a little bit. The box of chocolates from Artisan Confections beckoned, and the fresh mint chocolate with its dark chocolate coating called out loudest.

The ganche inside featured that wonderful consistency that seems to be the norm for Artisan Confections, and came with an invigorating but not overpowering taste of mint.

The mint ganache and dark chocolate coating work well together, and because I am partial to chocolate creations with mint flavor/infusion ratios that allow the taste of the chocolate to shine through, I would certainly purchase more of these.

After enjoying the cool mint creation, I went for a spicier chocolate and checked out the ganache-based orange cardamom chocolate.

The aroma of the chocolate had only a faint hint of orange, so the obvious thing to do was to bite into it and check out the ganache.

The ganache features a spicy undertone, with just a hint of a very pleasing citrus flavor. The end result is not tart or sour by any measure, and the chocolate compliments the citrus spice addition quite well. My only criticism is that perhaps a little more orange and cardamom would make this creation a bit more enjoyable, since it brings out the flavor in the chocolate quite well.

The last chocolate reviewed in this round is from the seasonal collection: the lemon-strawberry.

This is another two-layer chocolate, similar to the cherry pistachio. There is a white-chocolate strawberry ganache topped by a thin layer of a lemon gel.

While the lemon layer is much thinner than the strawberry layer, the lemon flavor is much more intense than the strawberry flavor. The result is a pretty tart chocolate, and while the flavors work well with the dark chocolate coating, I’m not sure that the fruit pate creations are my favorites.

Summary

Artisan Confections: That dark chocolate ganache is incredible.

Fresh mint: Good ratio of mint and chocolate flavor. I’d love a few more of these.

Orange cardamom: Great citrus-spice combination that compliments the chocolate, but could perhaps be a bit stronger.

Lemon-strawberry: Nice flavors that work pretty well with the chocolate, but a little tart for my tastes