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Boozy Chocolate!

The two Blog Chocolate babes co-editors will be taking turns reviewing our favourite chocolatey creations and philosophizing about how to change the world one chocolate bar at a time.  But once in a while, it completely unfair to have just one of us test drive the latest chocolate craze.

Especially when it involves booze.  Chocolate booze.

Our friends from Independent Distillers Canada (IDC) have created two delicious alcoholic beverages based on Cadbury’s Caramilk bar — Caramilk Cream Liquor and Caramilk Cream Coolers.  And they invited us to try them. Seriously.  

Here is what Alyssa had to say about the Caramilk Cream Coolers ...

 

I came by my love of Caramilk at a very young age. My grandparents lived out West and we didn't get to see them very often. Whenever they came to visit though, you could be sure that my grandpa had a couple of Caramilk bars hidden in his luggage just waiting to be found by this budding chocoholic's hands. I have very fond memories of sitting in the guest room of our house sharing the chocolate bar with my grandpa, square by square.

So you might understand why I was a little hesitant when we were sent Caramilk Cream Coolers - a creamy vodka beverage based on one of my most treasured chocolate memories. For me, sweet drinks are best enjoyed piping hot: moccachinos, caramel lattés and, of course, hot chocolate. Honestly, I thought it would be obnoxiously sweet. I thought I would have one sip and then be done. I was wrong. The Caramilk cooler is smooth and milky, a luscious velvety treat that I had a hard time putting down. It's the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon spent decorating the Christmas tree, or curling up by the fire with a good book, or simply as a reward for spending an hour every Saturday morning at an outdoor rink teaching your 5-year old to skate. (Whose idea with that? My hair will never recover from the helmet head.) 

Any way I end up enjoying it, it looks like Caramilk and I are going to be making some new memories. Cheers, Grandpa.

 

 

Here is what Sandra had to say about the Caramilk Cream Liquor ...

It's no secret that I like to drink my chocolate with enthusiasm.  In fact, some of my favourite chocolate loves are in a beverage format. So making the sacrifice to test the Caramilk Cream Liquor (avec 17% alcohol - oh my) was not an entirely selfless act.  

I like a nip of Baileys over ice by the fire on a blustery day, and so I first tried this the same way - straight up. It was a bit boozy tasting for me (okay, a lot boozy tasting). I also was a bit disappointed that, despite having an aroma of a melted chocolate bar, I was not able to pick up the chocolate taste more - caramel is the hero here.

That is where my criticisms end though. Because this little gem (made with real cream, vodka and brandy) is really meant for much nobler purposes than to be sipped solo.  It is spectacular added to your favourite hot chocolate. In fact, I think it should be mandatory for all hot chocolate lovers of the adult persuasion to include it.  AND it pretty much makes your week when poured over ice cream. I am not much of a chef but I can imagine there are a million ways you can cook with it - it's incredibly versatile.

I hate the winter. No, I loathe the winter.  But this new discovery is sure to make our frosty looooong season a little more delightful.

Bottoms up!

European Designer Hot Chocolate

When I hear "European Designer" I think handbags, shoes, fragrance ... I wouldn't immediately leap to hot chocolate.  But my new friends at Intemperantia from California are specialists in European Designer Chocolates and they sent me some of their amazing hot chocolate to try.

Full disclosure and associated apology to "In tem pe ran tia" - I was supposed to review this amazing hot chocolate ages and ages ago.  But I am lazy.  Never too lazy to drink a great cuppa chocolate - but the amount of work necessary to perfect this was a bit intimidating.  It involve a blender, vanilla and two different stages of using a sauce pan and some actual culinary skills.

But here's the thing, if you want hot chocolate that tastes like powder stirred hastily into water, then that is what you should drink. If you want mind-blowing hot chocolate then you have to work for it.  And I was really glad I got off my lazy butt and finally did!

They suggested that you can even turn the left over hot chocolate into ice cream. Ice cream. I was dying to try that ... but who has left overs with hot chocolate this great??

Seriously gorgeous drinking chocolate. 

 

Winter's Silver Lining

Despite being a Canadian, I loathe winter.  Hate everything about it.  The cold, the snow, the freezing rain, the nerve-wracking driving, the practical boots, the layers, the slush ... I could go on and on.

Not being a lover of winter sports or anything else about the season, I am hard pressed to get through the deep freeze with a smile.

But I will concede that there is one silver lining.  A fabulous, chocolaty silver lining:  Hot Chocolate.

We already know I like my hot chocolate with a kick because nothing beats warm Bailey's. And I started thinking I've not yet shared with you my very favourite hot chocolate picks for this chilly time of year.

I can assert this with a great degree of confidence as I've tried every hot chocolate out there.  Every. Single. One. It's a mighty tough job but someone has to do it.

If you are snowed in and can't get thee to your nearest barista to satisfy winter cravings, then your best bet for an at home mug of sweet, smooth warmth comes compliments of Williams Sonoma Hot Chocolate or Peppermint Hot Chocolate.

It's pure chocolate shavings that you can whisk with warm milk into one of the most delicious hot chocolates you'll ever taste.  But, then again, it should be because it comes with a price tag that is anything but modest.  It's the old adage "you get what you pay for" and it's a fair indulgence because those powdery imitations don't begin to compare.

However, the hot chocolate I now drink 99.9% of the time is not one you can make on your stove top.  I first discovered Starbucks Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate  while visiting a dear friend in the US this fall.  I was hooked at the first sip.  So hooked that I couldn't get it out of my head until we landed back in TO and I promptly went straight to a nearby Starbucks to see if was just an American phenomenon.  I squealed, actually squealed, to learn that it was readily available here.

The salty name puts some folks off at first blush but once you try it, there is no turning back. I defy you to find a comparable, quality, savoury, hot chocolate anywhere.  There just isn't one.  And they haven't given me a single free cup encouraging me to say that to you.  Although they really, really, really should since I've spent all my spare cash there weathering the winter storm.

So bottom's up my friends.  Wrap both hands tightly around your mug and enjoy.

Great Mexican Chocolate

I am terrific at going on vacation.  Really. It's a skill that has taken years to master. 

But returning from vacation? Well, that I am not so good at.

So before the post-holiday blues take hold with too menacing a grip, I'll reminisce about my recent 2-week-long sojourn to the Mayan Riviera.  The weather was glorious, the pace was restful and restorative and the reprieve from snow for two blissful weeks was absolutely appreciated.

As we explored the Yucatan Peninsula, there were healthy doses of reading on the beach, shopping for things we didn't need, visiting Mayan ruins, discovering quaint little towns, snorkeling in the sea and swimming with the dolphins. 

We've visited Mexico many times before and seen several different regions because we have family that live there.  Through our travels over the years, I've always been on the quest for great Mexican chocolate. After all, the Mayans and Aztecs claim to have been the first chocolatiers.  The birth place of chocolate must have the best. 

But, I've not yet been blown away.

Other than Mexican hot chocolate, of course.  The wonderful combination of the bitter dark chocolate with the biting spices leaves that warm feeling in my chest just thinking about it.  It's a drink to sip, to savour and it's not for everyone. But I am a fan.

So I couldn't have been more thrilled than to stumble on a brilliant little chocolate cafe in Playa Del Carmen

It had the most delicious Mexican hot chocolate and quickly became my daily haunt.

On our many trips there we tasted their ice cream and brownies and chocolate bars and chocolate nibs and drinking chocolate and, my personal favourite, the chocolate frio ...

I say this (and completely unsolicited and unbiased), Ah Cacao was indeed my happy place.  Everything they made was incredible.  And the wait staff and atmosphere was as charming as the chocolate was tasty.  

The funniest thing was the prominence of this enormous poster in several locations of the cafe with the headline "Chocolate Makes Happier Babies" quoting the British studies that say eating chocolate during pregnancy produces happier infants.  Now, why didn't someone tell me that when I was expecting on my uber-organic, all-healthy pregzilla mission?

Their website says it all though: "According to Aztec legend, chocolate was a gift from Quetzalcoatl, the God, and formed a bridge between heaven and earth. One taste of Ah Cacao Real Chocolate and you will understand why!"

And as I pack away my flip flops and return to reality, I can say that my quest to find great Mexican chocolate was finally realized.

Santa Fe, Here I Come!

I have recently become a fan of the lovely state of New Mexico when two of the most fabulous women I know moved there.  They had given me a peek inside their local chocolate industry with a gift of the most incredible drinking chocolate elixir.  It was like a spiritual experience.  Ommmmmm.

So I wasn't the least bit surprised to fall head-over heels with another chocolatier that hailed from Santa Fe.

The artisans from The ChocolateSmith sent me some of their incredibly unique and delicious selections to try last week.  

First, there was the "Petite Melange Assorted Miniatures" which is a bit of a misnomer because there was nothing miniature about them:  

They were generous sized morsels of sweet and savory and salty surprises bathed in really high quality dark chocolate.  I brought this one to my office to share and it was met with reactions reminiscent to that scene in "When Harry Met Sally".  That good.

But what I really enjoyed was the chocolate ganache covered in cheese wax. They are so unusual and colourful. When the hand-dipped chocolate pate's wax is unraveled, you find a soft, fresh and decadent dark bit of heaven.  The festive holiday tree was a creamy dark chocolate that rivaled the texture of newly made fudge.  But better.  Even my husband, who is not a chocolate fan (shocking I know), was all over this.

But despite my enthusiasm for their other creations, the clear winner for me was the wax-wrapped Chili-Pate.  They describe it as: "Dark Chocolate Orange Ganache infused with Smokey Chipotle Chili & Cool Tones of Cinnamon. This Mildly Spicy Treat will surely suggest Southwest."   It was the most mouth pleasing experience imaginable.  It might be because flavours of chili and cinnamon are tastes I love ... but combining with dark chocolate ... now that was brilliant.  

 

The ChocolateSmith  claims to produce "honest" chocolate which isn't a term I'd heard before but it appeals to me.  They make their chocolates in full view of their patrons and support local and organic traditions and the living wage principle. That get's my vote.

I had only one problem with the chocolates they sent me to review: they are now gone. 

Santa Fe, here I come!

Drink. It. Up.

This past weekend I was out for a drink with two of the best friends anyone could ask for. 

I tend to change my drinks with the season.  Spring brings a nice crisp Pino Gris, summertime spells Mojitos and fall ushers in a full-bodied Shiraz.  But when the air gets a chill and the white stuff starts falling from the heavens, I have only one thought on my mind ... hot chocolate with Baileys. And whipped cream. Because everything is more fun with whipped cream.  Heh.

My winter beverage of choice warms your bones and satisfies your sweet tooth in one delicious cup.

Perfection.

At least that is what I thought until I found this in the store today:

Baileys with a "Hint of Caramel".  Caramel.

I realize that this has probably been around for eleventy hundred years, demonstrating I don't spend nearly enough time skulking around my local liquor store.  But stumbling on this sweet find made my day. My week.  Well, quite frankly, this made my season.

Off to light a fire and wrap my hands around a big mug of hot chocolate with Caramel Baileys.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmm ..... wanna join me?