the sweet scrapbook

Gunz. I bought four of their products at the beginning of the month (1st of November) and for some strange reason, the name sounded familiar. But I couldn't recall trying anything else from them. After visiting their website, a lot of things are still unclear. Thogh a few are quite clear. I now remember which of their products I've tried in the past (more about that in another post). And I understand a few basic things about them - from Dornbirn, founded in 1986, owning the chocolate label Maitre Truffout and quite a few cake and biscuit labels. The packaging of the Gunz products that I've bought at the beginning of this month indicated that they were made in Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Austria... Had I bought a fifth product, would it have been made somewhere else?

Maitre Truffout Creme Truffel. A box of milk chocolate pralines with creamy filling and white chocolate flakes. That certainly sounded interesting and I liked the image on the box which showed three truffles, chocolate cream and a white chocolate block (see the first picture below).

Gunz. I bought four of their products at the beginning of the month (1st of November) and for some strange reason, the name sounded familiar. But I couldn't recall trying anything else from them. After visiting their website, a lot of things are still unclear. Thogh a few are quite clear. I now remember which of their products I've tried in the past (more about that in another post). And I understand a few basic things about them - from Dornbirn, founded in 1986, owning the chocolate label Maitre Truffout and quite a few cake and biscuit labels. The packaging of the Gunz products that I've bought at the beginning of this month indicated that they were made in Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Austria... Had I bought a fifth product, would it have been made somewhere else?

Maitre Truffout Creme Truffel. A box of milk chocolate pralines with creamy filling and white chocolate flakes. That certainly sounded interesting and I liked the image on the box which showed three truffles, chocolate cream and a white chocolate block (see the first picture below).

I love Lindt chocolate. Milk, mild to medium dark, white... I first discovered Lindt on acold Saturday morning, just before the Electromagnetism partial exam. That's why I still remember the date - 23rd of November 2003. Lindt Milk Chocolate with Spekulatius Biscuit and Praline Cream (also inside view). Yes, I had the chocolate with me in the exam room and I ate it afterwards. And it was cinnamon and milk chocolate Heaven! Obviusly, next step was to get the Lindt Gingerbread Pralines box - yes, yes, yes! I drove everyone crazy with that year's Lindt Christmas offerings. Other chocolates were to try once. Lindt was something to have over and over...

In the first half of the next year, I tried the Nouvelle Confiserie chocolates. Oh, they were lovely (I was a bit unsure about white chocolate, it had never been real chocolate to me, but I even liked those). Please, Lindt, please bring them back!

I love Lindt chocolate. Milk, mild to medium dark, white... I first discovered Lindt on acold Saturday morning, just before the Electromagnetism partial exam. That's why I still remember the date - 23rd of November 2003. Lindt Milk Chocolate with Spekulatius Biscuit and Praline Cream (also inside view). Yes, I had the chocolate with me in the exam room and I ate it afterwards. And it was cinnamon and milk chocolate Heaven! Obviusly, next step was to get the Lindt Gingerbread Pralines box - yes, yes, yes! I drove everyone crazy with that year's Lindt Christmas offerings. Other chocolates were to try once. Lindt was something to have over and over...

In the first half of the next year, I tried the Nouvelle Confiserie chocolates. Oh, they were lovely (I was a bit unsure about white chocolate, it had never been real chocolate to me, but I even liked those). Please, Lindt, please bring them back!

On a Saturday, at the beginning of June 2005, I went shopping with B., my boyfriend at the time. Of course, we both wanted something sweet. He suggested the Casali Original Rum-Kokos (the milk chocolate version). I was (and still am) a big fan of chocolate and rum combinations so I had been curious about those rum-filled chocolate balls ever since first seeing them. However, I had always been unsure about the coconut component and about their weird shiny look. But B. said they were very good... And that's how I first tried something from Casali. Hello, Koko!

I would later learn that the Casali story began almost 220 years ago in Trieste (at that time, a free port within the Habsburg Empire) when Joseph Casali began producing Rosolio (a liqueur made using rose petals), rum and punch. The business was relocated to Vienna in 1810. Casali would step into a new territory, that of confectionery manufacturing after being sold to the Beer family in 1913. 1955 was the year that Casali was sold again, this time to Franz Andres, the man who had founded Napoli in 1949. Casali Napoli thus became Austria's second largest confectionery manufacturer - the first being Manner (founded in 1890 in Vienna). In 1970, Manner (who, by the way, make some awesome gingerbread and wafers*) took over Casali Napoli.

On a Saturday, at the beginning of June 2005, I went shopping with B., my boyfriend at the time. Of course, we both wanted something sweet. He suggested the Casali Original Rum-Kokos (the milk chocolate version). I was (and still am) a big fan of chocolate and rum combinations so I had been curious about those rum-filled chocolate balls ever since first seeing them. However, I had always been unsure about the coconut component and about their weird shiny look. But B. said they were very good... And that's how I first tried something from Casali. Hello, Koko!

I would later learn that the Casali story began almost 220 years ago in Trieste (at that time, a free port within the Habsburg Empire) when Joseph Casali began producing Rosolio (a liqueur made using rose petals), rum and punch. The business was relocated to Vienna in 1810. Casali would step into a new territory, that of confectionery manufacturing after being sold to the Beer family in 1913. 1955 was the year that Casali was sold again, this time to Franz Andres, the man who had founded Napoli in 1949. Casali Napoli thus became Austria's second largest confectionery manufacturer - the first being Manner (founded in 1890 in Vienna). In 1970, Manner (who, by the way, make some awesome gingerbread and wafers*) took over Casali Napoli.

From the same ice-cream shop as the cakes in the previous post, two kinds of chocolate mousse.

The first one is called Mousse Duo. From top to bottom it has two white and dark chocolate rolls, decorative dark chocolate pieces, a layer of white chocolate mousse, a layer of dark chocolate mousse and a layer of cocoa cake. The second one is called Mousse Choco. It has a white and dark chocolate roll, a pink macaron piece, decorative almond slithers, a layer of dark chocolate frosting and alternating layers of cocoa mousse and cake with cherries.

From the same ice-cream shop as the cakes in the previous post, two kinds of chocolate mousse.

The first one is called Mousse Duo. From top to bottom it has two white and dark chocolate rolls, decorative dark chocolate pieces, a layer of white chocolate mousse, a layer of dark chocolate mousse and a layer of cocoa cake. The second one is called Mousse Choco. It has a white and dark chocolate roll, a pink macaron piece, decorative almond slithers, a layer of dark chocolate frosting and alternating layers of cocoa mousse and cake with cherries.