Sunday, May 8, 2011

Compartes: Fruit-Flavored Truffles

While the original dark chocolate truffle from Compartes wasn’t anything notable, I was excited to dive into the more adventurous truffle flavors that I’d selected. Including the caramelized plantain, which offered a faint aroma of coffee.

The coating was not very sweet, and had a slightly acidic taste. As with the original dark chocolate truffle, it crumbled against the very soft interior, but it did balance well with the interior in that it offered a bitter flavor to contrast with the sweet, creamy ganache inside. The sweetness came from strong caramel and plantain flavors, which didn’t include any artificial notes, and was highlighted by a creamy ganache texture. The overall effect was unique and pleasing, and I would purchase this truffle again.

Another fruit-focused truffle I’d selected, based on the advice of the Compartes sales associate, was the mango saffron truffle. The truffle had an inviting fruity aroma with some coffee undertones.

The filling, which was based on a white chocolate ganache, is very creamy and features and immediate natural mango flavor. A saffron kick comes in after a few seconds, but isn’t very noticeable against the strong mango flavor. While the shell was flavorfull, with strong earthy notes and faint red fruit notes, it also crumbled against the interior. This seems to be a recurring issue with Compartes, which is unfortunate because it’s a minor problem that could be addressed by adjusting the type or thickness of couverture used.

Couverture strength issues all aside, the flavors here are incredible, with the mango flavor in particular being strong but natural.

Have you had chocolate paired with plantain before? What did you think?

6 comments:

  1. I am loving the looks of these truffles. Haven't had plantain or mango paired with chocolate before, but now I definitely want to. I just ate some mango (in a savory dish), so I'll pop a square of chocolate in and try to recreate what I'm seeing here:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love chocolate and plantain! Fry the plantains and you will not be sorry!

    I love the look if anything of those chocolates. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE Vosges Habana bar! Salty fried chocolatey goodness :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. They are so pretty! I've never had mango with chocolate but it sounds interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't had chocolate paired with plantains, but now seeing the comment above about the Vosges bar (love their stuff) I may have to.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ARGYLE CHOCOLATE. AHH. And banana/caramel is a super favorite of mine (though I've never had plaintain other than in chip form). Love the sound of the mango saffron, too!

    ReplyDelete