Fresh and Easy Milk Chocolate Malt Balls
I am on a quest to find the “perfect malt ball;” a malt ball with a nice milk chocolate coating (real milk chocolate) and a light crispy (not powdery) malt center that will satisfy my cravings. Alas, my quest has remained unfruitful to date.
You see, I find that there is always one missing component; for example, the chocolate coasting is too thin or too thick, the ratio of malty center to chocolate coating isn’t quite right, or the malt center is too dry and powdery. I have ruled out Whoppers, Mighty Malts and Maltesers because the chocolate coating they use is not real milk chocolate and tends to leave an unpleasant aftertaste.
I thought I had found a real contender when I tried Brach’s Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs (an egg shaped malt ball available during Easter) which advertises that it is made with “real milk chocolate” right on the package. The eggs have a thin candy shell coating that covers a nice milk chocolate layer. Don’t get me wrong, these are very good malt balls (one of my favorites), but they have a bit too much malt center for my taste, which makes them a little dry and the candy shell coating makes them very sweet.
On a trip to Bristol Farms Market (a Southern California based upscale grocery chain similar to Whole Foods), I decided to try their name brand chocolate malt balls, and found that although the chocolate coating was delicious, it was so thick that it completely overpowered the tiny malt center.
Still determined to find the elusive “perfect malt ball,” I decided most recently to give another grocery store malt ball a chance. This time it was Fresh and Easy, a division of Britain’s biggest supermarket group Tesco, which has opened locations in California, Nevada and Arizona.
I picked up a box of Fresh and Easy Milk Chocolate Malt Balls. The label reads: “Our handmade chocolate confections have a crunchy malt center and are coated with a rich milk chocolate.” I checked the ingredients and the chocolate is indeed real, and the malt center contains actual malted milk, as well as malt extract (not sure what that is), so I was very hopeful that this would be it — the “perfect malt ball.”
The Results:
The malt balls have a nice chocolatey smell. The chocolate to malt center ratio is good. The chocolate coating is smooth and creamy, not too thick, not too thin. The malt center is light, crispy and crunchy and reminiscent of honeycomb, but doesn’t have a very pronounced malt flavor.
So is this the “perfect malt ball?” Not quite, but it sure is close, and it is definitely my new favorite.
Have any of you found malt ball perfection?
My all time favorite were the ones sold in the bulk bins at the Gelson’s chain in Southern California that were made by Harmony Gold. They’ve discontinued them. Real chocolate but not too much chocolate.
My next would be Wilbur of Lititz PA. (But they’re actually made by Albanese Candy Company.) They do have a LOT of chocolate, but the Wilbur milk chocolate is rather malty tasting because of their kind of toasted milk taste. Only problem is I have to order them online or pick them up when I’m in Pennsylvania.
Next would be Jelly Belly’s version, but again, they’re not sold everywhere.
In a pinch I pick up Koppers which are often sold at store that carry a lot of Kosher stuff. Probably the most expensive of the list here and still not quite the right proportion.