Following on from my review of the new hotel Chocolat carrot cake chocolates, part of their new summer range, today we have rhubarb and custard - another much-loved British treat. These chocolates are described as "rhubarb ganache layered with custard flavoured white chocolate, sealed in a milk and white chocolate vanilla seed shell decorated with naturally coloured white chocolate". According to the pack, "in the 1839 opium war, the Chinese tried to defeat the Brits by holding our rhubarb to ransom"...I never realised we loved our rhubarb so much!
Rhubarb has a tendency to be a bit tart for some, no doubt why it works best when balanced with the creaminess of custard. These chocolates contain 3% rhubarb concentrate, which is enough to give a sharpness that blends nicely with the chocolate. It works beautifully! I couldn't stop scoffing these; the sharp rhubarb flavor combined with creamy white chocolate was extremely moreish. I'm not sure it tasted of custard exactly, but it had vanilla and cream flavours in spades.
Overall, these are fantastic chocolates and ones I would highly recommend. I'm probably biased as I love the tart flavor of rhubarb, but they were definitely my favorite of the new hotel chocolat summer selector range I've tried so far.
8.5 out of 10.
(Please stay tuned for a review of hotel chocolats mango white chocolates!)
