Vande Walle’s Candies – Part Two
July 19, 2018
A “Chocolaterie” is usually a business that makes chocolates and sells them at the same place. It’s also usually a small family-owned business and typically only at one location.
The term “Chocolaterie” is of French origin and isn’t used very often in the United States. Instead, we use terms like Chocolate Shop, Candy Store, or Chocolate Company. You may see the occasional “Chocolatier” or “Chocolat” used to imply that the business makes the chocolate it sells.
Vande Walle’s is a Chocolaterie, family owned and operated by Don Jr., Steve, and Tom Vande Walle. According to their website, www.vandewallescandies.com, it all started in “… Grandma Vande Walle's kitchen over 75 years ago”.
They boast more than 95 varieties of fine chocolates and hand-crafted confections. And tucked into a corner of the shop is a bakery and ice cream counter. While I was pondering my chocolate purchases, I discovered (and promptly ate) a sample of chocolate cheesecake, a “Carmelita” dessert bar and a large dark chocolate covered salted caramel. I could have stayed there all day!
There are two fan favorites at Vande Walle’s I was told I must try; chocolate coated Angelfood candy and the Chocolate Truffle (there is only ONE truffle to choose from so it’s truly the chocolate truffle). I wasn’t able to try the Angelfood because it is seasonal, and summer time is exactly the wrong season. So, truffle it had to be.
Angelfood and Chocolate Truffles
I want to digress briefly and explain the Angelfood candy that Vande Walle’s is known for. Sometimes this candy is called Fairy Food, Honeycomb Toffee, Sponge Toffee, Cinder Toffee, or Hokey Pokey.
The candy is made with brown sugar, molasses or golden syrup, baking soda, and sometimes vinegar. The baking soda and vinegar react to produce carbon dioxide that is trapped in the mixture and causes it to foam. A “honeycomb” structure is formed and looks somewhat like a tall, crispy, toffee brown meringue. After hardening, it is broken into large bite size pieces and usually coated in milk or dark chocolate.
The Vande Walle’s truffle has a dark chocolate ganache center and a milk chocolate coating. The texture of the ganache is very smooth and melts easily in the mouth. The milk chocolate coating is sweet, has notes of cream and butter with a hint of honey and a toffee aftertaste. The dark chocolate center has rich cocoa notes that are slightly nutty. The combination of the milk and dark chocolate blend very well together.
I enjoyed the truffle. I know I would have enjoyed it more if there had been a dark chocolate option, but nevertheless, it was good, and I don’t mind being one of its fans!
If you missed Vande Walle’s Candies – Part One, click here.
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