Gauss chocolatier in Nagold, Germany

Nagold is a beautiful town on the northern side of the Black Forest. Many buildings are well-preserved, and they have a glorious downtown, where cars are only allowed to drive at walking speed.
After a nice walk in the woods last Sunday, we decided to stop in Nagold for coffee.
We found a fabulous cafe-confiserie named Gauss. There's a corner of the building in the picture with the Apotheke.
The cakes were gorgeous, and they had a selection of handmade candies and chocolates, so you'll get to hear of a couple of interesting pieces I picked up before we left.
The white chocolate truffle cake was a killer, with a delicate sponge cake topped by a thick layer of white chocolate mousse.

Today I'll show you two treasures. First, Gauss makes their own namesake cookie/cake/whatever. It's a macaroon, topped by a creamy ganache and coated in chocolate. The finishing touch is a tiny spot of gold leaf.

They also sell hard peppermint candies that have a chocolate filling. They are a little crumbly if you bounce them about, but the peppermint is not too strong, and the chocolate filling is dark enough to be tasty.

Reviewed: Gauss Gauss and chocolate-filled peppermints
Personality: Alluring
How to enjoy: These make a special treat

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: Gauss Cafe in Nagold, Germany

Mars Planets

Road trips are often good places to find new chocolates to try, and my last trip to the Fränkische Schweiz was no exception. At a rest stop, we headed into a shop to buy a bottle of water, and there was a display of Mars Planets standing in a highly convenient location. I both admire and hate the way store apply perfectly good science to finding new ways to subliminally convince you to buy things. That’s why they put the cheaper items lower on the shelves, use the right colors to appeal to your culture, and make you walk in a certain direction around a store.
These guys were lying in wait just as I walked through the door. “Buy me! I’m new!!” Right next to the bottled water on sale, they made a convincing pair, so I bought a package.
Mars Planets are three different candies in one. Inside the package are three different sizes of round candies, each with a different filling. The smallest ones are a typical caramel candy, middle sized are crunchy, and the larger ones have soft fluffy nougat like you would find inside a Mars Bar.
At 37 grams, they weigh in with a slightly lower calorie count than most candy bars, so if you’re shaving the calories off, but still want honest, straightforward candy, it’s the same stuff as the larger bars.

Reviewed: Mars Planets
Personality: Reminds me of sifting my fingers through pebbles on the beach
How to enjoy: A nice snack without being too much
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:
Autobahn rest stops

Alpia Torinos

As a kid, I hated bridge mix. You never knew whether you were getting a nut or a raisin, and I hated chocolate covered raisins at the time. Now they are a real treat.
One equivalent in Germany to American bridge mix is this bag of crunchy dragees. There are almonds, hazelnuts and raisins in this package, and they are covered in dark, milk or white chocolate.
These were good but not great. The luck of the statistical draw gave this bag just one raisin. Too bad. Maybe I’ll have to buy a bag of chocolate covered raisins as well.
The chocolate was good, but I could hardly taste a difference between the dark and the milk chocolate. It was nice to enjoy both hazelnuts and almonds rather than the filler things like nougat.

Reviewed: Alpia Torinos
Personality: Crunchy pleaure
How to enjoy: Nice in small handfuls
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:
Grocery stores in Germany

Vivil Creme Classic Schokogeschmack

Sugar free does not mean calorie free. Vivil is the king of sugar free candies, offering a number of flavors, and having a special recipe that reasonably mimics creamy caramel.
Their chocolate version, however, is terrible. The first taste is almost like cocoa, but that immediately goes away. Afterwards, I can only find a metallic flavor, nothing like the creamy caramel flavor version.

Reviewed: Vivil Creme Life Classic Schokogeschmack
Personality: Hard and unpleasant
How to enjoy: Keep them on your desk for emergencies, but let the people who clean out your candy jar at night eat them
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:
Grocery stores in Germany

Moevenpick Creation Meringue

These cookies are da Bomb! Moevenpick, which is a huge corporation, has hotels, restaurants and ice cream under their control, as well as some fine foods.
Their cookies are fabulous. The meringue layers are cloud-light, just sturdy enough to showcase the smooth melty chocolate ganache. Then they go just that one glorious step further by dipping it in a lovely dark chocolate.

These are tiny cookies, and I have to confess that this was the last one. I insisted we stop and photograph it before it disappeared into DH's tummy. It took us about 4 days to finish a box of 100 grams, which I believe shows that we exercised considerable restraint.

Reviewed: Moevenpick Creation Meringue
Personality: An angel among cookies
How to enjoy: One at a time, letting each bite melt slowly in your mouth
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:
German grocery stores, also in Austria
http://www.moevenpickfoods.com/feingebaeck/p_meringue.html

Ferrero Duplo zartbitter

Ferrero Duplo regular leaves me cold. It’s too sweet, the milk chocolate isn’t very chocolatey, and I don’t bother with it unless I have a really strong chocolate craving and nothing else is available. Same can be said for regular KitKats.
Then I discovered KitKat dark chocolate. Mmmm,. Much better. When I saw dark Duplo in the store yesterday, I knew I had to try them.
Now Duplo is made by Ferrero, the makers of Rocher. Rochers are one of my favorite candies, better than a candy bar because they are small, and not as expensive as high-class pralines. With Rocher, Ferrero has proven itself quite capable with light crunchy wafers and nougat cream.

How did they do with Duplo? Just as good. Certainly, Duplo doesn’t have that lovely crunchy hazelnut that the Rocher has, but if I want a little candy bar, and the dark Duplo is there, it’s a good choice for something light.
What’s better – KitKat or Duplo? Duplo, hands down.

Reviewed: Duplo zartbitter
Personality: Rocher’s candy bar
How to enjoy: OK, I brought one into work, but it didn’t last 15 minutes. So sue me. I’ll skip dessert today.
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:
Grocery stores in Germany.
USA: http://www.germandeli.com/ (maybe not the dark – you’ll have to ask
Ferrero: http://www.ferrero.com/eng/index.html

Lindt Edel Marzipan

One more from Lindt tonight. This one is a bit of a problem, because they disappeared so fast that I can hardly remember their special characteristics.
I do remember buying them half-price after Easter, choosing them because marzipan and chocolate is my husband’s favorite, and really enjoying the one I had.
Then suddenly the rest just faded into oblivion. Next thing I knew the bag was empty, one more stinkin’ thing I had to cart off to the recycling, and I could see a big smile on my husband’s face.

Reviewed: Lindt Edel Marzipan Easter Eggs
Personality: Husband pacifier, better even than beer
How to enjoy: Drop one into the husband’s hands, then ask for anything you want
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:
Lindt is sold many places worldwide