Goumas: Cashew and Toffee Turtles

As I’d noted yesterday, it seems that Goumas’ signature candy creation is of the turtle variety. One thing they do is use different nuts. Witness: the cashew turtle.

As I’ve noted before, I don’t like walnuts very much. But I do happen to like cashews quite a bit. I was optimistic about this turtle, which had an aroma of caramel and vanilla and a chocolate exterior that was quite sweet with a creamy flavor and texture.

The interior features well-roasted cashews that are salty and crisp; these cashews are surrounded by salty caramel that leans towards chewy and melds nicely with the couverture. This makes it easier to enjoy the sweet exterior and salty interior in one delightful bite.

Now I had some toffee turtles to examine. Notice: a milk chocolate walnut toffee turtle.

The milk chocolate coating this turtle is smooth with classic creamy notes, and isn’t too complex.

The caramel interior is sweet and chewy, and the nuts and toffee add a nice crunch and hint of salt, but it’s not quite enough to cut through the sugar from the caramel and the milk chocolate exterior. Though I wouldn’t put this in the “sugar bomb” category, it’s a bit sweet, and that level of sugar requires more complex flavor from either the couverture or the toffee.

What if there were a dark chocolate version of this, perhaps with a more complex chocolate flavor? What if indeed?

Bing. Dark walnut toffee turtle. The chocolate here is also smooth, but offers a strong coffee flavor and just a bit of sugar. Better already.

Another improvement: A burnt caramel flavor to the toffee. Praise the Lord. Some flavor complexity to go along with that sweet caramel. One gripe I have is that the dark chocolate was too snappy to properly meld to the chewy caramel. But with the more balanced flavor, I was reasonably satisfied.

Because who needs two borderline sugar bombs? Not me.

Have you had any chocolates with a burnt caramel flavor involved?