Turkish Delight time

So last week marked the start of lent. I myself am giving something up, not out of any religious belief. No, I give up something because I am rather stubborn and enjoy a good challenge.

What have I given up? Well I hope you’re sitting down for this… I’m giving up the sweet cocoa ambrosia itself, chocolate! Shocking I know and many of you may shout impossible or fear for my wellbeing. Fear not friends, this is my fourth year of giving up the smooth stuff that pretty much flows through my veins. Two of these three previous attempts have been successful. The first time in fact went so well it stretched until Christmas! Last year was the failure and I only lasted a week before caving to my craving. It wasn’t my fault a friend made me do it. Honest!

So what can I possibly be reviewing as a result? Well not chocolate clearly as that’s well and truly out the window for the time being. But fear not I present to you some uncoated Turkish delight.  Weirdly though a firm lover of jelly and general gummy-ness I have never given it the time of day, until now that is. Before I have often been a bit turned off by the perfume aroma, it smelled a bit too much like soap or Grandma. Neither of which were really that mouth-watering as prospects go.

However due to recent developments I found and purchased this box thinking it’s time to take a dive into Turkish territory (should probably rephrase that as it’s rather controversial topic that!). Anyway this box doesn’t just contain the regular Rose flavour, No! It has lemon too! So without further ado and a lack of sugar I pop one in my mouth, pausing only to take in the soapy smell.

I take a Rose one first and am immediately surprised at the gummy texture. It’s quite pleasant and an odd mixture of gummy bear and rubber. Whilst this doesn’t exactly sound nice I kind of like it. Perhaps the chocolate shortage has caused me to go mad… madder. People have told me in the past that the texture is the turn off, too rubbery but I find it’s rather like a slightly warm wine gum. Not too chewy either as it melts really quickly and smoothly in the mouth. The taste isn’t too bad either with a nice Rose hint without being over powering or like swallowing washing powder. The lemon was just as great with a nice subtle sweet taste unlike the usual bitterness.

Overall both were nice, a reason I like to break the odd habit every now and then. You never know what you’re missing out on.

Score
Rose - 6 out of 11
Lemon - 6 out of 11

Found
Lidl

Final Thoughts
Sorry for the late post, still rather busy and lacking the usual chocolate sugar rushes.

Lebkuchen

Right before you call me dull, boring or worse still a liar, let me have a chance to defend myself. Yes these are basically ginger biscuits and I did indeed suggest I'd at least take a break from such things; however I have reasons (or excuses). Firstly these are technically Lebkuchen and very traditional. Secondly they are more cakey and iced in chocolate. Lastly they are German and as I mentioned before makes them even more festive.

But before we get to them let us go nuts for well... Nuts! Caramelized almonds to be exact. In the last few months I've discovered a lifelong hatred of nuts was rather unfounded and have since been obsessed with making up for lost time. These things are one of those times that make me weep for such missed opportunities, what’s better than a roasted almond? One coated in sugar and then cooked that’s what.

 

More cake than biscuit

These really are great the outside is crispy and tastes of caramelized sugar, hardly a surprise really considering their name. The nut inside has been cooked and roasted well too. The combination created between sweet and savory is great with an epic crunch too for good measure. Now I have had these freshly roasted at a market and that was an experience I can tell you. These are the supermarket equivalent and despite being slightly smaller and not warm are still a delicious and probably dangerous for your health treat.

Next we have the main event, Lebkuchen. Whilst I started by saying these are more gingerbread cookies I think they are much more like a cake, true even more when you consider they usually come coated in icing. These that I have don't, instead these are covered in dark chocolate and have a rice paper base. All the layers have something in common, the fact that they all melt in the mouth nicely. The dark chocolate isn't the usual plain and bitter taste; instead it tastes nicely sweet and works well. This probably means it isn't a good quality example but that doesn't matter all the time.

Like little pebbles of joy

The cake itself isn't very gingery at all, and at this point I would start complaining. I would that is if it mattered which it doesn't. These are meant to taste fruitier than fiery I think which with the fruit peel mixed in definitely delivers. The peel itself mixes well with the chocolate topping and at times creates a Chocolate orange type of taste. These are great all round and such a shame they will soon be much missed from the shelves. They go well with a cup of tea too, multi-talented guys these.

Lastly is an odd concept, hot chocolate kit for two. Yes, on the face of it that seems a good idea right? It is a season for couples to conspire beneath the fire ECT. I would agree too, except this range comes from Toys'R'Us. Yeah things just got weird.

Overall Lebkuchen is amazing and the nuts too and make me realize I'm going to miss some of these fleeting festive treats. But then if we had them all year round they wouldn't be special.

Score

Lebkuchen - 8 out of 11

Caramelized Almonds - 7.5 out 11

Found

Both were found in Lidl

Final Thoughts

Germany really have this Christmas thing down to a T.

Terrific-masu (Terrific Tiramasu chocolate)

Ever been sung to by a man shaking a puppet outside of a KFC? Until recently I hadn’t but after all the madness of this summer I didn’t even question it. Just smiled and gave him a few coins for his troubles. He responded with what I presumed was a thank you but in a garbled murmur.

This is the sort of thing I saw whilst I’ve spent a week visiting my girlfriend which makes the craziness even better. For a good part of the year we live quite far away from each other and so I made came to stay at hers to break the time apart up (sickly sweetness rising). This meant two things; firstly I get to see her beautiful face (reaching a critical level). Secondly it means a change of scenery bringing with it new discoveries possibly of the chocolate persuasion.

Today’s review comes from such adventures in new scenery, this includes a Lidl. I have no Lidl near me so a variety of new products to tempt me. These candies are pleasantly cheap too, thankfully this chain specialise in selling discount products. However these products are excellent quality products in their own country just brought here in bulk to keep costs down.

This is getting boringly technical so I’ll move on quickly. So today’s product comes all the way from Germany. I’m basing this on the name Schogtten, and the picture of the flag in the top corner. This bar in particular is supposedly Tiramisu flavoured something that seemed unique to me. It seems to get better as the packaging boasts how it’s a “New recipe! Even more delicious!” well when I saw this readers I was hooked.

You try pronouncing it, go on I dare you!

The box has a nice luxury feel to it, a nice cardboard box that suggests prestige in Germany. This belief is reinforced by the fact it’s wrapped in foil. I love foil wrappers it adds to the chocolate experience in a way that may be a placebo effect. To me it makes the chocolate seem fresher than the plastic packaging that feels cheap.

Upon opening my nose was met the combination of chocolate and strong coffee; I took this as a good sign. I was right. The chocolate itself is a dark chocolate, a very good choice that compliments coffee.  This coats a cream filling. They come in eighteen individual blocks which made perfectionist in me cheer as there would be no uneven breakage (it keeps me up at night, honestly).

Upon biting into a block I found the chocolate layer to be surprisingly thick. It melted in my mouth well and tastes rich and smooth. It is good quality chocolate dark chocolate, which isn’t usually my favourite type; I prefer the sweetness of milk chocolate. To make it better the chocolate has been infused with coffee very well which manages to avoid tasting bitter.

The cream filling keeps up the standard of quality. Being smooth and creamy when often cream can be waxy. It has a nice taste of almonds which adds sweetness to each block. They have created a great balance to stop it becoming sickly sweet. The combination is more akin to a coffee cream or marzipan, than to tiramisu in my mind.

Something about this picture makes me happy

This could be because it lacks the elements that always stand out to me when I think of tiramisu. The bottom layer of biscuit in a liquor is what I believe is missing. I realise however this would be very difficult to incorporate with the cream. Really it tastes of exactly what it is a high quality coffee cream like you often get in selection boxes.

This isn’t a bad thing of course, I love coffee creams and the fact I can find a whole bar makes me happy. Except this logic falls down when you factor in how I prefer variety. In the long run as much as I enjoyed this I would have got more variety from a box of Quality Street.

Overall, at the price I paid (under a pound for 100g) this is very good quality chocolate and has a strong and pleasant coffee taste. The cream creates a sweetness to compliment the bitterness of the dark chocolate.

Score
6.5 out of 11

Found
Lidl

Final Thoughts
I wish I'd bought the Ritter sports bar at the same time.