Chocolat Moderne: Hazelnut Hysterie Bistro Bar

In addition to the very seasonal Pumpkin Pique-Nique Bistro Bar that Chocolat Moderne sent me last weekend, I was also fortunate enough to receive yet another Bistro Bar – the Hazelnut Hysterie.

Packaged similarly to the Pumpkin Pique-Nique, it also featured the same bar-style blocks with smooth, intense dark chocolate base. The chocolate itself has a subtle coffee taste, and perhaps a hint of a vanilla undertone.

The praline inside is sweet and creamy, features bits of well-roasted, flavorful hazelnuts. There are also some bits of candied hazelnuts scattered throughout, and while they balance well with the dark chocolate bar, they are just a little too big for my liking, though not so much so that I couldn’t appreciate the praline.

The praline was soft, which is how I prefer my pralines, though this resulted in a bit of the thick chocolate bar breaking away from the praline during bites. As with the Pumpkin Pique-Nique, I would also prefer a higher ratio of praline to bar coating, though I’m not sure that’s structurally possible in this bar format. It appears that Chocolat Moderne offers traditional molded chocolates; perhaps those would present the ratio I’m looking for. I’ll have to procure some and try them out.

Teuscher Boston: Hazelnut Gianduja

IMPORTANT: Before you get distracted by this combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, don't forget that you can go vote for my vanilla-lavender scented white chocoalte custard in the Holiday Recipe Exchange.

Now it's time to talk hazelnuts...gianduja, to be exact

Even without the novelty of the layered effect of the Teuscher zebra gianduja, it’s truly a delicious creation. Teuscher seems to do a great job with simple, plain giandujas, so I was eager to check out the hazelnut gianduja, which prominently featured a whole hazelnut on the top of the creation.

The milk chocolate covering the gianduja and hazelnut was exceptionally soft and creamy, which made it easy to seamlessly bite into this creation.

The gianduja itself carries a strong hazelnut flavor, which goes nicely with the crunchy hazelnut on top. There’s a slight graininess to the gianduja that prevents it from being super-smooth, and the dominant flavors are hazelnut with a powdered sugar undertone; chocolate is not that strongly featured in this gianduja. It borders on just a little too sweet, but doesn’t quite cross the line. I enjoyed it, but I favor the almond gianduja instead.