ChocolateBet: April 6, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) The Hershey Co.
Special Dark Eggs - 3 eggs
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: .59 oz. (16.7 g.) / 10 oz. (283 g.) total package
Calories: 72 calories
Cost: $3.59 total package
Purchased from: Lucky, Union City, CA

2.) Michel Cluizel
99% dark truffle
Very Good
Weight: .4 oz (11.3 g.) for 1 piece
Calories: 72 calories
Cost: $1.50  ($60.00/lb.)
Purchased from: CocoaBella, Westfield/Market St. location, in San Francisco, CA

Today we visit the dark side. Most chocolate eggs tend to be made from milk chocolate. Hershey's individually foil-wrapped Special Dark Eggs offered a dark alternative. And these eggs were quite good.

Could I go darker? While I couldn't find a 90%+ cacao-based egg this year, I did happen upon a Michel Cluizel "99%" truffle at CocoaBella Chocolates in San Francisco. The 99% in this case refers to the couverture; the dark ganache filling"would be slightly lower than 99%," I was told. I briefly thought about melting down some of these truffles to form an extremely dark egg, but I didn't want to defile a good truffle.

ChocolateBet: April 5, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 egg
The Hershey Company - H.B. Reese Candy Co.
Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Egg
Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.)
Calories: 170 calories
Cost: $0.69 (sale)
Purchased from: Lucky, Union City, CA

I have eaten Reese's trees, snowmen, a Reester Bunny, a Reese's pumpkin, and even another Reese's egg -- a Fudge Peanut Butter one in 2008.

Today's Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Egg is back to the basics. Other than the egg shape and the spring flowers on the wrapper, this milk chocolate egg is similar to the original Reese's Peanut Butter cup -- although perhaps with a tiny variation on the filling. I can't be sure without scientific analysis. But, unfortunately, I haven't the time for beakers and measures today. The sun is out and I'm going outside for a walk. Hope you all have a chance to do the same.

ChocolateBet: April 4, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
4 eggs
The Oakland Chocolate Company
Easter Egg Dome Bonbons
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 2.8 oz. (79 g.) in 4 egg domes (estimate)
Calories: 420 calories (estimate)
Cost: $8.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company, Oakland, CA

These rich, glossy chocolate Egg Domes, made by hand with Jamaican Origin cacao, from The Oakland Chocolate Company, were filled with white chocolate and orange curd.

There is an old saying: "To make an omelette, you need to break some eggs." Today (Day #6 of Chocolate Egg Appreciation Theme Week), in order to photograph some chocolate eggs, I needed to break open and eat four Easter egg domes. OK, I realize this is not quite the same elegant, poetic metaphor. But, I found myself holding a camera and mumbling: Ooh, darn, that orange curd "yolk" is not quite centered, I'll have to break open another egg dome.

I loved the fact that the oranges for the orange curd came from Nancy Nadel's backyard. Nancy is the artisan force behind The Oakland Chocolate Company.

ChocolateBet: April 3, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 package
The Oakland Chocolate Company
Rabbits and Tiny Eggs
Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.35 g.) for 1 package
Calories: 160 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.00 for 1 pkg. (2 rabbits, 6 tiny eggs)
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company, Oakland, CA

Today, I continued my homage to the chocolate egg and spring, by picking up a small package of Rabbits and Tiny Eggs, and other chocolates, from The Oakland Chocolate Company.

Earlier this week, I sampled eggs from Hotel Chocolat -- a company that has access to a plantation in the Caribbean. The Oakland Chocolate Company has relationships with farmers in Jamaica, and their chocolates are made with Jamaican Origin cacao -- resulting in a rich, distinctive taste, which made these little rabbits and eggs far superior to most mass market, molded chocolates.

Thank you to Nancy Nadel, the woman behind these handmade artisan chocolates, for staying open a few minutes late, while I battled freeway traffic on my way to pick up this chocolate order. Then,  I needed to drive back to the other side of the Bay. Once back to my car, "quick as a bunny" these chocolates were photographed, and gone. 

ChocolateBet: April 2, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 eggs
Hotel Chocolat
1.) Vanilla and Orange Liqueur egg - Very Good +
2.) Rum and Caramel egg - Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) (estimate for 2 eggs)
Calories: 224 calories (estimate)
Cost: N/A - sample box

Purchased from: N/A - from Hotel Chocolat, London

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate Egg Appreciation Theme Week. Chocolate eggs are a great way to celebrate Easter, Spring, or any other occasion.

Today's two chocolates: the filled dark chocolate Vanilla and Orange Liqueur egg and milk chocolate Rum and Caramel egg were a delicious end to Hotel Chocolat's creative, and elegantly packaged, "Your Eggsellency" collection.

All that's leftover: the thick, rich dark and milk chocolate egg half shells that surrounded the collection of five different truffle eggs. And those shells will be put to good use. For more examples of chocolate eggs from Hotel Chocolat, click here.

Happy Spring to all.

ChocolateBet: April 1, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
2 eggs
Hotel Chocolat
Marc de Champagne and Strawberry (eggs)
Very Good + - Yum
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) (estimate for 2 eggs)
Calories: 224 calories (estimate)
Cost:  N/A - sample box
Purchased from: N/A - from Hotel Chocolat, London

We don't spend all our time here at Chocolate Banquet balancing chocolates on champagne bottles; but every once in awhile it's great to feel so giddy in-love with chocolates, or the rich life that chocolates make us feel a part of, that we just have to celebrate. So it was today, April Fool's Day. We made chocolate fools of ourselves, making champagne cocktails (and virgin versions), and enjoying Hotel Chocolat's very fine Marc de Champagne and Strawberry filled egg piece. It was, as the label stated: "An extremely distinguished egg."

Note: This egg was part of Hotel Chocolat's 2011 collection of eggs -- one of five, inside thick (milk and dark) chocolate half shells. I recommend soaking pieces of the larger chocolate egg half-shell in a little champagne as well. It's like dunking doughnuts in coffee, only better. 

ChocolateBet: March 31, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
2 eggs
Hotel Chocolat
Amaretto
Very Good - Very Good+
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) (estimate for 2 eggs)
Calories: 224 calories (estimate) in 2 eggs
Cost: N/A - sample box
Purchased from: N/A - sample; from Hotel Chocolat, London

Today's breakfast menu: two eggs, a banana and a glass of water. Oh, did I mention these were Spring/Easter eggs freshly harvested from a chocolate nest? Milk chocolate shells filled with an Amaretto-flavored truffle cream filling, to be precise.

Hotel Chocolat's Amaretto egg was very satisfying. While the liqueur taste was very pleasing with the chocolate, I'm not sure I could have guessed it was Amaretto. But, to amp up the almond flavor would have meant tampering with simplicity. And, a few high quality ingredients, kept simple, is a formula that seems to work best for most fine edibles.