Incredible Chocolate-Filled Egg Shells at the Candy Store
An amazing, limited-edition offering from the South of France
It’s still three weeks until Easter, but given the limited nature of these exceptionally cool and super tasty confections from Provence in the South of France, you may want to hurry over to the Candy Store and get some of them before they’re all gone.
What are they? It sounds kind of wild, I know, but they are real eggshells, tops cut neatly off, cleaned and sanitized, then filled with chocolate hazelnut praline. They look gorgeous, and they taste totally great! Yes, you really crack the shell and peel it off before you eat! No, they are not laid by some kind of chocolate-eating French chicken. Inside is a blend that’s over half hazelnut praline and the other, 45% milk chocolate.
The eggs are all handcrafted by the crew at Le Petit Duc, one of France’s leading producers of artisan calisson (the classic dried fruit and almond confection of Provence). Le Petit Duc was founded in 1991 in the small Provencal town of Saint Remy. To set the scene, it’s the place where Vincent Van Gogh did many of his most famous paintings. In the winter of 1888, having recently arrived in the region, Van Gogh wrote to his brother, Théo, “The sun dazzles me and goes to my head, a sun, a light that I can only call yellow, sulphur yellow, lemon yellow, golden yellow. How lovely yellow is!”
Le Petit Duc’s small workshop is located near the house of Nostradamus, the famous historical French forecaster. They use a minimal amount of sugar—which I like—so the chocolate and nuts are the main flavor components. The Le Petit Duc team is all about going back to traditional ways, staying true to old techniques, and steering clear of post-modern shortcuts.
The instructions on the package suggest either sticking the egg in the fridge for around 15 minutes before peeling, or, alternatively, melting the chocolate (while still in its shell) in the microwave for a super quick 15 seconds before dipping toast pieces, as you might for a soft-boiled egg, for a version of the classic European bread and chocolate. Longtime Candy Store manager Allison Schraf says, “I can also see dipping shortbread, pretzel sticks, apple or strawberry slices, etc. Imagine serving this ‘breakfast for dessert but not really’ at Easter brunch!” They’re available as a single egg in chicken-on-a-nest packaging or as a 4-pack in an egg carton.
A gift of these eggs will both surprise and delight whoever you give them to! Or, if you’re having one of those days, maybe grab one for yourself and savor it with some of the Guatemala El Regalito Coffee that we have on as Roaster’s Pick this month.
An egg-citing treat
