Simply Delightful Confections

Went in for the first time today after passing this cute little place far too many times. Definitely overpriced, but the chocolates are all handmade, generously sized, and delicious. As a first timer, the sweet lady behind the counter gave me a free sample of their «Puffles» which are definitely tasty. I ended up getting a raspberry marshmallow filled chocolate, which was absolutely incredible. You can really taste the love put into these products – it’s pure and unprocessed, setting it apart from the cheap chocolate you can grab down the strip at Publix. Definitely not an every day stop, but for an occasional treat, I’ll be back for more yum-​yums!

Excellent chocolate! Made fresh and on site! A must try for the chocolate lover!
My husband and I consider ourselves connoisseurs of chocolate. We try and find a chocolatier in ever major city we go to. We were quite surprised to find such good quality chocolates in Gainesville!

The $ 10 minimum is a pain, but it’s not hard to spend $ 10 here when the prices are fairly high. We went in just to get our kids a quick treat, and did not want to spend $ 10 on sugar. The white chocolate bark was pretty flavorless. Their signature «Puffles» are ok. They kind of taste like stale funnel cake drizzled with chocolate. I wouldn’t recommend this place.

Simply Delightful! Confections offers a variety of chocolatey goods, from dipped items to artfully-​crafted truffles but at a premium associated more with «rare treat» than frequent indulgence. Foregoing the price as a concern, the various items are pretty tasty in comparison to overly-​processed corporate candies and the care to which some of the items are presented makes for a worthwhile experience once in a while.
The Space:
Located within Tower Plaza, SDC is a small, clean shop with two main display cases. There are no places to sit and, were they to experience any peak of business, you would find yourself crowded (though a rush at such a place seems quite atypical)
The Food:
As it was my birthday and I had heard about this place from a friend, I decided it was finally time I had the right set of excuses to visit and pick up a few goodies:
–Peanut butter milk chocolate square
–Hazelnut milk chocolate square
–White chocolate cookies and cream bark
–Salted milk chocolate cashew bark
–Salted Caramel truffle
–Caramel cream swirl
–Milk chocolate medallion (plain)
My favorite, by far, was the peanut butter milk chocolate square. The exterior was the standard milk chocolate they work with, but the inside was a smooth ganache that, though containing chocolate, gave a very prominent and delicious peanut butter flavor. This item I would come back for, in fact. The hazelnut bar did not really give off a hazelnut taste as much as I would have wanted. The cookies and cream bark was definitely tasty, and the ratio of cookie bits to chocolate was appropriate for each bite, as well as the cashew proportion for the milk chocolate bark. Though I really enjoyed both of the caramel items, I did not like the salt as a topping for the truffle. I found it made the first bite unappealing until the salt taste subsided. The caramel cream swirl (the real name of which I am not sure, but for those who are familiar with the cow tail caramel sticks this item represents an elite version of that treat) was probably my #2, as the caramel as nice and gooey which made the blending of the swirl and the caramel really effortless.
As a separate paragraph I will comment on the milk chocolate itself. Overall it is not the best gourmet chocolate I have ever tasted, but there is nothing to offend about it at all. I suppose it may have something to do with the way it is purposed for making the treats and keeping them at a certain shape, but the chocolate lacked a certain melt-​in-​your-​mouth warmth that I seek when I am indulging. Suffice it to say that for texture, mouthfeel and even flavor I have had gourmet bar chocolates from specialty-​item stores that have made this experience acceptable, but not incredible.
The Service:
Only one person was running the register, but during my ~1 hour study of the treats and deliberation over which to choose, only one other customer came in. The cashier was more than friendly and very helpful in detailing the items and answering my general questions about the owner, the business, etc.
The items are marked for sale either by the piece (truffles, dipped items, specially-​arranged molds) while others are priced by the pound (barks and chips)
PRO TIP: They do accept credit cards, but only for purchases that exceed $ 10. This is not difficult to do, but if you are looking for a single sweet treat after dining at one of the places within Tower Plaza you will want cash on hand.
Final Thoughts:
The minimum on the card is a nuisance for me, since I usually would not be in the mood to buy or eat $ 10 worth of chocolate, save for special occasions. Fortunately I like to carry cash on me anyway, so this was of no concern regardless. Prices are a tad high for certain items, but not enough to avoid shopping for treats here. It feels as though some of the price comes from the way the items are designed/​decorated, which is something I could not care less about, but to the right audience the attention to detail would be more appealing and increase the inherent value of the items. You will not be disappointed to grab a morsel here, but you may not remember the experience either.