Our Christmas tree went up last week. I’ve heard of people putting theirs up in the second week of November: Christmas is something of a life raft this year.
So it’s all about Christmas flavours this week. First: Chocolarder’s Roasted Chestnut, £5.50 is a 40% white chocolate with a definite kick of not only chestnut but also wood smoke. It’s fabulous: bonkers, interesting and probably not like anything you’ve ever tasted before. While you’re there, put a bar of their 72% Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, £5.50 in your virtual trolley. There were so many things going on in my mouth tasting this – apples, oranges, pine needles. It felt very Willy Wonka. If you haven’t put your tree up already, this is the bar to eat while you do.
Staying on the west coast (Chocolarder is Cornish), but moving over to Devon, Salcombe Dairy’s (them of the ice-cream) dark chocolate with ginger, £4.95 is really nice. Not super dark – 70% – with big chunks of crystallised stem ginger. If you fancy something in dark milk their 38% rum and raisin, £4.95, is highly eatable. I didn’t get much of a rum kick, but you do feel the raisins.
Coming home to Suffolk and my favourite bakery, Pump Street, has got a lovely 70% Gingerbread, £6.25, which is rich with black treacle, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom. But I really liked the limited-edition 70% Panettone chocolate, £6.25 (their actual sourdough panettone is also worth buying). This has all of Christmas in it: armagnac, candied orange peel, almonds and sugar crystals.
