April 18th: Lindt Dark Mousse Fig-Caramel

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

It has been a long while since I last got stuck into a fig flavoured chocolate bar - the last being the Conscious Chocolate Fruit Fantasy. In the UK figs seem to be a bit of an old fashioned fruit and it is only very rarely that I see them implemented in any modern day foodstuffs. This is of course was never going to stop Lindt, they seem to have a flavour combination for any ingredient under the sun and thanks to ChocolateMission reader Susie I got to try this Lindt Dark Mousse Fig-Caramel bar which she included in a sampling package she sent me at the back end of 2009. I must admit it was one of the bars I left till last as it didn't really take my fancy all that much.

This product is part of the Lindt Dark Mousse range which meant it came in a 150.0g format. Despite not being all that excited by the prospect of a fig caramel filling I thought the presentation of the bar was still pretty first class and liked the golden fonts and borders on the black background. Aesthetically the chocolate itself looked rather good as well. Despite the blocks being a little too large for my liking there was no denying that the imprinted logos on the and plentifully portioned fillings didn't look appetising. Another thing of merit in regards to the presentation of the product was the smell which was a mixture of rich cocoa and sweet fruity scents.

Before eating this bar I wasn't all that familiar with the taste of figs - now having eaten it I can't say that this bar provided much of an education. The dark chocolate that formed the outer chocolate and mousse filling was of a 70% recipe and it was the usual Lindt high quality. It was noticeably lacking sweetness but never ever verged on what I would say was bitter due to an underlying milkiness in the taste. What I like about Lindt dark chocolate is that the cocoa flavours are always strong from very early on in the melt and never take all that long to establish themselves. Things were no different here and the cocoa flavours built up nicely with notes of coffee and red wine evident in the aftertaste. The melt of the outer chocolate to the softer mousse base meant that the texture became increasingly softer and was resoundingly pleasant until the jam like fig-caramel came into play. Unfortunately where the dark chocolate was most impressive the inner fig-caramel filling was not. Frankly it was nothing special at all - it was like a dull flavoured fruit jelly with a grainy, gritty texture. On some levels its sweetness contrasted well with the more reserved dark chocolate, but I couldn't help but feel that I would just preferred the filling to have been absent and just enjoyed the dark chocolate solus.

Overall this was hardly a repulsive bar by any means but as Lindt's standards go it lacked the usual high quality and distinctiveness of other fruit flavoured chocolates from their range. The fig caramel was not bad tasting at all but I just didn't enjoy the clumsy gritty texture and thought it took away the prestige from the smoothness of the chocolate. Had it not been for the sheer wonderful nature of the Lindt 70% dark chocolate this bar would have scored far lower on the ChocolateMission rating system and I think if you are really after a fig flavoured chocolate there simply has to be better out there. The dark chocolate element of this bar was no doubt enjoyable, but if it is that your after your best off enjoying it without this filling.

6.9 out of 10