Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Very Flavorful, Godiva's Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles Are Worth Tracking Down!


The Good: Good flavor, Not as waxy as other mass-produced chocolates
The Bad: Still somewhat expensive
The Basics: Godiva Gems presents Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles , which actually embody flavors like one might find in ice cream!


This last holiday season, my wife gave me quite a bit of contradictory information. She had me join her on CalorieCount to lose weight and get fit in the new year, but she also gave me a lot of treats with the intent that I would enjoy them and review them. So, following on the heels of days when she presented me with Godiva Dark Mint Chocolate Chip Truffles (reviewed here!!) and Godiva White & Orange Truffles (reviewed here!), I now have the Godiva Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles to consider. She is a sweetie, but CalorieCount is telling me this will be one of the few things I eat today as a result!

The Dark Vanilla Sundae truffles are part of the affordable Godiva Gems line. My wife lucked out when she found them. The container was on clearance at Target and at 75% off it was something like $1.25. This is an obscenely low price for even a 3.4 oz. container of Godiva chocolates, so I was fairly unsurprised when she bought up a whole bunch of the different flavors in order to surprise me with later on.

Basics

Godiva, of course, is the famous fancy chocolatier that is most known for their gold-wrapped boxes of chocolates that leave men pretty much bankrupt in the pursuit of spoiling their wives, girlfriends, mistresses, etc. They make high-end chocolates, but the Godiva Gems collection seems to be their attempt to fit into the more thrifty shopping scheme of Target shoppers. While some of the other Gems have left me unimpressed, the Dark Vanilla Sundae truffles actually seem more in-line with what one expects of Godiva!

The Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles come in a 3.4 oz. plastic container that is reminiscent of a plastic cup one might get at a ball game or movie theater. The plastic lid is secured with a security seal which is easy enough to get off when one is ready to enjoy the candy. The little cup has ten truffles in it, which represents 2 ½ servings. Each truffle is individually wrapped within the plastic container. Unwrapping the light yellow wrapper reveals the 7/8” in diameter sphere of chocolate that is the truffle.

Ease Of Preparation

Eating Godiva Gems Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles is not a real challenge. After removing the security seal, simply pull out a truffle, unwrap it and stick it in your mouth. There is no particularly complicated equation to eating these chocolates. The unwrapping of each truffle before consuming it is essential, though!

Taste

Unwrapping the truffle reveals the strong vanilla scent. In fact, opening this truffle, I thought perhaps they had been dunked into a vat of vanilla extract! That is the precise scent and intensity that this truffle emits.

The scent does not actually prepare the consumer for how good the flavor is, though. The dark chocolate coating of the truffle is appropriately dark and dry and it surrounds the buttery white paste inside. That paste is flavored like vanilla frosting or melted ice cream and the combination with the dark chocolate helps it to perfectly embody the confection’s name. Indeed, this is a very flavorful chocolate treat that tastes like (warm) vanilla ice cream with a dark chocolate sauce drizzled over it!

Nutrition

Godiva chocolates are intended as a dessert product, so anyone attempting to live off them is proceeding under a ridiculous premise! These ten truffles represent 2 ½ servings of the chocolates and those looking for real nutrition will have to look elsewhere. Made primarily of bittersweet chocolate, sugar and cocoa butter, there are a lot of unpronounceable items in the ingredients. This is not an all-natural food product and these truffles were produced on equipment that forces them to add a disclaimer about peanuts, wheat and other tree nuts.

In addition to ingredients I cannot readily pronounce, Godiva's Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles have 210 calories, 120 of which are from fat. A full four truffle serving represents 45% of one's RDA of saturated fat and 5% of the RDA of cholesterol. Surprisingly, they are fairly low in sodium with only 50 mg per serving and there is 2 grams of protein to be had by eating a full serving. These are not a significant source of vitamins or minerals, though they do have 4% of one’s daily calcium and 6% of the RDA of Iron.

Storage/Cleanup

As a chocolate, Godiva Gems’ Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles are fine as long as they are stored in their container at a cool, dry temperature. My wife picked these up for me in May of 2011 and they have an expiration date of March 2012, so they do have a decent shelf life. If they melt, they will stain, so consult your fabric guide if that happens. Otherwise, cleanup is simply throwing the foil wrapper away and recycling the plastic from the container.

Overall

Godiva Dark Vanilla Sundae Truffles are one of the better mass-produced Godiva chocolates and one that is well worth trying!

For other reviews of chocolates, please check:
Irish Crème Hershey's Kisses
Cherry Cordial M&M’s
Strawberry Jelly Bean Dips Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

8/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page on the subject! That is available by clicking here!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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