Food of the Romantics

February 21st, 2015

In Austen’s brilliant classic Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy had commented that he considered poetry to be the food for love. Modern lovers may scorn at this fanciful notion, but almost every one of them would agree on the fact that chocolate is the universal choice when it comes to expressing sweet feelings! Chocolate cakes, candies, baskets, hampers – you name it and they are popular. You can easily get chocolates delivered in UK thanks to a large number of stores, which stock a wide variety of chocolates and their dishes. But why just stick to plain ol’ chocolates? Why not experiment with chocolates with some interesting fillings?! Here are some filling options that you may want to consider:

  • Brown sugar butter cream  – A perfect combination of creaming butter and brown sugar, this is one filling that is soft to taste and melts instantly when put in the mouth! Chocolates with a stuffing of this are bound to taste delicious. This would be the perfect complement to both dark and milky chocolates and are irresistibly light on one’s palette.

  • Rum raisin nougat – Who can resist this wonderful combination of liqueur and dry fruits with the delicious treat from France, nougat?! With soft nougat mixed with a little bit of rum and raisins, you get a bite in the chocolate that you wouldn’t expect from a plain bar of chocolate. Made out of egg whites and honey, the nougat would be soft and form a perfectly gooey filling for your bar or bob of chocolate.

  • Marzipan – A favourite in wedding cakes, marzipan can be used with a number of ingredients, chocolate being just one among them. A filling made out of almond meal (sweetened ground almonds) and a sweetener such as sugar or honey, this can be had on its own or can be the ultra-sweet filling for dark chocolates. Marzipan can also be mixed with edible food colours to get them in various tinges so you can experiment with green, red, pink or brown hued chocolate marzipan fillings.

  • Ganache – A filling of chocolate inside chocolate? Ganache is prepared by pouring extremely hot cream over chocolate of any sort. The mixture then created must be blended/beaten very well to get a fine filling. You can also include fruit or nut extracts and various types of liqueurs to Ganache to make them more delicious. Some people go the extra mile and also add a dollop of butter and thus, you get really smooth, silky and shiny Ganache filling for your chocolate!

  • Raspberry Cream – Quite a few people would be craving a box of chocolates of any sort after reading about the chocolates and their fillings so far! But, if you are looking for a lighter and fruity filling to the heavier flavour of chocolate, you should try chocolates with raspberry cream fillings. Their acidic flavour, pretty pink shade combined with a hint of vanilla and finely crushed raspberries in fluffy cream are heavenly delights that will only enhance the magic of the chocolate it is put in.

 So get creative with the traditional tasty delight – chocolate – by experimenting with these and many other types of fillings that you will find in the market. Coconut, buttercream with apricot or mocha, peanut butter, peppermint – the list is endless as should be your quest for new flavours in chocolate!