Organic milk chocolate filled with tonka bean

Organic milk chocolate filled with tonka bean. Spice instead of fruit, ganache instead of crunch.

Organic milk chocolate filled with tonka bean is a bar from Berger Confiserie in Lofer, whose milk chocolate shell encloses a soft ganache center with real tonka bean. No fruit filling, no vanilla chocolate, no crunchy insert, but a confection in bar form.

Organic milk chocolate filled with tonka bean is a filled milk chocolate with 37 percent cocoa from Berger Confiserie, whose center consists of a cream ganache with grated tonka bean. Those expecting vanilla will be briefly taken aback at the first piece. The aroma does indeed begin where vanilla ends, but then continues in the direction of bitter almond, hay, and a trace of cinnamon. The shell melts mildly and milkily, the center remains creamy and carries the spice all the way through the finish. A bar for people who prefer their chocolate spicy rather than fruity.

Warm, spicy, and lasting much longer than the shell

The tonka bean tastes in this bar of vanilla, marzipan, and hay, with a subtle bitterness against the sweetness of the milk chocolate. At first, there is only the shell: mild, round, with the typical milk melt that Berger conches in Lofer. Then the center opens up, and the ganache settles silkily on the tongue. When broken, the bar initially smells only of milk chocolate. Only the cut ganache releases the warm, almost resinous scent that reminds one of a freshly opened vanilla box, only darker.

The spice does not come as a shock, but as a wave. It builds up slowly, reaches its peak when the chocolate has almost disappeared, and then lingers for another half minute. That is exactly how tonka differs from vanilla, which quickly falls silent after swallowing. The aftertaste is warm, slightly tart, and remotely reminiscent of almond kernels.

Those expecting a fruity or crunchy bar will find this too uniform. There are no pieces, no bite, only two textures: the firm shell and the soft center. Those who have only known tonka bean from desserts so far should start with a single bar segment. The aroma is present, and three segments in a row will be perceived by some as too perfumed. For children who like chocolate mainly sweet and milky, the spice is more of a limitation than an appeal.

One segment with an espresso, one piece on the Kaiserschmarrn

The bar unfolds its spice at room temperature, when the ganache center has softened and slightly curls when broken. Straight from the refrigerator, the center remains firm and the spice sealed. Therefore, take the bar out of the pantry twenty minutes before serving, break the segments along the grooves, and let each piece melt on the tongue instead of chewing.

One segment with an espresso suits better than any pastry: The roasted bitterness of the coffee and the bitter almond note of the tonka interlock. A glass of aged rum or a brandy with a vanilla note complement the ganache with wood and warmth. On a warm Kaiserschmarrn or over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a piece melts within seconds and distributes the spice and milk over the entire plate. On pan-fried pear slices, caramelized with a little brown sugar, place two segments on the still hot fruit and serve as soon as the center begins to flow. Those who want to use the bean themselves in the kitchen will find it as whole tonka beans for grating.

Good to know: This bar is not suitable for baking, tempering, or as a couverture. The cream filling separates from the cocoa butter when heated and becomes grainy. For glazes and ganaches, use the unfilled milk chocolate from the same house and spice yourself with a pinch of grated tonka.

Why a ganache needs time before it can be shaped

Berger Confiserie began in 1994 in a garage in Lofer, where Hubert and Christine Berger first filled pralines, long before the first bar was created. Today, more than a hundred people work in the Saalach valley, and the ganache is still the core of the craft. Six times a year, the house releases a new collection, and the filled bars come from the same workshop as the pralines. A filled bar is therefore not a miniature praline at Berger, but an enlarged one: the same filling, only in a form that can be broken into segments.

A ganache is an emulsion of cream and chocolate, in which fat and water must combine without separating again. At Berger, the cream is heated, the grated tonka bean is infused in it, and the mass is then mixed with cocoa butter and milk chocolate mass. The aroma of tonka is fat-soluble. It migrates from the bean into the cream only over time, which is why the filling must rest before it goes into the pre-cast milk chocolate shell.

The bean itself is the seed of the South American tonka tree, black, wrinkled, and so aromatic that 0.03 percent is enough for a whole bar. Its fragrance substance is the same that also characterizes gardenia and freshly mown hay, which explains the impression of a summer meadow in the ganache. Confectioners grate it like nutmeg over a fine grater and dose it in fractions of a gram. Too little, and only a hint of vanilla remains of the spice. Too much, and the ganache turns soapy. The art lies in the measure, not in the quantity.

A bar for the spice cabinet, not for the fruit bowl

Most filled milk chocolate bars rely on fruit or nuts, this one on a single spice that stands on its own. Tonka has been present in fine patisserie for years, but rarely in bar chocolate, because the aroma is difficult to dose. Berger has decided on a noticeable but not dominant amount, so that the milk chocolate remains recognizable and the spice does not become perfume.

As a gift, the bar is aimed at people who have long considered vanilla too tame and work with cardamom, cinnamon, and star anise in the kitchen. At a dinner, it suits as a small finale after dessert, divided into two segments, next to a short espresso. It also has its place in a selection for the cheese plate, next to an aged mountain cheese whose salt picks up the spice of the ganache. Those who want to give a selection as a gift combine it with a fruity sister like the milk chocolate with raspberry pieces, so that two temperaments are available at the table.

One segment is enough to understand why confectioners prefer the tonka bean to vanilla when it should be warm and deep.