January 25th: Hotel Chocolat Ginger Canapes

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

Having bought a fair few of packs of these Hotel Chocolat Ginger Canapes before I finally this time got the chance to take a few snaps so I could get a review up on the site. Indeed, these Ginger Canapes are a long time favourite amongst my family and whenever a pack is opened in our household we seem to suffer at the hands of those magical chocolate nicking pixies who spark the all to familiar conversation of ... 'who's eaten all the chocolates!?' ... 'not me' ... 'no definitely not me' ... 'I've had one' etc etc :D So what causes all this fuss I hear you asking!? ... 'Dark chocolate bases blended with essential oil of ginger and topped with crystallised ginger'.

£6.50 of your money will buy a box of 16 mini canapes pieces which together weigh 100.0g. In regards to the packaging I don't think the outer box is some of Hotel Chocolat's finest work, however I think you will agree that the canapes themselves look stunning and it was nice to see that the crystallised pieces on each piece were always evenly distributed which I think is something that paid dividends to the taste as well as the aesthetics. Removing all the padding and inner film layers I was met by a nice array of cocoa and spice scents. I perhaps expected the ginger to have a bit more of presence though it was still enticing nonetheless.

You may have been able to tell from my opening paragraph that I really like these so I won't beat around the bush so to speak. Each piece had a base of 70% dark chocolate which was about the perfect size to consume in two bites. Breaking each piece in two was of course the only time when any sort of biting or chewing was necessary when it came to the chocolate, as it was of course best enjoyed when simply left to melt on the tongue. Speaking of the melt it was as you would expect with Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate - perfectly paced and as soft as butter once warmed for a few seconds. When first placed in the mouth the cocoa came to the party incredibly quickly and initially brought small notes of coffee, red wine and charcoal. On it's own I personally would find that to be quite enough, however the ginger influences soon made for a taste that was wonderfully progressive. The ginger oil swirled into the chocolate brought a heat to the texture and spicy hint to the taste. What with the chocolate already being quite strong tasting the crystallised pieces of ginger wonderfully tempered the spiciness bringing a dose of sweet sugaryness. I won't lie and say that one canape was a satisfying amount, but just two at a time felt like quite a rich experience.

Overall I think that these Ginger Canapes are up there with some of the finest products I have tried from Hotel Chocolat. That is a pretty big statement to make when you consider just how many different products of theirs I have tried over the past two years. If you have read the above it isn't hard to see why I think so much of them, but to summarise all that I simply think it is the way that the dark chocolate is blended with the added ginger elements which makes for both a variable and delicious taste. I am sure it won't surprise you to hear that the dark chocolate is simply superb - to be honest I expected it to be myself. What I think makes this product stand out from others is the ginger, which I think takes the taste to a whole another level. If you love your dark chocolate and ginger combinations this is a product that I really think you need to try - it is absolutely fantastic.

9.2 out of 10