Bianca Paired with Hot Donuts

It is always such an inspiration to see what others create with Vosges Haut-Chocolat products. It is like sending your children into the world and enjoying the wonderment they find in their own journeys. I had just such an experience last year at the Peninsula hotel in Chicago.

The Peninsula is a splendorous hotel and my favorite in the city. A touch of Vosges Haut-Chocolat history… in the nascent years we had a boutique tucked in the corner of the lobby. During that time, I made the acquaintance of some of the staff and over the years, I have grown very fond of the hotel manager Ms. Zec, who is a personal inspiration.

When the hotel opened, the pastry chef at the hotel was a buoyant, tall and stout German man, Chef Ralph, who had a love of Fastnachts (German doughnuts) and Bianca hot chocolate.  During a visit just days after the Peninsula had opened in Chicago, I had a tasting with the executive chef and chef Ralph. Our the union was solidified. I was lucky enough to find that he had indeed included my Bianca Couture Cocoa in a most splendid presentation. He served the white chocolate, lavender and lemon myrtle drinking chocolate chilled alongside hot German donuts. The combination was a perfect mignardise pairing.

Ever since, when I am sipping Bianca, I dream of those hot donuts. And, during the rare occasion that I splurge and nibble some fried dough, it no longer seems complete without a sip of Bianca.

You might try this Sufganiyot doughnut recipe and fill them with tart cherry jam, not too sweet to pair with the Bianca. My favorite jams usually lie in California in the hands of June Taylor.

Artisan Truffles Infused with Champagne and Coated with Rose Buds

Last year, I created the Le Chocolat en Rose pink champagne and crushed rose petal truffles while in a cloud of romantic stupor with the smells of Paris and sounds of Edith Piaf resonating in my memory. The careful, meticulous and lengthy process of creating each truffle is as therapeutic as a long, steady romance.  Each step must be done by hand from the plucking of the rose bud stems to the rolling of the chocolate truffles. The painstaking efforts are evident when you see, hold and bite one of these pink beauties.

It is natural to feel a sense of hope as we turn to a new calendar year, wishing for new realities and planning for upcoming endeavors. And, as January turns to February, our hearts are tickled by Cupid’s arrow and we are open and ready for the purity of romance.  This feels like the time of year to bring Le Chocolat en Rose out of the shadows and into the spotlight. A touch of Piper Heidsieck brut rosè Champagne bubbles into unwavering dark chocolate and is then surrounded by a mosaic of fragrant, parfumed rose buds. I wish that I could invite each of you into our kitchen as the process of creating these gems is as wonderful as the the experience of eating them. and yes I will stay tuned for a video of our making this.

To start, we face a mound of pink, small, dried rose buds.  Each one must be handled individually as we separate the inedible green stem from the fragrant bud. The dried buds are then ground to a coarse, pink montage of petals and set aside. Piper Heidsieck brut rosè Champagne is combined with specifically chosen 65% cacao dark chocolate to form the ganache. Then, like all of our le truffe (fresh cream rustic truffle) collections, we roll each truffle by hand. Finally the champagne truffle is sent to tumble and twirl in the rose bud poudre until all sides are coated with a collage of pink.

Each truffle is tucked carefully into our signature purple box along with a decorative letterpress card that tells the tale of these truffles and offers guided tasting instructions:

Remove a truffle carefully from the box, taking care to preserve the coveted rose bud-layered surface. Close your eyes, take three deep breaths and center your mind. Bring your nose to the facade of the truffle as you inhale. Do you sense the lush aromatics of the rose masking rich cacao? Take a small bite, let the texture of rose buds coat your tongue. A touch of pink Champagne appears, with notes of cherry and plum. Take another breath, allowing the scent to permeate your palate through the back of your throat. Let the quiet seduction of the rose guide your sensory experience.

To enhance your tasting experience further, drop the entire Le Chocolat en Rose truffle in the bottom of your champagne glass and pour the bubbly atop. When you get near the bottom of your drink reach in and take a most luscious bite of rose petals and chocolate bathed in Champagne. mmmm

For an instant party offering, press a truffle onto the rim of a champagne flute. Let go of your inhibitions or weighty concerns and float away with this sensory chocolate experience.

“Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose “

- Edith Piaf

A Hot Toddy – don’t you just love the sound of that?

This time of year is a hustle and bustle in the Vosges Haut-Chocolat atelier as we keep our chocolate-making hands busy around the clock sending holiday gifts near and far. It is both exhausting and extremely exhilarating to think of the cheer and gifting going on with our confections. Each day stretches on and unfolds with new challenges like “are we going to make our numbers???” and new heartwarming tales. I never tire of hearing personal anecdotes from customers who have included our truffles in their holiday party planning, along with marriage proposals and significant corporate celebrations. Indeed it is a roller coaster month.

At the end of the day, it is nice to have a ritual of relaxation. I am a Midwestern girl hailing from Ft. Wayne, Indiana so I am no stranger to cold weather and snow drifts. I have always found refuge in an old school, warm whiskey drink while cozying up in my Dinah Washington / opium den. One of my new favorite throw backs to Victorian cocktails is this Earl Grey Hot Toddy.  I like to add a touch of pomegranate for a nice tart contrast to the sweetness of the whiskey and by the way, a nice super healthy addition to boot. There you have a stress relieving, body warming cure-all!  Try this recipe alongside the Mascarpone and Ceylon Cinnamon Snap truffle from our limited edition Holiday Truffle Collection. Imagine an Earl serving it to you with chocolate, hmm I like the sound of that.

Earl Grey Hot Toddy
1 wine glass of Irish Whiskey or my new fav, The Yamazaki Single Malt Whiskey
from Japan
2 wineglasses of fragrant earl grey tea, hot
2 lumps of sugar loaf or 3 heaping teaspoons of manuka honey
2 teaspoons 4x concentrate pomegranate syrup ( I used Jarrow Formulas)
pomegranate seeds for garnish

Dissolve the sugar or honey in the hot tea then add the whiskey and the orange rind muddled. Serve warm with a small grating of fresh Grenadian nutmeg.

Pairings of Tea and Chocolate

I have been submerged in tea of late though my wont of combining tea + chocolate is not entirely new.  I first infused jasmine tea in white chocolate when I started Vosges in 1998, it was in my list of first 21 truffles ever created, but it was cut from the exotic truffle collection launch. Then years later is was finally debuted in the spring Les Fleurs du Chocolat truffle collection.  The Siam truffle combines jasmine green tea, lemongrass, fresh coconut and Dominican white chocolate and topped with a bright marigold petal (the combo based on an across the river, barefoot drinking tea memory at The Oriental Hotel’s spa in Bangkok).  The fragrant jasmine tea against the sweet white chocolate is as refreshing as a honeysuckle spring gale.

Some years later, I added the Matcha Bar to our line of Exotic Candy Bars after attending my first Japanese tea ceremony in Kyoto. Japanese Matcha Green Tea (a young green tea pulverized into poudre) is combined with 41% deep milk chocolate. The grassy and bamboo undertones of the green tea gently rise around deep milk chocolate, making this a can’t-stop-nibbling bar.

More  recently, I have further immersed myself into tea + chocolate pairings through collaborations with tea experts. My friend Arsen is owner of Argo Tea, another Chicago-based food company and a neighboring boutique at O’Hare. There are many synergies between the two of us in our gathering of teas, spices and flowers from around the world, so Arsen and I decided to create a tea and chocolate series for his tea shoppes. The three new bars include Chai, Green Tea Ginger Twist and Tea Sangria.  I am currently working on my favorite with their breathtakingly beautiful hibiscus pomegranate tea. Stay tuned.

Last week, in order to taste some teas from another tea friend, MLTea, I broke out my new Zojirushi electric water heater specifically for tea.  It takes all the guesswork out of perfecting tea brewing.  You just set the temperature for the proper tea and start infusing.  If you are brewing all tea at the same temperature, you must get up to speed!  Find a basic tea brewing temperature guide here. Or, just buy a Zojirushi to do all the work for you.  Ahh… Japanese gadgets, I love you.

To pair tea + chocolate, gather a few of your favorite teas and a variety of chocolates.  (The Exotic Mini Candy Bar Library will get you off to a good start.) I usually like to take a sip of the tea first to warm my mouth.  Then, a nibble of the chocolate and another sip.  It is good to experiment taking the chocolate in while the liquid is still in your mouth or after.  Inhale deeply and become aware of the different flavors evolving on your tongue.  In a proper pairing, the two will enhance each other.

Some of my favorite MLTea-Vosges Exotic Candy Bar pairings were the Kyoto Rice tea with Matcha Bar or the Naga Bar.  The toasted rice adds a warm toasty flavor that is nice against Naga’s curry.  The Verbena Mint Organic is nice alongside a straight Organic Dominica Noir dark chocolate.

Both tea drinking and Exotic Chocolate Bar tasting lend themselves to ceremony.  This winter, break out your teacups and linens and turn a cozy afternoon into a tea pairing party.

Fresh Ricotta Cheese with Olive oil and Dark Chocolate

I first experimented with cheese and chocolate while developing the Rooster truffle.   The dark chocolate truffle combines taleggio cheese with organic walnuts and anchors the Collezione Italiano.   Included in the collection are four other savory flavors with Italian inspiration.

Ricotta is a much milder cheese but works just as well with dark chocolate.  Ricotta is a fresh, snowy white cheese with the texture of cottage cheese.   It has a rich but mild slightly sweet flavor and can be used for savory or sweet dishes.  You must use FRESH ricotta for this recipe!  If you have trouble finding it, you can always make your own.

Using quality ingredients is paramount.  One of my favorite things to do is pair the perfect combinations of olive oil , salts, peppers and other ingredients.  Finally, I match them to their chocolate mate.  For this recipe, I crumbled a 65% Venezuelan dark chocolate atop the cheese. 

Serve this Ricotta with an hors d’oeuvre plate.  I included nuts, cherries, a few other cheeses and some black pepper crackers.  The La Panzanella black pepper crackers might just be the best crackers I have ever had in my life!

Fresh Ricotta Cheese with Olive Oil and Dark Chocolate

2 cups (or lbs.) Fresh Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons  Extra Virgin Olive Oil (try Barilla)
A pinch  Pink salt (try Murray’s River)
A pinch  White Pepper
1 1/2 ounces  Dark Chocolate (try 65% dark, Venezuelan)

Place Ricotta in a dish.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Chop dark chocolate into fine slivers and sprinkle atop.   Serve with crackers.