Category — Dessert
New York City for Chocolate Lovers
New York City has many boutiques that offer exceptional, hand-made chocolates. Many of these luxurious treats can only be found here in the city.
They also have fabolus cafes, cool chocolate events and inspiring factories where you can watch how these gourmet treats are being made. A box of luxury, fine chocolate is the perfect gift for a special occasion like Mothers Day or Valentines.
Jacques Torres Chocolate
A visit to Jacques Torres Chocolate feels like stepping into a small European specialty store. The store is filled with hand-made yummy treats. Enjoy a hot chocolate and a freshly baked pain au chocolat in the cafe while you watch the delicious chocolates being made in the factory. Visit Jacques Torres DUMBO in Brooklyn or the new cafe on Hudson Street.
Martine’s Chocolates
Here you find hand-made gourmet chocolates. The chocolates are made from fresh, natural ingredients, for example Belgian chocolate, French butter and fresh American cream. You can find Martines Chocolates at Bloomingdales and the new store Martines Chocolates too.
Vosges Haut-Chocolat
Vosges lets you travel the world of luxury haut-chocolates. Their bestseller says it all. It is an exotic truffle collection of gourmet dark, milk and white chocolate truffles infused with exotic and traditional spices, herbs and flowers from around the world. Go to their chocolate boutique in SoHo or Vosges Haut-Chocolate Madison Avenue and join their FREE chocolate events.
MarieBelle
With chocolate so beautiful its hard to take a bite. Here you can listen to jazz at the Cacao Bar every Wednesday from 7:30 pm to 10 pm. Visit them at MarieBelle On Madison or at MarieBelle Soho.
Li-Lac
In this shop in Greenwich Village you can find chocolates in memorable shapes such as Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. Their chocolate trains, baseballs, dogs and dinosaurs make great gifts. You find Li-Lac Chocolates in Greenwich Village and in Market Hall in Grand Central Terminal.
Max Brenner Chocolate Bar
At Max Brenner you’re in for a different type of chocolate experience. How about chocolate soup or a chocolate pizza. Look inside and check out the chocolate pipe system.
There are 2 of these chocolate restaurant in New York City. Max Brenner on 2nd Ave and on Broadway.
La Maison du Chocolat
The chocolate artists at La Maison du Chocolat invites you to discover their collections: ganache, truffles, pralines, glazed chestnuts, hot chocolate Enjoy their chocolates at La Masion du Chocolat Madison Avenue, La Maison du Chocolat Rockefeller center and La Maison du Chocolat on Wall Street
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June 29, 2009 No Comments
Grab some free chocolate!
Do you like chocolate?
Why not make the most of some sample choccy treats?
Whether it’s a Mars a day, a slab of white chocolate or a Boost that’s your preferred choccy bar, milk chocolate is one of the most purchased treats in the country. In the UK alone, the annual spend on chocolate bars is £3 billion, thats £3,000,000,000! The bulk of this is spent with the big 3 companies, Cadburys, Roundtree and Nestle.
The most common chocolate treats are Dairy Milk (Plain), Aero, Maltesers, Dairy Milk (Fruit and Nut), Boost, Mars, Dairy Milk (Caramel), Double Decker, Fuse, Flake, Crunchie and Yorkie. Additionally, there are specific variations such as Wispa and Mini eggs which are available at different times of year or made for promotional periods.
In recent periods, the success of mini treats has risen hugely, especially approaching the christmas period. A great example, Cadbury Heroes can be purchased in huge containers approaching the Xmas period, in fact sell well in the run up to Xmas as supply struggles to meet demand. Many houses will have tins of chocolate in preparation for guests and family occasions at this time of year.
Concerns about the population’s health come to the forefront of the media from time to time, and as a result, chocolate companies have brought in schemes such as charts to raise customer awareness of the nutritional value of their treats.
Adverts on the Television might be quick to suggest that chocolate is full of milk, which we all know is great for teeth and bones, however a quick inspection of the packaging identifies the volume of fat and sugar to mention a couple. Of course, everything in moderation is widely considered as good guidance, and chocolate treats are no different. Understanding is the key, and the chocolate companies cannot be accused of trying to hide the truth, even if their advertising agencies are excelling in their role of talking up product features al the expense of faults.
Grab yourself some sample choccy bar today, or if healthy snacking is more your bag, why not try out a sample box of healthy stuff?
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June 29, 2009 No Comments
Make Chocolate at Home
You can make chocolate at home using traditional methods, although it’s sometimes a lengthy and involved process. If you want to try making homemade chocolate as a hobby and it’s important to you to make all of your chocolate from scratch you can do it. You will need to buy some specialized equipment but not a lot. Traditional chocolate makingfrom scratch is a great hobby, so you should give it a try to see if it’s the right choice for you.
Steps for making homemade chocolate:
1.Choosing the beans. Chocolate comes from cacao beans so when you first start making chocolate the traditional way you need to start with some good quality cacao beans. Good beans make good chocolate! There are several websites that sell different varieties of cacao beans in many different price ranges. If you are looking for whole cacao beans, it isn’t too hard to find them.
2. Roasting the beans. Similiar to coffee beans, cacao beans need to be roasted. You can roast them on a cookie sheet in the oven if you watch them carefully. You can also buy a specialized cacao bean roaster for at home use if you’re going to pursue traditional candy making as a hobby. The beans will need to be roasted for as few as five minutes or as many as 35 minutes depending on the type of bean and the flavor that you are looking for.
3. Removing the chocolate out. After roasting the beans, crack open the outer shell of the bean to get the chocolate out. There are several ways to do this at home. One way is to lay the beans in a single layer on a counter or on another hard surface and use a hammer to crack the shells open. Then use a blow dryer on a low setting to blow the hulls away from the chocolate. You can also use a juicer to extract the chocolate. Removing the chocolate can be very messy, so make sure that you have a mop and bucket and other cleaning supplies on hand.
4. Grinding and refining the chocolate. Now, you need to grind the chocolate as fine as possible. Many expert chocolate makers recommend using a high quality juicer for this step. After the chocolate has been ground as finely as possible, you will add milk, sugar, preservatives, and anything else that you’re planning on adding to the chocolate to enhance the flavor. Once everything is mixed together, the chocolate will need to be agitated slowly but constantly. This process could take up to 12 hours to get the chocolate to exactly the right consistency. Many experts recommend using a stand mixer on a low setting to refine the chocolate.
5. Tempering the chocolate. Once the chocolate has been fully refined it needs to be tempered before you can use it. Tempering chocolate at home can be time consuming, but if you want to speed up the procedure you can use a microwave to temper your homemade chocolate. Once the chocolate is tempered and is smooth, hard, and shiny. Now, it’s ready to be eaten or used in your favorite chocolate recipes!
June 29, 2009 No Comments
Five Fruit Salad
Five Fruit Salad
Ingredients
1 cup seedless grapes
1/2 cup each peeled, sliced and quartered orange, cubed cantaloupe, sliced banana and pineapple chunks
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 teaspoons chopped mint leaves
1/4 teaspoon lime zest
Method
Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Makes 4 (3/4 cup each) servings.
Nutrient analysis per serving: 101 calories, 1.4 grams protein, .5 grams fat, 3% calories from fat, 25.2 grams carbohydrates, o mg cholesterol, 1.7 grams fiber, 4 mg sodium
February 18, 2008 No Comments
Banana Cream Cheesecake
Banana Cream Cheesecake
by: Luke Indran
Merge the taste sensations of rich banana and creamy cheesecake now with my fabulous banana cream cheesecake creation roadmap!
1 Yellow cake mix, prepared in 13×9 pan.
8 oz Cream cheese, room temperature
1 pk (3-oz) instant vanilla pudding
2 c Milk
3 Or 4 bananas
1 lg Container Cool Whip
1 c Chopped nuts
Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add milk, gradually; add pudding, beating until well mixed. Pour over cooled cake. Slice the bananas over cake. Cover with Cool Whip and top with nuts.
About The Author
Luke Indran is a professional food and recipe addict who actively balances his obsession with eating with his fanaticism for exercise and healthy living. If you’re after delicious recipes that stir your senses, then head on over to Luke’s mega website at http://www.recipemecca.com/ for the yummiest recipes anywhere presented in a step-by-step format anyone can follow easily!
February 17, 2008 No Comments
Dessert Parties
Dessert Parties
by: Amanda Baker
Dinner parties are a hot trend and a great way to get together with all of your friends. But do you and your friends have a serious sweet tooth? Do you get more enjoyment out of the desserts than dinner? Why not host an evening dessert party? A dessert party can actually be hosted any time of the day, but a late evening party is typically best.
With desserts, the tiny touches really do completely the big pictures. For instance, doilies on dessert plates when serving a fine piece of cake is a beautiful touch. A nice espresso goes well with pastries.
If have a tasty pound cake and want to make it look beautiful when serving? Use wine or champagne glasses and a flavor or two of ice cream to serve desserts a la mode. Serve flavored coffees and teas with some fresh fruit. All by itself, it can serve as a dessert. Just don’t forget the decaf! Frozen desserts are a great idea for an unexpected get-together. Most of the fancier desserts can be frozen and thawed in warm weather for only about an hour.
Need a quick cake decoration? Keep some butterscotch, chocolate, and caramel sauce on hand. Nice thin swirls of a flavored sauce across the dessert plate works especially well with a nice torte or cheesecake. Mini chocolate chips are fabulous when coupled with fresh raspberries and a rich chocolate cake.
Any particular season coming up? A seasonal dessert leaves a great impression on your guests.
Chocolate-coated strawberries are an ideal dessert party treat. You can begin with a carton of large ripe strawberries with stems. Melt two to three large dark or milk chocolate bars per carton in the microwave, in a pyrex measuring cup. Be very careful not to burn the chocolate. Hold strawberries by the stem, dipping them one by one into the cup. On a large plate coated with wax paper, rest the strawberries (which should only be dipped just over halfway) and chill for about forty-five minutes. Serve with Columbian coffee or a designer coffee drink. If you’re crafty with drinks, you could concoct a drink specifically for your event!
Always pre-slice cakes, but serve to guests one at a time. Do not have the cake already on a dessert plate, unless the event is directly after a dinner.
Dessert parties are becoming more popular and a little more sophisticated, so soft lighting, candles, and appropriate music are a must. Remember not to serve pies, as they are informal and casual and interfere with the class and mystique of a dessert party.
About The Author
Amanda Baker writes for All Things Pondered: http://AllThingsPondered.com.
February 17, 2008 No Comments
