For the Love of Candy

Name: Roca Buttercrunch thins–dark chocolate
Manufacturer: Brown & Haley
Rating: 5/5

Oh my gosh, these are SO good. I got them in my Easter basket, and have been savoring them–slowly-since.

 Most folks are familiar with the Buttercrunch toffee popular around the holidays. This is like a slimmed down version of this–a wafer of toffee mixed with almonds, covered with 60% Cacao dark chocolate. The toffee is sublime with a delicate texture, and the subtle bitterness of the chocolate complements it perfectly; the chocolate-to-toffee ratio is just right. I love the package as well–each wafer has its own place in a tray which is slipped into a cardboard box.  It does well to protect the candy and keep it fresh.

Here’s the final part of my round-up. I want to thank my neighbors again for the delicious candy–I’ve had a blast reviewing it, and I hope the information has been helpful for you guys two.

Candy one is another Mirabelle offering, the Salzburger Mozarttaler. This is a large medallion wrapped in the signature gold foil with Mozart’s portrait; the Mirabelle logo is embossed on the medallion along with some flowers. The shell is of a smooth, rich milk chocolate; the inside is composed of marzipan and a white chocolate cream. The marzipan in the Mozarttaler is a little fruiter than I would have liked, so I’m giving this a 3.5.

I’m not sure who made the next candy. The label on the front–which had a charming illustration of a girl and some flowers– reads “bad ischl das Herz de Salzkammergutes”. I have no idea what that means, but for further reference, the wrapper is silver foil and it’s a palm-size piece of chocolate in a heart shape. As with the Mozarttaler this candy has a shell of good quality milk chocolate, but the inside is a hazelnut crunch that was so delicious I had a difficult time not eating the whole thing at once. A definite 5.

I hope to try some more Austrian candy someday–they have a real gift with chocolate.

Okay, so it’s now technically Sunday, but I guess it works, because I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter/Belated Passover. As my present, here is part two of my Austrian Goodies!

My first candy is a round chocolate truffle by the name of Echte Salzburger Mozart Kulgen, and its by Mirabelle. It’s in a gold wrapper with, appropriately, a portrait of Mozart on it. This is one of the most intricate candies I’ve had. The outside is a delightfully rich dark chocolate, followed by a white chocolate creme, a milk chocolate creme with the suggestion of hazelnuts, and then marzipan. There’s a very slight fruity tinge to the whole thing, although I wasn’t able to tell exactly where it came from. That was my only complaint with this candy, and what knocked it down to a 4/5; there were so many layers I had a hard time differentiating between them.

My next selection is by Zauner, and it’s called “schokolade-galettes”; it’s not too hard to tell what schokolade is, and I’m going to guess that galettes is a way of saying wafers, for that’s exactly what these are, chocolate wafers about the size of a dollar coin. The presentation is stunning–they come in a gold box with a gold tray inside, wrapped all over with a pastel ribbon and a burgundy sticker with the candy shop logo. The wafers come in three flavors. The dark chocolate was my favorite. The chocolate is rich, intense, and has almost a liquour flavor because the flavor is so strong. It manages to avoid become overpowering, and the little wafer bits mixed in provide a delightful contrast. The white chocolate has the same wafer bits and has a rounded, milky flavor that keeps from becoming sickly. The milk chocolate is robust, rich, and is mixed with small nut slivers which add a delightful earthy flavor and texture. These are a definite 5; each flavor is great, there’s a generous number of wafers in the assortment, and they complement each other well.

Part three comes next week. Hope everyone had/has a great holiday!

Austrian Candy Round-Up II will be posted tomorrow. Why? It’s Good Friday and I have to be all good and fast. Tomorrow, however, I will eat lots of yummy Austrian chocolate and report back to you guys.

Welcome to a three-part series on Austrian candy! My excellent neighbors spent ten days there and brought me back some wonderful candy (they’re so nice). There’s so much of it, in fact, that I’m splitting the reviews into three parts.

Note: I’m not familiar with Austrian brands, nor do I speak German; my one phrase, “Guten Nacht”, isn’t very helpful when it comes to candy making. So I’m going to transcribe what the labels say. If any of my wonderful readers has more familiarity than I do and wants to lend a hand, please do!

Candy One is a hard candy. It’s about twice as big as a piece of Pez and of a similar shape, including the indentation in the middle. It comes in a silver wrapper that reads “Firn” in red. The candy itself is clear and has a dark filling; it smells quite refreshing, almost licorice-like.
The taste goes with the aroma–crunching the candy releases a delightful peppermint taste with hints of anise. The dark filling is, to my surprise, chocolate–it tastes delicious and melds with the outside shell better than I would have thought. This unusual combination gets a 4.5

Happily, I have a little more information about Candy Two, thanks to a four-language flyer in the (elaborate) package. This candy is a truffle called Original Salzburger Mozartkugel, and it’s been in production since 1890. The package is amazing–the three truffles are wrapped in foil and encased in a fluted paper tube which is then put inside a cardboard tube with the logo. There’s a delightful sharp chocolate scent.
The construction of the truffle is perfect–a solid chocolate shell filled with a chocolate truffle and a small bit of marizpan. The chocolate melts perfectly and has a delicious, intense chocolate flavor with a hint of liquour. I’ve never had marzipan before but this is delicious–an intense almond flavor with a slight grit that provides a delightful contrast to the smooth texture of the chocolate. A definite 5.