ChocolateBet: January 15, 2012

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Milkshake Werks
1.) Coconut ice cream gluten-free cupcake
Good
Weight: 1/2 ice cream cupcake
Calories: 290 calories (guesstimate)
Cost: $3.49 for 1 cupcake
Purchased from: Milkshake Werks, Redwood City, CA

2.) Nutella ice cream
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. /1 Pint container
Calories: 200 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.99 for 1 hand-packed pint
Purchased from Milkshake Werks, Redwood City, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Licorice Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Nut Theme Week -- with a focus on frozen desserts.

It's January, and I'm fighting fire with fire -- or, more accurately, ice with ice cream. Or, if life gives you ice, make ice cream. But, why waste time with bad puns and analogies when we could be talking about chocolate...

Milkshake Werks makes their own ice cream. And I stopped by their shop (in a shopping center off Redwood Shores Parkway, in Redwood City, CA) after a walk; and picked up two items to go.

The first item I tried was their Coconut ice cream cupcake. There wasn't actually any cake in this cupcake. Their gluten-free version, packed in a plastic cup to go, was made with a chocolate cup was filled with coconut ice cream and topped with vanilla and coconut flavored icing -- which looked to me like a blank canvas for other additions. I topped mine with a Gimbal's (San Francisco) gluten-free licorice scottie dog (shown), made with licorice and anise; and some almonds (not shown).

The second item I sampled today: a tiny cup of Milkshake Werks's Nutella ice cream. Nutella (a chocolate and hazelnut spread) is finally getting its due here in California, after years of peanut butter hogging the chocolate and nut butter spotlight. This shop also listed an ice cream called Peanut Butter Explosion that I would've happily tried as well; but, they were out of this flavor when I was there. The Nutella was sweet (a little too sweet for me), but this very creamy, frozen treat really nailed Nutella's essence.