Christmas Chocolate Orange Marzipan by Tiroler Edle
Christmas Chocolate Orange Marzipan by Tiroler Edle is their Advent special, featuring a light marzipan ganache infused with apricot jam and orange liqueur. A drop of blood orange oil adds the freshness of a freshly peeled rind, just like the ones found on every table during wintertime.
Christmas Chocolate Orange Marzipan is a festive bar from Tiroler Edle in Landeck, Tyrol, filled with a light marzipan ganache. Apricot jam, orange liqueur, and a drop of blood orange oil provide the fruity notes, while natural vanilla rounds it all off. The liqueur gives it an alcoholic content.
Almond sweetness, apricot, and a drop of blood orange
The milk chocolate snaps with a crisp tone, revealing a cream beneath that tastes primarily of almond.
The marzipan contributes a dense, oily sweetness, the apricot jam provides a bright acidity, and the orange liqueur lifts both without becoming sticky. Finally, the blood orange oil adds that bitter hint that only citrus peel can offer.
The apricot, as it is known in Austria, acts as the silent worker here. Without its fruit acidity, the filling would be overly sugary; with it, it becomes a confection with two distinct sides.
How to recognize good marzipan
Marzipan consists of two things: almonds and sugar, and everything depends on the ratio of the two.
The higher the almond content, the denser and oilier the mass tastes, and the less the sugar has to carry the flavor. To achieve this, almonds are blanched, peeled, and ground before the mass is roasted under heat, which is when the typical almond aroma fully develops.
At Tiroler Edle, the marzipan is folded into the light ganache, allowing its sweetness to spread evenly throughout the bar. Even those who usually avoid marzipan loaves will find this version milder, as the milk chocolate and cream soften the sweetness and tone down its intensity.
Why the blood orange comes only as an oil
A few drops of oil from the peel can do what juice could never achieve in a ganache.
Juice consists mainly of water, and water is the enemy of any chocolate filling because it causes the mixture to curdle. Essential oil, on the other hand, resides in the pores of the peel, is cold-pressed, and blends effortlessly with cocoa butter and cream. Red varieties provide an oil that is more robust and slightly more tart than that of the yellow fruit.
This is why a tiny amount is enough to make the entire bar smell like citrus. The blood orange brings a darker, almost berry-like tone that pairs well with the apricot and gives the filling a wintry character.
With milk coffee, with tea, on the gift plate
The ganache only truly opens up at room temperature, releasing the citrus notes; when cold, it remains muted.
A milk coffee complements the almond sweetness, a strong black tea provides a contrast, and alongside vanilla crescents and gingerbread, the bar needs no further justification. Break it into pieces when guests arrive, as the whole bar is quite rich even during Advent. On a gift plate among dried figs and dates, it will easily find takers on its own.
The Christmas Chocolate Baked Apple comes from the same winter collection by Tiroler Edle. Other chocolate bars are also a great fit, and the other varieties from Tiroler Edle can be found on the same shelf.
