Betty’s is famous for its tearooms. But did you know they create splendid chocolates too? Now how about a Betty’s chocolate otter or their 1919 victory bear?
Well, Easter will soon be upon us and what could be more delightful than to receive a cheeky chocolate otter showing off with the fish he’s just caught? I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him on Bettys website. He reminds me of the film Ring of Bright Water which I shed so many tears over as a child; I expect I would again if only I could bring myself to watch it.
Betty’s Chocolate Otter
An enormous box duly arrived in the post – my otter! He came so well wrapped, it was like pass the parcel. As I peeled back each layer, I kept thinking I had arrived, only to find another one and then another. But it was just as well, it would have been very sad to have spoiled the beauty of this gorgeous beast. A handful of broken chocolate shards in a bag just wouldn’t have cut the mustard.
I so didn’t want to break this lovely creature up and seriously contemplated keeping him for ornamental purposes. But this was a review and I did need to try the chocolate. Now this otter weighs in at a grand 430g so I wasn’t sure quite how thick the chocolate was and how I was going to break into him.
After ceasing the rolling pin and putting it down again a few times, I hardened my heart and gave him a bash on the back – oh dear! He wasn’t hard to break. The top half of the otter was thin skinned and he sat on a very thick and solid bottom.
Once broken into, I pulled myself together and grabbed a bit of otter. I’m always rather tentative with milk chocolate, because although it’s my favourite, I appreciate a high cocoa content and don’t like it too sweet. As with the other Bettys products I’ve tried, I was not disappointed.
Do have a look at Bettys Dark Chocolate Selection and Bettys Christmas Gugelhupf. The chocolate tasted of chocolate and melted smoothly on the tongue releasing noticeable caramel tones. It was delicious.
An otter isn’t just for Easter you know. Although he’s perfect to eat at any time of year, I feel he has a certain spring like quality. I’m assuming, of course, he is a he – I didn’t check that carefully.
Made by hand from Swiss chocolate with 38% cocoa solids, this beats your average Easter egg hands down. At £20, he isn’t cheap, but quality will out. If you don’t fancy an otter Bettys has plenty of other Easter and spring time treats available via their online shop.
1919 Victory Bear
Whilst so many are caught up in football fever, lets not forget another sporting epic which will soon be hitting our very own shores. Yes indeed, the Tour de France kicks off in Yorkshire this year. And as this is only the fourth time the UK has hosted the race, I suspect that Up North they might be even more excited about this than they are about the “Beautiful Game”.
Somewhat surprisingly, as it is a little out of the way, one distinguished Tour de France competitor recently made his way to my door. He was such a charmer, I couldn’t help but let him in.
Although he wore a medal proudly around his neck and sported a very jaunty yellow jersey, he didn’t boast of his prowess once during his stay. In fact he watched over us for several days, in a sometimes excited but friendly way. Just to make sure we wouldn’t forget the upcoming race.
Then one day he just disappeared. Actually he disappeared over several days as he was rather large, weighing in at 400g. He was also quite delicious, made as he was from Bettys Swiss very moreish grand cru milk chocolate and coated with sweet luscious marzipan creating the prized maillot jaune or yellow jersey. The coveted yellow jersey has never tasted batter.
It just so happens that the finish line of the first stage is at Harrogate, home of Bettys, the famous tea rooms and chocolatier. Turns out that 1919, the year of their founding, was the year of the first yellow jersey. They just had to create a 1919 Victory Bear to honour that. Wearing hat, riding goggles and a spare inner tube strapped across his chest, he looks the epitome of intrepid, debonair sportsmanship.
The 1919 Victory Bear is joined by a whole host of limited edition cycling treats all with a Bettys twist. Retailing at £29.95 this is a must for any cycling enthusiast or even just those partial to cute chocolate teddy bears.
Betty’s Non-Chocolate Treats
Betty’s first came to my attention when a work colleague from Yorkshire used to bemoan the fact that you couldn’t get Yorkshire curd tarts in Plymouth. And when I finally got to take a work trip to York, she urged me to go to Betty’s tea rooms so I could try one. How could I resist?
They were delicious of course. So good, in fact, that I tried to make a chocolate version of my own. Though I say it myself my Yorkshire curd tarts were pretty good.
Sadly, I didn’t get to try a Betty’s fat rascal whilst I was there. I don’t think I found out about those particular Northern treats until after my trip. Needless to say, I’ve had a go at making Yorkshire fat rascals too.
Let Us Know
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try any of Betty’s chocolate, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Or you might even be the lucky winner. Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more chocolate reviews, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. There’s even another Betty’s chocolate review: Betty’s dark chocolate selection.
Choclette x
Betty’s Chocolate Otter Giveaway
Bettys have kindly agreed to give one of my readers a milk chocolate otter too. To be in with a chance of winning, please fill in the Gleam widget below. You will need to leave a comment on this post which then gives you additional chances to enter if you so wish. Gleam will pick a winner at random from the entries received. If you are commenting anonymously, please give me some way of identifying you as I will be verifying the validity of entries. Any automated entries will be disqualified. This giveaway is only open to those with a UK postal address. Winners will need to respond within 7 days of being contacted. Failure to do this may result in another winner being picked.
Prizes are offered and provided by Bettys and Chocolate Log Blog accepts no responsibility for the acts or defaults of said third party.
Closing date is Wednesday 30 April 2014
Do take a look at the Chocolate Log Blog giveaway page to see if there is anything else you would like to enter.
Thanks to Bettys for the chocolate otter. There was no requirement to write a positive review and as always all opinions are my own. Thank you for your support of the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.
Sandie Tapsell says
My husband is obsessed with Otters
This is so cute but cant find listed on Bettys website now easter is over
Would love to win that remaining one for him
Choclette says
Hi Sandie – this is an old giveaway from 2014, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to win this for your husband. It’s a shame Betty’s aren’t making chocolate otters any more though, this one was lovely.
melirose says
A Panda!! My favourite animal and would be a perfect combination of dark and milk chocolate – yum yum!!
Irene Murdoch says
An elephant so big there would be lots of choccy to eat
Annamarie Riddiford says
An okapi as they are my favourite animal
jodie harvey says
i think a chocolate chicken would be interesting 😀
Anonymous says
My Dog Dusty – he’s already chocolate brown so were half way there 🙂
Becci Cleary
Caroline Bellamy says
Ha ha I agree with Allen – a Blue Whale – bigger the better! 🙂
LAURA WHEATLEY says
a cute penguin… but then i wouldnt want to eat it lol
Lora says
a tortoise – with the shell and limbs made of different chocolates
Sunderlandanth says
Without doubt….. a disgusting looking cockroach……. keep my other half grubby mitts off it and more for me! Bwwwah hahahahaha!
Chris Fletcher says
It would have to be something huge like a blue whale, lifesize of course!
Gail Reid says
A pig! 🙂 cos that’s what I’d be when I nommed it all up in one go hehe
Alison Turner says
A big hedgehog with chocolate spines as well as choccy body 😀
anne dalzell says
The biggest animal i can find as i love Betty’s chocolate so maybe a dinosaur!!
Sylvia Gill says
A Big Brown Bear, but I love the Otter too !
Emma Davies says
Crocodile. It would have to be dark chocolate and chilli for that extra “bite” 😉
deaddogsmoking says
A blue whale should quell the better half’s cravings for a day or two.
Cornishgirl says
A Giraffe – nice long chocolatey neck !
claire sen says
a large animal, so an elephant. big animals = more chocolate!
CLAIRE LITTLE says
i’d have an elephant 🙂 hopefully more chocolate then
Louise A says
An elephant…that should feed my chocolate addiction for a while! 🙂
faye huntington says
a whale – hoping it would mean more chocolate?! haha 😉
faye xx
William G says
A giraffe – so I could chomp my way down the neck!
Elizabeth Briggs says
A snake – so my whole family could eat it at once 🙂
Chris says
A blue whale – the largest mammal in the world – therefore more chocolate. I’m sure I’d feel like a whale after eating it too!
pepicola says
I would choose a hedgehog, so i could break off and eat the individual spines
Holly Smith says
A cat or kitten would be so cute (but I might feel guilty about eating it!)
Helen Swales says
A hippopotamus – think of how much chocolate there’d be mmm!
Laura Williams says
I would pick a Hippo! I love Hippos!!!! 😀
what a gorgeous Otter though!!!! so cute!!
gareth evans says
im sure i saw a little chap just like this on the leat near tywardreath so for me it would have to be a sheep to keep him company
Sharon Moncrieff says
My 10 week old puppy Lottie. She’s so cute, so one would be able to resist 🙂
debbie godbolt says
i love the otter but i would of made a yorkshire terrier x
Prince Aaron says
a white chocolate polar bear would be amazing 😛
tabbaz123 says
A chameleon – with changing dark, milk, white chocolate 🙂
Lynne O'Connor says
A hedgehog – I could make it last by breaking off one spine at a time
Blulu says
A white chocolate Westie called Thimble the second. I’m lucky enough to already have Thimble the first 🙂
Caroline says
A chocolate otter is really quite mad! A pig filled with truffles would be good though . . .
Sally Carter says
would have to be an owl, although the otter looks very cute
Laura Marie Nesbitt says
An elephant because they are huge and would mean more chocolate for me! 🙂
sylvia stavert says
I would love to win but I might find it hard to eat him
Victoria H says
A zebra…because I love white chocolate too =]
Anonymous says
A lifesize chocolate elephant, it would only last me a week.
littlebean says
Something big!! An elephant maybe or a hippo 😉
Sam Swain says
A blue whale – would have to contain plenty of chocolate!
Abigail-Devon Sawyer says
I saw this a few days ago and fell in love – the huge easter egg doesn’t look to bad either 😀
Minnie Michelle says
this looks super yummy, would have to be a koala 🙂 x
Laura Townley says
A Meerkat, only because a toy one is staring at me at this moment in time!
Kirsten Stewart says
He’s so cute! I’d still eat him though x
Carol Massey says
a giraffe. the neck would be so easy to bite into 😉
ali thorpe says
A grizzly bear – big and dark, just how I like my chocolate!
Kevin Cozens says
a massive animal, something like an elephant…more animal = more choc lol
helen says
Being a chocoholic probably an Life sized Elephant!!!! 🙂
Laura Caraher says
A fox, it’s almost a shame to break the otter up to eat as it’s too cute
maxineflossy says
a blue whale (just in the hope that it would be really really big!)
Janice Pattie says
An unusual choice for Easter, but it is really cute!
Beth S says
An elephant as they’re my favourite animal! 🙂
Heidi Roberts says
Chocolate is always such a star at this time of year!
London Unattached Food says
I love ring of bright water too. Bizarrely when I was last in Tuscany, the villa had a DVD player and a very limited selection of English DVDs – including ring of bright water. What a lovely chocolatey one!
Vohn's Vittles says
Aw he is just so cute Choclette – I would have found it hard to bash him in too! Vohn x
hungryhinny says
Ahh I love that film! So sad though, I have no emotion with films about people but show me a cute animal and I’m in pieces!
Can’t believe you broke his back… I suppose if I was going to make any animal into chocolate it would have to be a hinny really! 😉 Although I love kittens A LOT…
Sarah Trivuncic says
OMG otters are so cuuuuuute I want one as a pet!!
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
My kiddoes would love this. Actually, I would love this.
ManjiriK says
a cute elephant please ! I have this mad elephant obsession, they r such gentle giants !:)
Harmony Marsh says
A chocolate otter for an otterly crazy chocolate aficionado? Sounds perfect for me 😀
Janine says
A lion! Congrats on having another giveaway, your blog must be doing well!
Choclette says
Thanks Janine. I used to do two giveaways a month, I now only do one!
debby emadian says
I love the new format of your blog. We can see you at last, and very nice you look too. Pleased to meet you in person (well almost.)
The otter is so cute, almost too nice to eat.
Choclette says
Thanks Debby 🙂 I honestly had real problems breaking the otter up – he was gorgeous – all that’s left now is a big slab of chocolate base.
Jane Dobson says
Shetland Pony – or perhaps a Dales would be more appropriate (+ bigger).
Rhoda says
A Highland Cow…random but it was the first thing I though of!
Kelly McKenny says
~I saw these in Bettys York a couple of weeks ago and fell in love!
belleau kitchen says
Betty’s Chocolate Otter sound like some kind of Carry On-esque naughty word… or is that just me?
Choclette says
It’s just you Dom 😉
debby emadian says
he he he…I loved that Dom…it really made me chuckle…
Choclette says
Ha ha, so it’s not just Dom after all.
Anonymous says
Otter sound good to me, just think it needs an L in front to make it a Lotter of Chocolate.
Joy Portas