Category Archives: Chocolate

Sneak Peek: Baume Chocolates

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Look forward to the day you can try these incredible chocolates at Baume.

Chef Bruno Chemel of Palo Alto’s Baume can be a bit of a mad scientist.

With his molecular gastronomy creations that foam, smoke, fizz and bubble savagely at the dining table, you’d think that any chocolates he would make would be equally jaw-dropping wild.

But instead, they are as timelessly elegant and chic as can be.

Chemel doesn’t make chocolates very often. No time. But on his rare days off from his nearly one- year-old restaurant, which just received a coveted one Michelin star, he likes to pull out molds, temper chocolate and stir ganache. Sometimes, he even enlists the help of his 6-year-old son, Antoine, who is a whiz at piping.

For Chemel, chocolate-making is relaxing — which, he jokes, his pastry chef thinks is preposterous.

Chef Bruno Chemel of Baume.

Next year, Chemel hopes to find the time and a way to incorporate his chocolates into the restaurant. Let’s hope so, because recently, the chef allowed me to try some of the bonbons. They are exquisite.

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Presenting Auberge du Soleil’s Torte au Chocolat

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The magnificent, but pricey, Torte au Chocolat.

There are 11 layers in this showstopping cake made by the Michelin-starred Auberge du Soleil in the Napa Valley.

That’s layer upon layer of crisp hazelnut dacquoise, chocolate cremeux, pureed organic hazelnuts and dark chocolate ganache. It’s crunchy, nutty, densely rich and oh-so luxe tasting. The signature creation of renowned Pastry Chef Paul Lemieux, it comes packaged in a novel round gift box that splits open for easy removal of the cake.

How cool is this packaging?

This beauty, which can serve 6 to 8, can be yours — or that of a well-deserving friend or family member — for $57.50.

If that’s a little too rich for your pocketbook, you’ll be glad to know that the resort has added some more affordable items to its line of “Sweets from Soleil.” Recently, I had a chance to try samples of this glam cake and the newest sweet treats.

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Nutella Pound Cake; Need I Say More?

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Pound cake with a big swirl of lovely Nutella.

Nutella is like a cherished old friend.

You know the kind I mean.

The kind that you grew up all sweet on. Then, as you got older, maybe you lost touch, preoccupied instead by so many other nuts in your life.

But every time your paths would cross at the supermarket, it was like old times again. You found yourself smitten just like before by Nutella’s comforting yet indulgent nature.

If you haven’t seen your friend, Nutella, in awhile, this recipe surely will make you want to get reacquainted fast.

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Artisan Chocolates — From the Region Synonymous with Chocolate; And Food Gal Contest Winner

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Derry Church Artisan bon bons -- made in Hershey, PA.

It was almost destined that Eric Clayton grow up to be a chocolatier.

After all, he and his family are fifth-generation natives of Derry Church, PA — the historical name for modern-day Hershey, PA.

Yes, that Hershey’s.

Many of Clayton’s relatives worked for Milton Hershey at his original chocolate factory. Moreover, Clayton’s great-grandfather, a dairy farmer and stone mason, laid part of the foundation for that building and sold milk that went into making the milk chocolate.

So, it’s understandable that Clayton has a serious thing for chocolate. When he was 5, he would collect wrappers from every kind of candy bar he came across. As an adult, he worked as both a chef and a pastry chef. But all along, he knew he wanted to start his own chocolate factory one day.

Thus, Derry Church Artisan Chocolates was born. The chocolates are made by hand in small batches, using certified organic cream and butter from local Pennsylvania dairies, as well as Felchlin couvertures from Switzerland, considered among the best in the world.

I recently had a chance to try samples of some of the bon bons, which come in a wide variety of shapes and are named playfully for different cities around the world. A 10-piece box is $22.

The "Burlington'' bon bon.

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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Caramels with A Goaty Tang

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Soft, pillowy caramels made with goat milk and goat butter.

Gooey soft, sticky, sweet and with a unique chevre-like finish.

That’s the remarkable taste of Happy Goat Caramels, made in small batches by hand in San Francisco.

The candies are made with Grade A Kosher-certified goat’s milk and goat butter from small, free-range farms. For friends who are lactose-intolerant, these might be the perfect treats as goat’s milk is naturally sweeter but lower in lactose than cow’s milk. Goat’s milk also has more Vitamin A and Vitamin B than cow’s milk.

Happy Goat Caramels made in San Francisco.

I recently had a chance to try samples of the all-natural caramels ($6.99 for a package of 7; and $9.99 for a package of 14), which are available at Sur La Table and select Whole Foods stores.

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