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Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???One would naturally assume that the summer season would the quietest for the chocolate market given there are no holidays where chocolate is naturally gifted (Christmas/Easter etc!). Summer 2011 however is proving as hectic for me as ever, with the like of Thorntons, Ritter Sport and of course Hotel Chocolat all releasing some of their biggest summer ranges ever. Over the course of the next few weeks I will be taking you through a pretty extensive run through of Hotel Chocolat's summer line up - starting today with these Hotel Chocolat Knickerbocker Glory Neapolitan truffles. FYI, you can see all that they have to offer HERE - if you have any review requests please don't hesitate to get in contact.
These Knickerbocker Glory chocolates are just one of the new truffle ranges for 2011 and today I (along with a few helpers!!) had the delight of trying the Neapolitan flavour. The 110.0g package contained ten individual truffles, which came described as 'strawberry ganache in milk and white chocolate, decorated with white chocolate'. In a few reviews recently I have remarked that the standard of some Hotel Chocolat ranges might be slipping. This was not such the case here, and I would say this Knickerbocker range demonstrates a fine return to form. Hopefully from my photos above you can see just how much effort they have put into the outer cardboard sleeve. In my opinion the design work is fantastic and I think it finely communicates the summer feel good spirit as well as the correct Neapolitan flavour theme.
Taking the truffles out of the inner transparent packet, I was met with a chocolatey set of scents that offered just a minor hint of sweet strawberry. Up until this point the truffles looked like a lot of other Hotel Chocolat individual truffles I had tasted before, however biting in to one soon revealed that they were truly beautifully crafted. Again I hope you can see by my photo above that each chocolate had three very distinct layers - a milk chocolate outer shell, a white chocolate ganache inner ring and then a strawberry flavoured ganache centre. This three layer craftsmanship made for a fantastic flavour and textural journey with the starter milk chocolate outer portion creating a familiar creamy cocoa taste with it's fresh snapping yield. Next to the party the white chocolate creme provided a softer feeling, milkier taste that led beautifully into the strawberry centres. Despite the ganache fillings disappearing rapidly with their butter like mouth feel melt, they left a glorious impression of real tasting red fruit flavours in the mouth for a long time after. Suffice to say these were loved by all that tried them.
Overall these Hotel Chocolat Knickerbocker Glory Neapolitan truffles have got the summer 2011Hotel Chocolat reviews off to a cracking start and they deserve some serious praise. You can never go far wrong with Hotel Chocolat truffles of any sort whether they be praline, caramels or liqueur, but fruit flavoured ganache ones seem to really be where their talents lie. Personally I don't think there are many brands out there that can be said to be so consistent with the quality of their fruit truffles. I don't know how they do it, but they manage to always create the fruit flavourings without making them too sweet or artificial - these strawberry truffles were as good as any in terms of how real tasting the fruit came through in the taste. If you then factor in the quality of the other milk and white chocolate layers I'm sure you can all start to imagine just how good these really were. ChocolateMission recommended!? You bet ya!!
8.7 out of 10
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51 comments:
Oh my what gorgeous looking truffles. That one in the middle of the review looks soooooo lush. *drools*
Dx
It feels like ages since you last did a Hotel Chocolat review. I think your last must have been months ago for easter. Its great hearing your going to be reviewing a lot of the new stuff. Im so overwhelmed by all the new chocolates to try to decide for myself lol. Thanks Jim.
Lol I thought of you when I saw the football result on the news the other day J. I hope you weren't too upset by it all, I'm sure you probably had enough hotel chocolate around to make you feel happy again. These truffles look so so good. Normally these things are always gimicky rubbish but they looked like they really pulled off the neapolitan thing here. Well done to them.
Rxxx
If I liked strawberries I would be all over these because the mixture of milk and white chocolate sounds amaze. I wish they had chosen a citrus fruit like orange or lemon, Lol I understand that wouldn't have been neapolitan then though would it.
Awesome photographs today J. I swear you put more effort in to the posh chocolates you get. Perhaps that is just me though?
I agree with the point you make in the review about them being very cleverly put together. You can see in your photo the neatness of each layer. It really does look v tasty.
Your description is amazing. You have a great way with words, I can almost taste how good these are. Great work Jim.
Jim have you seen that Naiomi Campbell is sueing Cadburys
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/naomi-campbell-in-race-row-over-cadbury-chocolate-2290405.html
Cadbury is facing the prospect of a black consumer boycott after it compared Naomi Campbell to a chocolate bar in a new advertising campaign.
The supermodel – hardly known for taking things in her stride – is incensed that Cadbury used her name in the strap line to promote its new chocolate bar called Bliss, accusing the company of racism. The ad says: "Move over Naomi – there is a new diva in town."
LOL have funny is that. Get over it girl. It just proves she is a diva doesn't it.
Do you want to give us some idea what you already have from HC before I go out listing the whole lot :) All of those Knickbockers look amazing. I would love to hear what you are going to say about the rest of them. Also you have to review some of the new slabs if you can.
I'm so jealous. You have my dream job of being a chocolate taster :-) Its even more impressive that you seem to be a chocolate tester for the best company in the business. I hope you don't take this for granted young man :P If you need an assistant please just ask me.
The only thing better imo than a Hotel Chocolat review is a Hotel Chocolat competition.
Are you going to be running one? You promised us one for Easter and never gave it to us :P I think you owe us one.
Bad luck with the football Jim, I really wanted Man U to win aswell but they got well beat I think.
Great Hotel Chocolat review today. I think you should keep Hotel Chocolat Mondays going for the time being if you have plenty of chocolate from them. If there is one a week I will always check back :)
Lol if you have saved the best until last we must be in for something very special given this has got an 8.7.
What does everyone think has got better then? I think the tiramisu is going to be the one that gets over 9. Jim loves cofee and he has been asking after a coffee HC choc since time began.
Please don't post such yummy pictures. Its hard enough sticking to my diet as it is without you putting me through torture when Im just on the net.
Hotel chocolate must love you. Your scores for them are always so high, they must think they are garunteed good pr sending you chocolates.
Pardon me for blowing any surprises but i doubt the mint flavour is going to do as well as this one. My sis and I got a pack of them from the taster club a few months back and we weren't at all impressed. The mint just made the chocolate taste very generic, it was to distracting imo.
How do you swindle all of these samples? I just don't understand why a company would send free stuff to just a random bloke off the street.
No offence but any idiot could set up a site like this. It smacks me of total desperation that they would do something like that.
Yet another impressive one from HC then. Well there is a surprise lol. They are just so much better than our other chocolate makers in this country. If you want top quality you needn't go anywhere else.
Fab review J. This is all so exciting I can't wait to see what HC you have next month. Unlucky with the football at the weekend btw. I think your team just weren't good enough were they.
I got some of these chocolates in the summer desserts box that I got given for my birthday last week.
I wish I had more of them I thought they were some of the best in the box. Fingers crossed they have some in the end of season sale in a few weeks lol.
Loving you work Jim lad. Your reviews really come to life when you review Hotel Chocolat. Sometimes you come across a little bored reviewing some of the more average chocolates. Your enthusiasm for Hotel Chocolat brings out the best in your writing.
Fab review hun. I think HC need to start employing you as a sales person because you always convince me that I need to be buying something from them each time I see a review. Yes that is me blaming you for my cash splashing :P
There are too many chocs I want to see you review so I will save myself the effort of writing them all out =)
Just review anything that has a fruity theme behind it and I will be happy. Thanks Jim, love your reviews.
Im not so keen on these ones but looking at some of the other knickbockers there looks like there are some right gems in there. Please tell me you are going to review the mint ones, them and the melba knickbocker sound amaze.
Sexy pictures Jim. I don't know if it is the chocolate or your pictures but you always manage to leave me feeling ten times hungrier leaving the site than I am when I first come on. I have the serious tummy rumbles now. I need me some neapolitan :)
I saw all your tweets about the football Jim. I never realised you were so keen on your footie. Do you like it more than chocolate lol? I can't think for one minute you favour it over incredible chocolates like these truffles. My oh my these look special, you're so lucky getting them for reviews.
I may be being dumb here but what on earth is the whole 'KNICKERBOCKER' thing about? I don't get it, I think I must be missing something because I don't have a clue what it means.
H.C. has the most unhelpful site ever.
They have dozens and dozens of fathers day chocs up but they fail to point out when it actually is.
Omg you have to review this http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/src/cj/Eton-Mess-Giant-Slab-P310215/ Eton Mess giant slab. Nom nom nom.
Amazing pics J. That one of the truffle where you can see the middle layers is just total foodporn.
No offense but its great to see you back reviewing chocolates for once.
You have taken your eye off the important stuff too much in recent weeks. This is supposed to be a chocolate website after all.
I just assumed that these sort of companies stopped making new things in their 'off season'. I had no idea they made new things all year round, some of the stuff they got up there is fascinating. Really looking forward to the reviews mate.
Give us a clue what other stuff you have coming up Jim. Its impossible knowing whether you are even going to cover the things im interested in. If I send you a list can you say yay or nay.
My fave thing I have ever tried from HC is their fruit truffle classics box so I'm not surprised in the slightest to see you say these were brill.
I always love HC reviews, if only for imagining how gorgeous their latest chocolates taste :D These sound fantastic, and it sounds like the combination of flavours really works. I must order myself some HC fruity chocs this summer.
@Matt - Personally I don't mind seeing some variation on this site. That said it's nice to see a return of Hotel Chocolat.
I assume you will have it covered but if not can I lodge a request for a review of the cherry and lemonda slabs please. They have only just been made available to order from them so I can't find any other reviews anywhere. Thanks Jim.
Good gracious you don't half get to try some tasty choccies do you boy. Good on you, it must feel like your had work reaps dividends.
@ryan dont worry you aren't the only one. I have no idea what the knickerbox thing is about either.
No disrespect to the other but that truffle picture is the best looking one you have placed on here for a long while. I can't believe the detail they go to creating all of those different layers inside the acutal thing.
I think you are right about HC being the best at fruity truffles. Thorntons make some pretty good ones but many of them dont even come in the same league.
You could have given me a warning if you were bringing back hotel chocolat mondays. Lol your last lot of easter reviews ending up costing me way too much money :-P I have to ban myself from looking at this blog when you have these up. I just can't help myself with my new credit card lol.
Oh yummy I almost licked my screen when I saw that truffle. Its amazing that they put so much effort into a seasonal line that will only be around for a few weeks. Good on them for keeping the quality high.
Funny, just today I opened a box of truffles I bought last week. Mine are boozy though (black currant liqueur truffle filling in a milk chocolate shell that's covered with black currant powder)
Strawberries are my favourite fruit & I agree that HC are spot on when it comes to fruit truffles. All in all these look & sound amazing! :P Cheers dude! x
If you ever get bored of reviewing these chocolates jim you can hand over the reigns of the website to me if you like :) I would be more than happy to eat Hotel Chocolat all day and then write a few words on it. I know its been said but you have the dream job for some of us chocoholics. I don't think you could make me any more jealous but I think you probably will by the time you have finished with these HC reviews.
Good grief. Whatever that name means, those look delicious. And if their strawberry flavor is anything like the Eton Mess, they taste as good as they look.
@Anonymous #2 build a better chocolate website and the world will beat a path to your door :D
Glad to hear the chocolate wasn't cloying, I feared that strawberry and white chocolate may be too much.
I'd love to see what you think of the Peach Melba Knickerbocker offerings.
Great photos as well, Jim!
Its brill to hear they have pulled off the neapolitan effect so accurately. There is nothing crappier than buying in to the description of a chocolate only to find you don't get what you were expecting.
Half the chocolates you buy now days always sound ten times better than they are. So many of the milka bars I have tried in years gone by always promise things like creme brulee etc but never end up tasting anything like it. It appears we can just trust 90% of what Hotel Chocolat do.
I don't want to be one of those annoying ananoymous people angling for a free competition but I think it would be brill of you if you could sort something out for us like you used to back in the day.
I so need to get involved with some of the new slabs. Im so glad they brought back the eton mess one this year, I thought it was one of the best things they did last year, fingers crossed they just haven't changed it or anything.
Just incase you haven't been sent it already Jim, the summer desserts box is terrific. I know for sure we have a high scorer there. There is an outstanding coconut piece in there that I think you will be awarding one of your special "superb" scores to. Well I would anyways :)
Neapolitan ftw. Lol we always leave the strawberry 3rd alone when we buy it. I wish they would have done mint neapolitan instead and got rid of the boring vanilla. My brother gets so annoyed when one of the flavours get mixed in with the other, hes so fussy like that I think he has ocd about it lol.
I introduced a friend to hotel chocolat chocolate for the first time the other day. You should have seen the look on her face I don't think she was expecting it to be quite as good as she thought it was :) I quickly showed her your site and she keeps sending me links saying look at this one lol. I think I got you a new fan lol.
Hi All,
Hotel Chocolat are back with a bang eh!? These Neapolitan truffles got gobbled within minutes of us opening them in our household.
You might also want to know that they make up part of the Summer Desserts Selection box - you can probably guess what rating they will be getting on my scale of AWFUL to SUPERB when I get around to posting that review (coming soon!!!).
Those of you talking about the football ... boy what I can I say!? Man United were just outclassed simple as. Thank you for all the sympathy :D I did indeed console myself with a few beers and some chocolate.
Sorry if responses are short - there are so many of you to get through :D
DAVID - I put the same amount of effort in to each review chap. No matter how much the product costs or anything.
MATT - Its a funny story isn't it :D its already up on the newspage but thanks for your input.
FIONA - I'm sure at some point in the summer there will be a competition.
ANON - The brands send samples because they want the site exposure. JCM comes pretty high up on google nowadays :D
ANDREW - Bored? Reviewing chocolates like these? Fat chance of that happening :D
MO - Football or chocolate? Why choose between the two when they are unrelated and I can have both :D :D
RYAN/TRACEY - What does Knickerbocker means?? I have absolutely no clue if I'm honest with you :D Sorry about that, I wish I had an answer.
ANON - I reviewed the Eton Mess slab last year. Take a look in the archives.
FIONA - I don't want to ruin the surprise though :D Don't you think its better coming on the website not knowing what will be up. I think it would be boring otherwise.
PHIL - Treat yourself chap. Their range this summer is phenomenal. You can't go far wrong with 90% of it.
BRIAN - Request noted.
ANA - Those truffles you show there look nice. I've had so many truffles recently but not many boozie ones recently.
YASMINE - It's not all taste testing fun :D There are also the reviews that need writing.
THEA - If you are after both these and the Eton Mess you might want to take a look at the Just Desserts selection box they have out this year. Both of them are in there.
CLAIRE - Two great minds thinking alike eh!? :D
MYSTERIO - It was always the strawberry that got leftover when we used to buy it too. I always went for the vanilla first.
BECCI - Thanks for spreading the word about the site. The more people we have on here the better.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. So many of you have left kind words about the review, it is so nice hearing you all be so positive.
There are some great reviews coming up later this week. I hope you all enjoy them as much.
JIM
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