Sugar Savvy

I first discovered Choclatique chocolates at the Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon, which I attended last month. You can read my review of that event here.

This Southern California based company was founded in 2003 by Ed Engoron and Joan Vieweger, who have created a dazzling variety of over 150 chocolates, all of which are hand-made, hand-decorated and hand-packed. Choclatique offers some really unique and delicious chocolates that I feel deserve to be more thoroughly reviewed, but what really caught my attention at the Chocolate Salon was their line of “Decadent Desserts” chocolates.

“Decadent Desserts” refers to a series of chocolates that are based on some of the all-time greatest desserts such as chocolate cake, crème brulee, and chocolate pudding, which is a unique and clever idea that I have never seen done before. As a consummate dessert lover, I was eager to try these tiny dessert creations.

I sampled the 8 piece “Boutique” box, which contains the following flavors:

Boston Cream Pie – This chocolate comes in the shape of a wedge like a piece of cake with a drizzle of white chocolate running across the top. The piece consists of a creamy custard (with what I assume was a slight undertone of rum) enrobed in a layer of dark chocolate. The intensity of the dark chocolate in this piece, however, may be a bit strong when paired with the delicate custard filling.

Butterscotch Pudding – Another dark chocolate, this time with a rich butterscotch filling. The filling is a deep caramel color, with a smooth consistency, and a nice brown sugar flavor. The dark chocolate exterior is a great choice, as it nicely balances with the sweetness of the butterscotch.  A very nice piece.

Chocolate Caramel in Dark Chocolate – One of my favorites, this beautiful signature piece is lightly dusted in actual 24 karat gold powder. The chocolate-caramel filling is a dark toasty color, a little more liquidy than the other pieces. Oh, but the flavor… This chocolate has an amazing richness. When you bite into it, the caramel just oozes into your mouth, and the dark chocolate is a perfect complement to the caramel. This is definitely a refined piece of chocolate, not one of those overly sweet and cloying caramels. I could eat a whole box of these!

Chocolate Layer Cake – The piece looks like a big slice of 3 layer cake; 2 layers of milk chocolate surround a white “frosting” stripe across the center. When you cut inside, you can see the inside matches the outside with a 3 layer ganache, again with chocolate surrounding a white filling. A definite winner, this is another one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the richness of the filling, which reminded me of chocolate frosting.

Creamy Brulee – This is a milk chocolate piece, in the shape of a small cup, with a sprinkle of golden sanding sugar on top. When you bite into it, you initially get the crunch of the sugar, followed by the mellow milk chocolate, and finally the richness of the crème brulee filling. The filling itself is very mild, with a hint of vanilla. I particularly enjoyed the addition of the sanding sugar on top, which reminded me of the caramelized top crust on a crème brulee.

Grand Marnier Truffle – This heart-shaped milk chocolate is filled with a classic orange liqueur inspired center. The filling itself is thick, light orange/pink in color, and is speckled with little crunchy flecks of orange. The taste of orange is very subdued, no artificial orange flavor here, but it could benefit from a little more intensity of Grand Marnier.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding – Another one of my favorites, when you bite into this chocolate, you are greeted with a creamy center reminiscent of pudding. The taste is smooth and comforting like the dessert itself. They did a great job capturing the authentic flavor of old fashioned chocolate pudding. The piece just melts in your mouth, and has a nice milky finish.

What’s Up Doc Carrot Cake – The only white chocolate in the box, this is a cup-shaped chocolate topped with a tiny little carrot. The filling is slightly grainy and smells faintly of holiday spice. The white chocolate is the most prominent flavor, with notes of nutmeg and cinnamon, which makes it taste more like a spicy frosting rather than carrot cake itself.

Overall, I was really pleased with the quality of these chocolates. I can tell that a lot of thought and effort went into the development of the flavors. These miniature desserts are not only lovely to look at, but quite delicious, and I think that any chocolate or dessert lover would be very happy to receive a box of “Decadent Desserts” chocolates as a gift.

Choclatique also offers a 15 piece and a 30 piece box that contain even more creative flavors like “Chocolate Chip Cookie,” “Chocolate, Chocolate Brownie” and “Dulce de Leche.” Not to mention their other chocolates, which include a holiday collection that features divine sounding flavors such as “Holiday Egg Nog,” “Old World Gingerbread” and “Perfectly Pumpkin Pie.” Or you can mix and match and create your own assortment from their 150 flavors. You can find all of these chocolates online here, and a few select stores as listed on the website.