Saturday, May 27, 2006
Maxim's De Paris
Just when I think I'm lost in the shopping complex waiting for my friend, I bumped into a chocolate shop - The Cocoa Trees and got my hands on some lovable chocolates.Today's special: Maxim's Chocolates from Paris
First of all, the packaging was superb and it fools your mind that it will be freaking expensive. Not that it is not for its petite wrapped chocolates which is thinly processed, but I really thought it was worth much more.
I bought two version of Maxim's with 8 wrapped chocolates in them and 4 flavors: 2 Milk Chocolates, 2 White Chocolates, 2 Dark Chocolates, 2 Cappucino Milk Chocolates, one for me , one for my lecturer.
Then I bought a larger version of it but with all dark chocolates as my second box of chocolates for my lecturer.
I started tasting the dark chocolate version first and its taste is quite expected. The texture is smooth but armed with tiny bits of almonds that add excitement to my tongue.
Then, I got to feast on the three other flavors after shopping.
The white chocolate was brilliantly beautiful as it doesn't have the extremely strong milk taste that sometimes makes you feel like you're tasting milk tablets instead of white chocolates. It is very smooth and I should say I like this better than most of the white chocolates I have tasted.
Then, the milk chocolate sort of brings original flavors of milk chocolates back with also the little bits of almonds. I am not a fan of nuts but the bits of almond has been made entirely microscopic!
The cappucino chocolate is like the milk chocolate pampered with cappucino flavor adds a twist to the entire square piece. Love it... Its flavor makes me think as if this piece of chocolate wears a cappucino perfume which makes this piece another joyful discovery.
LOVELY ADVENTURE !
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 11:39 PM
Monday, May 22, 2006
My Double Chocolate Cake
To make a rich double chocolate cake, you need to have good quality baking chocolates.Prepare 450 g of Baking Chocolates , I used Hershey's Semi Sweet Baking Chocolates for this.
Prepare another 450g of Butter
300g Whipped Cream
8 Eggs
200g Caster Sugar
1.) Unwrapped the Chocolates ... Duh!
2.) Chopped the chocolates up.
3.) Melt all the ingredients in a pot with butter first followed by chopped chocolates, whipped cream, caster sugar and eggs.
4.) Stir the mixture till smooth.
5.) Then grease a 8 inches baking tin and line it with aluminium foil then pour the melted mixture into it and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.
6.) Top the cake with ganache.
Ingredients:
250g Chocolates
200g Whipped Cream
50g Butter
Melt the butter and whipped cream in a pot and then stir it with chopped chocolates as shown above. Stir the mixture till smooth. Then, slowly and evenly spread the ganache on the baked chocolate cake.
7.) When it's cooled down, chill the cake in the fridge and serve chilled too as it has got a soft texture.
I didn't get to snap a picture of the whole cake as my mom took slices of it to work.
So this is a picture of one slice of it...
Looks rich... and it is RICH... Chocolate Lovers... Give it a try...
It's quite an expensive cake though since it doesn't require flour and most of it comes from the expensive Hershey's baking chocolates. But you can buy less expensive ones to save on it.
I would give it much credit as it's semi sweet and the texture fools your mind as though you're eating a hugh slice of chocolate. Damn it's nice...
Hahaha...
For those who are going on a diet, do not even think about it... it's got all the sinful ingredients that fattens you entirely...
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 3:15 PM
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Bakerzin's Hot Chocolate
If you like a creamy cup of hot chocolate topped with a foamy steamed milk and hot chocolate, then I'm sure you will enjoy this one.
Better still, it's designed with a heart shape using the lightly blended foam.
How have I enjoyed it?
Hmmm... I first started drinking without marring the beauty of this drink until I reached finishing a quarter of it then I stirred the foam which has made the drink a more perfect and balanced blend. Again, it's not too sweet, in fact, it's main feature is not about it's sweetness but in how the chocolate taste captuers you completely with smooth steamed milk and finally the sweetness which only comes in mildly.
For chocolate fans out there, if you get too sick of overly sweet chocolates, oops how can we , chocolate fans be sick of anything associated with chocolates, but then again, if you do not feel like sinning too badly with sweet chocolaty drinks, this will be your ideal match.
Try visiting Bakerzin's website at
http://www.bakerzin.com
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 10:34 PM
Monday, May 08, 2006
Lindt's Orange Chocolate
Swiss Milk Chocolate
Orange Filling
I'm sure most chocolate fans are familiar with Lindt, the all-so-famous Swiss chocolate brand which to me, represents the image of Swiss itself.
Anyway, I could not get enough of those creamy blend of orange and chocolate ice cream hence I made it possible to have another blend of it (just to ease my mood) by buying this in the supermarket. Trust me, this is planned in an unintentional way.
Again, if you despise orange being too far off from its original fresh, juicy, tangy and sourish taste, this will not turn you on in any way possible.
Compared to the Chocolate Chipped Orange ice cream in my previous post, the orange filling Lindt has is slightly more sourish compared to it but I will say that both the chocolate and ice cream is extremely creamy. Well duh! Haha, it's Swiss milk chocolate we are talking about here and on the other hand, that's a New Zealand milk ice cream.
Whether you like it or not, it's really fine to just give everything a try so that you allow yourself a chance to understand what really turns your taste buds on...
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 10:29 PM
It's been Crazy, another blend from New Zealand Natural Ice Cream
Today's special is chocolate chipped orange ice cream with chocolate esctasy...Here's an instant snapshot of it right on the counter itself...
Well, I would say both the chocolate ice cream wasn't scooped well. Obviously, the two scoops of ice cream do not look round enough and that makes me feel cheated as I have calculated myself another two less spoons of them to pamper myself. Just kidding anyway...
Actually, I am quite satisfied with this match though it might be better if the chocolate chipped orange ice cream which is creamy is not matched with another creamy scoop of chocolate esctasy. However, I do not find the taste sickeningly creamy but rather another addictive blend as I find every taste unique, be it creamy or juicy and fresh.
Also, if you admire the strong orange tang and the sourish citrus taste in oranges or orange flavoured food, this would not be an ideal scoop for you as you would not find those in this chocolate chipped orange ice cream.
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 10:02 PM
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Jubilee Hot Chocolate
Does anyone of you here have any idea what would a chocolate addict match his or her reading time with? The answer is totally duh-ish as it could not possibly stray too far from either chocolates, chocolate drinks, chocolate cakes or any chocolaty delicacies.
As for me today, I wanted to finish up reading Da Vinci Code which I stopped due to the tremendous climaxes written throughout the book which resulted my failure to attend class on time last fall. As I am totally free of harrassments, traveling to foreign countires and other time consuming activities, I have made this holiday possible to finish reading it up and start with other books and not to mention keep this chocolate blog going on and strong.
Well, back to my chocolaty experience.
I went to Haegan Daaz and tried finishing some chapters while accompanying my reading moments with a cup of Jubilee hot chocolate. It is served like most hot chocolates do--> not burning hot but mildy warm which soothes every splendid sip.
I definitely have to rate it 7.5 out of 10 as it fulfills most of my requirements for an excellent cup of hot chocolate. Actually, hot chocolates do not actually stray that very far from one another but I would not resist trying it and giving it more credit if it is served with a hue of creativity in attempt to boost the taste. I consider it being creamy enough not being served with whipped cream and every sip started with a sweet then creamy and lastly a chocolaty taste.
It very much kept me reading well, love it but still in search for other excellent chocolate drinks.
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 8:48 PM
Rich Chocolate and Berry Ice Cream... An Appealing Match indeed.
As I've posted yesterday, I had a beautiful sinful chocolate ice cream shake yesterday, recommended by a good friend of mine. Now, guess what? I have made another trip to the same shop again and ordered the chocolate ice cream which is highly recommended by the sales lady there not to mention the popular berry ice cream which leaves most customers speechless. I treated myself two awesome scoops of ice creams, very well matched as both were not extremely sweet which I like and the berry ice cream offers a fine aroma while the chocolate completes my insatiable craze for a lovely dessert for the day.
Since the ice cream shake in my previous post was a successful discovery, I also recommended my friend to try it and even though he's not a die hard fan of chocolates, he agrees that they serve one of the most excellent shakes.
Now I seriously need to thank Lee Shian for such brilliant taste buds of yours... I owe you lots for your superb recommendation!
Ooops, in case anyone of you missed my previous post, the ice creams and shake can be found at New Zealand Natural Ice Cream outlets.
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 8:35 PM
Friday, May 05, 2006
Rich Chocolate Ice Cream Shake-- a sinful yet fulfilling blend
Had the most sinful blend of rich New Zealand chocolate ice cream shake sprinkled with chocolate biscuit flakes from New Zealand's Natural Ice Cream...
This is a a well blended drink that leaves you no choice but to keep taking it in non-stop as the first sip totally rips off one's sanity. Seriously! It's not some chocolate frost made with chocolate or cocoa powder that taste can only be made creamier with the help of whipped cream which is not ever giving anyone any satisfaction. Well duh, this is chocolate ice cream shake a.k.a. a drink which supposedly be ten times richer than normal chocoalte frosts. But then again, despite being a chocolate ice cream shake, it's richness is not contaminated by extreme sweetness.
Trust me, if you're a chocolate fan, don't claim yourself to be one unless you've tasted this drink or the ice cream from NZ IC... You're gonna love it and you'll end up having to turn down other chocolate drinks until you ever find something as creamy, as rich, as sinful, as fulfilling as this drink.
It's got a thick textured liquid but very smoothly blended and in the middle of the drink you will get to slowly savour a golf ball sized chocolate ice cream which is sprinkled with chocolate biscuit flakes on top of it.
One word to describe this drink --> Lovely!
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 9:02 PM
Vandenbulcke Chocolatier
Vandenbulcke Chocolatier --- Belgium, since 1949
Stated on the cover of these wonderfully shaped chocolates is "Finest Belgian Chocolate Nuts" and the statement really does hold truth.
The very first bite brings a hint of milky flavor armed with a stronger hazelnut taste. Each and every hazelnut centered chocolate is covered with both milk chocolate made from cocoa and white chocoalte.
For a person who enjoys soft chocolates, this is indeed a great choice as the hazelnuts are finely grounded and processed into a delicate hazelnut chocolaty paste.
There are 16 chocolates with 8 pairs of different designs of a variety of nuts. This is purely a treat for to warm a rainy night or even replace a dinner like I did.
ChocolatElf巧克力精灵 at 8:41 PM