White Chocolate Cote d'Or Bouchées (Kingdom of Sweets)

I've been on the hunt for these little white elephants for an extraordinarily long time. It must be almost a year ago that I was told that Cote d'Or make my favourite chocolates in the entire world in a white version too. White chocolate covered Bouchées? You've got to be kidding me! Could I find them for love nor money though? You bet your bottom dollar I couldn't. Every family member travelling to Europe was sent on a mission to hunt for these Belgian chocolates, and every one came back fruitless (or chocolate-less I should say). I had just about given up hope when I spotted Kingdom Of Sweets on Oxford Street the week before Christmas, and begged my friends to let me go and ogle at the many different varieties of Oreos and Reese's products that I could see through the window. Inside the store was a veritable heaven for sugar addicts and chocoholics. Floor to ceiling was rammed full of every kind of sweet laden treat you could imagine and I started to expect that Willy Wonka himself was going pop out from the staff room. I wanted to move in.

"White chocolate with hazelnut cream filling"

It's not the cheapest store, but my scroogy student ways were almost completely forgotten the moment I spotted the Cote d'Or stand. There they were: individual white chocolate elephants or a pack or 8 for £6, next to the FudgeNuts that I reviewed a while back. I should explain for a second that they had a very short date on the Bouchées, my fridge at home was already full of chocolate, I was bound to receive some more Reese's treats in a week and I'd just been given a huge box of Thorntons from my colleagues -i.e, I didn't really need any more chocolate. But, I had been searching for so long, and I knew that Bert was unlikely to buy me food for Christmas, so I decided that he could treat me as part of my stocking -thanks Bert*! To the till I went with our joint account card and a pack of 8.

Each little truffle -which admittedly don't bear much resemblance to elephants- was individually wrapped. It's a good job really otherwise the temptation might be too much to bear! Peeling off the covering revealed the snow-white chocolate in all it's glory, and the excitement mounted. 

Biting into the bouchée was a celestial moment. The sheer joy of creamy sweetness against the nutty filling was true chocolate perfection. I pity those of you who have never tried Cote d'Or's Bouchées, they're simply wonderful. I didn't think they could improve on the original, but the white chocolate version is my new favourite.

The ratio of chocolate:praline is spot on and the quality is inarguable. I'm surprised they haven't been meddled with considering these are in fact made by Cadbury's wreckers Mondelēz, but it seems that the Bouchées are safe, for now. 

10/10

*I knew he wouldn't mind, and of course he didn't, the good egg.

Choceur Salted Caramel & White Chocolate Almonds (ALDI)

Last year dear Daddio included my first experience of ALDI's chocolate as part of my Christmas stocking and I was impressed! Since then I've only tried one more bar, their Madagascan vanilla white chocolate, which was even more delicious. I probably should buy their chocolate more often, but most of their bars come in larger formats, and I have non Reese's chocolate commitment issues. 

These salted caramel and white chocolate almonds probably wouldn't have even entered my radar had it not been for Kev's review back in October. I mean the white chocolate, salted caramel and almonds all sounded good but I imagined that I'd prefer to keep the three separate. Nevertheless I picked some up a few weeks ago to try on Christmas Day with my nut loving in-laws. Last night though I wasn't sure what I fancied after dinner, so raided the cupboards and the almonds called to me. Sorry Mr & Mrs Letby. 

"Almonds covered in white chocolate blended caramel powder and salt."

The 100g bag contained 20 almonds, each looking like large (albeit golden) Milkybar mini eggs -mmm, so good. Cutting one in half pleased me as it revealed just how generous the coating was. To give you a better idea, I checked the packet when writing this and realised that almonds only account for 18% of the ingredients! I'm certainly not complaining. 

N.B Yes, I realised there was a hair in the bowl after I took the photo, and no I didn't eat it ;).

The salted caramel flavoured white chocolate was silky smooth an utterly delicious; indeed it was just as incredible as the highly addictive KarmelLove bars I discovered a couple of months ago. Some nuts had a more saline coating than others, but this made the eating experience all the more interesting. The almonds had retained their crunchiness too -always a bonus as no-one wants soggy nuts. 

The biggest problem with these Choceur salted caramel and white chocolate almonds is the self control required to stop munching. If you're watching your weight you might want to be careful as the 20 almonds amount to 564kcal! For everyone else, tuck in and don't share, they're scumdiddlyumtious. 

9/10

NEW! Macabella Crunchy Choc Macadamia Spread (Sainsbury's)

There's a new chocolate spread on the block, well new to British Supermakets at least, made by  Australian manufacturers Macabella who specialise in luxury chocolate spread infused with Macadamia Nuts. To be honest, I wouldn't have given the product a second thought was it not for some spectacular food porn photographs on Instagram (you know who you are). Every morning I felt the familiar pang of envy as I saw each image of the delightfully glossy looking spread atop a slice of wholemeal toast -and I knew I would have to try it for myself pronto. So off to Sainsbury's I trotted, forking out the £2.50 introductory offer price for the 375g. But what's so special about Macabella? They say...

"Macabella Choc Macadamia Spread is infused with the unique flavour of diced and gently ground macadamias, allowing your taste buds to experience a true delight with one of the worlds finest nuts.Macadamias are a nutrition powerhouse and contain many nutrients including heart-friendly monosaturated fatty acids.Macabella is heavenly all on its own by the spoonful, but you can also enjoy the smooth velvety texture with extra crunch, spread thick onto your favourite bread or croissant. However you choose to indulge with Macabella one spoonful is never enough."

I loved the luxury design on the packaging, in fact somehow the jar looked out of place next to my jar of much loved Skippy peanut butter. My joy was set to continue once I unscrewed the golden lid too, for the spread was shiny, with lots of visible finely chopped nuts. For those interested there is a 'velvet' smooth version of Macabella too. I surprised myself for opting for the crunchy version seeing as I'm a smooth peanut butter* kind of girl -but I thought the nuts might get lost amongst the chocolate flavour if they were fully blended. 

Tastewise, the spread was rich, with devilishly naughty chocolate flavour. This was slightly unexpected considering that the only chocolatey ingredient is 6.5% of fat reduced cocoa powder. Don't get me wrong though -this certainly isn't a diet product! There was a creaminess to it that surpassed the likes of Nutella, and it melted better when slathered onto my warm soft oatcake (new obsession alert). The macadamia flavour perhaps wasn't as strong as I expected -but then the nut is known for its mild, creamy taste anyway. I also found that it made for a yummy treat used as a dip for pink lady apples; the tangy-sweet combination works extraordinarily well! 

I'm not sure I'll always buy Macabella in favour of Nutella, but it makes for a welcome change -especially as Tesco don't seem to make their fabulous Dark Chocolate & Almond spread anymore, boo. 

8/10

*But weirdly crunchy Biscoff gets my vote!