Charley’s Chocolate Cinnamon Truffle

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

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:

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Chocolate Raspberry Mousse

You know how you get a favorite recipe and then over time you seem to forget about it as new things come along?  Well this is one of those.

This chocolate raspberry mousse is easy to make and quite delicious, but it's probably been a couple years since I last made it.

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Dark Chocolate; Want Coffee With That?

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.

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Starbucks New Petite Cake Pops

Starbucks coffee is celebrating 40 years, having started in 1971.

As part of that celebration, some new products were launch recently on Mar. 8, 2011.

Introducing, Starbucks Petites, eight small sized sweets perfect for those afternoon cravings.  Wait a minute, afternoon cravings?  For me, that would be all day cravings!

Three of the Petites are something rather interesting, Cake Pops...

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Almost Fat–Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Some things get “lighter” in spring.  My mood gets lighter, my appetite gets lighter, and as I shed my heavy winter sweaters, my clothes get lighter!

Here is a recipe for something lighter in fat calories...

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Honest CocoaNova

I enjoy chocolate and tea.  I don’t mean hot tea with a chocolate pastry (which I’m not opposed to) but today I mean chocolate covered tea flavored chocolates like dark chocolate Early Grey truffles or Chai milk chocolate bars. 

But this new product by Honest Tea company is innovative and well, a bit strange sounding.  Introducing Honest CocoaNova, a product line of brewed cocoa infusion beverages.

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Chocolate Covered “Sea Turtle”

Last Monday I reviewed a Yuma Arizona chocolates shop called Chocolate Crafters. I reported on their chocolate covered candied orange peel. Oh - yummy memory.

Of course, I didn’t try just one item. The Sea Turtle, a dark chocolate-covered salty caramel and pecan cluster, captured my attention, too. It was all I expected and more. The pecans were crunchy, the salty caramel was smooth, buttery and, yes, salty, and the chocolate, although mild, blended perfectly into all the flavors with ease.

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Victorian Chocolate Molds

There is always something magical about a piece of molded chocolate with the crisp lines, exquisite detail, and of course the sumptuous chocolate.

Amazingly, not all molded chocolates are shaped like truffles, hearts or squares... there are over 50,000 different designs for chocolate molds.

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Chocolate Adventure Contest

Chocolate pairs well a lot of things, and Stout Beer is apparently one of them.

According to the Fourth Annual Chocolate Adventure Contest® winner, chocolate and stout beer make a $10,000 cupcake...

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