Bahlsen Hazelnut Cream and Choc: nut, richness and freshness

This biscuit names its nut in the title, and the published label confirms ground hazelnuts, so anyone with a tree nut allergy should leave it on the shelf. For everyone else, the hazelnut is the whole point, because it is what makes the chocolate linger.

Why hazelnut carries chocolate so well

Hazelnut and chocolate belong together for a practical reason. The nut is rich in fat, and fat is a good carrier of cocoa flavour, taking up its aromas and keeping them in contact with the tongue. So rather than clearing quickly, the chocolate here keeps going well after the last bite, and a hazelnut cream tastes fuller and longer than a plain filling of the same sweetness would.

Compare it with the Choco Leibniz from the same house, where a thick tablet of chocolate sits on a butter biscuit and you can taste the join between the two. Here the nut filling blends biscuit and chocolate into one, so there is no seam to notice. It is the richer biscuit and the less tidy one, which is why one or two go a long way.

What the label says, word by word

The published ingredient list gives ground hazelnuts at 4.4% and whole milk powder at 4.1%, alongside wheat flour, palm vegetable fat, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, clarified butter, whey powder, lactose and whole hen's egg. The allergen statement says it contains wheat (gluten), milk, egg and nuts (hazelnuts). Always check the current UK pack, since recipes and allergen advice can change.

The word cream deserves a second look. Biscuit makers tend to use it for a sweet, fatty filling, not for anything that came out of a dairy, so on its own it tells you about texture rather than about milk. In this case the list does include several milk ingredients, but for any biscuit it is the ingredient panel, never the name, that settles the question.

Keeping it fresh, and what to pour

The fat that makes this biscuit rich is also the first thing to go stale, and nut fats pick up other smells readily. Once opened it keeps for less time than most biscuits we stock, so fold the pack tight or move it to an airtight tin, keep it cool and dark, and store it away from coffee, spices or anything strongly scented. A fresh pack smells clearly of roasted hazelnut.

It is rich enough to eat on its own, and there is a case for doing just that. If you want a drink, make it bitter: an espresso or a strong black coffee, since hazelnut and coffee are a long-standing pair and bitterness cuts a rich filling. A strong breakfast tea without sugar works too. Skip hot chocolate and sweet hazelnut lattes, and do not dunk it, because the filling gives way first.

The packs we stock

• Bahlsen Hazelnut Cream and Choc, 100g (barcode 4017100405617)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Bahlsen Hazelnut Cream and Choc, 100g (barcode 4017100405617) says it contains wheat (gluten), milk, egg and nuts (hazelnuts). Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: Sugar, WHEAT flour, vegetable fats (palm), cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed MILK powder, ground HAZELNUTS (4.4%), whole MILK powder (4.1%), clarified butter (MILK), whey powder product (MILK), glucose syrup, lactose (MILK), flavourings, raising agents: sodium carbonates, diphosphates; salt, emulsifier: lecithins; whole hen's EGG, starch (WHEAT), acid: citric acid.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• Starbucks Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g: dark roast espresso capsules for a Nespresso machine, whose bitterness cuts a rich hazelnut filling.
• L'Or Espresso Ristretto Intensity 11 Coffee, 40 Pods 208g: a short, intense ristretto for the long-standing partnership of hazelnut and coffee.
• Yorkshire Tea Gold Blend Loose Leaf Tea, 250g: a strong loose leaf breakfast tea for tea drinkers, brewed long and taken without sugar.

Elsewhere in the Bahlsen range

• Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Caramel Flavour, 111g
• Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Dark Chocolate Biscuits, 111g
• Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Milk Chocolate Biscuits, 111g
• Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Orange, 111g
• Bahlsen Pick Up! Choco & Milk Chocolate Biscuit Bars Multipack, 5 Pack 140g
• Bahlsen Pick Up! Milk Chocolate Biscuit Bars Multipack, 5 Pack 140g

The full range is on the Bahlsen brand page.

FAQ

Does Bahlsen Hazelnut Cream and Choc contain nuts? Yes. The published ingredient list includes ground hazelnuts and the allergen statement lists nuts (hazelnuts), so it is not one for anyone with a tree nut allergy.

Is there real cream in it? The name uses cream to describe the filling. The ingredients include milk powders, clarified butter, whey and lactose, so it does contain milk; check the pack for the full list.

How long does an opened pack keep? Not as long as most biscuits. The fat-rich filling stales quickly, so seal it well, keep it cool and finish it sooner rather than later.

What happens if you dunk it? It comes apart. The filling softens before the biscuit does and the two part company at the join, so eat it beside the cup.

Is it better with coffee or tea? Coffee, ideally an espresso or a strong black cup, since hazelnut and coffee are an old partnership. A strong unsugared breakfast tea is the tea drinker's option, and it is rich enough to eat with nothing at all.

Curator's note: I would have this with an espresso or with nothing, and I would not leave an opened pack sitting about. Buy it when you mean to eat it. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Bahlsen Hazelnut Cream and Choc: nut, richness and freshness

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles
• Tea with Chocolate: Pair by Cocoa Percentage
• Tea and Chocolate Pairing

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