Wednesday, May 04, 2005


milk chocolate ganache truffle hearts

the weather in london has returned to normal for this time of year: seattle. that makes the bright red foil covering these milk chocolate ganache-filled hearts particularly pleasant to see.

these hearts were a gift to me from the regulars at the inn where i'm staying, which was quite a surprise. they sort of gave me these hearts and then vanished; i haven't run into one since!

when i came over to london i was told to remember that it's hard sometimes to make real friends with english people. the person who told me this is actually a french person by birth who went to school at harrow, so i trust his understanding of the english mind.

he explained the english attitude about foreigners, even americans: basically, you're always going to be one, no matter how long you stay in england, and further they are always going to be somewhat self-conscious around you because you are one.

plus you have that natural british reserve and the sense o' humor -- which sometimes seems to serve as a protective distancing mechanism -- to get over.

this is of course different than in new york, where the second you show up, we're like, "great! glad to see ya! now help pay these darn taxes already, will ya? and hey, get outta my way, i gotta catch this train!"

in fact i still truly think that in new york 80% of people don't care at bottom if you're legal or illegal as long as you're paying taxes and working somehow. 'cuz lawd luv a green-eyed duck, we need all the help covering the state budget deficit we can get!

but back to these charming chocolates. that the english inn regulars did give these to me indicates that they wanna be pals, but that they've since vamoosed, i think may be this whole shyness about foreigners.

or possibly the regulars are just weird. . .

anyway, these hearts are handmade by the well-known and loved linden lady firm, which has been making upscale chocolates since the 30's.

since they are milk chocolate, which isn't my favorite, i'm going to say that they are still quite lovely. the milk chocolate heart-shaped shell isn't too waxy, but does seem a tad thick and overly sweet to me.

the chocolate ganache interiors are rather liquid and nicely creamy, if a tiny bit grainy. what i mean by this is that if i dab a bit of ganache on my tongue and rub it against the roof of my mouth, i feel as if the sugar or something likewise crystalline is noticably present.

so if you're a milk chocolate fan, i think you'd enjoy these english classics.

but be warned: i repeat, they are incredibly, incredibly sweet! one definitely goes a long way. . .

posted by fortune | 5:07 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments