Nice Chocolates

What Are Chocolate Truffles?

December 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Many people won’t eat a chocolate truffle because they confuse them with truffles, which many know to be a fungus. But alas, a chocolate truffle is not really a truffle at all, and therefore not a fungus. Yes, it is true chocolate lovers, no need to get squeamish or uncomfortable about a chocolate truffle, it is all made in a kitchen. So if a chocolate truffle isn’t really a truffle, then just what might it be?

More Information About Chocolate Truffles

A chocolate truffle is actually a mixture of chocolate, liquids and flavorings called a ganache. Chocolate truffles for many years were considered a treat only for the very rich and famous. Even today the mention of a chocolate truffle brings images of a Hollywood movie star in a lavish robe laying on a chaise lounge sipping champagne while eating her exquisite confectionary.

The truth of the truffle is that now you can find them in supermarkets, candy stores, chocolate shops. You can even place them on your own coffee table while watching and old black and white classic on the television.

Chocolate truffles come in just about every imaginable flavor. You can choose from a simple dark or milk chocolate as well as white chocolate, there are also fruit flavors added to the chocolate and for those who enjoy certain liqueurs you can also find it in Kahula, Frangelico and many brandy flavors. Whatever your taste, there is a flavor out there and yes, they are reasonably prices in most places.

If you have trouble finding truffles locally, then why not make them yourself? There are numerous websites with recipes, tips and ideas for many different flavors of chocolate truffle. Imagine your family’s delight as you serve to them the layers of rich and creamy chocolate temptations and your neighbors envy when you offer some up to them.

You don’t need any fancy ingredients for a basic chocolate truffle just some heavy whipping cream, butter, cocoa and light corn syrup. Most of that you probably already have in your kitchen.

Now that you know chocolate truffles are not just for the rich and famous nor is it a fungus, give one a try, and discover the mouth watering richness of one of the oldest chocolate treats in the world. You deserve a treat, and you deserve to savor every bite without having to share; enjoy your newly found chocolate truffle addiction.

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Unique Chocolate Candy Gifts

June 3, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Everyone knows someone who loves chocolate candy, but perhaps you’re tired of giving the same thing as a gift on special occasions. Try something different, and instead of the usual plain old candy, try chocolate works of art instead!

Paintings and Sculptures and Rooms – Oh My!

If you want chocolate candy that can be enjoyed by the eyes and not just the tongue, consider getting a chocolate painting of your special someone made! For example, chocolatiers like Prudence Emma Staite can create customized paintings of anyone. If you send in a picture of your significant other or anyone else who’s important to you, you can have their image reproduced in chocolate!

You can eat it, or preserve it for display if you want! It should be noted that the images resemble woodblock prints as opposed to photorealistic ones, but they are quite impressive if you appreciate prints. Customized works are more expensive, but for those who want to spend less, you can order up a chocolate painting of your favorite celebrity such as Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley.

If you want to impress a crowd, you might even want to try one of her chocolate rooms! Giant sculptured pieces such as edible fireplaces can be installed in a room so that your guests can go around and actually eat parts of the room in a chocolate fantasy come to life.

Another unique group is called Chocolate Deities, and they reproduce sculptures of deities from various world religions in chocolate! If you like Asian art and sculptures or Indian works and so forth, you can get items such as a Hotei (a Japanese laughing Buddha) sculpted in dark chocolate or Kuan Yin (the Chinese Goddess of Mercy) and the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh.

If Impressionism is Your Thing

Perhaps you want to wow someone by giving them a reproduction of a priceless piece of art. If you want to give someone a Van Gogh or Monet but can’t quite afford the real thing, consider a chocolate candy version of their works! If you visit sites such as netique.com, you can find reproductions of famous works such as Irises by Van Gogh, or Water Lilies by Monet.

These iconic pieces are reproduced in miniature using food coloring and look just like the real thing. If you can resist eating them, you can display these works and preserve them just like the foodisart pieces.

Perhaps you want something a little more whimsical and less serious instead though. For the chocolate candy lover in your life, try a chocolate photo favor! You can find a number of websites that will create personalized chocolate photos with a person’s image reproduced on it.

Using food coloring and what amounts to an inkjet-like printer, they can do just about anything. As you can see, chocolate candy isn’t just limited to the boring old chocolate bar anymore! Have fun and treat yourself to a unique work of art or give one to your favorite chocoholic!

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The First Chocolate Cake Recipe May Have Become Known in 1764

January 27, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Cakes have been baked for over two thousand years. Even though the exact date is unknown, early cakes were made out of flour, honey, nuts, eggs, milk, as well as other flavorings. One may also trace the origins of the word “cake” to its Greek name of “plakous,” and may have meant flat. Romans called the cake “placenta” as well as “Libum,” and cakes of those times were used for religious ways.

Plenty to Choose From

Chocolate cake recipes are many, and are most used for birthday parties, as well as for weddings. The variety of chocolate cakes are plentiful, and depend on the ingredients that go into it, as well as the flavorings. German cooks are world-famous for making chocolate cakes that have extravagant ingredients, as well as combining the whole to make a rich-eating fare.

After the 1900s, cakes became much more complicated. With new methods of baking becoming known, all kinds of cakes began to be baked, including chocolate cakes. The history of the chocolate cake recipe may be traced back to Dr. James Baker who, in the fall of 1764, realized how to make chocolate by grinding cocoa beans between two massive circular millstones.

There are so many different chocolate cake recipes that one would be hard pressed to choose a special one and single it out as being the definitive chocolate cake recipe. Suffice to say that everywhere you look in a cookbook devoted to cakes, there would be plenty of interesting chocolate cake recipes just waiting to be tried out. Learning the art of baking a chocolate cake may mean some trial and error work before one can find the right taste and flavor, and may often even result in burnt cakes in the search for a perfect chocolate cake recipe.

The chocolate cake recipe may have different ingredients that depend on how much taste it should have though basic ingredients such as flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda as well as chocolate, and cocoa may be found in all recipes. Some chocolate cake recipes will even have frosting ingredients while others may not, and the baking instructions may vary according to the ingredients.

Some chocolate cake recipes may be home recipes, while others may be drawn from cookbooks, magazines, and newspaper clippings. Whatever recipe one chooses should mostly include whole food ingredients, and rarely canned or prepared foods. One should also not go overboard with the ingredients. It may be wise to include healthy diet ingredients and use real butter, real cream, as well as proteins from fish,  meat and cheese. With the proper research, you are sure to find an excellent chocolate cake recipe.

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Varieties in Chocolate Wedding Favors

November 29, 2007 · Leave a Comment

Varieties in Chocolate Wedding Favors

Simple

For a classic simple choice in chocolate wedding favors, an elegant box of gourmet chocolate truffles could be the perfect reception treat; many companies offer a variety of colored boxes and ribbons to tie them, this can make finding a complementary color easy. Most boxed chocolates for weddings are small, coming in sets two to four candies per box; as such these individual pricing makes purchasing just the right amount easier.

Shiny

Foil covered chocolate wedding favors can add flare and drama to a take-away gift bag; the foil covered treats are available in many shapes from sweet heart to fun-shaped stars. Most foil covered treats are available in a variety of colors or can even be customizable to match the wedding colors. For a more intricate design, some manufacturers even make especially themed chocolate wedding favors, like playing cards, poker chips, or coins. Some of these chocolaty treats even feature choices of flavored chocolate such as mint or peanut butter filled.

Personalized

Some companies even make customizable chocolate wedding favors such as candy bars or CD’s that the labels can be printed with a special message; such as the date, the name of the happy couple, or congratulations! The bars especially can be extremely personalized with photos on the wrapper, and choices of dozens of wrapper designs and colors. Some companies will even imprint the bar itself with a special wedding themed message, and provide a variety of colored boxes in which to display them. Many of the companies offer choices of flavors in these bars like milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate.

Molded Chocolate Wedding Favors and Specialty Items

Molded chocolate wedding favors are available in most any theme a bride and groom could want; if a mold exists, there is likely a manufacturer that will pour chocolate into it for them. Some companies offer themes such as castles, casinos, and theater; these can really bring all the decorations and atmosphere together for the quests.

Specialty chocolate wedding favors include miniature chocolate wedding cakes with fondant icing, monogrammed truffles, customized petit fours, wedding cake shaped cookies, and gourmet chocolate dipped pretzels to name just some of the choices. Each of those items, especially the petit fours, come in varieties within their categories; for example the petit fours come in package type designs, animal themed, wedding cake minis, and a more classic simple chocolate variety. Some of these treats are even available in fun boxes that feature bridal gowns or tuxedos on the boxes.

For the most special cookie the bride and groom will ever see, some companies can even customize a cookie with an actual photo of the bride and groom. For a classic look; solid white chocolate or truffle filled chocolate 3-D roses would be an elegant addition to a table-scape. Also available are hand painted chocolate wedding favors, available in a variety of molds; because they are hand pained they have a unique one of a kind appearance. What is a wedding if not once in a life time experience?

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Finding That Perfect Chocolate Fondue Recipe

November 4, 2007 · Leave a Comment

There are many different types of the chocolate fondue recipe that you can follow, however there are certain ones that are better than others, and so if you are interested in finding a chocolate fondue recipe in general, then you will want to find one that is easy and quick for you to make, rather than a chocolate fondue recipe that you simply can’t understand.

A Good Chocolate Fondue Recipe

One chocolate fondue recipe in particular is considered as being the original recipe, and fondue, it should be known as, is a favorite recipe at both parties and gatherings, and chocolate fondue in particular is especially loved for its sweetness and its compatibility with many other types of food; several items in particular that taste great when you dip them in fondue include that of fruit and cake.

For this recipe, what you need is: 1 11-1/2-ounce package milk chocolate pieces, ¼ cup milk, 1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter, milk, assorted fruits (such as star fruit, orange sections, whole strawberries, pear slices, banana slices, and apple slices), angel-food cake or pound cake cubes, and marshmallows.

Then all you have to do is in the top of a double boiler placed over gently simmering water, or in a heavy small saucepan, combine in the chocolate pieces and ¼ cup of milk. Next, you heat, stirring constantly, over low heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Then you stir in the peanut butter, cook and stir until heated through, and then add in additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.

Then you want to pour the mixture into a fondue pot, place over a fondue burner set on low, then using fondue forks or skewers, dip fruit dippers, cake cubes, and marshmallows into the chocolate mixture. Just remember that if the mixture starts getting too thick, you can simply add more milk and this will solve the problem.

This is a fantastic recipe, and there are not many people out there that do not like chocolate, and so you can rest assured that it will be a great hit at your next party. One of the most important things to remember with a recipe such as this is to make sure that you never have the heat up too high, as this will quickly ruin your fondue, or even burn it.

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