History

The filled Belgian chocolate, the praline, was invented in Brussels by Jean Neuhaus in 1912, who replaced bitter pharmacy chocolate coatings with a shell around a sweet filling. The craft spread across Belgium and Bruges became one of its heartlands, with dozens of chocolatiers in the medieval core. Many still make their pralines by hand in workshops behind the shop, from the experimental Chocolate Line under Dominique Persoone to the guild house Pol Depla with its Brugs Swaentje.

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Common allergens: Dairy, Soy, Tree nuts

Make it at home

Yield 20Hands-on 1 hrTotal 2 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 300g good Belgian dark couverture chocolate, for the shells
  • 150g dark chocolate, chopped, for the ganache
  • 120ml double cream
  • 20g butter
  • A polycarbonate praline mould

Method

  1. Temper the couverture: melt to 45C, cool to 27C, then bring back to 31C, stirring.
  2. Fill the clean mould cavities with tempered chocolate, then turn out the excess to leave thin shells. Set.
  3. Heat the cream to a simmer and pour over the chopped chocolate; stir to a smooth ganache.
  4. Stir in the butter, then cool the ganache to just above room temperature.
  5. Pipe the ganache into the set shells, leaving 2mm at the top. Rest until firm.
  6. Cap with more tempered chocolate, scrape level and chill 15 minutes.
  7. Turn out: well-tempered pralines release with a clean snap and a shine.

Tip from the editors. Temper is everything; untempered chocolate sets dull and soft and will not release from the mould.

Where to eat belgian pralines

Belgian pralines in Bruges

The Chocolate Line ★ 4.7

€ BakeryExperimental Belgian pralinesMarktWalk-in only

The Chocolate Line on Simon Stevinplein in Bruges is Dominique Persoone's lab, where pralines run from caramelised shrimp-head to tree-to-bar Criollo cacao.

Worth the queueTree-to-bar Criollo chocolate and unusual pralines

TipWatch the workshop through the back glass. Gault&Millau voted it Belgium's best chocolaterie in 2023.

Directions

Dumon Chocolatier ★ 4.5

€ BakeryHandmade fresh pralinesMarktWalk-in only

Dumon on the Eiermarkt in Bruges is a family chocolatier making fresh pralines daily from old family recipes. Small shop, short queues, serious chocolate.

Worth the queueDaily fresh pralines from old family recipes

TipBuy a small box fresh rather than a sealed tin; the pralines are best within days. Several Dumon shops exist; this is the flagship.

Directions

Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc ★ 4.4

€ BakeryArtisanal pralines made on siteMinnewaterWalk-in only

Sukerbuyc on Katelijnestraat in Bruges makes its chocolates in the workshop behind the shop, so you watch the pralines finished, with a tearoom alongside.

Worth the queuePralines from the workshop behind the shop

TipThe attached tearoom serves a proper hot chocolate. The workshop is visible from the counter.

Directions

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