Brooklyn Born Chocolate – Dark Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups
One thing I’m not sure I’ll ever grow out of is getting all giddy and excited to check out the snack sections when I go grocery shopping. I’ve noticed though, in recent years that I tend to check out more than just the two or three aisles and have branched out to other areas that may potentially have snacks, like the health food section.
It’s in the health food section that I found these bad boys. Cashew butter cups. An interesting take on the traditional peanut butter cups, though if memory serves this brand also makes those as well. But I figured if I’m going to pay a premium for something that’s supposedly healthier or made from better ingredients, I might as well go all in and try another nut butter. I can’t say I’ve heard of this brand, but I’m always willing to give a new brand a try and see if they show promise, or if it’s potentially another fly by night operation.
These are made with 70 percent dark chocolate, so you know this is going to have a slightly bitter flavour to it, which I love. It’s also vegan, organic, and made using just a few ingredients that go into making the organic chocolate and the organic cashew butter.
The dark chocolate is has a rich cacao flavour with a bit of that roasted, earthy, flavour with nutty notes. The cashew butter is fairly neutral and serves more as a change up in the texture department. As someone who appreciates dark chocolate, I like how this isn’t laced up with too much sugar, and the flavour of the dark chocolate comes through strongest, without all the extra sweetness that a lot of brands add in. All the flavours come together perfectly as is, and has a nice rich profile to it. It kind of makes me feel fancy and sophisticated, like I don’t need to rely one the extra trappings of all the sugar to appreciate this for what it is.
As expected from a darker chocolate, the outer shell is more of the brittle side than the melty side, but it’s still fairly soft and pliable. It’s similar to the dark chocolate bars with no fillings you find, except it’s a tad softer and not as firm. The cashew butter provides a smooth, soft centre. Similar to most peanut butter cups, it’s got enough creaminess to balance out the harder chocolate shell, but it’s not too cloying that it leaves your mouth feeling dry or parched. You know, that feeling when you try eating peanut butter on it’s own and feel the urge to grab some sort of liquid to wash it down.
My only complaint is that they are smaller than I would hope, and kind of wish I had more. You shouldn’t go into this expecting anything like a peanut butter cup, but it stands up on it’s own as a nice dark chocolate treat. Though a bit pricier, if you feel like going for a healthier snack or something with a more premium feel, you can’t go wrong with these. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for other products from this brand. This one has potential.
