Queen Bee Gardens - Classic Cherry truffle - Jan. 4, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Queen Bee Gardens
Classic Cherry truffle
Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (39.6 g.) in 1 truffle
Calories: 205 calories (estimate) in 1 truffle
Cost: $3.00 (estimate) for 1 truffle
Purchased from: Beekind, Sebastopol, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

Inside the sweet milk chocolate shell of today's Classic Cherry truffle from Queen Bee Gardens (Lovell, WY) lay a sweet secret.

The filling was honey-based. The texture was somewhere between a chewy caramel and a soft, creamy milk chocolate ganache; and it was accented with pieces of dried sweet-tart cherry.

Queen Bee Gardens makes a unique line of honey-based caramels, toffee, truffles and other confections.

I've considered putting a beehive in my backyard, but my neighborhood has become more dense, with bigger houses crowding in on each other. And, sadly, there are also fewer flowers and trees left.

I was fortunate to find this truffle at Beekind (Sebastopol, CA), a bee-themed store where you can experience side-by-side honey tastings or buy honey and other bee products/gifts as well as beekeeping supplies. And they even had a few hives in the backyard.

*While not certified gluten-free yet, Queen Bee Gardens "carries no products that contain wheat or gluten."

ChocolateBet: August 21, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1/4 truffle
beekind
Milk Chocolate Honey Truffle
Good - Good +
Weight: .15 oz. (4.8 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 23 calories (estimate)
Cost: $3.00 for 1 truffle
Purchased from: beekind, Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

beekind (Petaluma, CA) sells jars and bottles of local, raw and varietal honey. Other "gifts from the hive" offer dark and milk chocolate honey truffles. beekind's oversized truffles are wrapped and then placed into chocolate colored paper cups -- very handy if you have to transport these and they get jostled against something else in a bag.

Yesterday I sampled beekind's dark chocolate honey truffle; and today I tried their sweet, milk chocolate honey truffle, filled with a very creamy, rich smooth ganache. These generously sized chocolates can easily be sliced down the middle and shared.

My only quibble: With this style truffle, I couldn't taste the wildflower honey.

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week. 

ChocolateBet: August 20, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 truffle
beekind
Dark Chocolate Honey Truffle
Good +
Weight: .3 oz. (9.43 g.) (estimate for 1/2 truffle)
Calories: 45 calories
Cost: $3.00 for 1 truffle
Purchased from: beekind, Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

This big, fat dark chocolate honey bumblebee of a truffle from beekind (Sebastopol, CA) was all about the rich, creamy dark ganache -- akin to a rich, chocolate creme brulee. I did not, however, taste any distinct honey taste. Tomorrow

I'll try the milk chocolate version of this same truffle to see if I can taste a bit o' the bee.

Hats off to the Saffron and Acacia Honey (see yesterday's post) that I bought at beekind, along with these dark and milk chocolate honey truffles. The combination of the saffron and the honey yesterday was amazing, especially with some lavender buds over vanilla ice cream.

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week.