Festive Flavours with Valrhona: Expert Tips from Chocolate Specialist

As the festive season approaches, chocolatiers and pastry chefs are looking for ways to capture the magic of Christmas in every bite. From nostalgic flavours to bold, modern twists, the world of chocolate offers endless possibilities for creativity.

We sat down with Sam Smallman, Chocolate Specialist at Classic Fine Foods, to explore the latest trends, flavour pairings, and innovative Valrhona products that can elevate your seasonal creations.

Whether you’re crafting indulgent classics or experimenting with vegan and free-from options, Sam shares his expert insights to help you make this Christmas truly unforgettable.

What festive flavour trends are you seeing this year for chocolate? Are there any flavours making a comeback that chocolatiers should be paying attention to?

Firstly, white chocolate plays a significant role because it mimics the appearance of snow. Couvertures like Opalys 33% go perfectly with this trend, because of that bright white colour. Perfect for chocolatiers who want to add that crisp white, snowy look. It's the perfect chocolate that pairs so well with many flavours, and what’s interesting about it is that the cocoa butter is heated and separated, leaving only the lighter part of the cocoa butter. This, along with the addition of more milk powder, gives a fresh, clean, cooling, milky flavour. This gives a great base for adding in additional flavours underneath, without getting too fatty like other white chocolates. 

This Christmas, we’re focusing on traditional flavours that we remember from the 80s and 90s. We’re seeing a lot of ginger, sweet cherry, those kinds of flavours. And one that’s never really gone away is flavours like caramel, but we need to think about how best to utilise the sweetness with different flavours.

If you want to mix a chocolate directly with the caramel, you want to go with quite a deep, rich chocolate, something like Nyangbo 68%, a single-origin chocolate from Ghana. Or if you’re bringing in acidity, a classic combination which I learned way back in the day from Paul A. Young was a mixture of Manjari 64% with salted caramel, which balances out the sweetness with red fruit acidity. That acid mixed with salt, sweetness from the sugar and fat from the butter. It’s a winner for all around!

If you want something to go with your Christmas pudding, then something like Macae 62% is great because that’s got notes of currants and black tea tannins, which lets some of those sweeter fruits sit on top.

And then of course you can’t forget, mulled wine. It's that time of year we all need something warming. So maybe looking at something deeper in the Madagascar couvertures, using the confection range, the Madagascar 80% there, or something like the Millot 74%, because that's using dark cane sugar rather than the traditional white sugar, it gives a bit more depth of flavour, almost like Kirsch (tart cherry beer), which lends itself very well and can hold up to those strong Christmas spices.

Are there any lesser-known Valrhona chocolates that you think are perfect for festive creations but are often overlooked?

Yes, absolutely. Some of the ones that we don't think about at Christmas, thinking about warmth, thinking about cosy nights in, we're thinking about kind of stronger, dark alcohols as well. Looking at things that will work well with rums and whiskeys. One that, I think, is lesser looked at is the Alpaco 66%, an Ecuadorian couverture. You can also now get this in the confection range, Equateur 80%. What's great about that is it has quite a woody oaky characteristic, which, in Summer, is fantastic with fruity olive oils, but this time of year it's going to bring out the oak characteristics of a whiskey or a really good rum. It's also going to bring out the flavour of candied orange peel, so if you wanted to do something with ginger, orange and whiskey, for example. Absolutely perfect chocolate to go for.

If you wanted a milk chocolate, something a bit sweeter, looking into the New Year with citrus flavouring coming in, looking at something like Tanariva 33%, which is a very sweet, 33% caramel milk chocolate. But because it's made of the Madagascan bean, the same as the Manjari 64%, it pairs well with a slightly acidic finish, which can translate into a nice fresh orange, particularly if you're going to do something with a sharper lemon.

This year, we saw a big focus on free-from chocolate. Are there any Valrhona vegan or free-from products that pair well with bold seasonal flavours?

If we're talking bold flavours, I have to start with the Matcha Inspiration. It's brand new at Classic Fine Foods. It's a beautiful, rich, deep Christmassy green colour. Made the same way as the other Inspiration Couvertures across the board, it's cocoa butter, sugar and matcha tea. The idea of that, rather than just mixing it with matcha, is that you can use it in tempering the same way as regular chocolate couvertures. You can have a thin layer, you can use it as a piece of décor, you can turn it into a mousse, you have the flexibility of chocolate, but using that intense vegetal tannic flavour. It also means you can play with other flavours to complement and create some great layers of colour.

Other ones going into the New Year would be the Yuzu Inspiration. That’s going to come out beautifully with that new year citrus seasonality and that freshness; you're not going to use too much of it, it is quite strong, but it's got a nice, sweet balance to it that actually works really nicely.

Are there any challenges chocolatiers typically face when developing free-from festive chocolates? With the trend of white chocolate for Christmas, what can chefs use instead?

One of the options we have is the Amatika 35% Blanche, which is an almond-based couverture. That's using just cocoa butter and broken-down almond, which has been balanced out, giving a clean white flavour. For example, you can use this for a vegan afternoon tea. It won't be quite as clean as the Opalys 33%, but you’ll still get a good flavour. The thing to remember is, it's made with whole almonds, so it's going to have a fresh, fatty almond flavour, and obviously, it contains nuts. If we're talking free-from, you must bear that in mind for a nut allergy.

We also talk so much about vegan products when we talk about free-from, and we forget the things that are naturally plant-based. All the dark chocolates naturally don’t contain any dairy, nuts or soya. They are suitable for these menus if you look at one with a strong flavour. There's nothing wrong with doing a fantastic water ganache, for example. Something like Tulakalum 75% has an incredible, tart under-ripe blueberry, followed by an almost medicinal juniper note, like a Negroni. It's got a fresh, vibrant characteristic in the middle that fades away. That used in a simple ganache on its own will really stand out. And you don't need to do too many other elements to it. 

Discover the full range of chocolate couvertures and more from Valrhona UK here.