Candy Bar Lab

I received this bar as an Easter gift a while ago, but with so many candy bars lying around in my place waiting to be reviewed, it’s taken me a while to get to this one. I see these Chocolove bars all the time at Target, but since I actually don’t like the packaging design, I’m never tempted to buy them. If I hadn’t received this as a gift, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up for myself. Of course, I’m happy to try out any new candy bars and this is no exception.

Structure
It’s 18 segments of molded dark chocolate with pieces of toasted almonds and dried cherries mixed in.

Texture
The first thing you’ll notice is the strong snap to the chocolate when you bite in. It’s definitely one of the best tempered chocolates I’ve had. The almonds are chopped up pretty small and are toasted well, so they have a nice crunch. The dried cherries are a little chewy and stuck to my teeth after the chocolate had melted away.

Taste
You can taste right away that the Belgian dark chocolate is high quality. It’s only 55% cocoa, so it’s fairly sweet for dark chocolate, which is good because it counteracts the slight sourness of the dried cherries. The toasted almonds have a nice subtle flavor that complements the other components well.

Verdict
I didn’t love the dried cherries and would have enjoyed the bar more without them. Even so, this is a quality candy bar that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m anxious to taste some of Chocolove’s other varieties. In fact, I have a Crystallized Ginger in Dark Chocolate bar sitting around that I’ll have to try out soon.

I’ve been telling people for a while that I make candy bars. However, I’m not sure everyone believed me. While I’ve eaten my own creations and frequently shared with my girlfriend and family, I hadn’t shared with many others (namely, my co-workers). So, I decided I was going to make some to bring into the office. The one that seemed to be the biggest hit was the Peanut Butter Caramel Peanut Bar shown below. I know… that’s not a very creative name, but I was just going for something descriptive, not catchy.

Here’s how I made it.

Step 1: Making Peanut Butter Caramel
Start by making a batch of soft caramel. Once you’re done, let it sit for a few minutes to cool down a little. Then, mix in a half cup of creamy, natural peanut butter. Let it melt and stir gently to fully incorporate.

Step 2: Preparing Peanuts
I used three different versions of peanuts - all derived from the same jar of dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts. First, I chopped about 1/4 cup in a nut chopper. Second, I left about 1/4 cup untouched. Third, I baked 1/3 cup at 350 degrees on a baking for about 10 minutes that had been coated in a slurry of water, sugar, and salt. When I was done, I mixed all of these together with the Peanut Butter Caramel and let sit until it was at room temperature.

Step 3: Tempering Chocolate
You must temper chocolate. Otherwise it’ll be soft, grainy, and discolored. I won’t get into the specifics of how to do it here, but there are a ton of resources available on the internet that will help you figure it out. Here’s a good place to start.

Note: I used dark chocolate, but milk chocolate would have worked just as well.

Step 4: Assembly
The center is very soft, so I decided to use a mold to construct this bar. You’ll need something with a big enough cavity to fit the caramel and peanuts. I have one about the size of a regular Snickers bar, so I went with that. Coat each cavity of the mold the tempered chocolate. I’ve seen recommendations to use a pastry brush, but I prefer to use a small spoon and gravity to evenly coat everything. If there’s excess chocolate in a cavity, either let it pour out or coerce it out with the spoon. Once the cavities are lined, let the chocolate sit until it has hardened enough to be filled.

The center at room temperature is almost the consistency of cookie dough, though a little softer. I took out about a tablespoon of filling and rolled it first into a ball and then into a log about the length of the bar. I pressed this down lightly into the mold, so it filled in all of the space. After a couple of bars, you’ll get a sense for how much it takes to fill the mold.

Finally, after you’ve filled all the molds with the peanut butter caramel, top each one with a small spoonful of tempered chocolate. I used an offset spatula to smooth everything down, so it was flush with the mold. Let the bars sit for while until everything sets up and they’re ready to be unmolded.

I’ve been eying Chuao (pronounced chew-WOW) candy bars at my local grocery store for a few months now. Of their three products, the packaging for this Spicy Maya bar was the one that immediately jumped out at me. The bold, white lettering on a red, metallic wrapper is very appealing. What’s not so appealing is the $6.29 price tag. But, I felt compelled to try one out for myself because I already know I’m a fan of spicy chocolate products.

Structure
A solid, molded rectangle of dark chocolate with 24 sections. The cayenne pepper, pasilla chile, and cinnamon are distributed throughout the chocolate.

Texture
This is a well tempered bar that produces a nice snap when you bite it. The only textural difference between this and pure chocolate is the bit of crunchiness from the ground spices, which I liked.

Taste
At first, I only tasted dark chocolate, which was by itself, quite good. A couple seconds after swallowing my first bite though, I felt some heat in the back of my throat. After a few more bites, the spicy, peppery taste became more noticeable. Thankfully, it never became overwhelming. All the flavors work well together and I found myself craving more each time I tried to put the bar down.

Verdict
This is a quality product with a unique flavor combination and excellent packaging. I shared it with six friends and it was unanimously liked. Having said that, I will admit that most people probably won’t want to spend more than $6.00 for a product like this. It’s more of a one-time indulgence than the kind of treat the average person will buy often.