Hotel Chocolat: Citrus Puddles

Did you miss me yesterday? Yeah, no Monday post. I posted about my training for last week over on my other blog instead. Go check it out. Or don't. Anyway, the current plan is to blog about chocolate here on Tuesdays and Fridays, and on the triathlon blog on Mondays and Thursdays.

So before I deserted you yesterday, I apparently scared a few people away from Brazil nuts after I mentioned that they are the most radioactive food on the planet in my review of Hotel Chocolat’s chocolate covered Bazil nuts.

People: radiation is everywhere. It’s fine. Really. Your orange juice has some sexy, radioactive Potassium 40 in it. Keep drinking it. And if you are still scared, read up on radiation hormesis; you’ll be joining me to down Brazil nuts and orange juice daily after you do.

Now onto less controversial Hotel Chocolat creations: Their citrus puddles, which have a 27% cacao white chocolate base, are lime scented and accented with tangerine pieces.

The puddles have a weak citrus aroma, and the most immediate flavors are vanilla and cream.

However, crunchy bits of citrus begin to dissolve as the chocolate melts, and a visual inspection of the puddles make it clear why the citrus flavor emerges a bit more slowly.

The chocolate has a rich melt which is quite creamy, and the combination of cream and citrus is delightful, even if the citrus is more generic than specific and the overall effect is a bit more sweet than tangy. They remind me of summer. Which it is not.

Do you like chocolate with tangerine? What kind of chocolate?

Hotel Chocolat: Brazil Nuts (or, Get Your Radium Here!)

I don’t talk about work often here on this blog, but those of you who have been reading a while know that I work in the nuclear energy sector. So I know a thing or two about radiation, and I love to share these fun facts with friends, family, and strangers on the bus.

It’s a wonder that people find me slightly scary, isn’t it? The mysteries of the world are neverending.

One of my favorite radiation fun facts to share is that the Brazil nut is the most radioactive food on the planet. Really. The deep root systems of the trees result in incorporation of high levels of radium in the nuts.

Awesome. Now, what would be even more awesome? Chocolate covered Brazil nuts.

Why thank you, Hotel Chocolat, for reading my mind and taking these whole Brazil nuts, roasting them, and then covering them in 65% cacao dark chocolate.

Each piece has a strong coffee aroma with a subtle hint of vanilla, along with a slightly waxy coating that quickly dissolves to give way to a smooth, buttery melt. The flavor is nutty, with hints of coffee and vanilla, and just enough sugar to cut back on any bitter flavors.

The nuts appear to not be blanched, so there’s some skin to content with, but they are nice and fatty, just like they should be. The chocolate separates from the nut a bit, though if you chew these, the crunchy nut and smooth chocolate blend nicely. The flavors and textures blend nicely, and when I finished the package, I was left to ponder why chocolate covered Brazil nuts are so rare.

Do you like Brazil nuts? Did you know how radioactive they were?

Wheat-Free Chocolate Chunk Banana Mini-Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I’ve hinted a couple of times on this blog about some guy who may or may not be tolerating me on a regular basis, but haven’t really gone into detail. However, today, I will confirm that there is some kind of THING or whatever going on with that very cute guy who worked the knots out of my calves after I ran a marathon.

And guess what? It’s his BIRTHDAY today. Which means I have to bake something for him. Something with chocolate and peanut butter, both favorites of his.

And really, can I do anything besides make mini cupcakes? No. I can’t. Because what else allows him to take leftovers to his coworkers and explain that his significant other is a nutcase but likes to make up for it by baking delicious things? Nothing, that’s what.

Well, maybe a cherpumple. But I don’t want to scare him away. Yet.

I was having a tough time figuring out exactly how to combine chocolate and peanut butter, and was leaning towards using bananas since this wonderful fellow happens to like those, too. Inspiration came from Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, a book my grandmother kindly gave me for Christmas.

And from there, I pieced together a recipe for chocolate chunk banana mini cupcakes – with peanut butter frosting – that are not-to-sweet, a bit nutty, and flavorful with a delightful texture.

Wheat-free Chocolate Chunk Banana Mini Cupcakes (inspired by Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Berenbaum)

1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed

¼ cup sour cream

1 egg

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup chickpea flour

¼ cup almond flour

¼ cup cornstarch

½ teaspoon baking soda

3/8 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

Mix chickpea flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Toss one tablespoon of mixture with chopped chocolate, set both mixtures aside. Blend banana and sour cream in a food processor, then add lemon zest, vanilla, and egg, blend until smooth. Transfer to a stand mixer, blend with sugars and melted butter. Add flour mixture, beat on low until well mixed, then add chopped chocolate mixture, beating until just combined. Pour batter into lined cavities of a mini muffin pan.

Bake at 350° F for 13-15 minutes, then remove and cool.

Peanut Buttercream (adapted from Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Berenbaum)

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup cream cheese at room temperature

¼ cup butter at room temperature

¼ cup sour cream at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, butter, sour cream, 1 cup of powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in a food processor until smooth, then transfer to a stand mixer and beat with a whisk attachment, slowly incorporating remainder of powdered sugar until fluffy. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Find a very sweet guy with a birthday to give them to.

Or just eat them yourself. Whatever works for you.

Have you ever made mini cupcakes for somebody to celebrate their birthday? Were they as adorable and compulsive about sorting M&Ms as the guy in the picture above? (If you say yes about either of the parts in the last question, you are lying)

More Blog-tastic Fun

Even though I only post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on this blog, I have a new swim-centric post today on my other blog, which is much newer than and much different from this blog.

Go check it out. You know, if you care.

Hotel Chocolat Raspberry Riot: There's Real Fruit

I’m sure you all have some profound New Year’s resolution or something. Probably involving eating healthier or exercising more. Since I already write about running too much on this blog, I’m going to help you out in case your resolution is to eat more fruit.

See? Raspberry! The Hotel Chocolat Raspberry Riot bar, that is. A bar of40% cacao milk chocolate with raspberry white chocolate, which weighs in at an impressive 28% cacao, quite high for white chocolate. The bar also packs some cookie bits, meringue, and real raspberry pieces.

Real fruit, folks. Real fruit. It’s evident the moment you unwrap the bar, as the tangy aroma emerges immediately along with some creamy notes. And

Milk! Calcium! This bar belongs in your diet.

The base raspberry white chocolate has a creamy melt and a tangy raspberry flavor, which nicely contrasts with the sweet white chocolate. The raspberry pieces, which are freeze dried, are even more tart, the meringue pieces, however, nicely balance that tartness with their crisp sweetness dispersed throughout the bar.

The cookie pieces add even more crunch than the meringue, but don’t overwhelm the bar with additional sugar, and resemble a chocolate cracker more than a cookie. With all of these tart and sweet components, the milk chocolate is barely noticeable in most bites, though it does offer some caramel and cream flavors. The raspberry white chocolate certainly dominates the bar, which is fine. It gives the overall effect of a rich frozen custard with delicious raspberry sauce, some thick chocolate fudge, and crumbled bits of cookie and meringue on top.

But it’s healthy, you know. Fruit.

Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Or are you cynical and bitter like me?

Chuao Honeycomb Bar

It’s still that dead zone between Christmas and New Year’s Day when nobody has to go to work except the lackeys. But today, I won’t need the loud popping of the Chuao Firecracker bar to break the dead silence of an office with no other occupants. Because today is the week that I get Friday off, since my generous employer allows us to put in extra hours other days in exchange for taking every other Friday off.

So instead, for my day off, I have another Chuao bar: the Honeycomb bar, a 60% cacao dark chocolate bar with caramelized honey.

The bar has a floral aroma with perhaps a bit of honey.

The bits of honey are nicely ground and crispy, adding a bit of sugar and some caramel-like flavor to the bar.

The chocolate itself is dominantly vanilla and not very complex, and the melt is also a bit dry. The crisp texture of the honeycomb and the mild honey flavor are, however, a nice enhancement. Perhaps a bit dominant over the chocolate, but a nice concept nonetheless.

Have you had honeycomb with chocolate?

Chuao Firecracker Bar

One of the great things about being one of the lowly project managers here in my office is that I get to work right up until Christmas (yes, I was in the office on Friday) and get to come right back after Christmas.

Here I am today. More or less by myself. Which means I need extra noise to prevent myself from going crazy from the silence.

If only chocolate could provide extra noise.

Oh, but it can. When you add popping candy, like Chuao did in their Firecracker Bar.

This bar, with a 60% cacao dark chocolate base, features chipotle spice, salt, and popping candy. That, yes that, will keep me alert and focused on all my regulatory review work today.

The bar features a strong fruity aroma, as well as hints of coffee and spice; the popping candy is small and distributed nicely throughout the bar.

The chocolate is mild and creamy at first, with a smooth melt, and then the popping candy takes over the texture as it dissolves. While the popping candy takes over the experience, the chipotle becomes even more apparent, and the popping candy becomes louder and louder with each moment of the melt. A few extra nutty flavors emerge behind the chipotle, and the salt dissolves as the last of the chocolate is dissipating.

And once it’s gone, the candy keeps popping.

Popping to keep me on my toes all day today.

Are you at work today? Or hanging out in your pajamas until mid-afternoon?