Chocolate Hazelnut

Gianduja, a combination of hazelnut and sweet chocolate, was one of our favorite Shake Shack custards from last year. We liked it so much that we started researching Torino, Italy, the home of gianduja, in the hopes that we would someday be able to visit. This year, Shake Shack's January Tuesday custard is "chocolate hazelnut." We were assuming that this would be the same as gianduja, but thought they just changed the name (because people didn't know what gianduja was?).


The chocolate hazelnut custard had a similar flavor to the old gianduja, although it seemed a little heavier on the hazelnut in this batch (no complaints). Chocolate and hazelnut is always such a fantastic combination (and the heart of one of my favorite desserts ever, the hazelnut dacquoise from The Modern) and this was just as good as the gianduja we had last year. There was, however, a textural difference compared to all the custards we've had before. This custard was creamier, thicker and more like chocolate mousse or pudding in texture than any other we have tried. The creaminess just made it that much better. We probably could have eaten an entire container of this last night instead of just a double cup. Chocolate hazelnut/gianduja definitely remains one of our favorites.

Chocolate Hazelnut
A's rating: 10/10
M's rating: 10/10