~ SPECIAL REVIEW ~

For novelty stocking fillers and edible chocolate tree decorations, look no further.

MoMo & Coco have scoured the irresistible sugar land of Melbourne to find a selection of the most covetable Christmas treats for your festive wishing and dreaming. First up, allow us to introduce one very delicious idea for a stocking filler or simple gift option for a colleague, a child, a friend or even yourself…

OUR EXPERIENCE

Burch & Purchese may be more well-known for its sometimes muted but always fascinating laboratory-science-in-a-mousse-cake creations (see a very early review here, and look for an updated one shortly). However, you should not overlook this sweet shop’s other sweet creations. For your festive wishing, the “Favourites Gift Bag” ($18) contains one very good idea to sample three guilty pleasures within a very accessible budget.

The first sweet irresistible is the “Popcorn Honeycomb Rubble.” If purchased separately, RRP $12.00 per 150g. Milk chocolate which is about 50-60% cocoa rather than the very sweet 30-40% cocoa Cadbury/supermarket type, is encrusted with soft white orbs of popped popcorn and also, golden deposits of crunchy honeycomb. Simple, highly addictive deliciousness. The 9 year old child will love this as much as the 89 year old (with teeth) adult. One will be tempted to return to buy out all the stock of this! For the curious, Burch & Purchese also makes a white chocolate version, but we are not fans of freeze-dried components (it comes with freeze-dried mint and raspberries), so do not personally recommend it.

The second sweet irresistible in Burch & Purchese’s “Favourites Gift Bag” is the “Santa Lollipop.” If purchased separately, RRP $5.50. Sweet, strawberry-flavoured white chocolate is the main component, with a fluffy popcorn beard and a white chocolate nose-bud and hat. It’s a fun bit of novelty chocolate, so don’t expect artisan chocolate quality. Perfect for the white chocolate lover though. A dark chocolate version is also available. Try convincing Santa that you have been nice but not naughty while eating his smiling face. 😛

The third sweet irresistible in the “Favourites Gift Bag” are a pair of “Gold Bullion Bars.” If purchased separately, RRP $9.00. Overlook the fact that these bullion bars are embossed with the insignia of a poor bank that has handed out terrible misery to quite a number of its employees. Washed over in a gold gilt, dark chocolate rectangles enclose a centre of lightly-salted caramel. The chocolate encasement is appropriately thin and made of a dark chocolate with a properly bitter, very slight ash-y tone. It provides an excellent counterpoint to the caramel that has arguably wide appeal because of its less saline character — more sweet, with just a light touch of salt. Just don’t expect it to be as explosive, or as revelatory as Paul A Young’s salted caramel version. It is also just a bit more liquid than we prefer. Careful with leakage. Nonetheless, this is not just any mere chocolate bar — it is guaranteed to make any person feel a million dollars.

The other Christmas special sweet irresistible for which you should visit Burch & Purchese is perhaps the first-of-its-kind, pinata-esque “Popping Christmas Bauble” ($14.00 each, or $80.00 for 6). A white chocolate ball hollowed out to hold a delightful assortment of soft, extremely chewy marshmellows and tingly chocolate pop rocks. Perfect for the impatient child (young or old), this irresistible is designed for smashing. You will never cry over a broken bauble ever again!

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Dessert adventure checklist

1. ☑ Dessert destination: Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio, 647 Chapel Street, South Yarra, Vic 3141.
2. ☑ Budget: $$.
3. ☑ Sweet irresistibles: Confectionery.
4. ☑ Must-eat: The “Popping Christmas Bauble.”
5. ☑ The short and sweet story: For novelty stocking fillers and edible chocolate tree decorations, look no further.

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