Assortments R Us

What's in an chocolate box? Is a creme by any other name just as creamy? Wouldn't mum love a chocolate selection for Mother's Day?

I have put together a little guide to separate the pralines from the truffles... (Part 1)

In the early days of The Chocolate Box’s history, chocolates were made at the back of the Camberwell (Melbourne) shop, hand filled, piped, and decorated. The Chocolate Box co-owner Marion recalls working in the store at age 13, mixing the fondants, pouring them into the chocolate bases, and piping the chocolates with a decorative initial. The chocolates were then laid out on trays behind the glass counter. These were chocolate coated creams, nut clusters, hard toffees and hand-dipped jellies and fruit, in the days before European style chocolates and pralines became dominant.


If you like chocolates with nut clusters, hard caramels, chocolate coated jelly, coconut roughs, marzipans, and the type of sweet soft creams (or cremes) that run (like egg yolks in a soft boiled egg) when you bite into them, you will love our 50th Anniversary Assortment. (If you are a fan of the hard centres, we have Hard Centre only versions of our 50th Anniversary assortment in all milk and all dark chocolate.)

In Europe, the Swiss and Belgian manufacturers had been dominant for many years, but it wasn't until their chocolates were imported to Australia, that Australians got a taste of the very elegant, stylised, and refined European-style chocolate assortments. Characteristically quite beautiful and individual to look at, European assortments often feature pralines (with whipped chocolate centres mixed with finely ground nuts, often hazelnuts or almonds), marzipans (an almond and sugar confection), and truffle centres (made with cream, chocolate and liqueur or other flavours).


If you like chocolates with soft centres, nut pralines, liqueur or coffee flavoured chocolates, and decorative chocolates that frequently have more than one combination of flavours, you will love our La Boite (Belgian box) assortment.


If you would prefer to try an Australian made version of European style chocolates, we have our Classic assortment of chocolates: these include a variety of European style pralines, marzipan chocolates, liqueur flavoured chocolates, creams, buttercreams and chocolate and nut combinations.

The List:
50th Anniversary Assortment
Classic Assortment
La Boite Assortment

The Easter List

Every season I put together a list of some of the most interesting and delicious new things available in our stores. Easter is a pretty big deal for us, so perhaps this list is a little longer than usual, but if you haven't visited our stores or website lately, you might be a little surprised at some of the things on show! (If you are viewing this list through Blogger, click on the image link, and you'll be taken to the product on our website!)

	DARK CHOCOLATE HALF EGG This is the gift for lovers of dark chocolate. The solid mini eggs within are created from The Chocolate Box's fine dark chocolate and the cocoa solid content is 50% minimum!
	GINGERBREAD BUNNIES Here is non-chocolate alternative to Easter gift giving. It's a nice medium-large gingerbread bunny with a bit of icing for decoration. It's a great treat for children who have eaten a little too much chocolate on Easter Sunday. (We even think that it looks like an Australian Bilby - our indigenous Easter bunny!)
	ENZA'S EASTER EGG BOX Simplicity itself, I love this Easter Box. Who wouldn't be happy with this large Easter egg (available in Milk or Dark chocolate) and this cute tall soft plush bunny. Happy Easter indeed. There is also a variation of this Enza's box, with a bottle of wine, a smaller egg, and the long tall bunny.
	EASTER CARD "You're a Good Egg". Dress up your Easter gift giving with this cute little Easter card, complete with a solid milk-chocolate solid egg half, revealed by the egg-shaped cutout.
	ASSORTED EGGS This is a lovely assortment of filled eggs from France. What is so lovely about it, are the mini egg fillings: a combination of Dark Truffle, enrobed in dark chocolate, and Hazelnut Praline filled mini eggs.
	FRECKLE HALF EGG I love this one. A delicious milk chocolate half-egg case filled with lovely large chocolate Freckles (marvellous milk chocolate disks covered in Hundreds and Thousands).
	GOLDEN BUNNY Every Easter needs a bunny, and this is my choice for the cutest. This golden foiled icon of Easter is a sweet milk chocolate delight.
	190G EASTER EGG Our Easter eggs are thicker than most, and this is the first time that we have included the 190g Milk or Dark chocolate foiled egg in our online Easter Collection. Created with fine couverture chocolate and approximately 14cms tall, these eggs are made from real chocolate. The dark chocolate variety can boast 50% cocoa solids minimum!
	WOODEN EGGS These highly collectable wooden eggs are delightful. In many countries wooden eggs are given as Christmas gifts, and their history even dates before Christ. We have a small selection of very beautiful eggs, and very simple eggs on our website.
	PRALINE FILLED REAL EGGSHELLS One of the more unusual and delightful products are these gianduja filled eggshells. They are actually made from real eggshells with the contents removed, and refilled with delightful gianduja (created with hazelnut) chocolate. We still have the plain colour eggs available on our website, and these can be customised further... Write the recipients name on with a fridge marker or metallic pen! Like actual shells, you need to crack them to get to the contents underneath.

The G20 is talking about it!

Finance! Most of the world's currencies are down but The Chocolate Box's chocolate coins are holding firm! (And they are also available Nut Free!)

We're in the fourth quarter of the financial year. Time enough to get the promotional edge on your financial competitors with a memorable (and tasty) promotion. Our chocolate coins are a fine milk chocolate, available in mesh bags of approx. 22 chocolates in variously sized mixed currencies, or clear pails.

Additional customisation options may be possible for larger corporate orders.
Please enquire.



If you require Australian currency, please enquire for availability.

Nut Free Flat bunnies

If you are a food watcher looking for a chocolate product this Easter, have a look at our flat rabbit twin pack. It is cholesterol free, nut free, dairy free, gluten free and has no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. It comes wrapped in a clear bag with ribbon and a swingtag.

Ingredients: Raw Cane sugar, Cocoa Butter (21%), Soy Flour (20%), Cocoa Mass (11%), Inulin (from Chicory), Emulsifiers (Soy Lecithin, E476), Natural Vanilla Flavour. May contain traces of nuts.

Cupid Strikes Again

It's getting close to Valentine's Day (February 14th), and once again it's time to keep a lookout for chubby flying babies hefting medieval weaponry. Yes, it is that special day in the calendar year when Sweethearts are encouraged to commemorate their relationships with a sweepingly romantic gesture - such as a presentation of sweepingly romantic boxed chocolates, for instance, with a lovely heart gift card, and your own poem. We can help! (Except with the poem. You're on your own there.)

Here is a selection of a few of the fancy new items from The Chocolate Box for this Valentines Day. If you especially like any of the presentations below, please try to order them early, since we only have a limited amount of Valentine's Day gifts, and once they're gone ...

The Love Trap A deliriously delicious collection of sweet milk chocolate hearts wrapped in red foil, presented in an elegant silver heart cage. This presentation contains 15 X 8g chocolate hearts. Click here for more information

Heart Shaped Box Fanning the flames of love, this fiery presentation of red and gold foiled milk hearts is a sure-fire hit. It contains about 220g or approximately 26 heart pieces. Click here for more information

Joey Bear Little Joey, a gorgeous russet bear wears his heart on his chest and is looking for hugs. Joey comes in medium and large sizes. From head to feet, Medium sized Joey (pictured) is about 39cm. Click here for more information

Enza's Valentine's Day Bag A premium selection of luxury chocolate cream truffles, with an Australian wine, and a cuddly bear that’s full of love. Enza's Valentine's Bag is sure to delight. (If you prefer, the red wine may be substituted with white wine upon arrangement, just write a message to The Chocolate Box in the message field when ordering, or, if you forget, send an email immediately after placing your order with your new instructions.) Click here for more information

The Kisses Box Delicious milk chocolate kisses are a fun and cheeky way to show how much you care. Click here for more information

Valentine's Day La Boite box Special Edition packaging - first 20 customers - red jewellery heart bob decoration (pictured left). For the lover of premium gourmet Belgian chocolates. Using fresh, natural ingredients including coffee, fruits, nuts and spices. Click here for more information

For more of our Valentine's Range, click here.

SPECIAL OFFER for website customers. FREE "with love" chocolate heart card with every order from our Valentine's Day range over $20 (not including postage). To redeem quote this code when ordering: VGC020914.
Terms and Conditions: Not valid with any other offer, not reedemable for cash. Valid to 14th February 2009. Only valid for internet purchases using our web site (www.chocolatebox.com.au), offer not available in stores. Please note we only deliver within Australia.

The Heat is On - Sweets of Summer Part 2

It looks like this week is shaping up to be the hottest week this year in Melbourne, with weather reports predicting temperatures of 40, 40, and 40 degrees Celcius for the next three days, so I thought it was an appropriate time to showcase Part 2 of the Sweets of Summer, which is a list of some of The Chocolate Box's more hardy confectionery products.

	VIENNA ALMONDS The subtle delicate flavours of traditional Vienna almonds are roasted and caramelised for that exquisite crunchy taste and texture. Click here to order Vienna Almonds
	PEPPERMINT HUMBUGS Sweet, longlasting, hard-boiled delights. Peppermint humbugs are refreshing and sweet. Available in bags or jars. Click here for Hard Boiled Sweets
	CHOCOLATE ROCKS These Chocolate Rocks come with their own weather protection in the form of their deliciously crisp candy shells. Weather warning: we wouldn't send this product out in extremes of heat without weather protection, but the chocolate should be hardy enough to keep in the fridge if you'd like to try them cool. Click here to order Chocolate Rocks
	CINNAMON ALMONDS These delicately roasted almonds are baked in a crunchy cinnamon flavoured shell. Click here to order Cinnamon Almonds

Sweets of Summer (Part 1)

Welcome to the Sweets of Summer Part 1, a list of some of The Chocolate Box’s most delicious, and most weather-defying, products for those hot Summer days.

	FUDGES Fabulous fudge comes in four (count ‘em four!) varieties including Caramel, Chocolate, Irish Cream, & Russian Toffee. Click here to order fudges
	JELLIES & GUMMI BEARS There is nothing that says summer like fruity jellies -- and our classic fruity gummi bears are delicious too! Click here for Jellies Click here for gummies
	NOUGAT Whether crunchy or soft, fruitful or fruitless, with almonds or more almonds, we have a nougat for you! Click here to order
	CHOCOLATE SAUCES Quality chocolate sauces in three delightful varieties, Fudge Cointreau, or Irish Cream. Drizzle them over your ice-cream for a Summer delight! Click here to order

A Fruity, Nutty, Rummy Free Gift with Purchase

A fruity, nutty hello to all our followers. As a special gift for this month, we are offering a free sample bag of 2 Fruity Nutty Rum Bombs for all orders made on our website between January 1st to 31st, 2009. What do you need to do to get it? There are no codes to fill in, just order, and it will automatically be included with your purchase. Our Fruity Nutty Rum Bombs contain a delicious chocolatey centre mixed with fruit, nuts and rum, and are enrobed in fine dark chocolate.

Happy New Year

It's been a busy holiday season: that pre-Christmas bustle, followed by too much overeating and a round of New Years' socialising that's left you breathless? Maybe now is the time to just chill out, unwind and get your Zen on, and we have just the thing: the Happy Heart bag. It contains a selection of dark chocolate (contains antioxidants), green tea, dark chocolate ginger, dark chocolate almonds and red wine (more antioxidants!) to put that spring back into your step.
Click here to order.

Take a peek at our CBW store!

Just for fun, I have put together a few pictures of our brand new store. It is located in the heart of Melbourne city, tucked away on a lane called Goldsborough Lane, on the Corner of Bourke and William Streets... and here is a map, too!

Pies R Us

We have a brand new Christmas special, combining three of our most favourite Christmas desserts: pies, puddings and fruit cake. The fruit mince pies have a lovely buttery crust, and are filled with fruity mince. The pudding is lovely steamed in it's own pouch, or microwaved, and served in thin slices with white chocolate sauce or by itself. The fruity cake, our pièce de resistance, is a lovely 800g moist fruit filled cake decorated with complete pieces of pecan, almond, and green and red glacé cherries. Separately their combined retail price is $44.35, but follow this link to our website and they can be purchased together in a pack for $39.95.

Click here to order

RECIPE BLOG! Christmas Stars with Raspberry Framboise Sauce

Here's a festive recipe using The Chocolate Box's own Raspberry Framboise Sauce. It's pretty easy. Like I usually say "If I can make them, anyone can! TM".

INGREDIENTS
A tablespoon or two of The Chocolate Box's Raspberry Framboise Sauce
2 sheets of puff pastry (each sheet makes 16 stars)
1 Freerange Egg
1 Tablespoon Water
White icing for decoration

IMPLEMENTS Greaseproof baking paper Basting brush Baking tray Bowl Spoon, fork, knife INSTRUCTIONS 1. Take out and defrost one sheet of puff pastry. Cut into about 16 squares. Preheat oven to about 200•C. 2. Create cuts in all four corners of each sheet, as shown. If you want to make them a bit thinner than mine, you could try rolling out the dough to be a bit finer. 3. Spoon on a little bit of Raspberry Framboise Sauce into the centre of the stars. I find that you actually don't need very much. 4. Fold over one startip from each corner into the centre, until you make a pinwheel shape. See diagram at right. Make sure that you press the dough together at the centre of each star, otherwise the stars might not keep their shape. 5. Place stars carefully on greaseproof baking paper on an oven tray. 6. Whisk one egg and a tablespoon of water in a bowl, and with a brush, brush them over the pastries. This is what gives the pastries their golden brown colour. 7. Cook for about 15-20 minutes at about 150-180•C. Remove when lightly browned. 8. To finish, sift a little bit of white icing powder over the top for decoration.

As an interesting variation, you can try adding dessicated coconut to the raspberry framboise sauce before using in the recipe.