Espresso Roulade - Feb. 23, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

The Plant Cafe Organic
Espresso Roulade
Good + - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: unknown
Cost: $4.50 for 1 piece/container
Purchased from: The Plant Cafe Organic, Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA

The Plant Cafe Organic got its start in San Francisco, CA. The company recently opened a new location in Mill Valley (Marin County). No surprise that this small chain is expanding, as they offer some of the freshest, tastiest food around -- including gluten-free items, like today's Espresso Roulade. I picked up this roulade in the company's "to go" section.

To produce this lovely creation, I'm guessing The Plant Cafe's dessert chef created a moist, lighter-than-air, chocolate cake layer, frosted with a thick layer of whipped cream, then carefully rolled it up and cut it into slices.

I barely had to chew this cake. Each bite was flavorful and airy, and melted in my mouth. Generally, gluten free items are relatively heavy or dense. Not this time.

Today's flourless, chocolate dessert (lightly flavored by decaf espresso) followed a two-course pasta entree that I made at home.

Mushroom and Truffle Linguini

Since today was the last day of Chocolate and Truffle Theme Week, I made a truffle pasta dish with Viviana (gluten free) Wild Mushroom Linguini and two different sauces. The first, a white sauce, consisted of sauteed mushrooms, shallots and garlic, Fabrique Delices white truffle butter, and white truffle cream and parmesan cheese. The second was a red sauce with artichokes, walnuts and a bit of truffle butter. Fresh rosemary was a great flavor enhancer for both.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Truffle Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Umami or Bacon Theme Week.

Hagensborg Dark Truffle - Feb. 22, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Hagensborg Chocolates
Truffle Pig - Dark Hazelnut (Noisette Noir)
Good
Weight: 0.40 oz. (11.5 g.) in 1 truffle
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 truffle
Cost: $0.99 in 1 truffle
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Truffle Theme Week.

I would like to honor truffle pigs everywhere -- especially live ones that help to root out black truffles. These fungi/tubers resemble chocolate truffles (the small, round chocolate variety).

I could not think of a better way salute to these pigs than a Truffle Pig'lette -- an individually wrapped, bite sized Dark Hazelnut Chocolate Truffle from Hagensborg Chocolates (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada). Made with "All Natural European Chocolate," this little piggy had a smooth, melty texture. The hazelnut butter was very light; in fact, I'd say it was almost difficult to detect.

Love the truffle pig illustrations on the Hagensborg bars and chocolates. These pigs really do look like they're having the time of their life.

Truffle Butter Truffles - Feb. 21, 2013

Romain, La Fromagerie, SF

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

SunSpire (nSpired Natural Foods)
Organic Chocolate Chips
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.45 g.) / 9 oz. (255 g.) total bag
Calories: 210 calories (estimate) in 1.5 oz. (42.45 g.)
Cost: $ unavailable
Purchased from: unavailable

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Truffle Theme Week. It was inevitable this week that I make some truffle truffles.

Yes, you're reading that correctly. I made some homemade chocolate truffles with Black Winter Truffle Butter from Fabrique Delices (Hayward, CA), that I found at La Fromagerie in (the Dogpatch area of) San Francisco. Thank you to Romain for truffle butter and cheese selection help.

I also made a small, semi-sweet, truffle butter chocolate cup (with a white chocolate and truffle butter center) -- topped with a drizzle of black truffle honey and a few grains of truffle sea salt.


The plate of tiny truffles and the chocolate truffle cup made a great late breakfast, and disappeared quickly. The truffle butter was good enough to eat by itself, or on warm toast (gluten-free bread for me). Fabrique Delices offers a line of charcuterie and savory butters -- e.g., black truffle, white truffle, porcini mushroom, and bacon. The truffle butters were made with imported French butter.

Sadly, SunSpire (nSpired Natural Foods) in San Leandro, CA, seemed to have gone out of business. I melted a few ounces of their organic, semi-sweet chocolate chips  -- that had been stored in my chocolate vault -- to make the truffles. They were quite good.

For those who do not like truffles (the fungi/tuber) -- my sympathies, and please forgive my rapturous delight over truffle honey this week. Soon, I'll be moving ahead to Chocolate and Umami Theme Week, where I'll combine cacao with seaweed, miso, kale, mushrooms, potatoes, parmesan cheese, and other fare. I hope you'll find something you like a bit more in this list. This month has evolved into quite a savory + sweet month.

Enric Rovira - Trufa Day - Feb. 20, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Enric Rovira

Trencadis Gaudi - chocolate blanco con trufa al aguardiente de albaricoque
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 6.7 oz. (190 g.) in total box
Calories: 150 calories (estimate)
Cost: $34.50 for 1 box
Purchased from: Alegio Chocolate, Palo Alto, CA

Mini Hexagons
Good+
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.)/2.1 oz. (60 g.) total box
Calories: 148 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $ 12.95 in 1 box of 10 pieces
Purchased from: Alegio Chocolate, Palo Alto, CA

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

Roundish dark chocolate truffles likely acquired their name because of their likeness to black truffles, the fungi found nestled underground in what remains of great oak forests. This week I'm combining both types of truffles.

Today I traveled -- virtually, via chocolate -- from Italy (yesterday's destination) to Barcelona, Spain, to sample two chocolates in Enric Rovira's (Barcelona, Spain) Barcelona collection -- heavily influenced by Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi, who often incorporated tile and glass mosaic art into his work.

Proving that my Spanish is very rusty, I bought this creamy, Trencadis Gaudi white chocolate creation thinking it contained white or black truffle (the fungi). However, the "trufa" in the Spanish name here referred to an apricot brandy truffle filling inside this beautifully patterned square of white chocolate.

However, my "mistake" was quickly remedied, when I dipped a triangular piece of this white Trencadis (from the Catalan word, trencat, for broken) mosaic into some Italian truffle honey that I'd opened yesterday. If you want to try something truly decadent and wonderful, these two items were made for each other.

Mini Hexagons 
Since, I don't normally "count" white chocolate as my Chocolate of the Day, I also sampled some Enric Rovira dark chocolate (70%) mini hexagons, modeled after special six-sided pavement pieces that might be found on the streets of Barcelona. These would look very nice on any dessert plate or tray.

Thank you to Panos at Alegio Chocolate for pointing out the Barcelona Collection.

Le Veneziane, Truffle Cheesecake - Feb. 19, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Molino di Ferro
Le Veneziane - piccoli piaceri croccanti con Cacao e Nicciole
(Gluten Free cookies with Chocolate and Hazelnuts)
Good
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 8.8 oz. (250 g.) in 1 bag/package
Calories: 130 calories in 3.5 cookies
Cost: $5.39 for 1 bag
Purchased from: Miki's Farm Fresh Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Italy is a great place to find truffle-infused favorite foods. So, I attempted to travel there, virtually, with today's pairing.

First, I baked cheesecakes with (La Tourangelle) black truffle oil, and Ritrovo Italian truffle honey -- honey infused with black truffle. Then I combined one of these creamy little cheesecakes with today's crunchy, Italian chocolate cookies.

I crumbled one La Veneziane gluten-free chocolate and hazelnut cookie from Molino di Ferro (Italy), to use as a topping for the cheesecake -- along with some truffle honey and a dab of some creme fraiche -- and enjoyed two additional cookies by themselves.

These chocolate cookies made with corn flour were fairly light in flavor -- providing a nice crunchy texture, without overpowering the black truffle oil and the truffle honey in the cheesecake. The ground hazelnut flavor was very mild. (Molino di Ferro also makes polenta and corn-based pasta.)

Note to self: Try spreading a little Nutella or peanut butter on these; this might result in a tasty sandwich cookie.

Jar Full of Cupcakes, Truffle Day - Feb. 18, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

The Grain Exchange
Jar Full of Cupcakes - Red Velvet with Vanilla
Good + - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: unknown
Cost: $39.50 for total box of 6
Purchased from: Abe's Market, online

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Truffle Theme Week. Since it was a holiday in the U.S. (Presidents Day), I had time to experiment with an entire lunch flavored with black truffles.

Appetizer: Black Truffle Popcorn

First course was an appetizer -- a small bowl of Black Truffle + White Cheddar popcorn from 479 degrees Popcorn (San Francisco, CA) with an optional dark chocolate drizzle. The black truffle flavor was delicate and unique enough that I cut way back on the (melted) chocolate here. Cacao nibs might have been a better choice.

Main Course: Chicken Vegetable and Truffle Soup

The second course was a homemade bowl of chicken and vegetable soup with Infused Black Truffle Oil from La Tourangelle (Woodland, CA).

Dessert: Jar Full of Cupcakes with Truffle Salt

Dessert (Chocolate of the Day) consisted of wonderfully moist and delicious gluten-free, red velvet cupcakes and vanilla frosting in a small mason jar.

Surprisingly, this Jar Full of Cupcakes from The Grain Exchange (Doylestown, PA) was also quite good with a sprinkle of Black Truffle Sea Salt (Smith and Truslow). The salt balanced out some of the sugar, harmonized with the vanilla; and the truffle flavor provided a beautifully blended accent note with these cupcakes.

Truffle Cocktail: Heaven and Earth

Marginally successful first attempt: the "Black Cat Truffle" martini. The rim of the glass was coated with black truffle sea salt, and the drink included chilled cream, milk, vanilla, creme de cacao, and Kahlua (pictured).

Much more successful second attempt: the "Heaven and Earth": a combination of Frangelico liqueur, and honey, with a splash of milk (or cream or unsweetened coconut milk), served in a glass with the rim coated with black truffle sea salt (not pictured).

Mast Brothers - Black Truffle bar - Feb. 17, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Mast Brothers Chocolate
Black Truffle bar
Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70.75 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) in 1/2 oz. piece
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Miette Bakery, Hayes Valley location, San Francisco, CA

Today was the first day in a Chocolate and Truffle Theme Week. I may not be able to find seven chocolates with black or white truffles, but I will certainly enjoy trying.

I couldn't think of a better way to kick off this week than with a Black Truffle 74% cacao bar from Mast Brothers Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).

The story behind Rick and Michael, the two American craft chocolate makers behind, and co-owners of, Mast Brothers Chocolate, embodies themes like the adventure of sailing, and the sober elegance of good design. One might be tempted to look at promotional materials and dismiss them as nostalgic hipsters. However, one would be wrong. Their voyage to make great chocolate has been a successful one, due to their focus on high quality ingredients and great process.

Likewise, you'd be wise not to dismiss the story of the humble black jewel, known as the black truffle, a fungus on the roots of oak trees, a delicacy that lends a unique and delightful savory/umami flavor to foods.

Along with a touch of Maine sea salt, the bright red fruit notes in this dark chocolate (from Madagascar perhaps?) harmonized well with the rich earthy perfume of truffle (Italy) -- that hit me when I unwrapped the pretty paper and gold foil on this bar. Heavenly. But do eat it soon, as the lovely truffle aroma and flavor may attenuate over time. Then you're left with "just" a great, plain chocolate bar.