Dark chocolate! How lovely. Breakfast of champions, some may say. Well, I say that all the time, so I think that counts. Toss in some “heart-healthy” hazelnuts, and I’ll live forever, right? Don’t answer that. But in my quest to have my chocolate and eat it too, I drooled when Dear Editor sent me some Lindt. And while squares of dark chocolate with chopped hazelnuts mixed in might not be the superfood I desire it to be, it sure is delicious.
And it was love at first bite. A nice snap when I bit in, and lots of minced hazels. There’s a punch of cocoa at first, thanks to that and then the smooth cocoa butter takes over, blending with the hazelnuts. Mmmm, now that’s hazelnut! A nice balance of creamy dark chocolate and hazelnut that tastes like a praline filling all grown up.
What of the real nitty-gritty? Well, the chocolate itself is 47% cocoa, which is lower than I’m typically noshing on (I tend to go for 60% and up), so that explains the cocoa-buttery feel of the chocolate as it melts on the tongue. There’s also “Anhydrous Milk Fat”, and while I have no idea what that is, I’m betting that means strict vegans should take a pass. Rounding things up is 9% hazelnuts, or as the website explains, “Piedmont hazelnuts”. So that means this chocolate is from a Swiss chocolatier, made in France, with Italian hazelnuts. I’m digging this melting pot.
Goes well with a nice stout. A cup of tea works too. I chopped some squares up and used it as a yoghurt topping, though I’m sure it’d be a nice way to top ice cream as well.
