I don't know how he did it (or hid it!) but somehow, in the middle of emigrating, flat hunting and moving house (and some very heavy hints!), my husband found me the best Easter Egg ever (after a really special one my parents gave me as a kid, which was a Marks and Spencers Easter egg in a nest of shredded yellow paper, with little chocolate dinosaurs inside!).

 

So here's my homage to the Hotel Chocolat 'Rocky Road to Caramellow' (or 'Rocky Road to Caramel', as they're calling it this year:

 

It comes in a box with a keyhole on the side...

 

The first, and best, thing about this is the two halves of the chocolate egg itself.  One half is Rocky Road, which is milk chocolate with a decent cocoa content and cookie chunks and crispy bits in a band around it.  The other half is smooth caramel chocolate (presumably the 'Caramellow').  Both halves are gorgeously thick, so much so that even a small chunk is very satisfying.  I almost can't believe it myself, but it took me a month to eat the whole thing, and this is Hotel Chocolat's medium sized Easter Egg!

 

And as if that wasn't enough, there are chocolates inside it too: a mixture of milk chocolate and caramel flavoured chocolates, pralines, pecan, gianduja and chewy / crispy things.  I shared some of these with the kids, along with the chocolate itself, and we all loved it, but thankfully with it being Easter, the kids had enough of their own Easter eggs to keep them busy. So what can I say, but thanks hubby :)

 

 

Find it on the Top Sellers at Hotel Chocolat page here.

Well it's been a while since I've posted and here's why: I've moved to another country.

 

My mother in law, who lives in America, was diagnosed with a serious illness, so being her only child, my husband of course wanted to be nearer by.  So we've all moved to America, and we're just about (fingers crossed) catching up with ourselves.

 

I know, technically this isn't either chocolate related or news, but still, hopefully I will find some nice new chocolate here too :)

 

I don't get it. Surely if you're digging a hole in your front garden to roast a pig (or was it lamb) overnight, you'd want to put some chocolate in? It's the first time I've seen Willie of the Wonky Chocolate Factory cook something without it.

 

Well, it's taken me a while to watch the Christmas special and write a review (had a few other things to do!), but I have to say, it was a really lovely, enjoyable Christmas show. Putting aside the puzzle of trying to remember when it had snowed around here (this was before Christmas, remember a time when it wasn't snowing?!), there was a very warm, Christmassy atmosphere, and I hope to have a go at making those chocolate-enhanced mince pies next year.

 

This time round the TV people seemed keen to create some funny moments playing up Willie's eccentricities (digging a hole to roast things under your front lawn, where your wife meant to put the Christmas tree...?) 

 

There's also the fact that the excellent 'Outnumbered ' has been on TV since the last series on the chocolate factory, and Willie and Tania's kids do look surprisingly similar to the kids on that. It all adds to how generally likeable they all are - there's Willie stomping around doing his eccentric high energy chocolate focused things, and there's Tania kind of getting on with it and making lovely little chocolate gifts like Florentines with the kids along the way. And there was the obligatory fabulous looking chocolate tart - ah, lovely!