Cocoa Confection with Hazelnut Crunch

Cocoa Confection with Hazelnut Crunch, powdery soft from Alsace

The cocoa confection with hazelnut crunch from Chocolaterie Bruntz are French Truffes Fantaisie from Kingersheim in Alsace, rolled in dark cocoa powder and interspersed with caramelized hazelnut slivers. Not a filled praline and not a bar, but 16 soft truffles that melt on the tongue while providing a crunch.

The cocoa confection with hazelnut crunch is a cocoa truffle from Chocolaterie Bruntz in Kingersheim near Mulhouse, where Truffes Fantaisie have been made in the Alsatian style since 1960. There are 6 percent caramelized hazelnut slivers in the soft cocoa center, with a layer of dark cocoa powder on the outside. 16 pieces, 100 grams, in a green box with a striped ribbon.

The first impression is powder, tart and dry on the tongue, then the center gives way and melts before the hazelnut begins to crack. Powdery, creamy, crunchy—in exactly that order. A truffle that isn't loud, but quietly good.

First the powder, then the melt, then the nut

The cocoa confection with hazelnut crunch tastes first of dark cocoa, then of sweet cream, and finally of roasted caramel from the hazelnut.

The center is softer than what you are used to with chocolate because it is made without cocoa butter and is bound instead with coconut and palm kernel oil. This fat melts at around 24 degrees Celsius, well below body temperature, which is exactly why the truffle melts in the mouth instead of sticking. The hazelnut slivers are caramelized with sugar and remain crunchy until the end.

It pairs well in the afternoon with a strong espresso, as the coffee cuts the sweetness and brings the nut to the fore. Two pieces are enough for a coffee break, so the box of 16 truffles lasts for a whole week if you don't share. If you like it even nuttier, place the Gianduiotti from Piedmont alongside it, and two boxes turn into a small hazelnut tasting.

Truffes Fantaisie, the French way to a truffle

Truffes Fantaisie are the French classic among cocoa truffles: powdery, soft, and without cocoa butter, which is why they are sold as cocoa confectionery in Germany.

The recipe is essentially the same as it was in the 1930s when the first Truffes Fantaisie were created in France: vegetable fats from copra and palm kernel, sugar, low-fat cocoa powder, and whey powder, mixed into a mass, shaped, and rolled in cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is absent, so it cannot legally be called chocolate, yet in terms of taste, it is very close. In this variety, Bruntz adds 6 percent caramelized hazelnut slivers.

Because the fat melts so quickly, the box belongs in a cool, dry place, ideally between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius. In the refrigerator, the powder becomes damp; in the sun, the center melts. It is best enjoyed at room temperature just before snacking.

Three brothers, a town near Mulhouse, a smiling B

The cocoa confection is made in Kingersheim, a municipality north of Mulhouse, where three brothers named Bruntz founded their chocolate shop in 1960.

In 1978, the company moved to the Rue de l'Industrie, where it still operates today with about ten employees. Since 2005, it has been owned by the Ricou family, and in 2024, Quentin Ricou and Laurent Kalis took over—one the son of a chocolatier, the other having spent twenty years in the fine food trade. "Every Kougelhopf, every truffle should make the taste buds dance," as Quentin says.

The box with the smiling B is the new face of the company; the recipe behind it is the old one. As a partner of the Marque Alsace, Bruntz belongs to those businesses that are allowed to put their origin on the package. You can find more from them at the Chocolaterie Bruntz, such as the cocoa confection with salted caramel, or explore the pralines and truffles from all over Europe. Crunch can be so soft.