Gianduja is a sweet creamy spread made of chocolate and ground hazelnuts. It was invented in Turin in the 19th century as a means of stretching the limited amount of chocolate available due to an imposed shortage of cocoa supplies in Italy. Since the area of Piedmont has always been rich in high-quality hazelnuts due to the region's indigenous hazelnut trees, a chocolatier named Michele Prochet created the first gianduja by extending the insufficient amount of chocolate with the region's exceptional hazelnuts.

The recipe calls for about 30% of hazelnut paste; however, the most famous gianduja-inspired spread, Nutella (originally called Pasta Gianduja), contains less than half of the amount.

There are many varieties of Belgian chocolates such as pralines, truffles, and chocolates shaped into eggs, animals, or different figures, which are especially popular during the festive seasons. Famous throughout the world, Belgian chocolate industry started by borrowing some of the techniques from Swiss chocolatiers to make new blends of chocolate by combining rich, high-quality chocolate with nuts, liqueurs, and fruits.

It all started during the 19th century, when Belgium was under the rule of Leopold II, who had access to a variety of cocoa plants and products due to colonization, providing Belgium with numerous imports of raw cocoa and consequently giving birth to the Belgian chocolate industry.

Chocolate truffles are made with ganache that's shaped into a ball, dipped in chocolate, and rolled in cocoa powder. The story of chocolate truffles began with the invention of cocoa press in 1828, which allowed chocolatiers to extract cocoa butter from cocoa beans.

After extracting the cocoa butter, they were left with chocolate solids which, combined with cream, became ganache, the key ingredient used as an inner layer of true chocolate truffles. In order to make different and distinctive flavors, additions such as peanut butter, cognac, champagne, caramel, fruits, or nuts are added to the ganache. 

A variation on the classic chocolate truffle, the Swiss chocolate truffle requires heating a mixture of dairy cream and butter to its boiling point, then stirring in melted chocolate, and finally transferring the resulting mixture into desired molds (traditionally round ones).

Once the chocolate truffles have hardened, they are rolled into cocoa powder just like the French truffles. Owing to the freshness of the ingredients used in the chocolate truffles' preparation, these sweet confections spoil much more easily and faster than other truffle varieties. 

Belgian pralines are world-famous chocolates with a soft or liquid filling. These sweet treats date back to 1857, when a pharmacist from Bruxelles named Jean Neuhaus used chocolate to mask the bad taste of medical concoctions. Later, in 1912, his son used a flavorful sweet filling instead of the medicine and called his invention a praline.

His wife designed a box for the pralines, so they could be individually wrapped and stored uniformly, a practice that is present up to this day. Today, Belgian pralines are renowned for their unique flavor and texture, and they are also often used as a token of love or gratitude.

Cuberdon is a traditional specialty candy in the shape of a cone. It is made from gum arabic, sugar, starch, and glucose. The candy has an intense raspberry flavor and its exterior is quite hard, while the interior is chewy and gooey. It is believed that cuberdon was invented in the late 19th century by a pharmacist from Ghent.

Today, the candies come in various flavors such as lavender, anise, and lemon.

Cioccolato di Modica is a traditional chocolate, that is manually ground and cold-processed, which gives it a unique grainy, sandy, crunchy texture and a peculiar aroma. The bitter cocoa paste is worked with sugar, and the flavor of the chocolate is sweet with some bitter notes.

When eaten, the chocolate melts well in the mouth, but one can still taste the sugar crystals on the tongue. Additional ingredients can also be added to the chocolate – a bit of salt; dried or dehydrated fruit such as pistachios, citrus, almonds, and hazelnuts; spices such as cinnamon, vanilla, chili pepper, or nutmeg; and natural flavorings such as citrus, wild fennel, jasmine, or ginger. 

The story of Mozartkugel began in 1890 when the confectioner Paul Fürst decided to commemorate Wolfgang Mozart, also a Salzburg native, by creating a praline in his honor. He started with a pistachio-flavored marzipan ball which was coated in nougat and finished off with a layer of bitter dark chocolate.

The process was done with the help of a stick, which resulted in a tiny hole in the middle that was additionally filled with chocolate. The creation became an instant success, and since Fürst did not patent the praline, many similar products appeared on the market, including the perfectly round Mirabell version. 

Vlokken is a popular Dutch confectionery product made from regular, dark, or white chocolate. The sprinkles come in various sizes, from small to extra large. They are traditionally used as a topping on buttered bread, a dish that is commonly consumed for breakfast in the country.

The sandwiches are usually open-faced, but due to the size and quantity of vlokken, it is recommended to add an extra slice of bread on top to keep all of the ingredients in place.