Lake Champlain - Gingerbread Molasses Bar - Jan. 13, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lake Champlain Chocolates
Organic, Milk Chocolate Gingerbread Molasses bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .81 oz. (23 g.) / 3.25 oz. (92 g.) in total bar
Calories: 125 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $2.64 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the last day of Chocolate Baked Goods Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Ginger Theme Week.

This Organic, Milk Chocolate Gingerbread Molasses bar from Lake Champlain Chocolates (Burlington, VT) was part of a ginger-fueled trio. I paired this bar with two of my favorite gluten-free ginger cookies:

1. Ginger Zinger cookies from Tate's Bake Shop (Southampton, NY) - thin, buttery and crunchy cookies with embedded chunks of crystallized ginger
2. Ginger molasses cookie from Ginger and Fox Baked Goods (Santa Clarita, CA) - jumbo-sized, chewy, fragrant and flavorful ones just like mom used to bake.

Each square of this bar had a slightly raised area (embossed with the Lake Champlain stag by the lake and stars logo); and the raised pocket area held a smooth, gingerbread-chocolate ganache (with heavy cream, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg).

Winter Fancy Food Show - SF, Jan. 11, 2015

Winter Fancy Food Show
San Francisco, CA -- Jan. 11-13, 2015

The Winter Fancy Food Show (San Francisco, CA -- Jan. 11-13, 2015) was held this week. I saw as many of the 1,300 exhibitors from around the world as I could (in both halls of the Moscone Center Convention Center). I scouted for trends and new products, and spoke with colleagues and friends.

If you are part of the specialty food and beverage industry, I recommend attending this show at least once. Two full days are preferable than trying to do it one; but it's a bit easier if you focus on one food category, say cheese, or olive oil. Or, in my case, chocolate.

Chocolate: something for everyone
The chocolatiers and makers at this show ran the gamut -- novelty, classic, artisan, big and small. And the products range from chocolate bars, truffles and confections to chocolate being used as an inclusion in another food or dessert item -- energy bars, kale snacks, cookies, you name it.

It was great to see classic companies like Idaho Candy Co. (Boise, ID), maker of the potato-shaped,  Idaho Spud candy bar, the Cherry Cocktail and the Old Faithful. This is still a family run company after 100 years. Amazing. (Photo of three brothers at right.)

I enjoyed seeing marketing innovators like Vosges (Chicago, IL). They had a beautiful booth, decked out with great images, greenery, flowers, and new flavor combinations.

Chocolat (Fredericksburg, TX) impressed with liquor/spirits-filled chocolates (liquid centers encased with a crunchy corn starch casing and covered with chocolate). Toffee is a competitive market, there are several good, gluten-free ones out there these days. I enjoyed catching up with local (Bay Area-based) Toffee Talk founders/owners. They make some great toffees.

And, even after eating more than 3,000 chocolates, I'm still discovering companies with new flavors, and meeting great new chocolate-makers, and single origin bar chocolatiers.

For example, Lourdes Delgado de Pandzic, President of Chchukululu Arriba Dark Chocolate, traveled to the Bay Area from Guayaquil, Ecuador. She was very interesting to talk with, and a great booster for her country and cacao farmers there.


Across the aisle from her, was Richard O'Connor, co-founder of Chocolate and Love (U.K.), maker of "organic and ethical chocolate." I also enjoyed their fun bar packaging that featured celebrity-look-alike dog images.

Trends
More gluten-free and organic offerings were on display. For someone like me who can't have wheat or gluten, but who loves good food, the pasta and baked good sections are looking more appealing with each passing year. E.g., Walkers Shortbread (U.K. company known for their shortbread, biscuits and oatcakes) will be offering gluten-free regular (and chocolate chip) shortbread cookies. Look for them in stores this spring.


Other trends called out in a Show Press fact sheet included the growing number of items with Asian flavors (think higher quality green teas, soy, wasabi, rice, etc.); more snack bars and spreadable products. The "Melt" chocolate spread (made with coconut oil) was very light and could be incorporated into a variety of desserts and confections, as could some of the nut butters we saw.

I'd been looking for items to create a Chocolate and Indian Snack Theme Week. And now, after this show, I have enough for a theme week in February or March on this site, ChocolateBanquet.com. (Think spicy cashews, mango chutney, crispy peanuts, lentils, cardamom and chai spices, etc.)

For more information, check out the Specialty Food Association website.

Notable Bites - Salted Dark Chocolate Cake Mix - Jan. 12, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Notable Bites
Salted Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) (estimate) for baked 1/4 cake/ 4.7 oz. (133 g.) for total dry mix (4 servings)
Calories: 342 calories (estimate) in 1/4 cake mix (1 serving)
Cost: $12.00 for 1 package of mix + foil pan
Purchased from: Notable Bites, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate Baked Goods Theme Week.

This Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nut and Soy Free, Vegan, Salted Dark Chocolate Cake Mix from Notable Bites (Mountain View, CA) came packaged in its own foil cooking pan, which was very convenient. All I needed to add was two Tablespoons of oil and 1/3 cup of non-dairy "milk" (in keeping with this being a vegan mix), and it was ready to bake.

I used 1 tablespoon of organic olive oil and 1 tablespoon of enFuso smoke-infused olive oil to give it a hint of savory flavor that I think pairs well with chocolate and salt.

After removing the cake from the oven, I sprinkled it with the tiny packet of Himalayan Pink Salt Crystal mix (included), and I enjoyed a piece of Salted Dark Chocolate Cake.

The stilll-warm cake was relatively sweet and moist. It was a bit crumbly, but I'd prefer this over a cake loaded with vegetable gums or thickeners (this cake mix contained neither). And I loved the smaller cake size, and quick time from mix to cake.

Heartland - red velvet cupcake mix - Jan. 11, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Heartland Gourmet
Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcake Mix
Good - Good ++
Weight: 2.5 oz. (estimate) for 1 finished cupcake /16 oz. (454 g.) in total box
Calories: 250 calories (estimate) for 1 finished cupcake
Cost: $2.98 (sale) for 1 box of mix
Purchased from: Burlington, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate Baked Goods Theme Week. Somehow a warm oven and kitchen in the middle of winter is very appealing. And it's hard to imagine a baked goods week without including at least one chocolate cupcake in the mix.

I eat only gluten-free items; however, I don't always have time to bake from scratch. Happily there are now several gluten-free mixes available.

This Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcake Mix from Heartland Gourmet (Lincoln, NE) offered a convenient cupcake solution. (The cream cheese frosting was not included, but the box did include a helpful recipe for it.)


These red-tinged* red velvet cupcakes had an appealing cake texture, and were moist and tasty. I cut back on the sugar a bit in the cream cheese frosting and enjoyed the whole frosted cupcake experience. If you prefer a lighter frosting, a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream on each cupcake would've worked well also.

*In some recipes I located, the red coloring in red velvet cupcakes comes from beets; artificial food coloring was used here.

Notable Bites - Peppermint Chocolate Cake - Jan. 10, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Notable Bites
Peppermint Chocolate Cake
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/4 cake (1 serving) / 5.6 oz. (158 g.) in total package of dry mix
Calories: 346 calories (estimate) in 1/4 cake
Cost: $12.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Notable Bites table at Palo Alto Farmers Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day # 4 of Chocolate Baked Goods Theme Week.

It can be frustrating to buy a standard size box of cake mix when you're only cooking for one or two people. Inevitably too much cake is consumed (because you don't want to throw the rest of the cake away, do you?). Or the cake may go stale because it takes a week to finish it all.

Well, not so with today's Peppermint Chocolate Cake mix from Notable Bites (Mountain View, CA). The mix was conveniently packaged in a smaller size, and came with a small, foil cake pan, and a tiny bag of crushed peppermint candy bits.

Thank you to Wendy, founder of Notable Bites, for developing these "right-sized" mixes and gluten-free and vegan versions of these mixes. All that was required is 2 Tablespoons of oil + 1/3 cup of milk substitute. No refrigerated ingredients (egg or milk) were required.

Today's Peppermint Chocolate Cake Mix was Gluten Free, Vegan (Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nut and Soy Free), with no preservatives, additives, or artificial flavors. The packaging suggests that the cake be consumed within 2 hours of cooking.

1-2-3 Gluten Free - Chocolate Bundt Poundcake - Jan. 9, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

1-2-3 Gluten Free, Inc.
Chocolate Bundt Poundcake Mix
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 finished piece (1/12 mix) / 38.08 oz. (2.38 lbs.) (1080 g.) in 1 box of dry cake mix
Calories: 340 calories (estimate) in 1 piece (1/12 of mix)
Cost: $5.99 for 1 box of mix
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate Baked Goods Theme Week.

The original pound cake consisted of 1 pound of flour (3 1/2 - 4 cups), 1 pound of sugar, 1 pound of butter (4 sticks), and 1 pound of eggs (10 large ones). That makes for one sinfully rich and heavy cake.

For today's Chocolate Bundt Poundcake Mix from 1-2-3 Gluten Free, Inc. (Orange, OH), I "only" used five eggs and 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter.

The finished chocolate cake had some classic poundcake characteristics: rich buttery denseness and slightly coarser and heavier texture than yesterday's devil's food cake from the same company. (Both cakes were gluten, nut, corn and soy free; and both were very good.)

The cake was also as moist as any sponge or bundt cake that I remember from decades ago (when I still ate gluten). The piece I enjoyed held together well with no dryness or crumbliness that used to happen with gluten-free baked goods.

I topped one small loaf with dark chocolate chips (optional), and made one without the extra chocolate. I preferred the plain version. In the future I might make a version with molasses and raisins and cook/steam it in a can -- to make something akin to a chocolate version of Boston Brown Bread (something I loved as a child).

Thank you to 1-2-3 Gluten Free founder Kim Ullner -- who has gluten-free family members -- for her successful research and delicious mixes; dedication to gluten- and allergen-free facilities; and for creating "sugar-free" (add your own sweetener) versions of these cake mixes. 

1-2-3 gluten free - Devil's food chocolate cake mix - Jan. 8, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

1-2-3 Gluten Free, Inc.
devil's food chocolate Cake Mix
(Add Your Own Sweetener)
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (84.9 g.) in 1 finished piece / 12.88 oz. (365 g.) in total box of dry mix
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $4.99 in total package/box
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Baked Goods Theme Week.

It takes more time to whip up a cake (vs. buying already baked goods), but it's usually worth it. This Devil's food chocolate Cake Mix from 1-2-3 Gluten Free, Inc. (Orange, OH) with butter, eggs and added buttermilk produced a great, rich devil's food cake.

I loved the fact that this boxed mix of gluten, dairy, egg and soy free ingredients came without sugar -- which is to to say, I could supply whatever sweetener or type of sugar that I wanted.

The instructions called for 2 cups of sugar. I chose to use about 1 1/2 cups of lemon lavender infused organic sugar; and I loved the outcome -- a less sweet, rich and moist chocolate cake that was devilishly good without the extra sugar. And while there are lots of frosting possibilities, this cake mix was great just by itself.

I chose to use a pan + few large cupcake sized ramekins for baking, making it easier to share (or stick with a single serving).