Lindt Oster Knusper

Judging by the photos in this blog, Christmas was just a few days ago, when I reviewed some Lindt chocolate-covered nuts, Christmas-style.
Well, today we have the Easter version of a similar product, the Oster-Knusper, or Easter Crisp.
Crisp they are, mostly because Lindt has only 2 candies with nuts, and both of those nuts are almonds. Sigh, I really miss the macadamias from the Christmas collection.
First, there's the Cappucino Crisp, a cookie with a nice coffee flavor. Pretty cool, you crunch into it, and the coffee aroma just fills your mouth.
Second, there are the Frühlings-Mandel, a roasted almond with a Bourbon vanilla white chocolate coating.
Third, the Frühlings-Amarettini, another cookie with an almond flavor coating. Oddly enough, the pieces in my box didn't have the nut/cocoa powder on the outside. I would take them back to the store and demand a replacement, but, you know, it's a Thursday night, and I'm watching TV, and I don't really want to go out to the store again just to complain.
Finally, we have another almond, but with a honey-touched white chocolate coating.
The cookies are nice, but I do miss the macadamias.
All in all, a lovely spring treat.

Reviewed: Lindt Oster-Knusper
Personality: light, crunchy, slightly cloying
How to enjoy: These are a perfect complement to The Daily Show. Try to eat just one piece per clip. Betcha can't do it!

Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy: Wherever Lindt is sold

Frey Tourist Cremant

Frey Tourist Cremant with Raisins, Hazelnuts and Almonds
This bar was simply too odd to pass up in the grocery store in Zurich. First, the name, "Tourist." Second, the fact that they put both almonds and hazelnuts into one bar. Third, in the Zurich area, they call raisins "Weinbeeren" or "wine berries." Too cute.
This bar does not disappoint. Normally I'm not a fan of raisins in chocolate, but this one was fab-u-lous. A great combination of chocoalte, raisins and crunchy nuts. The dark chocolate and the wine berries made all the difference.

Reviewed: Frey Tourist bar
Personality: Nutty and raisiny, with crazy wine berries
How to enjoy: Grab one of these any time, any where
Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: Europe

Aux Anysetiers du Roy Chocolate fondue

This Paris restaurant also sells some of its wares wholesale, and their fondues and Herbes de Provence are their primary items.
This Dark Chocolate is fabulous - I can always trust the recommendations made by my favorite chocolate shop, Salon du Cacao.
I melted this jar in the microwave on low (360W) power, checking and stirring it often. It took several minutes to melt, and stirring frequently is recommended, but there's plenty of time between stirs to prepare your dips.
After trying apples, breadsticks, graham crackers, dried fruit, and a spoon, I decided the apples taste best. Spoon was second best, and I ultimately had nothing but apples and chocolate for dinner. Mmmm. I'm going to try the other flavors as well.

Reviewed: Aux Anysetiers du Roy Chocolate fondue
Personality: Looks off-putting and difficult, but its the easiest thing in the world to prepare
How to enjoy: Prepare some favorite fruits and eat instead of dinner. Or lunch. Or inbetween.
Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: Salon du Cacao
USA: Amazon
UK: French gourmet store

Lindt Weihnachts Nuesse

I'm still cleaning up a few reviews from Christmas. This was one of the special chocolates we enjoyed during the Advents time. The box is a collection of all 4 of Lindt's flavors.
There are 4 different candies in the box, and it's hard to choose which one was my favorite.

• Dark chocolate with almonds
• Milk with Christmas hazelnuts (cinnamon and coriander)
• White almond nougat with candied almonds
• Mild chocolate with Christmas almonds

Reviewed: Lindt Weihnachts Nuesse box
Personality: These belong on a Christmas tree, but you'll eat them first
How to enjoy: Grab these early in the season
Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: Groceries across Europe, but only at Christmas time

Erasmi Lübecker Edel Marzipan Mocca

Lidl gave us another present this week. DH loves marzipan covered with chocolate, and I noticed that he inhaled this one. I only got to eat the one piece that is shown in the photograph.
DH's verdict: the marzipan is as good as any Lübecker marzipan he's eaten, and the mocca flavor was nicely strong. He didn't even notice the bits of coffee bean that I crunched through.

Reviewed: Erasmi Lübecker Edel Marzipan Mocca
Personality: a disappearing act, it goes so fast
How to enjoy: Next time you get in an argument with your hubby, just wave these under his nose.

Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: Lidl (I assume it's coming to Lidls worldwide)

J.D. Gross Cashew an Cashew

J.D. Gross Milk Chocolate with Cashews
Lidl has done it again. This is a stunning milk chocolate bar at a bargain price.
The packaging is a clear plastic bag with 2 bars of cashew-stuffed chocolate. The bars are so big that they were hard to get out of the bag, and I was afraid I would break the bars, just trying to photograph them.

Reviewed: J.D. Gross Cashew an Cashew
Personality: bumpy like the ridges of a brain, but a *chocolate* brain, the best kind there is
How to enjoy: Hide it and sneak bites away from your "dark choc is the only good choc" friends
Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: Lidl (I assume it's coming to Lidls worldwide)

Cafe Stolz birthday cake

I mentioned last week that I was buying my birthday cake from Cafe Stolz. Here are some photos. It was fabulous!

It had a nice splash of ganache on top of the mousse cake, cherries with gold leaf, fresh raspberry and fresh blackberry, and the Cafe Stolz chocolate ball on top. Inside was a delicious genoise, more mousse, and a think layer of seedless jam.

The pics aren't so fabulous, because I kept sticking my fingers in the cake as I moved it around to get it ready to photograph. But I didn't let that get me down - I just licked my fingers and tried again. It was always an accident when my fingers slipped again.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Rapunzel Vollmilch Bio Fair Trade

Rapunzel Vollmilch is a Swiss chocolate that tastes rather more like Hershey's than I care to mention. Hershey's is not one of my favorites, but if you're looking for a fair trade chocolate that is also organic, here's an ok bar.

It has a pretty good aroma and melts nicely.

Reviewed: Rapunzel Vollmilch
Personality: ethically better than it tastes
How to enjoy: If you're committed to fair trade over taste, go for it

Rating:
1: Better than sex
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy

Where to buy:
Germany: Reformhaeuser