Lindt Creation Velvety Vanilla Almond

It is so not chocolate weather here in Perth, but Lindt has just released a brand new range of 100g blocks called Lindt Creation. Created by Lindt's master chocoletiers, the range includes three flavours: velvety vanilla almond (milk chocolate), sumptuous orange (dark orange) and divine hazelnut (milk).

I've picked up the velvety vanilla almond flavour for review, and the box-type package describes as: 'deliciously crisp almond pieces in a vanilla flavoured truffle with a caramel layer, coated in dreamy milk chocolate.' Everyone knows that Lindt milk chocolate is most definitely dreamy, but how about the rest of it?

The block is just shy of 16cm long, 7.5cm wide and each gently domed piece is 0.8cm high at the centre. There are ten squares (they're really rectangles) in the block, and each piece is large enough to satisfy the largest mouth, but will sit comfortably on the tongue. Each piece also includes the pretty Lindy logo carved in the top.

As with all Lindt milk chocolate, the first note that hits is the creamy milk scents in the chocolate. It's warm and it's inviting. Just behind it comes the warm and somewhat spicy scent of vanilla to round out the sweetness of the chocolate.

Inside each bite there is a layer of vanilla flavoured truffle, which takes up a significant proportion of the piece, and then a layer of caramel across the top. The almond pieces studded through the truffle are not large, per se, but they are visible and will definitely make their presence known when you bite in. Unfortunately, all of the pieces on my block seemed to be filled at a slant - the truffle was sloped up against one side. I don't know if this is standard or if my block is just weird.

As expected, the caramel was the first to burst out and make its presence known when I bite into a piece. It was quickly followed by the strong vanilla flavour though, and together I found they made an interesting combination that reminded me a lot of creme brulee. The chocolate definitely takes a back seat to the sweet and tasty centre, but that's A-OK with me! I found that the almond pieces did not make a huge infringement on the taste; they added texture interest to the chew but not a whole lot of flavour (in fact I couldn't taste them at all), and I don't think the block is any worse off because of it. Texturewise, the chew did feel the slightest bit gluggy and the truffle a touch stick-to-your-teeth-y, but I was happy to work through it for the delicious flavour.

This is most definitely 'absurdly good'!

The milk chocolate contains a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and minimum 20% milk solids. The block may also contain traces of hazelnuts.