Mozart Balls: A Serious German Confection

When Leigh came and visited me, she really pulled out all the stops when providing me chocolate. Not only did she bring me white and milk mousse chocolate bars by Lindt, she also brought over a box of Mirabell Mozart Balls.

Mozart balls were evidently invented back in 1890 by Salzburg confectioner Paul Furst, and are named after, of course, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The confection, which is actually Mozartkugel in German, involves chocolate, marzipan, and nougat.

Sign me up.

How does Mirabel do with this creation? Once I unwrapped it, I was greeted with a nutty smell that was reminiscent of high-quality peanut butter.

The chocolate shell out the outside is very soft, with nutty and vanilla flavors coming forward.

The interior offers three layers: A center of pistachio marzipan, a middle layer of praline, and a final layer of nougat. The very center is sweet, but not sickeningly so, and offers a hint of a fruity flavor. This center is just a tad dry and pasty, but the next layer, the praline, is much less sweet and is, in fact, quite nutty and smooth. The final layer inside the chocolate, the nougat, is sugary and nutty, but a tad grainy.

Since two of the layers are rich and two are a bit dry, and the layers have varying levels of sweetness, the best way to enjoy a Mozart Ball is to bite into the entire thing and enjoy it all together. That said, there aren’t many complex flavors; overall, it’s nutty, creamy, and sweet. I’d classify this as closer to a confection than a chocolate.

It’s a nice, sweet treat either way.

Have you tried Mozart Balls before?