The Artful Baker Biscotti - A Review of Tasty Treats
The Artful Baker’s small team hand craft their Italian-inspired double-baked biscotti in Dorset and pride themselves on “crafting the unexpected”. With a selection of intriguing flavours (especially the savoury options), their ingredients are carefully selected from around the world: oranges from Valencia, cocoa and chillies from South America, limes from Africa, almonds from California and garlic from the UK. As spectacular as they are being standalone treats, they can make the perfect accompaniment to cheese and charcuterie platters, act as croutons in soups and dippers for hummus, be the finishing touch to an ice cream sundae or simply a dunkable delight with a cup of tea or coffee.
Price: £3.29 per box, £6.25 or £11.85 for two or four boxes respectively of a single flavour, and £14.99 for the bundle of all six flavours
Available from: The Artful Baker website, Redber Coffee Roasters
Suitable for: Vegetarians, but not those with gluten or lactose intolerances.
Image credit: The Artful Baker
Dessert is always the headline act, so let's begin with the sweet treats from The Artful Baker.
Salted Caramel, Pecan and Roasted Hazelnut: There is a gloriously sweet caramel scent to these biscotti that invite you to take a bite, though the overall flavour is much more subtle. You can definitely taste the caramel, almost offering a creaminess to contrast the crunch of the biscotti and small pieces of pecan and hazelnut scattered throughout each satisfying mouthful. If your chosen biscotti has a few more pieces of pecan or hazelnut then you’ll receive a much nuttier flavour to balance against the morsels of caramel. Overall, they are delicious as an indulgent afternoon treat with a cup of tea or coffee.
Sour Cherry and Dark Chocolate: Wow, what an assault of sweetness to the senses compared to The Artful Baker’s other biscotti offerings. Opening the packet, the scent of cherries is incredible and mouthwatering, and the first bite does not disappoint. The sweetness is perfectly balanced against the bitterness and creaminess of the dark chocolate amongst the crunch of the biscotti biscuit. Let’s just say these were very moorish and did not last long!
Triple Belgian Chocolate: There’s something comforting about a chocolate biscuit that you can’t beat, so with the addition of chunks of white and dark Belgian chocolate, it makes a tasty accompaniment to your mid-morning or afternoon refreshment. In my opinion, these were the least flavoursome of the three sweet options, although the chocolatey aroma upon opening the packet was heavenly!
Image credit: The Artful Baker
If you’re more of a savoury than sweet person, then the following may just tickle your tastebuds…
Fennel, Pink Peppercorn and Sea Salt: The first thing you notice is the strong aroma of peppercorn, followed by the subtler notes of fennel, similar to anise. Usually I am not too keen on anise, but The Artful Baker has balanced this biscotti perfectly with the peppercorn and sea salt. The peppercorns are definitely most noticeable on first bite as the flavour bursts in your mouth, whilst the fennel does linger a little as an aftertaste. These would make a great addition to spice up tomato soup as croutons.
Sundried Tomato, Kalamata Olives and Oregano: Amongst family and friends I am known for calling olives “the food of the devil” - no matter how many times I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, I never like them any more. So you’ll be as surprised as me to learn that I actually loved these biscotti! Granted I could definitely smell and taste the sundried tomato as the strongest flavour, but the small pieces of olives throughout I actually rather enjoyed too. Obviously you will experience more of the flavour from olives in pieces that happen to contain more of them, which is the beauty of these being hand-crafted and produced in smaller batches. My first thought upon eating them: I wish I was in Italy or Greece right now! These would make a fantastic option for a summer platter to enjoy in the sunshine with guests.
Smoked Jalapeño and Lime: Although this doesn’t include cheese in the name, there is mature vegetarian cheddar in the ingredients list and that’s definitely the most prominent smell and flavour of this biscotti. After the cheddar, you get a kick from the jalapeño, but the lime was a little too subtle for my palate. These biscotti would pair well on an after-dinner cheese board.
Image credit: The Artful Baker
Overall, my surprise savoury favourite was the Sundried Tomato, Kalamata Olives and Oregano biscotti (it just goes to show you should never judge a biscotti by it’s packaging - as the oh so famous saying goes), whilst my preference of sweet was the Sour Cherry and Dark Chocolate. With the summer months ahead of us, all of these would make fabulous additions to platters in garden parties, or just a quiet cup of tea soaking in the sunshine and nature.
Written by Hannah Bird
Disclaimer: The author received these products in return for an honest review and would only make recommendations that she would be proud for family and friends to follow.
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