Category Archives: Chocolate

For a Heartfelt Time

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For the optimist on Valentine's Day. (Photo courtesy of SusieCakes)

For Valentine’s Day, SusieCakes has got you covered, no matter if you’re head over heels in love or not.

For those that are, there’s the “Susie Loves Me” gift box of conversation heart sugar cookies, sweetheart sandwich cookies, a Sugar & Spice cupcake and a Red Hot Red Velvet cupcake.

And for the pessimist...(Photo courtesy of SusieCakes)For those for whom Valentine’s Day is more bah-humbug, there’s the “Susie Loves Me Not” gift box with cookies amusingly decorated with “Love Me Not” written on them, as well as “It’s Not Me, It’s You” conversation heart cookies, a black sweetheart sandwich cookie, cupcakes inscribed with “Serial Dater” and “Breakup Queen,” and a “Broken Heart Brownie.”

Both gift boxes are available Valentine’s Day for $25 each at SusieCakes locations in San Francisco and Marin.

San Francisco’s Baker & Banker Bakery is getting into the mood with special Valentine’s Day treats and special-order cakes.

Among the tempting offerings for Feb. 14 are strawberry champagne cupcakes (champagne-soaked yellow cake with strawberry frosting; $3.50 each); hand-written “Hostess” cupcakes with salted caramel ($3.50 each); conversation heart cakes (Devil’s food cake with Grand Marnier ganache; $50 for 6-inch; $80 for 10-inch); and champagne cake truffles ($5.50 for four).

Adorable conversation heart cakes. (Photo courtesy of Baker & Banker)

For a bottle of wine with a heartfelt message, look no further than 2007 Linda’s Hillside Vineyard Cabarnet Sauvignon from Napa’s Darms Lane Vineyard.

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New Chocolate Truffles From Amano and Recchiuti

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Amano's new truffle collection.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, two of the country’s premier artisan chocolatiers are offering up special truffles sure to sweeten the holiday.

I was lucky enough to score some samples recently.

First up, Utah’s Amano Artisan Chocolate, which has long been known for its fantastic, complex-tasting chocolate bars. Now, it’s turning its hand to crafting truffles, too.

The elegant chocolate bonbons come in a variety of geometric shapes, some dusted with gold dust or dashes of bold color.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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Just in Time for Valentine’s Day — A Sweet Food Gal Giveaway

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Win this lovely box of petits fours by Divine Delights. (Photo courtesy of the bakery)With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s never too early to contemplate sweet gifts for your sweetie.

Divine Delights, a small family bakery in San Rafael, has got you covered.

The company — which has been touted in the New York Times, Gourmet and Bon Appetit — offers a full line of cookies, cakes, tarts, and petits fours.

Among its offerings for Valentine’s Day, are red heart-shaped boxes filled with signature petits fours — miniature almond butter cake layered with truffle cream, fruit fillings or buttercream, then enrobed in chocolate, and decorated with hearts and roses.

One lucky Food Gal reader will win one of the small Valentine heart boxes of petits fours (pictured above; a $37.95 value). It will be delivered to you just before Valentine’s Day. You can give it to someone you love — or just hoard it all to yourself. I won’t tell; I promise.

Contest: Deadline to enter is midnight PST Feb. 5. Winner will be announced Feb. 7. Contest is open only to those in the continental United States.

How to win?

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Delysia Chocolates are Delicious

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Delysia Chocolatier's handmade, square bonbons.

Austin, TX is quickly becoming a hub of good eats.

So, if you’re still looking for mail-order sweets for the holidays, look no further than Delysia Chocolatier of Austin.

The chocolate company was started by former engineer and techie, Nicole Patel, who decided to turn her love of cooking and baking into a sweet business.

In addition to handmade truffles, Delysia offers some really fun, unique custom products such as a sculptural bride-and-groom wedding cake topper molded from chocolate (starting at $70). To add dazzle to any soiree, Delysia also will make chocolate “menus” — edible tablets imprinted with your menu (price varies depending upon the number you order).

I recently had a chance to try a sample box of nine truffles.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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Take Five with Yigit Pura, On His Sweet Victory on “Top Chef Just Desserts”

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Yigit Pura dishes on his victory in "Top Chef Just Desserts.'' (Photo courtesy of Pura)

If you tuned into the insanely wild first season of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Just Desserts,” you know that Yigit Pura brought sweet victory home to San Francisco. The executive pastry chef of Taste Catering and Event Planning triumphed over formidable challenges and plenty of histrionics to win a cool $100,000.

A native of Turkey, Pura has felt at home in the kitchen ever since he was a tot, helping his mom make dark caramel and other sugary goodies. Self-taught, he worked in New York at Le Cirque 2000 and Restaurant Daniel, before moving to San Francisco, where he now works on a variety of events that range in scale from a dinner for eight in a private home to a Major League Baseball fete for 5,000 people. Following his win, the board of supervisors even proclaimed Nov. 17 as “igit Pura Day” in the city.

This week, I had a chance to talk to the 30-year-old Pura, about life before, during and after the show.

Q: I’ve watched ‘Top Chef’ since its inception and I have to say I’ve never seen such drama as on ‘Top Chef Just Desserts.’ Is the world of pastry really that over-the-top?

A: (laughs) Pastry chefs tend to be more meticulous creatures, and with that comes a need for more of a sense of control. We’re definitely more eccentric than the savory side.

Q: Why did you want to do the show?

A: I got approached by Bravo. I had always watched ‘Top Chef,’ so it was a tempting offer. I couldn’t say ‘No.’ I thought it would be an interesting platform to showcase pastry chefs’ work instead of just having it be an afterthought after the savory courses, as it usually is.

For one of the challenges, Pura created this elegant hazelnut dacquoise with milk jam and salted caramel ice cream. (Photo courtesy of Bravo TV)

Q: What was the hardest challenge?

A: There were a few of them. The ‘Celebritea’ challenge, where we had to create a dessert based on a celebrity couple. (Pura chose Madonna and Guy Ritchie.) I had a hard time grasping that in my core. I felt I wasn’t in my body then. After the restaurant wars challenge, I was a mess. I tend to be pretty grounded, but with the lack of sleep, I just felt the floodgates open. It was definitely not my finest moment. But I finally was able to channel all of that to just get re-inspired in the competition.

Q: What surprised you most about doing the show?

A: I tend to plan things a lot in my work when I create recipes and do events. Confronted with such time constraints and limitations on the show, I was amazed I could be so spontaneous under such conditions.

Q: Of all your competitors, whose pastries/desserts would you most want to eat on your day off?

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