Saturday, January 18, 2014

Shane Confectionery #2 - Philadelphia, PA


 Shane Confectionery - Philadelphia, PA

I have already reviewed the walnut, lemon, and mint butter-cream candies, which were quite impressive. (Check out the first three chocolates HERE.)  I hope the next three flavors won't disappoint.

All of the chocolates I'll be reviewing today have the same dark chocolate coating, which I already covered in yesterday's review, so I'll focus on the flavored fondant centers.



I made this little guide to remember what flavors were what. Compare this to the photo above to see all the little details.
I'm sure most of you have seen the little flavor-guides that come inside boxed chocolates, it acts like a map to show you which candy has what filling. (Ever have a Whitman's Sampler?) Shane Confectionary uses the same concept, but instead of a guide, each flavor is decorated differently. Some of the designs are pretty obvious, like the mint, while the rest can be easily mixed up. I didn't want to get confused, so I made this little guide to help me remember which candies were which.

First up, the strawberry butter-cream!


Strawberry
Butter-Cream (A two pronged leaf? Or is this a heart?)
This chocolate features a design that looks a bit like a stylized heart, but it could also be a leaf. I'm not 100% sure. While this detail is visually appealing, it could easily be mixed up with the maple flavored candies, which have a similar design featuring three prongs.

Unlike the chocolates I reviewed yesterday, the filling is very subtle. It starts out tasting like a sweet vanilla fondant, but as it dissolves a strawberry jam-like flavoring emerges. On it's own, the filling tastes like strawberry ice cream.
I have to say, this is one of the best strawberry flavored chocolates I have ever had, but it pales in comparison to the lemon. Also, the milk chocolate version was way too sweet for my tastes and I felt like it overpowered the strawberry flavoring. The dark chocolate is far superior. (Keep in mind that I'm a dark chocolate junkie, some of you that prefer milk chocolate may say otherwise.)
 

Coffee Butter-Cream
(drizzle)
I purchased this flavor the last time I was at Shane for my coffee addicted boyfriend who shares the store's name. (I thought I was being so cute buying my boyfriend Shane candies from Shane. I'm dorky that way.)

This coffee flavored fondant is pretty powerful stuff. Unlike the subtle strawberry, once the chocolate fades away you're left with a deliciously smooth fondant that tastes like a cafe latte. The flavoring might seem subtle at first, but as the fondant melts the coffee flavoring intensifies. I am pretty sure that real coffee beans were ground up and added to the fondant center because I had a few coffee grounds left in my mouth after it dissolved. 

I am not a big coffee drinker, I enjoy a cup of coffee once a month, but I still enjoyed these candies. The strong coffee flavoring pairs nicely with both the dark and milk chocolates, although I prefer the dark. (No surprise there.)



Vanilla Butter-Cream (Swirled)
This flavor has the simplest design of the bunch, but it matches it's classic vanilla filling. 
It might have been a fluke, but this seemed to have a thicker chocolate shell than the others. It took a a bit of tact to eat the vanilla fondant on it's own, but once I did get a decent bite of fondant it tasted rich and buttery. The flavoring reminded me of a basic vanilla fudge at first, but there was this sweet vanilla flavoring that reminded me of the vanilla sugar I bought from Ikea.

Vanilla may seem boring when compared to the other flavors available, but this truffle is expertly crafted. It is my least favorite of the 6 different chocolates I have reviewed, but that doesn't mean I dislike it. The vanilla just has some very stiff competition.
 Here is my ranking:                              
Lemon
Mint
Walnut
Strawberry
Coffee
Vanilla

Okay, all the chocolates are done. My next Shane post will include store photos and the gorgeous handmade lollipop I purchased. (I think it's Basil Pomegranate, but I better double check.)
© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
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