Belgian luxury chocolates, coffee and caramel, 25 pieces, 330 g

Key terms at a glance

Praline or praliné? In German, “Praline” refers to an individual filled chocolate. “Praliné”, on the other hand, is a filling: a roasted mixture of nuts and sugar, usually hazelnut or almond, ground into a fine paste. In French, the filled chocolate is called bonbon de chocolat or chocolat fourré – there, praline refers only to the confection made from sugar-roasted nuts.

Belgian chocolatiers work mainly with fine-flavour cocoa varieties and with couverture: it contains at least 31% cocoa butter, makes the outer shell thin and crisp, and ensures that the chocolate melts on the tongue instead of remaining sticky.

Caramel and salted butter – soft caramel as a filling, especially the Breton version made with salted butter (caramel au beurre salé), has been an international standard since the 1990s. The salt lifts the caramel notes and keeps the sweetness from tasting one-dimensional. A mark of quality: the caramel should still flow slightly when you bite into it, rather than being rubbery.

The caramel in this box is made with Beurre d’Isigny AOP – butter from the area around Isigny-sur-Mer in Normandy, protected by a designation of origin since 1986. The salt-marsh pastures of the Baie des Veys give the milk its character; with a fat content of at least 82%, this butter provides a melting texture and a nutty, creamy base note. The coffee ganache is an emulsion of fresh cream and melted chocolate.

Other terms – gianduja, fruit fillings, marzipan – are explained in our glossary of specialist terms.