Chocolates Unlimited by Denise - Dark Chocolate Horseshoe ("Good Luck") - Aug. 5, 2024

 Chocolate of the Day

Chocolates Unlimited by Denise
Dark Chocolate Horseshoe ("Good Luck")
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.625 oz. (46 g.) / 1 of 6 in a package of 6 horseshoes
Calories: 252 calories (estimate) in 1 horseshoe 
Cost: $32.00 purchase included 1 package of 6 horseshoes
Purchased from: Chocolates Unlimited (Etsy shop), online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Horses Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Horseshoe emblazoned with the words "Good Luck" was from Chocolates Unlimited by Denise (Kunkletown, PA).

The sweet, creamy dark chocolate tasted smooth and chocolate-y (chocolate cake, fudge brownie) with a hint of hot cocoa and vanilla. (It did contain milk, and oils.) And there was no vanilla listed in ingredients. It was a case of inferred vanilla--frequently found in baked goods and hot cocoa. 

Good luck wishes were included at no extra charge.

Ingredients: "Herkens Dark Chocolate: Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel and Cottonseed Oils, Nonfat Dry Milk, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Cocoa, Glycerol, Lacto Esters of Fatty Acids, Soy Lecithin and Salt."

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk and Soy.

Chocolates of Asheville, NC - April 4, 2016

Chocolates in Asheville, North Carolina

Chocolate Field Trip - April 2016

Below is a summary of findings from a recent chocolate field trip to Asheville, North Carolina.

Asheville's downtown area has an active street life. I'd been told it was a great food and art city, and that seemed true. There were healthy cafes and restaurants, as well as breweries and pubs that reminded me of a mix of Portland, OR, Austin, TX, and Santa Cruz, CA—but with a relaxed, Southern college town spin.

Below is a partial list of places I visited:

French Broad Chocolates
I visited the French Broad Chocolates Chocolate Lounge and Chocolate + Milk retail location (where they sell a variety of their bars including their own). I was also able to pick up a dark bar from Videri (Raleigh, NC), and a Toasted Sesame bar from Woodblock Chocolate (Portland, OR), as well as chocolate covered caramels, ice cream, and a single origin Nicaragua bar made by French Broad Chocolates.

Later this week, I'll be featuring interviews with co-founder, Dan Rattigan, as well as one of their cacao suppliers (Cacao Bisiesto) in Nicaragua.

Chocolate Fetish
Chocolate Fetish offered a variety of truffles, confections and some holiday-themed and other novelty chocolate sculptures. I picked up several, including a Cashew Turtle that I'll be featuring later today as part of Cashew Theme Week. Thank you to Anna for her help.

Unique flavor combinations included the company's "Blossom" chocolate (flavored with saffron, lemon and ginger).

Also, I saw what looked to be a chocolate cake (really a hollow chocolate shell) filled with small treats. Each "cake" comes with a hammer so you can put it on a plate and break it open to enjoy the treats inside—pinata style. And the store had a whole shelf dedicated to high-heeled shoes, rendered in chocolate.

Chocolate Gems
Another interesting downtown Asheville chocolatier was Chocolate Gems. I sampled a Juniper Berry truffle that was fresh, balanced and flavorful, and brought home a few other items to try. Thanks to Isabel for her help.

They also offered some sculpted chocolate novelty items, such as a beautifully rendered cacao pod. The kitchen set caught my eye (that included a chocolate saucepan with lid).

Black Mountain Chocolate
Black Mountain Chocolate (formerly just outside of Asheville) moved to Winston Salem, NC. Although quite a few places in downtown Asheville seemed to carry their bars. I bought one of their Sea Salt bars at Green Sage Cafe (downtown Asheville location).

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Chocolats du CalifBressan - Bressan shoe, Sea Shell truffles - July 23, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Chocolats du CaliBressan
Bressan truffle - Good ++ - Very Good
Sea shell truffle - Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .78 oz. (22 g.) (estimate) for 2 truffles
Calories: 119 calories (estimate) for 2 truffles
Cost: $3.60 for 2 pieces
Purchased from: Chocolats du CaliBressan, Santa Barbara, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Santa Barbara Theme Week, and I celebrated with two different bonbons from Chocolats du CaliBressan (a shop with two locations: Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, CA).

Today's chocolates were part of an assortment box from this chocolatier in Santa Barbara that I purchased while visiting this Spanish-themed coastal city last week.

The first chocolate was a "Bressan" -- a shoe-shaped "milk chocolate and praline spiced with nutmeg, covered with milk chocolate." I loved the little spikes of fresh nutmeg embedded in a sweet creamy and firm filling (leavened by what might have been a few micro-specks of salt).

The second piece was shaped like a Sea Shell, with a silky dark chocolate and boysenberry ganache that sparkled with bright, authentic berry flavor, encased in dark chocolate.

Thank you to the staff for tips on which chocolates to buy. Lots of good ones; and it was hard to decide.

ChocolateBet: December 1, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 shoe
Barbie - Dylan's Candy Bar (Distrib. by Galerie)
Good
Weight: .74 oz. (21 g.) for 1 shoe/1.48 oz. (42 g.) total box
Calories: 120 calories for 1 shoe
Cost: $16.00 for 1 pair/1 box
Purchased from: Neiman Marcus, in San Francisco, CA

"Would you like the left shoe, or the right shoe?" I asked my daughter. Eating a chocsimile of a famous make-believe doll's shoe. I'm not sure how we got here, but it's fun, isn't it. All except the price. Ouch. At $16.00, girlish fantasy doesn't come cheap. The chocolate was OK, but the hot pink and black packaging was very snazzy, very hip Barbie.

ChocolateBet: April 19, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces
Cerreta's Fine Chocolates
Very Good
Weight: ~ 1 oz. (28 g.)/4.5 oz. (126 g.) in total package
Calories: ~ 130 calories for 2 pieces (cowboy boots)
Cost: $3.99 + shipping (online order)
Purchased from: Cerreta's Fine Chocolates, in Glendale Arizona (online order)

These were very tasty boots. I look forward to trying more chocolate boots and shoes in the near future. I'm researching a shop in L.A. area that sells chocolate high heels.

It is great to try some chocolate from Arizona. I also have some cactus candy from Cactus Candy Co. (Phoenix, Arizona). Perhaps I will try dunking this cactus candy in some melted chocolate.