Blog / Desserts & Chocolate
The only good thing Verizon has ever done for me was sending me an ex-chef to fix my internet. When Jay, the ex-chef technician, told me he was making these Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Coconut Honey Caramel Balls for Thanksgiving, I knew I had to as well. Here’s the recipe…(drops the microphone).
Recipe >
Everyone knows the song “The Girl From Ipanema” with the line “when she passes each one she passes goes, Ahh…”. That would be the same reaction Brigadeirao, a Brazilian Chocolate Fudge Flan would get if it were sashaying down Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janiero. It’s HAWT!!!
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The words “empty cream puff shells” almost sound sad and lonely, but not when they’re the centerpiece of a Make Your Own Profiterole Bar! They become catalysts for excitement and “profiterole-abilities” when paired with ice cream and whipped cream for filling and chocolate sauce, raspberry sauce, and caramel sauce for drizzling and all sorts of sprinkles, nuts, candies, etc. for dazzling.
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You have to make chocolate bark at your cafe a friend said before I opened Divalicious Chocolate Cafe, on the edge of Chinatown, in the neighborhood of NOLITA. I said, “Sure”, but I had no idea what she was talking about.
I envisioned a chocolate confection that resembled bark from a tree. It seemed fascinating and complex. How is it made? Did you have to pump air into the chocolate? How does that even happen? Perhaps it would look like a Cadbury Flake bar since it resembles layers of peeling. A Flake bar would be challenging to make without a machine. I seemed hard in my imagination.
Later, when I found out that chocolate bark was just thin sheets of chocolate with dried fruits, nuts, cookies, etc on top, I realized I’d really overthought this. I wondered “Is bark too easy to make and sell at my chocolate cafe?” Absolutely not. It turned out to be a hit and my Salted & Toasted Black and White Sesame Chocolate Bark was best-seller
Recipe >
There’s something about a toffee. I think it’s the dame of the candy world. Sexy, snappy and buttery with a nice, little bite. I could see a gorgeous gal named Toffee rushing into a third rate detective’s office in a 1950’s B movie, breathless and scared saying, “You gotta help me.” He melts at the sight of her and does her bidding.
When you make Salted Chocolate Cappuccino Buttercrunch Toffee you will not need help eating it. People will offer and if you’re nice you may give them a little. I hide mine.
Recipe >
“You’re gonna get coal in your stocking!” This was never a threat in my family because my mother’s children were perfect… NOT!!!
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I love Bill Cosby, but I fear he has been leading down the garden path, by promoting Jello Pudding all these years. In this post I ask Bill, “WHY?!?!?!” and show you how easy it is to make your own chocolate pudding.
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My friend Justin who writes the blog Just Cook NYC stopped eating gluten last year before the New York Food Blogger Bake Sale.
He looked great and felt much better, but it was challenging for him when it came to eating out with friends. When you go gluten-free, you’re limited by what you can eat, especially when it comes to sweets because there’s a whole lotta gluten going on.
I’ve always loved to bake. Not because I have such a sweet tooth, but because it makes people really happy. So there’s always lots of gluten in my oven. But, challenged and inspired by Justin and knowing that there’d be more people with gluten allergies at the Brooklyn Flea, where the bake sale was held, I thought let me make something for those folks.
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While chocolate has been very, very good to me, I don’t consider it a friend, especially when it comes to making chocolates. It’s made me stomp, scream and cry. I’m certain that at least half my gray hairs are from chocolate. Still I make chocolates because they delight people. So here is a recipe for the easiest way I found for hand tempering chocolate. The seriously easiest way is with a tempering machine, but that is not always an option.
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