Trying More Tasty Things...

First up, the lemon mousse, milk chocolate shell with white stripes.

His Lordship is pleased because: "I like lemon mousses." - which is a good start.

Initially, it has a very lemony citrussy scent which smells fresh; clean even. It's got a creme fraiche centre - the chocolate a little oversweet at first - but actually well counterbalanced by the sweet lemon zesty centre. Yes, indeed - it's zingy and brash, with a sweet almost gingery light warmth at the end, possibly in the chocolate shell - quite complimentary.

In summary, it's "A good nomming chocolate - one I'd happily pop whole into my mouth and just..." hand gesture of nom. Personally, I love the texture - this one is a nice surprise after the array of the scentless, oddly flavoured items we've had previously.

But the pistachio and raspberry marzipan (which has a white shell, green stripes) baffles me. It smells almost minty through the shell, which is different for a start. "Yeah, definitely minty, I'll grant you that." It puts me in mind of an East Asian sweet, visually and contents-wise. Licking gives "white chocolate and that's all I get out of it". It has green and pink marzipan inside, which is a little too strong - the pistachio note is a little lost against the powerful almondyness. (Yes, that's now a word) But the raspberry manages to hold its own as a sweeter note. HL isn't a fan, but concedes that the flavour is pretty good for marzipan. Likewise, it's not a top winner for me (as He says, not one I'd choose to buy) but not too bad - definitely recommended for marzifans.

Think marzipan might be too strong a medium for the lighter pistachio and raspberry flavours - perhaps a fondant instead? I'll have to think about that one.

The Lime and Chili is my favourite to look at - I LOVE the decoration on this one. Hopefully it shows well in the photo, as they've used a transfer method to put thin, grassy patterns of green, white, chocolate and metallic bronze on the top - a great visual impact. It smells of dark chocolate and something bittersweet, possibly the lime oil. The chocolate is indeed dark and gingery, which is interesting. The centre is a very thick ganache, the lime and chili coming in late, and the chili with a good firm KICK when it does finally arrive. The lime is delicate and finally! NOT washing up liquidy!

At long last, someone who knows how to treat lime oil usage in chocolate-working. His Lordship just found the chilli and exclaims: "Dangerous!" I don't think he was expecting it. "Not personally how I enjoy my chocolates, but I can see the appeal.". It's strong enough to lightly warm your tongue and tell you it's there, which is a nice treat out of a chili chocolate - I find only Montezuma's pack a proper dose. It's public-friendly. A great one to quickly chew and then allowing to dissolve, as it leaves a pleasantly toasty sensation on the tongue - it reminds me a lot of proper xocolatl. (Dark chocolate, chili, a drop of honey and vanilla. Dark and dangerous, very good if you get the chance - one of my favourite culinary treats and very hard to find someone that makes it properly.)

Ten minutes later and I am still aware of a light chili warmth. Lovely.

The Apricot Praline comes wrapped in a metallic orange foil. It has a hexagonal top leading to a round cup, and has an oak leaf design on the top. Oh. It smells bland, perhaps a note of dark chocolate, but the shell isn't thick like they usually are - it's fine and pops, releasing a liquid, buttery praline, which is salty and slightly gritty with a nice delicate burnt hazelnut tone. There wasn't enough apricot jam for my liking, but it was a fine treat when we finally found find it.

Conclusion: this week's treats weren't too shabby. I'd totally have the chilli again, and the lemon was fantastic.