I was all set to use Burnt Almond Milk Chocolate Ganach (TCB p. 277) for my cakes tomorrow, to find that Hershey doesn’t make the Golden Almond bars any more!

Does anyone know what they were like, and what might be similar? Rose mentions in her intro that it was Milk Chocolate, but were the almonds finely ground? In pieces? I was planning to put it between layers and on top, sprinkled with sliced almonds (plain ganache for sides).

Any suggestions?

A quick google search turned up the following:  The Golden Amond Bar was roasted almonds in a lightly sweetened milk chocolate bar.  I wonder if the standard Hershey’s Almond bar would be a good substitute, or maybe its sweeter than the golden bar was.  I suppose you could substitute any good chocolate almond bar that you like.
Cadbury is fairly decent.

Thanks, Patrincia. The biggest dilemma is wondering about the size of the almond pieces in Rose’s original. I haven’t seen anything specific. Various companies have milk chocolate (with cocoa butter as a listed ingredient) and almonds. Some specify WHOLE almonds, some specify pieces, some don’t specify anything. Unfortunately, the Golden Almond bar doesn’t specify, so it’s hard to know what to use. I may just wing it by using milk chocolate, grinding my own almonds, and adding them until I like what I’ve got!

Your reference to Cadbury is very helpful. Thanks!

I assume they were whole almonds (Hershey’s also made Golden Almond Solitaires, which were whole chocolate covered almonds), but since you grind it all up in the food processor anyway, I don’t suppose it matters.  Can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you.

Patrincia - 11 April 2008 01:11 PM

... but since you grind it all up in the food processor anyway, I don’t suppose it matters.

Geez. Of course! What was I thinking?

Patrincia, you’re the greatest!

Hi Susan, sounds like you were well on your way to a solution but here’s the Cadbury page for future reference. You’ll notice they make 3 almond bars—almond dairy milk, burnt almond and premium dark burnt almond. The ingredient list/nutritional info is available by clicking on the name of the bar.
http://www.chocolate.ca/page.cfm?id=ABB08CF5-A410-445D-A392-3BB93228DF3C

I made that ganache using a combination of chocolates and sadly, didn’t keep a record. I think it was the standard Hershey’s almond bar with some gianduja we had on hand (hazelnuts and chocolate ground smooth). It was sensational! I’m sure yours was, too. But learn from my mistake and make a note while what you did is still fresh in your mind. And do let us know how it turned out!

Carol - 12 April 2008 01:12 PM

I think it was the standard Hershey’s almond bar with some gianduja we had on hand (hazelnuts and chocolate ground smooth).

Carol - can you please tell me how Guanduja differs from Nutella?  Is guanduja more solid, or is it a spread like Nutella?

Nutella is certainly related, Patricia—at least according to this Wikipedia post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianduja_(chocolate)

The gianduja I used came in a block form, i.e. solid, and looked for all the world like a giant burnt almond dairy milk chocolate bar. That’s what made me think of using it, when I was a little short on the Hershey’s almond bars.

Patricia, gianduja is in solid form while Nutella is a spread. Here’s what my food dictionary states:

“Hailing from Switzerland, gianduja is a silky-smooth, hazelnut-flavored chocolate that comes in several styles including milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate. It’s available in gourmet markets and through mail order. ”

Post-cake update:

I never made a ganache before, and with not having the exact ingredients, definitely needed a trial before the real thing. Live and learn is not as good as test and learn!

Estimating the quantity of ganache I would need (3.75 C) meant making 1.25 times Rose’s original recipe. I used 6 4-oz bars of Nestle’s “dark” (53%) chocolate, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, and 2 1/2 Tbs. amaretto. I ground up almonds, but forgot to measure them! I probably added 1/3 to 1/2 cup.

The result:  the amaretto was completely lost, the almonds should have been toasted, and the ganache was VERY hard. I also forgot to ask the restaurant for HOT water, so the knife I used didn’t soften the ganache at all, and just crushed it into the cake! I was quite disappointed.

Would more cream have helped? To be honest, the spreadsheet I set up to do calculations said 1.563 cups of cream. I just now did the calculation that I should have done Saturday. The missing .063 C equals 1T, I think. Would having that be enough to give it better consistency?

Susan - I’m so sorry to hear of your disappointment.  I haven’t made that particular ganache variation, but standard ganache does “set-up” firmer than buttercream, and the thicker the ganache layer, the more resistant it is to the knife.  A hot knife would have been extremely helpful to you….  but I’m sure you didnt’ get any complaints about the taste.

Susan,  I searched and found the golden almond bars at hersheygifts.com.  It describes them as having whole almonds.  As Patrincia said, it probably doesn’t matter since you grind them, but if you want to work with the real thing, they do seem to be available.

Here’s the description on the website: “Enjoy the simple combination of fresh-roasted whole almonds enrobed in a bar of creamy and satisfying HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate. Our signature gold box of five individually wrapped bars will put a smile on anyone’s face.”

I hope this helps.