Teuscher Boston: Walnut Gianduja

Everything has to come to an end. Even good things. Even really good things, like a box of chocolates from Teuscher. I won’t be able to write about their truffles, giandujas, or pralines for a while, because this walnut gianduja was the last piece from the box I picked up on my trip to Boston.

As I wrote yesterday, I’m not the world’s biggest walnut fan, and prefer other nuts, like hazelnuts and almonds. Since this gianduja is topped with a gigantic walnut half, the walnut flavor permeates the entire creation, including the smooth, milk chocolate coating.

Inside, the gianduja is sweet, but not too sweet, and carries a definite walnut flavor thanks to the finely-ground bits of walnut blended into the gianduja. While I don’t particularly enjoy walnuts, the incorporation of the walnut offsets the sweet gianduja and milk chocolate coating nicely, so the end result is a gianduja that is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

Although I wouldn’t pick this gianduja for my next box because of my own personal preference, those who like walnuts and milk chocolate would likely find this quite pleasing. Now I must figure out when I will get my hands on that next box.

While I don't have a new box in my possession, I do have other great news to report: after all the discussion about using lavender in baked goods, Lauren from Once Upon a Brewhouse has some great ideas, including lavender-scented marshmallows in hot chocolate - you must read about it.

Teuscher Boston: Walnut Truffle

Normally, I’m not a big fan of walnuts. Other nuts, like hazelnuts and almonds, appeal to me a lot more, especially in combination with chocolate. This would explain why I’d never sampled the Teuscher walnut truffle before. But folks, I need to provide a review of the full line of Teuscher truffles. You know, for completeness. So I sacrificed. For you, my readers.

I ate chocolate. For you.

What I ate featured a strong, smooth dark chocolate coating with a lingering aftertaste that was fruity and woody in nature.

It also featured a ganache that was robust enough to stand up to the crisp dark chocolate coating, which meant I could bite into the truffle without creating a crumbly mess. Nicely done. From a flavor perspective, the walnut is noticeable but not overpowering, and a little added sugar compliments the walnut, cream, and dark chocolate quite well. Even though I don’t like walnuts very much, I enjoyed the strong texture of the ganache and was pleased that the walnut flavor wasn’t overpowering. I’d consider topping off a box with this truffle in the future, even though it wouldn’t be one of my first selections because of personal preference. Walnut lovers, on the other hand, must try this truffle. Must.

Teuscher Boston: Jasmine Truffle

One truffle that caught my eye when I was selecting treats for my box at the Teuscher shop in Boston was the Jasmine truffle. Perhaps Teuscher had been carrying it for ages, but I’d certainly never tried it before. I was intrigued, and asked the chocolate consultant to pack one in the box for me.

If nothing else, a quick look reveals that this truffle features a coating of Teuscher dark chocolate with high quality cocoa butter.

The ganache inside is a little creamier and sweeter than the dark chocolate on the outside, but there is very little jasmine flavor noticeable. The ganache is perfectly smooth and delightful, but doesn’t seem to have any specific jasmine flavor. I enjoyed the truffle, but it seemed to not be much more than a dark chocolate ganache covered in dark chocolate. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I would rather just select a plain dark chocolate truffle if that is what I’m going to get. Next time, I’ll probably just pick out a plain dark chocolate truffle to enjoy.

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.

Teuscher Boston: Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffle

As with the dark chocolate buttercrunch, a dark chocolate caramel truffle found its way into my box at the Boston Teuscher shop because I’d been impressed with the milk chocolate version in my assortment from Chicago.

Given that this truffle was from Teuscher, the outside featured that full-flavored, smooth dark chocolate that is the signature of the dark chocolate Teuscher creations. Intriguingly, it seemed to also have a bit of a vanilla undertone.

Inside, I found a silky smooth ganache that was also dark chocolate based, and was unfortunately just a bit too soft for the outer shell, which snapped away from the interior. Another disappointing aspect of the filling was that the caramel taste was not very apparent, as the dark chocolate flavor dominated the entire truffle. While the dark chocolate of the shell and the ganache was flavorful and high-quality, the caramel flavor was too subtle for this truffle to be much more than a simple high-quality dark chocolate truffle. In this case, I think I like the milk chocolate version better.

Teuscher Boston: Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch

One of the truffles that I enjoyed the most from my Teuscher Chicago haul was the milk chocolate buttercrunch. I liked it so much that I even tried to make something similar on my own. When I saw the dark chocolate buttercrunch available for sale at Teuscher Boston, I knew it belonged in my box.

On the outside, the thin layer of dark chocolate is smooth and not very sweet.

It’s good that it’s not very sweet, because it is right on top of a layer of sweet honeycomb buttercrunch, and inside of that buttercrunch layer is extra creamy, extra buttery soft chocolate ganache. I do believe that, if given the opportunity, I would bathe in this buttery chocolate ganache. At that point, I might, just might, be able to say I’d had enough of it. For a day or so. I believe that I actually like the dark chocolate buttercrunch more than the milk chocolate buttercrunch, as the smooth bittersweet chocolate on the outside offers some contrast to the super-sweet and interior. This may now be another standby for my Teuscher assortments.

Teuscher Boston: White Chocolate Gianduja

Given the Teuscher was one of the first truly luxurious chocolatiers I got hooked it, it shouldn’t be surprising that this is the third round of Tuescher truffle reviews in the past four months.

My justification? Each round of reviews featured a different shop. Chicago first. Then Philadelphia. Next up: Boston, where I first discovered Teuscher many years ago.

Though I picked up two previously-reviewed favorites in my box – the zebra and almond giandujas – I filled the other seven slots with others I hadn’t reviewed. Including the white gianduja.

The white chocolate on the outside is very soft, and is clearly constructed with high-quality cocoa butter. This softness makes the gianduja easy to bite into, and the shell blends seamlessly with the gianduja filling.

The gianduja itself features a subtle hazelnut flavor enhanced by what tastes like powdered sugar. The interior is also quite smooth, with minimal graininess in the gianduja that results in a wonderful melt. It’s a very sweet creation that is not for those who shy away from sweet treats. Luckily, I enjoy my sugar, and I will likely include this on my future lists of “must-get-creations” during my Tuescher visits.

Blogger Chocolate Sharing and Teuscher Deal for DC Folks

I write a lot on here about Teuscher, despite the fact that there is no store in DC. Every time I get myself to a city with a Teuscher shop, I lament this unfair state of the world to whoever happens to be the chocolate consultant working that day. Evidently, I have done this so many times that at least one staff member in Boston remembers me based on this rant. Their chocolate is so good, though, that it's worth traveling long distances to obtain.

I mentioned the Teuscher 99% bar to another blogger who loves super-dark chocolate, and sent her some to try.

Not only did she love it, but she had the brilliant idea of combining it with coconut. You must read about it.

But how, how to get your hands on some Teuscher chocolate if you are in DC? Well, you could try to be friends with me. Or, you could get in touch with the Teuscher shop in Philadelphia, which is offering special shipping rates to DC-area residents in light of the lamentable lack of a Teuscher storefront here. Simply call or email Rachel Goldberg (215-546-7600 and rachel at teuscherphiladelphia dot com) and let her know that you heard about the special shipping rates from the District Chocoholic blog. I hear they have pumpkin truffles in stock for Halloween, but they may be in short supply, so call soon.

Now if that isn't just the best way to start a weekend, I don't know what is.