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Just as promised from my weekend post I today continue our countdown to Halloween with another offering from the Hotel Chocolat Halloween 2011 range. After starting off with the rather plain (yet very cool looking Hotel Chocolat Yumpkin - See HERE), I thought I better shake things up with one of the more exciting looking new products to the range this year - I introduce you to the Hotel Chocolat Horif-Eyes. When looking over the brochure for this years range, these Horif-Eyes stood out as one the cooler looking new additions, and the sound of 'sticky toffee sauce in a white chocolate shell' sounded like it would be right up my street.Weighing a total of 80.0g the package arrived inclusive of six large sized (two bite minimal!) truffles. Looking at the packaging and product from the outside I thought it had a cool look and liked the clever use of the chocolates to create the weird looking eyes that stared out from the box. Whilst that effect created a talking point and a topic of discussion, I found the use of the standard truffle cube shapes puzzling and a tad uninspired considering the potential of what they could have done - make sure you send me your ideas :D
Disappointment at the lacking themed shapes of these truffles was forgotton instantly once taste testing commenced - I believe the phrase used was "forget what they look like, these are delicious". Those words were spoken by the 'old man' whislt doing the photography (and sampling - hard job eh!?) and he is a long time toffee fan. At first I was surprised by his reaction as I expected him to comment that they were too sweet; once I tasted one myself a minute later I soon realised that this was Hotel Chocolat white chocolate we had here - not Cadbury Dream haha :D Indeed rather than a barrage of sugary flavours being offered, the taste was led into a creamy milk rooted direction with an undertone of vanilla bourbon making for a light, yet definitive base. At the heart of each truffle the real treat of the sticky toffee sauce lay in wait, and boy did it give the most sensational mouthfeel with it's viscous, soft as silk texture. The toffee element flavour wise added influences of butter, salt and further creamyness wrapped in a brown sugar base - it brought a real smile to my face!
Overall I think the 'old man' summed it up perfectly with his conclusion of these being 'delicious'. A sceptic (*ahem* not me *ahem*) may have thought the sound of white chocoalte and a sugar based filling may have be excessivelly sweet, but the combination here was very well put together. Being the all time perfectionist, I would have liked the chocolates to have been themed more towards the 'Horif-Eyes' billing, especially considering how cool they made the outer packaging look with the truffle stare effect. If they were going whole-hog Halloween they might have also flirted with the idea of adding a touch of spiced apple, which I think could have enhanced the variety of flavours to an even grander level. Lets not worry about those minor points though, these were brilliant and I give them a big thumbs and ChocolateMission recommendation.
8.8 out 10
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61 comments:
Ive been waiting very patiently or your stance on these you know :P Ive been reading all these posts saying how busy you are so I didn't put in a request - im relieved you did review them in the end I was getting worried you might miss them out.
Do you not think these would have been better with dark chocolate? I could be imagining this but I swear they are making fewer dark chocolate based things nowadays.
Jim you naughty man you have to stop tempting me with this delicious looking chocolate photos. The toffee bit of those truffles just looks divine. I want I want.
Is it me or are the 'sticky toffee' fillings much better than when they try and do 'salted caramel' ones? Im always disappointed by the lack of salt in the caramels but the toffee always come across as deliciously creamy. It could be a case of expectations being too high with the caramels, either that and they are just the same thing and im talking rubbish.
I like your idea of putting a bit of apple in there to make them more themed for halloween. Top thinking, maybe they can do it next yr?
Hmmm the packaging gives you the idea that there isgoing to be a little more to these than what they are. I was expecting something more than just the square truffles, at the very least I imagined them being eye shaped or something.
Why are there green blobs on the top of them? I dont get why they put them there.
You should get your reviews up quicker next time cause the last two things you have reviewed from hc for us haven't been on sale for ages now.
Its frustrating hear how good they are and then not having the opportunity to buy them :/
I loved the look of these as soon as I saw them. Next time I venture HC side they will be mine :) :) :) ALLLLL MINE :)
So Jim I cant let the time go past without mentioning the football. What were Man U playing at. They got so embarassed :) :) Sorry but any time Man U get turned over I have to revel in it. It doesn't happen often for us minnow supporters
Two HC reviews in a row hey!? Now you are spoiling us mate.
I wish I could say these appealed but im not a white chocolate man. Not even HCs white chocolate does it for me.
Oh come on! Make your mind up .....
Last year your said the eye caramel chocolates they made were disgusting because they were too realistic ......
Now you are saying they aren't realistic enough. Theres just no pleasing some people is there.
Well done HC. Yet another better than your average chocolate from them.
This is just unfair. I just want to spoon out that stick toffee sauce mmmm.
Hey J
Lol do I even mention the footie to you or not :P Lol I thought we did badly playing Norwich but man u took it to a whole new level of suckin ass yesterday. What the hell were your guys playing at dude? I can't believe the result, im still pinching myself. I dont even know what to say about about city now. They are defo favourites for the title IMO but theres so long to go its not like its set in stone. At least you have your chocolates to distract you :P if they are all as nice as these are then you must take some crumb of comfort from them lol.
Cheers
N
You enjoy the footie then Jimbo ;)
I can tell you we dont always agree but im with you one hundred percent on this. These are very special, I would also give them my recommendation.
I yelped with excitement when I saw this was your review today because I knew you would take some epically foodpornish of the caramel and I wasn't wrong.
I would have liked the chocs to have been more speical looking but iknow I would have been like you and not cared less if they are as tasty as you say.
White chocolate and caramel doesn't sound like a sensible mix. I thought it was an inevitable one where you were going to say the pairing was too sweet. The score was higher than I expected it to be, nice one HC.
Jim just one request from me. Please can you review that mini pack of winter puddings they have just created. They look very promising to me. I think they could well be some ones to savour.
All the other bloggers have been raving about these. I think im going to have to get some to check you are all telling the truth ;)
Whats the likelyhood of a JCM hotel chocolat giveaway being done for christmas? You never did one after you said you were going to last year. Someone might say you owe us one ;-)
Hey hun. Fab review again + excellent pictures. You have a gd talent for making me feel like I can taste what you are writing about. I thnk I know for sure these would be exactly my kind of thing. I look forward to see what is instore for us wednesday.
Rxxx
I wish you had got these reviews up quicker. Both the two things you have done reviews on have been sold out online for ages.
Must.be.quicker!!!!!!!
Forget expensive things like this. All you need to sort yourself out with this halloween are some of those cadburys cinder toffee cakes. I ate a whole pack of 5 yeasterday and im not ashamed at all. No one can resist those bad boys.
No one has mentioned the mighty all blacks winning the world cup. I thought the french did well but the right people won in the end. Its been a long time coming you could say lol.
How much would a box of these put me back? Its going to have to cost at least £8 right?
Amazing pics J. I could sit and stare at the cut up choc all day. The toffee just looks so nice.
The white chocolate sounds all good but the caramel I could do without. I would much prefer a ganache/cream or praline filling though im sure if i was gifted these i could have dealt with it lol. Speaking of being gifted hotel chocolat, ive not once ever been given any yet im always one for giving it away myself. I should probably take a look at that.
Those are some seriously classy looking chocolates nom nom nom
I don't see why people are complaining about the chocolates not being eye shaped or anything like that. I think that would have been gross, im glad they just stuck to keeping them as normal chocs.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh CITY CITY!!! CAME TO MAN UNITED AND WE WON 6-1
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh CITY CITY!!!
Lol the chances of this comment being published = Zero
I think I speak for everyone when I say awesome post m8. Your photo quality and writing seems to be improving every year. Your a credit to bloggers.
They were handing out samples of the tiddly vampires when I went in the store yesterday. Im not normally one to buy in to all this halloween rubbish but I couldn't help myself leaving with a pack of the white choc boo chocolates. Lol I dont think they will last until halloween, i ate half of them last night lol.
Dx
Are these genuine photos of the chocolates you got or are they staged ones?
You could tell that most of your older ones were taken by yourself but on some of your recent reviews they have begun looking too perfect if you get me. Like supermodels do in all the mags lol.
Is hotel chocolats white chocolate the only one you like then jim? Most other times all I see you say about it is that you think its too sugary. Their stuff is the only ive seen you remarker positively about b4.
You forgot to mention the lovely essence of vanilla that you get with Hc's white chocolate. I love the way its always there in the background. It makes it taste like cornish ice cream mmm.
Great review hun. I think the yumpkin choc is a little more suitable for my kiddies though. I think the idea of eating eyes might be a little too much for them. I wouldn't want them having nightmares about that.
I wasn't totally sure what you were going to make of the white chocolate being in these but I was quietly confident you were going to say they were great. What are your thoughts on the halloween chocs entirely this year? I've been disappointed to see they didn't add many new things.
I am banning myself from the hotel chocolate site right now. I didn't realise they had put all the Xmas chocolates up now. I thought I had at least another month before I started drooling all over them every day. Are you ever going to ask what we want to see reviewed or are you just doing what floats your own boat? Its not such a big deal for me cause it seems we like the same sort of things.
Im so useless. All it takes is a positive write up on something and i cant help but order it.
I think im addicted to online shopping!? Is that possible you think!? I'm an E-Shopoholic HELP ME :) xoxo
Now they started selling the small packs of their truffles the selection is just way too much for me to handle. I keep finding myself spending hours just putting little packages together. I think its a good idea to put them together for my friends for Christmas.
Does anyone know how many chocs it is you get in the packs that cost £3.50 each?
Im so tired of reading about chocolates I cant afford all the time. Thats not a downer on you mate. More my inadequecies to save my money.
Your football might not have gone your way but you have been eating some nice chocolate lately lol.
I wouldn't want a whole box full of these but if they were in some sort of selection I wouldn't have a problem with a few of them.
Its annoying cause a lot of the halloween chocolates have been taken down from their site now? Why have they cut their stock so early?
It doesn't bode well for my plans to capitilise on the end of season sale :( Boooooo.
Hi All,
I doubt you guys and girls want to hear about how 'BUSY' I am at the day job again so I will save you the spiel and just apologise at the lack of time i'm being able to spend updating the site and comments again.
Thank you all for the feedback received on this review thus far, there have been an overwhelming amount of you being positive about the review/photos and the product itself so I guess we are all happy with how these Horrif-Eyes have turned out.
Again I extend my apologies being a little late to the party with the timings of my Halloween reviews this year. What can I say other than I tried my best!? It was just the way that it worked out in the end.
NICK - Whose to say that one chocolate type would have made them better or worse? For my personally dark chocolate would have been preferable but for someone else it could be white chocolate!? Its all a matter of opinion.
LAUREN - No their caramel and toffee fillings are different. The toffee ones are thicker, creamier and IMO tastier.
BEN - Somewhere in the middle would be good :D
NIGEL - I woke up this morning hoping that it was all a nightmare but it wasn't. It was a woeful performance from us in the end. Highly embarrassing, believe me, I'm getting the mickey taken out of me big time today in the office.
MICHAEL - Request noted.
ANON - I will approach HC about doing a competition for this year.
ANON - £4.50 I believe.
UMER - Well that was never coming was it :D Enjoy your time at the top. Its a long old season you know.
SIMPS - These are genuine photos taken by my old man. He has taken professional photography before.
VIJAY - If you guys have requests for what you want to see reviewed then please just send them through.
LUCY - I think you get four in each. Don't hold me to that though.
RICHARD & CO - The Horrif-Eyes are still available on the site. Take a look.
Thanks for your comments so far guys/girls.
JIM
I might just fold on my resistance to buying halloween treats. I actually like that they don't look too halloweeny. The last toffee product I taste from HC was far too sweet for me, but I'll take your word for it that they are not, because they look wonderful.
Im normally one for drooling over your hotel chocolate revs but this one not so much.
I remember getting some very similar ones from their tasting club a few years ago and I just didn't think that the two sugary things worked together as well as the milk or dark chocolate would. They need to make more dark chocolates dammit.
The second these come back in stock im ordering them. They sound lush and i dont think they are as bad looking as you are making out.
Whatever happened to the chocolate shaped tombstones they had last year? They were like the slabs they have this time but they look a lot more impressie and suitable for halloween.
Do you share everything you get these days? There doesn't seem to be a review go by where you dont give something away to your friends or family. It must be awesome being your friend =) I wish my were as generous.
Would dark chocolate ones got better from you Jim? I think we know they would have.
I do hope you understand the pain you cause my credit cards. I just updated my order from saturday with 2 boxes of these. Lol these are all things i cant afford but what heck, you only live once.
Jim how can you not like halloween when you get given the chance to eat chocs like this. You weird chocolate crazy man. Im totally envious.
Phew. Lucky I had thr gd sense to order these a few weeks ago. I can believe they are sold out, they are friggin tasty man.
Jim can you ask your hotel chocolat people why they have done the munchkin chocolates this year please :( I miss them.
Well at least they had enough sense not to make the caramel gross looking and red coloured or something. I like these things to look interesting but sometimes things get taken too far. I still want them to look appetising afterall. How food looks is very important to me.
I had two packs on order already. I wish i had made it three now.
Everyday I look at this site and I curse that I didn't think of this all to do first. It must be so cool being able to try these.
Im not to sure about this white chocolate and caramel mix. Im generally a dark chocolate man so i wouldn't expect these to do much for me. On the flip side though I like the idea of them. If they did dark chocolate versions with the caramel I wouldn't have to think twice.
Horrif-Eyes were half price this week in the Hotel Chocolat shop, so I bought a box. They were indeed, not too sweet at all. The toffee was incredibly smooth and morish, a real treat. I still think I would have preferred it if they had used dark chocolate, but other than that, I have no complaint.
While I would like to try an apple/cinnamon flavoured chocolate, I don't think it would have worked it. It would have been too many flavours contesting with one another. Simple is best in this case.
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