Ghirardelli Luxe Milk Almond, Toffee, and Hazelnut Bars

Along with the individually wrapped squares, the Ghirardelli Luxe Milk line also includes chocolate bars. Coupons for these bars were kindly provided by a public relations representative. My local Target store only had the almond and hazelnut varieties, but I was able to find toffee at a Wal-mart.

I've certainly mentioned this before, but I'm not typically a milk chocolate person. Dark chocolate (somewhere around 60 to 70% cacao, to be specific) is my preference, but even for me, Ghirardelli's Luxe Milk hits the spot with its rich, creamy, traditional milk chocolate. The pretty, pale gold wrapper helps, too.


Almond smelled of roasted almonds, and the chunky nuts had a meaty, chewy texture and strong, roasted flavor. The chocolate was milky and just a little sweet, and the bar seemed better than the individual squares. It was crunchy, a bit crackly, and very nicely balanced. The milk chocolate was just a little sticky but it didn't bother me. A-


Toffee might have knocked my socks off if I hadn't just tried the new Vosges toffee bar, but that's another review. The Ghirardelli bar smelled only of milk chocolate, but the toffee added texture right from the first bite. It was crunchy like fine hard candy bits, and it imparted a mild salty and savory butter flavor to the bar. The milk chocolate was smooth and cool on the tongue with just a little stickiness, and it was a good match for the toffee. At less than half the price of the aforementioned Vosges bar, it's not a bad choice at all. A-


Finally, Hazenlnut smelled nutty, and the rich flavor and slight sweetness of the hazelnuts brought out the sweeter flavors in the milk chocolate. Although they went well together here, I am not a big fan of hazelnut and chocolate (I don't even like Nutella), so it was a bit lost on me. The hazelnuts were fresh and crunchy, and I think fans of hazelnut chocolate would like it very much. B

Overall, the Luxe Milk line offers a nice range of fillings in good quality milk chocolate, and I think any of these bars would please a chocolate fan.

Godiva Ice Cream Parlor Truffles + 1 Bonus Truffle

That Godiva Chocolate Rewards free truffle every month program is still working out in Godiva's favor, and this surprises no one. This review includes my free truffles for May and June, plus some others I just had to try. Most of these come from Godiva's new Ice Cream Parlor Truffles line, along with one random truffle that sounded good.

Long ago, I regarded Godiva as the best of the best, then after starting this blog, I saw their chocolate as not-so-good. Now, after sampling many truffles, I do have more respect for Godiva. Not all of their truffles are winners, but they make some superb pieces.


First, my selections from the Ice Cream Parlor line, starting with Pistachio. It was subtly sweet with an ultra soft and creamy ganache. The pistachio flavor was quite subdued, but it was still very good. Pistachios are my favorite nuts, so I wish the flavor would have been a bit stronger. A-

Oranges & Creme was creamsicle all the way, but it was very sweet. It was like super sweet orange frosting, with a mild citrus and tons of creme. The cloying sweetness was too much for me, though. C+


Neapolitan was a favorite ice cream flavor of mine growing up, and Godiva definitely nailed it. The strawberry flavor was distinct and delicious, and the vanilla portion was not too sweet. Despite these distinctions, somehow, the special Neapolitan taste when all the flavors come together was still there. This was my favorite piece out of the line. A

Mint Chocolate Chip was a very good interpretation of the ice cream of the same name, but since I'm not a huge fan of that ice cream, it didn't stand out for me. The mint was cool and creamy, and the sweetness was well balanced. B+


Lemon Sherbet was very tart and had an authentic lemon flavor, but like the Orange & Creme, the sweetness far outweighed the sourness. It seems like they overcompensated for the sour lemon, and it ruined this truffle for me. B-


Hazelnut Gelato (pictured above on the right) was quite unique; it had a very smooth and almost whipped mousse ganache center like no truffle I've had before. The hazelnut flavor was very mild, but that suited me fine. A hazelnut lover might be a bit disappointed. B+

I didn't try all the flavors from the Ice Cream Parlor line; I'm missing Double Dark Chocolate, Rocky Road, and Coffee Gelato. UPDATE: I tried Pecan Sundae!


Pecan Sundae was very sweet, but pretty good. It was another double-chamber chocolate, with caramel and vanilla cream sections. The candied pecans on top were delicious, and the texture of the caramel was like a Caramello - soft and runny. Still, it was a bit too sweet for me. B+


Finally, the bonus truffle! Extra Dark was literally amazing. The ganache was thick and bitter and the texture reminded me of the center a brownie. The balance of sweet and bitter was perfect, and the dark cocoa flavor was just right. I would definitely buy this truffle again! A+

Check out more reviews of the Ice Cream Parlor Truffles at Chocolate Obsession and Sugar Pressure.

Godiva website

Nestle KitKat Senses

While I'm on the subject of KitKats, here's something I picked up in Canada in March. My husband and I have been trying to cut back on sweets, so it's been tough to balance candy blogging with that. We haven't been depriving ourselves, because there's always room for a little indulgence.

Anyhow, I had seen pictures of this bar, and couldn't resist buying it while in Canada. But, because I had so many other treats, it sat in my "to be reviewed" cupboard for weeks. For those not familiar with the bar, it was basically a KitKat on the bottom with lots of hazelnut cream on top, all chocolate coated


It might have something to do with age, but the smell of this bar reminded me of Halloween candy; some catch-all mix of chocolate, caramel, and nuts. The bar itself is lovely, with "KitKat" stamped on each piece.

The chocolate was smooth, but it may have picked up other flavors from my cupboard, so I'll ignore that. For fans of hazelnut, though, I think this would be nice. The hazelnut topping was mild and creamy, but very sweet. I am not a huge hazelnut fan (I don't even really like Nutella). It was good enough, but I think I will give the rest of mine to someone who likes hazelnut more. One of the pieces was more than enough for me.

C+

KitKat Website

Nestle Gianduja KitKat

Before this KitKat, I had never heard the word "Gianduja" before in my life. Wikipedia tells me that it is "a sweet chocolate containing about 50% hazelnut paste" that is similar to Nutella.

I'm not a huge fan of Nutella, so I was a little wary of this one, but my husband loves the stuff, so he was very excited. This is another KitKat that has more filling and less cracker, but unlike the matcha version, this one worked.



The hazelnut flavor wasn't strong, but it was very pleasant and just strong enough to give the cream a flavor. Both the chocolate coating and the chocolate/hazelnut cream were smooth, rich, and melty. It made for a very pleasant KitKat.

Unlike the matcha version where the green tea flavor was missing, the hazelnut flavor here was just enough. I'm sure I would have liked it more if I was more of a hazelnut lover. My husband really enjoyed it, though.

B+

KitKat Website (Japanese)

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream

I’m jumping with uncontained excitement about the announcement that I’M GETTING MARRIED…to my ice cream maker. It’ll be a summer wedding, of course. Oh, man, do I love that little machine. I plug him in and we do the electric ice cream boogaloo all the time. I just can’t get enough of him. That’s why we’re getting married. I’m ready to commit.

Yeah, I’ve had ice cream machines before, but they were those big machines that require ice and rock salt. Too high maintenance for me. My little guy needs none of that. Just pop his hot, sleek bod in the freezer overnight to chill and were raring to go.

Anything he touches is soo much better. Smoothie? Freeze it. Juice? Freeze it. Yogurt? Freeze it. That’s how I can love him so much and not get fat. But about once a month we have a “special” night where we make full-fat ice cream. It’s sinful, but oh so good.

We finally got around to making the hazelnut ice cream that was supposed to be my “first.” It’s yummy and very rich. I’m so glad I waited. Well, I couldn’t wait ‘til marriage, but I waited long enough.

I tried as hard as I could to follow the directions in David Lebovitz’s ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop, but it just didn’t happen. I forgot to buy milk chocolate at the store, so used dark chocolate I had on hand. I also tried to make the recipe just slightly less indulgent by subbing non-fat milk for whole milk, and reducing the eggs by one. (It was still so rich that I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest.) I also couldn’t waste all the hazelnuts that impart the hazelnutty flavor to the custard, so threw in a few tablespoons towards the end of the churning for crunchy little nut bits.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Levovitz
Makes about 1 quart

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted
1 cup non-fat milk
2 cups heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
4 ounces dark chocolate, chips or finely chopped
4 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Toast hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet in the oven for 12 minutes at 350°, turning half way through. Cool nuts. (ha ha) Rub nuts (hee hee) in a dish towel to remove the skins, then chop finely in a food processor or blender.
• Combine milk with 1 cup of the cream, sugar, and salt in a pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the chopped hazelnuts and remove from the heat. Cover and let steep for 1 hour.
• Heat remaining 1 cup of cream in a pan on the stove until it just begins to boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces, and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.Pour the hazelnut-infused milk through a strainer or cheesecloth into a pan, squeezing all the liquid from the nuts. Save 3 or 4 tablespoons of the hazelnuts to add to the ice cream.
• Rewarm the hazelnut-infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm hazelnut-infused milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
• Stir the egg and milk mixture over medium heat, making sure to scrape the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens into custard. Pour the custard into the chocolate mixture, add the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture in the refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker. Add the reserved chopped hazelnuts to the ice cream a few minutes before it is ready.