The Taste of Spring: Get inspired by these Fresh Flavours for your 2024 Easter Chocolates
With the worst of the weather behind us and a new year ahead, now is the perfect time to be thinking about shelving those mulling spices and dusting off the rose petals in a little spring cleaning of your chocolate menu!
by Michael Rodber
05 February 2024
A new season brings with it new flavours, and with spring, you’ll want to evoke the feeling of filling your lungs with a crisp morning breeze with your chocolate treats. And while we’re no April Fools in knowing that Easter eggs will likely be your golden goose (or goose egg!), we’re here to give you some fresh inspiration on flavouring your chocolate eggs, bonbons, and more!
Floral Fillings
If you want to bring your business into bloom this spring, look no further than floral flavourings! The next best thing after frolicking lambs, spring chickens and flowers blossoming is an image, aroma and taste strongly linked to spring. Here are just a few of our favourite springtime flavour ideas:
A chocolate kiss from a rose – A mild flavour, yet able to coat your palate and consume your olfactory senses with its aromatic temperament. With sweet, mellow and perfumed notes, for spring, rose pairs perfectly with tart flavours like raspberry, strawberry or blackberry – like in this raspberry and rose heart chocolate recipe! Rose is ideal as a flavour pairing in a ganache or gel using Flavour Drops, or as a light flavour boost in decorative crystallised rose petals or pieces.
The most relaxing of all chocolate ingredients – For something with a little more earthiness, consider adding lavender to your next batch of ganache, either in Spice Drops form, or infusing fresh lavender into your cream. Lavender marries well with dark chocolate alone, allowing the pungency to be the focal point of the chocolate experience. If you are looking for complementary flavours, why not try adding a few drops of lemon, earl grey, or honey to bring out either the sweetness or earthiness of lavender’s flavour profile.
It’s mint to be – Milk & Honey. Peanut butter & Jam. Jim & Pam. Ross and Rachel. Mint and chocolate is a pairing for the history books, and is the perfect chocolatey storm for bringing in the warmer weather. With the sharp, slightly sweet cooling effect of mint and the bitter, low notes of dark chocolate, it’s easy to see why mint choc chip is the go-to ice cream choice of sweet-toothed (and non-sensitive-toothed) Brits come late March. Another combination that holds up on its own, should you choose, you could also add fudge, caramel, or nut flavours. Or, for a classic alcoholic suggestion, mint is a perfect addition to the white rum in a mojito-inspired chocolate creation!
Touch lemongrass! – Mild in flavour but not in impact, the light citrus and ginger notes of lemongrass are a perfect way to elevate and ‘freshen up’ your chocolate recipes for spring, without distracting from your primary flavours. For example, these dark & white chocolate and pistachio paste truffles are infused with lemongrass, adding a little balance to an otherwise perfect concoction!
Other floral flavourings you should most definitely try include violet, saffron, and lilac – but there are plenty more for you to experiment with before the season is over!
Fruitful Fillings
On the other hand, if you’re looking to get your chocolate recipes just ripe for spring, then look no further than our fruit-based recipe ideas! With seasonal flavours and summer fruits being a great way to refresh your menu, take a look below at our fruit-based inspiration:
Let’s get ready to crumble! – If you’ve only ever had this sweet veggie in crumble, pie, or hard-boiled sweet form, then you haven’t unlocked its full potential! Rhubarb’s natural tartness lends itself well to the drier, bitter flavours in the likes of gin, which you can experience for yourself when you create your own tipsy chicks chocolates from our cracking Easter recipe selection!
Get up those apples and pears! While harvested toward the backend of Summer, pome fruits are a sure fire way to evoke a feeling that’s commonly associated with spring – summer is on its way! These fruits can be included in chocolate creations in many different ways, from dried pieces to pureés. Give in to your spring fever and go wild with your chocolate creations – like in our apple and brandy truffles or our Pear William ganache!
A zest for life! – The poster-fruit of tangy citrus flavours, lemon is here to harken back to warmer days filled with ice-cold lemonades and sour-sweet sorbets. Lemon is great with higher cocoa percent dark and milk chocolates, ‘rounding off’ the intensity of the combined bitter and sour notes. For a sweet alcoholic experience, try these limoncello truffles, or, if you’re looking for a more savoury number, try these lemon and basil chocolates!
Going against the currant – there’s nothing quite like foraging for the ripest berries in spring and summer months – except of course pairing those berries with chocolate! The sweet, floral notes of blueberry paired with the likes of sweet and bitter elderberry powder make for a great dark chocolate bar, it can be paired with other berries and currants, like strawberry, blackcurrant, cherries, cranberries and more!
These are just some of the flavour profiles you can experiment with as we transition into spring, or to use as your Easter inspiration. We hope you have an amazing spring and a Hoppy Easter!
Michael is a Marketing Executive with a penchant for punk rock, cheese, and indoor bouldering.
His favourite chocolate is Valrhona Tanariva.