The 22 Flavours of Pralines and Ganaches @ Max Brenner

by Manny Diaz (subscribe)

Are you a chocolate connoisseur? Maybe you are, maybe you are not. I am not. Chances are, however, that you have, like me, at some point in your life, loved chocolates. Perhaps such love for the chocolate continues to date. While many of us do love chocolates, we do not go beyond knowing the difference between dark and white chocolates, or the different intensities of dark chocolates from the sweet less-than-60% to that biting bitterness of an 80%. Thus, in a recent visit to Max Brenner's, a question nagged me as to how a praline is different from a ganache.



Max Brenner is not a stranger to many of us, that "Chocolate by the Bald Man" where the ambience is perfect and everything chocolatey seems inviting. There is a Max Brenner in most Australian states: 2 in ACT, 17 in NSW, 7 in Queensland, and 9 in Victoria. In a recent visit to Max Brenner, I found that there are at least 22 different confections you can feast on. These are roughly divided between pralines and ganaches.



The 22 Flavours at Max Brenner

Ganaches
Whipped Milk Chocolate Ganache
Whipped milk ganache with white chocolate and Irish cream liqueur
Dark and milk chocolate with dulce de leche and whiskey
Dark chocolate ganache with spices
Dark chocolate ganache with orange liqueur
Dark chocolate lemon ganache
Dark chocolate ganache 70% cocoa solids
Dark chocolate with raspberry
White and Milk Chocolate Mousse

Pralines
Dark praline with sweet roasted sesame
White chocolate filled with milk chocolate praline and pistachios
Praline mixed with salt crystals from the Dead Sea
Praline mixed with dark chocolate
Praline mixed with milk chocolate
Praline mixed with caramelized pecan
Praline mixed with peanut butter
Praline mixed with walnuts
Praline mixed with roasted coconut
Praline mixed with cornflakes and chilli
Praline Brick Milk
Praline Brick Dark
Praline Brick White

This list is nowhere exhaustive. I have only listed what was on display. I wanted a taste of each, and the optimal purchase would be the 18-piece bonbon in a collectible tin. That gave me the opportunity to taste 18 of the 22, which is not bad. It did not disappoint, too. It also helped me understand my original confusion as to how a praline is different from a ganache. It would seem that a praline is associated with nuts: pecan, peanuts, walnuts, including coconut which is really not a nut. Praline is also associated with fillings, usually caramelized nuts (but, it seems, could be anything). On the other hand, a ganache is associated with cream or milk. Ganache is cocoa with or mixed with cream or milk. With this little bit of information, you would have a fair idea of how a chocolate confection would taste like.

Go grab your 18-piece collectible tin now, and fill it up with your choice of pralines and ganaches.

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Why? Who hates chocolates?

Website: maxbrenner.com.au

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