Julie's Organic Ice Cream - More Chocolate - Dec. 6, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Julie's Organic Ice Cream
More Chocolate (Limited Batch)
Good
Weight: 1/2 cup serving (96 g.) / 1.5 quarts total container
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $3.99 (estimate) for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Julie's Organic Ice Cream has produced both gluten-free and non-dairy frozen dessert offerings. (I enjoyed her gluten-free ice cream sandwiches in previous posts.)

Today's (limited batch) non-dairy "More Chocolate" Coconut Milk frozen dessert was made for those who eat dairy-free; and it had the creaminess of coconut milk and the slightly tart, bittersweetness flavor of chocolate.

Julie's Organic Ice Cream products are made by Oregon Ice Cream (Eugene, OR).

Maui and Sons - Dark Chocolate Coconut Chips - Dec. 5, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Maui and Sons
Dark Chocolate Coated Coconut Chips
Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (36 g.) in total package
Calories: 180 calories in 1 package
Cost: $0.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: 99 cent store, Pinole, CA

Aloha, and welcome to Day #3 of this week's Chocolate and Coconut Series.

Today's chocolate and coconut blend came in the form of Dark Chocolate Coated Coconut Chips from Maui and Sons (Malibu, CA).

These lightly roasted and crunchy coconut chips were a product of Thailand. (One of the company's goals is to support farmers in Thailand.) A light dark chocolate coating (cane sugar, vegetable fat, cocoa powder, lecithin, vanilla flavor) added some additional richness.

The gluten-free chips* were shaped in tiny rectangular strips, making them a good candidate for a topping as well as an a la carte snack.

*Made without preservatives

Daiya - Chocolate Cheezecake - Dec. 4, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Daiya
Chocolate Cheezecake
Good
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) / 14.1 oz. (400 g.) in total package
Calories: 360 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $8.99 for 1 package/box
Purchased from: Lucky, Union Landing, Union City, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

This Chocolate Cheezecake from Daiya Foods (Vancouver, British Colombia) contained coconut oil and creamed coconut, giving this dessert a creamy mouthfeel and texture.

However, this "cheezecake" (flavored with chocolate and carob) contained no cream. It was free of dairy, soy, gluten and eggs and most all common allergens.

The cheesecake even had a layer of relatively light and cake-like crust on the bottom. It comes unadorned, so that you can add a variety of your own toppings if you'd like.

Daiya cheezecake is available in New York, chocolate, key lime and strawberry flavors.

IKEA - Sotsak Kakaoboll Coconut Covered Oat Pastries - Dec. 3, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

IKEA
Sotsak Kakaoboll Coconut Covered Oat Pastries
Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 8.5 oz. (240 g.) in total package of 6 pieces
Calories: 200 calories in 1 piece/ball
Cost: $2.49 for 1 package of 6 pieces
Purchased from: IKEA, East Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the first day (Day #1) of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

I picked up these Sotsak Kakaoboll Cocoa and Coconut Covered Oat Pastries at the local IKEA store (East Palo Alto, CA).

These confections were fairly light, almost cake-like in texture, which caused me to re-read the ingredients list. Unfortunately, I found these were not gluten free. They contained flour. This does happen occasionally.

SOMA - Birch branch filled with hazelnuts, cherry jam - Dec. 2, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolate
Birch Branch with Hazelnut Crunch, Montmorency Cherry Jam
Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) / 11.3 oz. (320 g.) in total box
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 small piece
Purchased from: N/A - gift from Megan (Thank you!)

Welcome to hazelnut heaven, and Day #7 of Chocolate, Almond and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Today's chocsimile* of a birch branch from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto) looked very much like the real thing, because it was carefully crafted from a real birch branch.

A mold was made from a special branch, and the mold is carefully "lined" with chocolate, and stuffed with a soft hazelnut crunch filling with Montmorency Cherry Jam in the center.

The result was magical—the envy of every squirrel and snowman in the forest I'm sure. And it tasted as wonderful as it looked. This very special treat would be great for a holiday party or sharing with others. It's likely to be seasonal, so check with SOMA (and/or their website) about availability.

Where's the Almond you say?
Funny you should ask. I also enjoyed another slice of heaven found in a Barre Infernal (Dark) from Francois Pralus** (France). I tasted the first of these Infernale bars (there's a milk and a dark version, and the dark version has hazelnuts and almonds) five years ago in 2011 at The Chocolate Garage (Palo Alto, CA).

This substantial Pralus bar reminded me of today's hazelnut Birch Branch from SOMA. This dark Pralus bar was large enough to be sliced and contained a hazelnut (and almond) filling. (Picture of bar at right is from the Francois Pralus website.)

*Chocolate facsimile
** Francois Pralus is a Master Chocolatier and chocolate maker based in France who makes single origin and bean-to-bar chocolate.

***Note: This item was not gluten-free. There was some flour involved in making the hazelnut filling crunchy. And while the type of flour was not specified, I'm assuming it was conventional (wheat) flour. 

SOMA - tumbled Hazelnuts - Dec. 1, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker
tumbled Hazelnuts
Good++ - Very Good
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 525 calories (estimate) in 1 package
Cost: $10.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Almonds and Hazelnuts Theme Week.

More hazelnut goodness today. These tumbled Hazelnuts—Slow Roasted Hazelnuts tumbled in Dark Chocolate—from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, CA), were crunchy and covered with just the right amount of chocolate/cocoa coating. Enough so that you knew you were tasting high-quality chocolate, but not enough cacao to mask the genuine flavor of perfectly roasted hazelnuts.

Justin's - Chocolate Hazelnut Butter - Nov. 30, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Justin's
Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32 g.) in 1 total packet
Calories: 180 calories in 1 packet
Cost: $1.29 for 1 packet
Purchased from: Lucky, Union City, CA

Today I enjoyed packets of Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend (made with roasted hazelnuts and almonds)—and Justin's Classic Almond Butter— on thin slices* of toasted white bread from Arise Gluten Free Bakery (Arcata, CA).

Justin Gold founded Justin's (Boulder, CO), a successful nut butter business when he moved west; and over time expanded the number of offerings to include today's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend in jar and packet form—as well as other nut butter snack items.

Made without artificial flavor or preservatives or extra sugar and salt (thank you), this butter/spread was gluten free and packed with natural nut (roasted hazelnuts and almonds) and chocolate flavor.

*Those used to eating gluten-free bread may appreciate how thinly sliced gluten-free (or conventional) breads can be a crumbly challenge. Not so here. This was good bread.