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?
Read more
Chocolate Zombie Bunny
April 15, 2011
As we're coming up fast on Easter you may be thinking about all that Easter candy you'll need to put in baskets and hide around the house. Of course some of that candy is likely to chocolate bunnies. Your children will expect the annual chance to bite off the bunny ears.
Perhaps you already know that your son or daughter is crazy about Zombies and will attack a defenseless chocolate bunny by not just eating its ears first, but by going straight for its brains. Maybe it's time to play along and consider giving the bunny that fights back - a chocolate zombie bunny!
Read more
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.
Read more
Chocolate Price Drop?
April 8, 2011
Good news. With the former president of Ivory Coast negotiating an exit strategy with UN authorities, it appears that chocolate prices may be headed down.
Cacao shipments from Ivory Coast had dropped to near zero after the election conflict in late 2010. That's a problem since the country supplies about a third of the world's supply. Because of the reduced supply, prices have been on pretty much a constant increase.
Now that a surrender is being negotiated, cocoa futures prices dropped immediately to the lowest point in the last three months. This is based on the speculation that the 350,000 tons of cacao held in Ivory Coast port warehouses would be released while the European Union removes its trade embargo.
Read more
Favorite Chocolate Cheesecake
April 6, 2011
I enjoy making cheesecakes. Over the years I have picked up a few good recipes. One of my favorites is a Garlic Cheesecake! As you can imagine, this is not for dessert. It's a good appetizer though.
Well, I'm not writing for Garlic University Online so I'm not going to give you the recipe for that cheesecake. Instead, I'm going to give you the recipe for one of my absolute favorite chocolate cheesecakes.
This is a substantial cheesecake with lots of chocolate impact. It's rich and dense. It takes time to make, but the results are really worth the effort.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more