Lauden Chocolates

When owners Sun and Stephen became so fed up of not being able to find fine chocolates where they lived in the North of England, they spent all their spare time researching about chocolate and in the end, decided to create their own. In 2007, Lauden was born and just two years later they won Bronze at the Academy of Chocolate Awards in the category of Best Dark Truffle. Lauden continue to grow with a focus on quality chocolate and service to customers and stick to their belief that “it’s all about the chocolate”. I first came across them at Chocolate Unwrapped where I was kindly given a small box of mixed chocolates. Lauden decorative chocolates are neatly presented in a clear plastic box which although looked the part, was a little flimsy and the lid kept falling off once opened. Not ideal when moving house and consequently losing a couple of chocolates on the way. Lauden’s chocolates are beautifully finished using edible transfers to create unique patterns covering each flavour. As all the chocolate are rectangle shaped and nearly identical in size the patterns are used to determine which flavour is which. However, many of the patterns in my box didn’t match those on the back of the box which meant I had to guess the majority of flavours which somewhat added to the fun. Although the shape enables neat presentation, it suggests that these chocolates are not handmade but created using moulds, something which in my eyes portrays a slightly lower quality.Most of the chocolates, if not all, were dark chocolate which tasted incredible. The chocolate easily melted and tasted both rich and smooth. Each dark chocolate contained a different flavoured ganache centres which were of a paste-like texture. Unfortunately, it was the centres that let Lauden down. The flavours were so over-powering, especially the Lemon and Mint ,which made my face screw up like when eating sour sweets. The Salted Caramel flavour and the Marc De Champagne were equally as strong, which removed all trace of the delicious chocolate flavour; such a shame!My mum (co-blogger Alison) stays clear of heavily patterned chocolates as she maintains that they are usually disappointing or have at least been in the past, but I asked her to sample these alongside me. Funnily enough, we reported back to each other with exactly the same views, like mother like daughter as they say. I wouldn’t rush out to buy another box of Lauden’s chocolates but I wouldn’t hesitate giving them as a gift due to their attractiveness. Also, some people enjoy strong flavours but for us it was all a bit too much. With a good choice in unique flavours and a deliciously smooth chocolate, Lauden have great potential if they were to lessen the intensity of the centres. You can purchase Lauden chocolates at a number of boutique gift shops and farmers markets across the UK and through their online store.

Living life, loving cake,

H & A x