With Christmas just around the corner, you often can't go wrong with some fancy chocolates when it comes to picking out festive presents for loved ones.
Chocolate truffles are a particularly indulgent treat, often wrapped up in fancy packaging to make for an ideal gift - and most of the major supermarkets offer their own take on the popular confectionery. With several options to choose from, it can prove tricky to know which to opt for - but luckily, the truffles have been put to the test.
A BirminghamLive reporter shopped around at the most popular retailers to pick up boxes of truffles and determine which ones were the tastiest, as well as rating them on looks and value for money. Here's the verdict on the chocolates from Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's, Asda and more.
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Tesco FreeFrom Triple Choc Truffles
Price: £4.80 for 140g
Rating: 1/5
They may have been one of the priciest chocolates per gram, but Tesco 's vegan-friendly offering came bottom of the pile. The reviewer found that the chocolates were too sweet as well as being almost too hard to bite into, while the packaging wasn't particularly inspiring either - the final verdict: "Not good on taste or value for money."
Asda Extra Special Smoked Caramel Whisky Flavour Chocolate Truffles
Price: £2 for 58g
Rating: 1/5
Asda 's truffles also fared poorly in the taste test, with the unusual combination of flavours falling flat as the reviewer branded them "style over substance". While these caramel and whisky-flavoured chocolates came in an attractive diamond shape dusted with gold glitter, they were found to be so "sickly sweet" that they were ultimately un-finishable.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Cocoa Dusted Belgian Chocolate Truffles
Price: £3.50 for 260g
Rating: 3/5
At one of the cheaper options per gram, Sainsbury's chocolates impressed in the taste test, as well as earning points for their "classy" box that would be ideal as a gift. While the reviewer found that the truffles tasted "deliciously intense", a couple of points were knocked off for their "slightly messy" appearance.
Lidl J. D. Gross Dark and Milk Chocolate Flakes Truffles
Price: £2.49 for 200g
Rating: 3/5
Lidl also came middle of the road for its truffles, offering the second-best value in terms of price but again losing some points for appearance. The overall verdict was: "Fairly average taste and good value for money", with the chocolates unable to compete with some of the stronger contenders from other shops.
Waitrose Salted Caramel Truffles
Price: £4.80 for 120g
Rating: 3/5
Although these Waitrose chocolates were "beautifully presented" in a classy cube-shaped box full of gold-dusted truffles, they didn't fare so well when it came to the flavour factor. The reviewer found that "the taste doesn't live up to its very special appearance", which was a let-down considering they were the priciest truffles on the list.
Morrisons The Best Salted Caramel Belgian Chocolate Truffles
Price: £4 for 104g
Rating: 4/5
Morrisons made it into the top truffle contenders with its chocolatey offering, which the reviewer said she would "happily give as a gift" based solely on its presentation in a white box with each gooey truffle in its own compartment. The flavour scored top marks, described as "delicious and so moreish you'll want to dive in for more" - but the box lost one point for not being as good value for money as some of the other options.
Aldi Moser Roth Belgian Cocoa Dusted Truffles
Price: £2.29 for 200g
Rating: 4/5
Made specially for Aldi by chocolatier Moser Roth, these truffles come in some fancy-looking packaging which would surely go down well as a Christmas gift - and they were also the cheapest in the taste test too. While the shape of the truffles is a little less desirable, the reviewer thought that these chocolates tasted "astoundingly good" - describing them as "rich with smooth chocolate, yet also light enough to not feel sickly".
M&S Swiss Chocolatier Milk Chocolate Truffles
Price: £5.50 for 205g
Rating: 5/5
The only truffles that earned five stars, it seems you just can't beat Marks & Spencer 's popular Swiss chocolates. Each individually wrapped in sparkling foil, these were hailed as a "clear winner" in the taste test, boasting an "irresistible" flavour and perfect bauble-shaped chocolates - ideal for tucking into at Christmas.
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