Thorntons Black Forest Gateau

For today's review, I have some chocolate from the across the Atlantic (or the Pacific, if you take the long way). After returning from her most recent visit to her hometown in the United Kingdom, my boss kindly brought two chocolate bars that aren't available in the United States for me to try. It's such a treat to try candy from other countries - even when the flavors are familiar, the textures are often quite different!

First up is the Thorntons Black Forest Gateau bar. Cherry/chocolate combinations have grown on me in recent years - I never liked them as a child. Even now, I have some texture issues with maraschino cherries (I don't like chocolate covered cherries at all), but thankfully, I had no texture qualms here.


The bar had a very thick double chocolate coating of milk enrobed in dark, which is something I don't see often. It smelled mildly of cherry, and reminded me of a 3 Musketeers bar when I cut into it. The filling, however, was much smoother than 3 Musketeers; it melted in my mouth and, in combination with the chocolate coating, had almost a velvety feel.

The tart cherry zing reminded me of chocolate covered cherries (in a good way), which went especially well with slightly fruity dark chocolate. Excluding gourmet products, British chocolate often seems smoother and a bit richer than American chocolate, and this bar was no exception. It wasn't too sweet, and I really enjoyed the cherry flavor. It's worth noting that my husband, a chocolate covered cherry lover, found the flavor to be a bit artificial, but it didn't bother me.

B+

Thorntons website

Thorntons Chocolate Bars

These bars were a gift from my boss, as a thank-you for watering her plants while she was away. I'm not sure it was fair, because all I had to do was water a couple tiny pots and she gave me all this chocolate! I'm not going to argue, though.

Thorntons chocolate isn't available in the United States, so whenever my boss and her husband return to the UK, they stock up. It's not a brand I've seen in import stores, either, so this was my first time tasting Thorntons. These three bars are Cappuccino, Whipped Fudge, and Mint.


The first bar I tried was Cappuccino, and the first thing I noticed is that it was incredibly soft! It wasn't that it was melted, it was just that the white chocolate coating and the center were light and airy. It had a strong coffee scent, and the center had a strong cappuccino flavor, with a smooth, almost minty coating. The flavors went together well, and overall it wasn't too sweet but a nice and balanced bitter. It melted in my fingers, because the center was almost like whipped truffle ganache. I saved half to take home, but it got a bit melted during the 15 minute drive from work. I should probably mention that my air conditioning is broken... B


Next, I tried the Whipped Fudge Bar. It smelled like fudge, and had a vein of caramel running through the center. This caramel was the best part of this bar! It was oozy and sticky, and just the perfect level of sweetness. The fudge center was gritty, and it had the texture of faux cookie dough. It felt a little heavy for something with "whipped" in the title, and it was a bit too sweet, but since I'm a sucker for cookie dough, I didn't mind. My husband wasn't too fond of this one, though. B-


I saved the Mint Bar for last, and it was worth it. The bar smelled so very minty, and it delivered. There were crunchy peppermint bits in the center of the bar that reminded me of crushed candy canes. The chocolate on the outside was firm, and it was a fantastic pair for the creamy, cool mint ganache-like center. It was a lovely bar, and my favorite of the three. A-

Thorntons website