In tem pe ran tia: Nougatine and Cognac Truffle

After checking out the plain truffles from In tem pe ran tia to assess the quality of their purest organic chocolates, I moved on to more complex varieties, such as the cognac center truffle.

The aroma is, no surprisingly, a bit boozy; the shell is a soft dark chocolate featuring intense flavors of cherry and coffee alongside a bit of added sugar. The shell is also surrounded by a bit of powdered sugar, which may not be truly necessary as the dark chocolate isn’t overwhelmingly bitter and is sweet enough on its own.

The center gives off an alcohol bite that isn’t too intense, and does allow a bit of a caramel flavor to emerge from the chocolate. As the center is quite sweet, playing well against the exterior shell, I remain convinced that the powder sugar coating was unnecessary; without it, the level of sugar in the chocolate as a whole would have been perfect. Though I generally don’t enjoy alcohol-based chocolates, it’s not overwhelming here and enhances the chocolate nicely.

Another kind of chocolate I generally shy away from? Nougatine-based chocolates. But this box included a dark chocolate nougatine piece, and I’d been tasked with reviewing the entire box. Along I go.

The chocolate here is minimal in quantity, with just a thin layer on the bottom.

The nougatine is a bit chewy at first, but melts nicely a second or two into each bite. This is a nice change from most nougatines I’ve had, as the melting quality allows the blended flavors of nuts and sugar to linger, and minimizes distraction from the nicely-roasted crunchy bits of nuts. Though the nougatine is fairly sweet, the dark chocolate shell cuts through this a bit. This wasn’t my favorite from the box, but is one of the better nougatine creations I’ve ever tried.

Have you had high-quality nougatine before?