Delicious Italian Chocolates by Bellucci Chocolate

Bellucci Chocolate is a new brand of speciality chocolates from Turin.  Exquisitely packaged, Bellucci Chocolates would make the ideal Christmas gift for chocolate lovers and fine food connoisseurs alike this Christmas.

I have been sent some samples from the Bellucci range, including a selection of the finest gianduiotti, gianduja pralines and crumbly nougats alongside other select traditional chocolates.  Each individually wrapped chocolate has been carefully chosen for its heritage, tradition and delicious taste and is ready to enjoy.

The variety of differently coloured foiled chocolates looks very impressive.  Unwrapping them, reveals the gorgeous chocolates inside.  And they taste as impressive as they look.

Bellucci Chocolates come in a range of amazing varieties.  Here are three of my favourites: Cremeni is a square triple layered praline with three layers of indulgent chocolate and flavoured gianduja.  which literally melts on the tongue.  The Cri Cri is a crunchy, snowball of chocolate which enrobes a whole Piedmont hazelnut.  The tiny, crisp sugar balls add a delicious crunch.  The Gianduiotti are rich aromatic chocolate pralines with a rich, velvety texture.  They come in milk, dark, coffee and hazelnut flavours.  Exquisite!

Other favourites include the Delice, a whole hazelnut covered in praline and smothered in crisp milk chocolate.  The Gemme is a classic gianduja flavoured with coffee, nut or chocolate and topped with a coffee bean, whole nut or cocoa nibs.  I loved the delicious crumbly Hazelnut Nougat coated in dark chocolate, which was quite a revelation.  Such a unique flavour and texture.

The Bellucci Chocolates are everything I love in confectionery: rich, indulgent, smooth, creamy, velvety, melt-in-the-mouth and decadent.  The use of sweet, prized Piedmont Hazelnuts in the ‘gianduja’ and 'gianduiotti' is simply superb.  Absolutely delicious.  These are some of the finest Italian chocolates I have ever enjoyed and they are available to buy directly online at belluccichocolate.com.

They stock some beautifully packaged boxes of chocolates which would make a perfect gift.  The Bella Box Grande contains over 40 assorted chocolates and costs £34.99.  It's definitely on my wish list this Christmas.

Lindt Master Chocolatier Collection

As the festive season approaches, Lindt introduces its most stylish gift for Christmas yet, guaranteed to delight even the most discerning chocolate connoisseur. Inspired by the joy of giving during the festive season, the NEW Master Chocolatier Collection is a unique selection of 16 delectable chocolate recipes perfected by the experts at Lindt.

My favorite type of chocolates are the ones that contain either coffee or nuts, so when I read the tasting card I was very happy to see plenty of nutty pralines and truffles plus two coffee flavoured chocolates - Tiramisu and Coffee Ganache.  A perfect line-up! Lindt also make my all time favourite chocolates Lindor, so I knew I was in for a treat!

These luxurious chocolates are made using only the finest ingredients and from the intense flavour of the velvety rich Coffee Ganache to the temptingly soft and smooth Almond Truffle, each irresistible mouthful delivers a bite-size moment of decadence.  The chocolates look beautiful, especially the Signature Dark Ganache and the Caramel Praline with gold writing enbossed onto their outer shells.  Lovely attention to detail.

There wasn't one chocolate that I didn't enjoy trying, and my girls agreed that these were a lovely selection of chocolates that were quite simple in their design, but beautifully made and quite delicious.  They are not keen on overly fancy flavourings so this classic selection of pralines, ganaches, creams, truffles and caramels were thoroughly enjoyed!

A joy to give, a delight to receive; the Master Chocolatier Collection is presented in a stylish and contemporary gift box making it the perfect present for loved ones.

The 305g box containing thirty chocolates is £12.99 or there is a smaller 144g box for £6.99.  This is great value for such a large selection of quality chocolates.

See the full range at www.lindt-shop.co.uk