Our chocolate blogger Andrew Baker picks 10 of his favourite chocolatey bites, perfect for popping into stockings this Christmas
Artisan du Chocolat salted caramel truffles (main picture, top)
Salted caramel is now near-ubiqitous, but A du C developed theirs way back for Gordon Ramsay, and the original is still the best.
(From £3.50; Artisan du Chocolat)
Amelia Rope
Feisty independent is gifted with a perfect palate: her pretty, chunky bars blend delicate flavours - White Edition 03 with pistachios is enrapturing.
(£5.60/100g; Amelia Rope)
Pierre Marcolini
Serious Belgian makes ridiculously seductive treats. His seasonal snowmen make a characterful centrepiece; his soft centres are full of character.
(Boxes from £20; Marcolini)
Hotel Chocolat Rabot 1745 Single Côte Marcial
The ultimate expression of what HC is about: beans from just one area of their estate in St Lucia go into this sultry, powerful bar.
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(£7.50/70g; Hotel Chocolat)
Duffy’s Honduras Indio Rojo
Duffy Sheardown epitomises the British bean-to-bar independent. Little masterpieces such as this gold-medal winner emerge from his tiny workshop in Cleethorpes.
(£5.80/80g; Duffy's Chocolate)
Grown-up Chocolate Company Salted Peanut Caramel Cracker
Clever grown-ups reinvigorate classics with the finest ingredients. This dangerously delicious item must surely be the Snickers of the Gods.
(£2.50; The Grown up Chocolate Company)
Prestat Pink Everest bar
Part of the Royal chocolatiers' new Art Deco range: equatorial dark chocolate in delectable harmony with pink Himalayan salt, and at a keen price
(£3.50/85g; Prestat)
Seed & Bean Sicilian Hazelnut Fine Dark Chocolate
Ethically unimpeachable and even vegan-friendly, yet their bars are powerfully tasty: our most committed carnivores adored this Glastonbury special bar.
(£2.29/85g; Seed and Bean)
Paul A Young
Onward and upward for Britain’s master of the soft centre: now has four shops, gives master-classes and offers home delivery.
(From £7; Paul A Young)
Friis Holm Pure Dark Rugoso
Copenhagen’s finest made a lot of friends when he brought his entire family over to London for Chocolate Week. Brilliant bars, cool wrappers.
(£9.85/100g; Friis Holm, or try Chocolatiers)
AND FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Cocoa Runners
The true chocophile’s trade secret: a subscription brings a quartet of exotic bars from around the world to your door every month; and you get to tap into the expertise of the people who make and select them. Chocolate's equivalent of The Wine Society, and destined to play a crucial role in the democratisation of the good stuff.
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