Author Archive: Bryn Kirk
Chocolate Bunny Bread
April 20, 2011
Chocolate bunnies? How about a chocolatey loaf of bread shaped like a bunny instead? OK, how about eating the bread first and then the usual chocolate bunnies for dessert?
Here's a recipe for a chocolate bread, with the added benefit of chocolate chips, shaped into a fun bunny for Easter. If you want to sweeten it for the kids, decorate with frosting and jelly beans.
| Chocolate Bunny Bread • 3 1/4-3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour • 2/3 cup sugar • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder • 2 packages rapid rise yeast • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 2/3 cup milk • 1/4 cup water • 1/4 cup butter or margarine • 1 egg • 1 tablespoon vanilla • 1/3 cup milk or dark chocolate chips • Decorations: jelly beans, frosting (optional) Read more |
Xyla Sugar-free Chocolate
April 18, 2011
I don’t have a dietary need to eat sugar-free chocolate, so I rarely do. I am not an expert when it comes to reviewing these types of product. I was thinking, however, that if something sugar-free tastes pretty close to the “real thing” than it’s gotta be pretty good. Right?
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Fudge Brownie Pie
April 13, 2011
Here's an interesting recipe for a brownie within a pie. Basically it's a big round brownie in a pie crust. Sounds like the best of two worlds.
| Fudge Brownie Pie • 1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips • 1/4 cup margarine or butter • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk • 1/2 cup biscuit baking mix • 2 eggs • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 1 cup nuts, chopped Read more |
Mayan Superfood – Sweet Raw Cacao Nibs
April 11, 2011
Theobroma cacao is the scientific name for Cocoa Beans. After the cocoa beans are harvested, fermented, dried and shipped to the chocolate manufacturer, they are stripped of their outer-most coating, called the shell, and roasted before being ground into chocolate liquor (unsweetened baking chocolate).
These shelled beans are called nibs. Almost all nibs are roasted. Roasting brings out flavor and color development. Roasting also drives off moisture and undesirable “volatiles.”
I wanted to share this brief story about bean processing because RAW nibs are not roasted, and I’d like you to see where they come from and why they stand out even more as a superfood than the already proclaimed superfood-ness (is this a word?) of chocolate.
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Charley’s Chocolates Revisited
April 4, 2011
Last week I reviewed a delicious hand-rolled cinnamon truffle from Charley’s Chocolates of Madison, Wisconsin. I thought I had found a new favorite, until I had one of their White Chocolate covered ganache truffles.
Oh yes! - velvety smooth melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate ganache center enrobed in a creamy, white chocolate coating. Pardon me while I wipe away the drool.
The chocolate ganache was nutty, a little earthy, and intensely chocolate. There’s a l-o-n-g finish with a bit of spice at the very end.
Nothing beats a freshly made truffle. Really.
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Chocolate Tempering: Crystal Sizes
April 1, 2011
Once people understand that chocolate tempering is the secret to getting great results for their own chocolate creations, I get a lot of related questions.
Here's a conversation with a student at a live, in-person session where I was talking about the crystal sizes, within the cocoa butter, for proper tempering.
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Chocolate Delight Bars
March 30, 2011
Here's a recipe for Chocolate Delight Bars. This bar is in three layers; a nice flour crust on the bottom, then a layer of chocolate from melted chocolate chips, and then a nutty layer on top.
I've heard good comments about this dessert and hope that you do too.
Charley’s Chocolate Cinnamon Truffle
March 28, 2011
Madison, Wisconsin is home to many great chocolate shops. I recently had the pleasure of eating a delicious hand rolled Chocolate Cinnamon Truffle from Charley’s Chocolates.
This downtown Madison shop is full of hand made chocolates from truffles to fudge.
The cinnamon truffle was not just good, it was melt in your mouth and walk away smiling good. The ganache was smooth and intensely chocolatey. The cinnamon coating blended perfectly without covering the nuances of the chocolate.
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Cocoa Powder for Dipping
March 25, 2011
I received an interesting question the other day from someone on my mailing list.
(If you're reading this, but not on my list, go ahead and get my free ebook, then I will also send you more chocolate information and you'll have a chance to ask me a question too.)
Anyway, here is the question posed:
Dark Chocolate; Want Coffee With That?
March 21, 2011
Chocolate Crafters of Yuma, Arizona makes wonderful chocolate. I have recently reviewed their candied orange peel and “Sea Turtle.”
They also make a wonderful dark chocolate coffee bean bark. The roasted espresso beans add crunch and real coffee flavor without bitterness or the aftertaste that some of the flavored syrups can leave behind.