I’ve never been a huge fan of sweet things, much preferring a bit of cheese or a packet of crisps to a handful of biscuits. I do, however, have a weakness for proper, good, decent quality chocolate. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bar of Dairy Milk as much as the next girl, I’d struggle to say no to a Snickers. But if you really want to get me going, proper chocolate is the only way.
When W first moved to Loughborough for university we quickly found Chocolate Alchemy. It’s still there and still does the job for a quick fix, but it’s original owner has set up shop elsewhere, and the other owner is on long-term paternity leave – it’s been left to run itself with college students, and the love put into the chocolate seems to have died slightly. It’s been two years now, but we’ve finally paid original owner Pete a visit in Leicester.
Let’s just say, it won’t be another two years before we visit again!
Cocoa Amore is everything we missed about the original ‘Lufbra Chocolate Shop.’ The atmosphere is friendly, relaxed and chilled, the whole place smells of chocolate. We were hoping to try some more of the savoury options that we’d heard about, but seemingly none were available on the Saturday we visited – so chocolate for lunch it was!
We had a quick fight over who would get the ‘egg and soldiers’ but W won that one – he was served toasted brioche soldiers, and a white chocolate egg filled with passionfruit curd. This is the perfect combination of rich chocolate and sharp fruit – it’s one of Pete’s signature dishes and I’m so glad it’s still on the menu.
I went for a warm chocolate brownie, remembering how good the ones used to be at Chocolate Alchemy. It did’t disappoint – this is my perfect brownie. Slightly crunchy on the edges, gooey in the middle, and immensely chewy – and ridiculously chocolatey and rich. It was served with the some divine pistachio ice-cream and honeycomb pieces. I pretty much scoffed the lot.
If that wasn’t enough chocolate, we each ordered a chocolate drink. Their house hot chocolates are made with your choice of milk, white or dark chocolate, slowly melted into milk. I went for a milk chocolate version, with W going dark – both were delicious, thick and creamy. Oh, and each drink allowed the choice of a truffle too. I went for a praline (if in doubt, get me praline truffles – I LOVE them!), W went for a homemade peanut butter cup. We may have bought a selection of truffles home too…
Cocoa Amore really does offered some of the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted. With our total bill coming to £16 (including a take-home bag) it’s a total bargain too. Well worth the trip into Leicester, we won’t be leaving it so long before our next visit!
Are you a chocolate lover? What’s always your first pick out of a box of chocolates?
