Black Butterfly: Valentine's Day Selection

Whatever one's thoughts on Valentine's Day, most any holiday makes for a good excuse for some Black Butterfly chocolate, right? While last year's Valentine's offerings were quite tempting, I didn't get any then because I had just ordered quite a bit for Christmas (and because I wasn't going to be in Prescott in February). But this year I was already going to be in town and I didn't do any Christmas orders this winter. So I went ahead and did a pre-order of three of this year's Valentine's Day offerings. 

If you are going to do special occasion or gift chocolate, this is the way to go. All three are absolutely beautiful. The two smaller hearts (which were $10 each) are about three and a half inches tall, while the large, 3D heart is around five and a half inches (and came in at $25). 

The Diamond Cut Heart is classic in both its look and flavor, which is Peanut Butter Sizzle. The multi-faceted, red surface does indeed resemble a giant gem, smooth and enticing. The shell is neither thick nor thin and houses a familiar peanut butter filling. As Americans, we all think first of Reese's Cups when it comes to peanut butter chocolate. And Reese's Cups are most notable for their saltiness, which is recreated here as well as I have ever seen it done. 

Not to say that this is a recreation of a Reese's Cup, though: I simply mean to say that it acknowledges what our palates automatically expect from a peanut butter chocolate. After that, it's in a completely different range. The roasted peanut flavor is stronger and fresher, and the filling is a dash creamier and less crumbly than with Reese's. So you get some of those familiar notes but in an elevated and therefore completely different way. The effect of this filling is more like a truffle's ganache.

The Pistachio Rose White Chocolate Heart is in a bark style. That is, it's a more flat piece of white chocolate with the pistachios, rose petals, and rose crystals sprinkled on top. The rose aroma spreads in your mouth when you begin biting in, then the creamy white chocolate takes over. The rose sugar creates a delicate and flavorful crunch, and the rose petals leave a floral aftertaste. Pistachios of course add in the nutty element that gives the earthiness to ground all of the sweet and floral flavors.

And third we have the Smashable Heart, which came in four styles. Mine is the Butterfly Love, so it's in Black Butterfly's signature purple. It's a beautiful look, like a celebration of all we love about Black Butterfly chocolate. Perhaps, though, someone choosing to give to their sweetheart might prefer one of the red styles. But I like that there are options besides the standard reds and pinks. 

Yes, you did read that right that this is a Smashable Heart, hence the little wooden mallet that comes in the box. Inside are various chocolate treats. Taking a mallet to a Valentine's Day heart can take on all sorts of levels of meaning, and I'm kind of loving that. You can simply break in to find the buried treasure inside to share with your loved one--you can even make up some sort of game about taking turns to break into it or to choose what to eat from inside. Or you can smash it to smash away painful memories of an ex. Or you can just take charge of the pure delight of opening it up and treating your single self to a chocolate feast inside. 

The chocolate does have to be thick enough to stay stable, but it's thin enough that you only need a medium tapping with the mallet to start it breaking. If it's a shame to eat Black Butterfly chocolates for their prettiness, it felt even more a shame to break this one--that is, until I had the mallet in my hand. It's fun to have free rein for a little harmless violence, eh?

Because I didn't want to make a mess, I tapped one end and then the other and then the middle. Inside I found the delightful treasure: two milk chocolate squares, two dark chocolate squares, two pretzels, two turtles, and crispy pearls. Did I mention fun?

The milk chocolate squares have almonds and cookie pearls along with a good sprinkle of salt; the chocolate is deep/thick, so you get a good bite of sweetness. The dark chocolate squares are shallower/shorter and come with pistachio and cranberry, so you have those classic nutty and tart flavors on the sweet dark chocolate base. The turtles are big and classic in style with a good helping of caramel. You can taste the delicate vanilla notes of the caramel. All of those crispy pearls make the perfect addition to the mix: they visually fill in the empty space and add to the "treasure" feeling. Plus, chocolate pearls are just a great concept, little balls of crisp texture and simple, sweet flavor.

And after all of that, you of course will still have all of the plain dark chocolate from the heart's shell to enjoy. It's a 61% cocoa content, so it's on the sweeter side, which goes well with the playful nature of this piece. 

I can't choose a favorite from these three hearts: they're all so different and each offer something unique. Simple, floral sweetness with the Pistachio Rose. Sleek style and indulgent flavor with the Diamond Cut Heart. And a fun experience as well as a chocolate feast from the Smashable Heart. It is well worth it to order from Black Butterfly for future Valentine's Days--or holidays in general. You'll get something truly unique. 

Valerie Confections: Grand Elle Assortment

Normally I steer clear of Valentine's Day chocolates (and honestly of Valentine's Day itself, as well, do you not find it odd also?); however, I've always found Valerie Confections enticing and last year I started working my way into their Valentine's Day offerings. I looked then at the Grand Homme Assortment, so this year it's the Grand Elle Assortment. You really don't have to choose these based on whether you're buying for a man or a woman. Everyone's palate is going to be different, so just go off of what they (or you, if they're for yourself) tend to like best. Though I'd thought that the Pour Homme flavors sounded more appealing, it turns out that I definitely favor the Pour Elle chocolates.

Instead of the bold red ribbon of the other box, this one has a soft pink. And the chocolates inside are so pretty and feminine. The addition of those four white roses just does me in. I mean, I fell for Valerie Confections over their Rose Petal Petit Fours, so I guess I'm already weak in the knees for rose chocolate from them. It's the same type of set as the Grand Homme box, except that you have the roses instead of more little hearts and the most plentiful (and also alcohol-flavored) chocolates are rounded instead of sharp and angled in shape. And the flavors are quite different.

Liquid Caramel Hearts - I had to start with these because I'm finally getting actual caramel. Yes, it's liquid caramel, not toffee masquerading under the name of caramel. It's excellent caramel, too, tasting of vanilla and sweetness to balance out the semisweet dark chocolate. Using dark instead of milk chocolate here gives it more of a classy feel. I do really have to emphasize that the caramel is great because that's what makes Valerie great, elements like that. These aren't quite what I consider confections and not quite truffles, either; they're "chocolates," if that distinction makes any sense to anyone other than me. There are three of these in the box.

Champagne Truffles - These are the round dots of milk chocolate that are most plentiful in the box. They're smooth-looking like fabric-covered buttons on an elegant settee. They taste like decadence and elegance, too. This is what I mean by chocolates rather than truffles or confections. These chocolates make me feel pampered like a 19th century Parisian lady lounging around in silk and lace and perfume. The smooth ganache has a definite champagne flavor but also lots of cream and a light chocolate flavor. It's more reminiscent of a chocolate cream than a traditional champagne truffle. So indulgent.

Blushing Berry Truffles - These are the three squares with little red specks of dried rose petals on top. The ganache here is a little firmer and the chocolate a little thinner than in the Champagne Truffles. Immediately you get a rich berry flavor that doesn't taste so much like a specific berry but more like a medley. It tastes like a berry jam spread on scones at an afternoon tea served on flowery china outside with a view of a grassy lawn or a forest. Again, elegant and feminine.

Rose Petal Passion Fruit Truffles - The pictures don't show how great these look in person. White roses with just a little gold painted on them. They look so special, like wow, that's done just for me--that means I'm so special to have these. Initially I felt like I enjoyed the rose taste but would maybe have preferred not to have the greater pizzaz of the passion fruit. But as the bite went on, I literally fell in love (kind of a repeat of the Petit Four experience). Rose is a watery sort of flavor and passion fruit has more zing, so the two come together to create something that dances between flavorful and gentle. The white chocolate is perfect here because it just gives creaminess to everything. Milk chocolate and passion fruit with be too cloying and this would be too harsh with dark chocolate; so white chocolate is the best. The aftertaste is rose. This chocolate makes me feel female. It puts me in the rose garden at the Huntington Library, or sitting in the tea room and then strolling through the art galleries. No surprises as to which truffle is my favorite, eh?

Bittersweet Hearts - And we'll finish with the simplest item. These are the two big hearts with stripes. They're just plain dark chocolate, which is kind of disappointing. I was a big fan of the Almond Toffee Hearts in the Pour Homme box. And I don't go to Valerie Confections for plain chocolate. I mean, they're nice chocolate hearts. A light bitter twinge and a little sweetness move toward a nice warm and red finish; it's pleasant, balanced chocolate. But I would have preferred to have more truffles, or some other type of flavored something. I can see how someone who doesn't have stacks of chocolate bars at home like I alway seem to might enjoy getting some plain chocolate, too, but that's just not what I prefer in this context.

Even so, my overall opinion on this box was much more favorable than with the Pour Homme box. So maybe they're aptly named after all? I didn't dislike anything in here, I was okay with the plain chocolate, I greatly enjoyed all four truffles, and I loved most of them. Visually they're appealing and flavor-wise they set up beautiful imagery. This is chocolate to spoil a girl, for sure. And I use that diction on purpose: yes, there will be men who like this chocolate and women who don't and women who like this chocolate but also like rich and dark truffles that focus on cocoa origins more than floral additions, but this chocolate selection expresses that traditional concept of femininity. And I'm really into it.

Valerie Confections: Grand Homme Assortment

Ever since I had the Rose Petal Petits Fours from Valerie Confections a few years ago, I'd been wanting to try some of their Valentine's offerings. So since today is the year for everything, this year we have their Grand Homme Assortment. While the Grand Elle Assortment is very pretty, I thought that more of these flavors sounded appealing. Visually, though they have more of a standard look of heart shapes, they're still attractive.

Almond Toffee Hearts - These are the biggest hearts, so there are only two of them. I could go for a whole box of these. They're milk chocolate with little toffee and almond pieces. Caramel toffee flavor, nice and strong. This toffee isn't the hard kind; instead it has the perfect crunch and delivers the taste of sugar and vanilla, along with salt from the almonds. The milk chocolate wraps it all up in a flawless example of a high quality confection.

Caramelia Hearts - These blend in well with the Caramel Truffles, so it can be hard to tell them apart visually. The Caramelia ones are essentially a twist on plain truffles. They come with a light caramel taste and a super rich, vanilla ganache flavor. Also milk chocolate, so another sweet one.

Caramel Truffles - If you have these in two bites, they can break kind of awkwardly. The bottom is thicker and the rest is fairly thin. In fact, I do also have to note that with one of them, the bottom stuck to the paper, so the whole thing broke apart when I tried to pick it up. The caramel is gently free-flowing and of the darker flavored sort. No touch of salt.  The chocolate here is dark. Naturally, I would prefer the milk chocolate because I tend to prefer milk chocolate when it comes to confections. This chocolate, though, isn't bad (some dark chocolate confections I can't even stand); it tastes much like Ghirardelli. The darker tone does go well, though, with darker tone of the caramel and also helps to keep it all from veering too much into the candy-confection side.

Scotch Truffles - There are seven of these round truffles, so definitely the most of these. You get that alcohol hint right away. It's strong and yet also toned down enough that it doesn't overwhelm or take over the chocolate. In fact, they go together quite well. The Scotch enhances the rich concept of the ganache, giving a similar effect as a Champagne truffle. So quite nice; probably most people won't mind having the greatest amount of these in here. Personally, though, I'd have preferred more Almond Toffee Hearts or maybe Caramelia Hearts.

Black Pepper Truffles - Just three of these squares. The only pepper is that dash that's visible on top. The ganache is super smooth. The black pepper taste comes in when the chocolate is almost melted, because of course it goes quickly since it's mainly ganache. You can taste it but it isn't so strong that you're hit by coughing and spiciness. It's just kind of a warmth and a flavor. So here we have an example of subtle use of a strong ingredient. Just a touch of pepper and that's all that it needs. If it were stronger, it would make it more of a novelty and also not as good. As it was, this truffle made a nice addition to the mix, something a little darker to balance out the sweet chocolates.

And what did the homme think of the chocolates I chose? Well, I only got his opinion on three of them. Reluctantly, too, I might add. The almonds in the Toffee Hearts were too much for him; he said if he wanted healthy, he'd go to Whole Foods. As for the Caramelia Truffles, he liked the outside until he got to the ganache on the inside. He said that truffles sound like something British (they're not British) and aren't they something that pigs help you find in the forest (chocolate truffles are named after such truffles, yes, but they're not the same thing)? And the Black Pepper Truffles, well, I tried to give him the half of the truffle that didn't have pepper on it. What is this, Fear Factor, he said. He said that it tasted exactly the same as the Caramelia Truffle, except darker, he could taste the blackness in this one. Well, you can't win them all.

So while I suppose that yes, you do have to know your audience, overall I'd say that Valerie Confections is a wonderful example of gifting chocolate. They make confections but on a high quality level that stunned me last time and stunned me again this time. They keep things simple and do it all well--and quite beautifully, too.

Zak's Chocolate: Valentine's Day Selection

As you may know if you've been reading here for a while, I have complicated feelings about Valentine's Day. Sometimes I find it an even stranger holiday than Halloween. And the "chocolate" and gifts that stores market? Most of it is nothing that I would want to give or receive, especially if we're talking in the context of a gift to a special someone. What would be better than cheap, mass-produced, compounded chocolate with a stuffed bear or other article destined for the landfill? Quality, ethically-sourced chocolate from your local chocolate shop, of course.

My local chocolate shop? Zak's Chocolate--and what a treasure it is to have this place nearby. I swung by this week to see what they had on offer for Valentine's Day and they are definitely prepared for one of the biggest chocolate-buying times of the year. If you're looking for just a small something, there are chocolate hearts for just $2 each. Something more grand? You can order an edible, heart-shaped chocolate box filled with six truffles for $50. Or you can go for a classic Valentine's Day box of chocolates; you can either get one that's pre-filled or choose your own truffles. For a more simple approach, there are also plain chocolate bars with hearts on them; these are available in white, milk, and dark chocolate.

Which of those three bars did I choose? White, of course. (I did also buy a non-Valentine's milk chocolate bar, which I'll review at a later time.) My current trend is to seek out more white chocolate and this bar was the most intriguing and maybe also the prettiest of the three (not that the others didn't look nice, as well, especially the one that had the "powdered sugar" effect that I observed on the Peppermint Mocha truffle back in December). Rather than being as light as the average white chocolate, this chocolate looks almost more like a super pale milk chocolate. The unique look simply begs to be tried. Now, this may sound odd, but I must observe that the aroma of this bar is chocolate, and the reason that I must observe this is because white chocolate generally smells not necessarily of chocolate but of specifically white chocolate or even simply vanilla and sugar.

Instantly this chocolate has more of a buttery texture on the tongue, nice and cool and easy to melt. It does seem to melt slower than white chocolates tend to; whether that is the result of a different proportion of ingredients or because this bar is slightly thicker than some, I'm not certain. Quickly in, you do start to get that distinctive white chocolate flavor, yet following right along are caramel flavor and vanilla ice cream notes. Another flavor comes in towards the finish; I can't quite identify it. Almost it reminds me of cloves or maybe licorice, though not so strong or (in my opinion, at least as far as licorice goes) unpleasant; it's just an additional flavor note.

I also tried out chewing this chocolate. The effect with that is pretty heavenly, like caramel with the texture of chocolate. In fact, I find myself completely in love with this chocolate. It has so much flavor, which is so unlike the average white chocolate, that it's unbelievable. (Reminder: the only ingredients here are cocoa butter, cane sugar, whole milk powder, and natural color for the hearts.) I don't even feel like I can call this chocolate sweet because that word simply doesn't come to mind when I eat it, even though obviously this chocolate is sweeter than dark chocolate. Which, once again, is what I love: sweet chocolate doesn't have to mean bad chocolate or chocolate without complex flavor. So while this bar does have a higher price tag to it ($12), it is most certainly worth it. Beauty, quality, and flavor.

Normally it would be best to do a separate post to talk about the truffles, but given that this is all Valentine's Day material and Valentine's Day is coming up before we know it, everything is going in one long post today. I picked out six seasonal truffle flavors, skipping the Raspberry Passion Fruit Mousse and the Raspberry Rose since I'm not a fan of raspberry. I also skipped the AZ Queen Bee Honey since I've reviewed that one before (this time, though, it comes with the "bee" mine picture image on top). More shapes and colors right now than usual, it seems; now is the time for extravagance.

Earl Grey Lavender - A heart with white and purple coloring. Instantly, this truffle gives that zingy zany flavor of bergamot and lavender in tea; incidentally, Lavender Earl Grey happens to be my usual morning tea right now. This truffle definitely captures the flavor of this tea in a stronger way than how tea usually comes across in chocolate bars; this route, then, perhaps works better to truly express flavor. The chocolate is a steady base for this trio of flavors, and the ganache is nice and smooth.

Rose - This one is, of course, shaped like a rose--which puts me in mind of all of the beloved Beauty and the Beast imagery. Flavor-wise, though, I don't get this one. I want to really like it because I am a fan of rose, as a scent and in chocolate. But this ganache seems to have more of a general floral flavor than specifically a rose flavor; I'm used to rose being sweeter, whereas this is tangier. Not at all bad, just not what I had expected.

Marshmallow - A dark heart. I bit into this one and found a surprise: there is actually a marshmallow inside the chocolate shell. Not a regular marshmallow, though, of course; this is a gourmet marshmallow. It's soft and almost liquid, so it feels like you just roasted it by the fire. And is it just my imagination, or did they add something to give it a hint of roasted flavor, as well? With the marshmallow plus the dark chocolate, in any case, you definitely get a s'mores feeling with this one. So this was a fun surprise, a cute addition to keep the levity in your box of Valentine's truffles. A happy element.

Hibiscus Caramel - A lovely flower shape. The caramel inside is stiff enough to not be a free-flowing liquid but not so stiff as candy caramel. Its flavor is fresh and sweet; the hibiscus becomes more recognizable as the chocolate melts away and as the flavor has a chance to settle into your mouth and mind more (because, of course, being caramel, it sticks around for a bit). The caramel is definitely sweet, which makes me think of those times when I've ordered jamaica at a restaurant (I always call hibiscus the flower and jamaica the beverage) only to find that it's sweetened much more than the way that I drink it at home. But of course a caramel would be sweet. The casualness of the caramel put together with quality chocolate and with the floral element works well for both Valentine's Day and for springtime.

Prickly Pear - The square with pink and white hearts on top. The ganache here is different; it's the denser kind. Biting in to this texture feels almost more like biting into a brownie. It's quite sweet, too. Do I taste the prickly pear, though? And what even is prickly pear as a flavor? Generally, prickly pear products (like syrups and jellies and lemonades and even margaritas) are prepared with so much sweetness that sometimes it's hard to think of what prickly pear itself tastes like. So I don't know if I'm the only one who would say this, but this truffle mainly just tastes like a light chocolate truffle to me. It tastes nice--and sometimes when I focus on the ganache I can detect prickly pear flavor. Just, once more, maybe not quite what I might have expected.

Strawberry - This one has the fruit/berry on top. And you'll notice that I somehow skipped this one when doing my tasting--but since I tasted it last, I have to give my comments last, as well, rather than presenting in the order that's in the picture. The flavor of the ganache here is of a tangy strawberry jelly, you know, the all-fruit kind versus the kind loaded with sugar. So I love that this is more of an actual strawberry angle versus that extra-sweet idea of strawberries and strawberries/chocolate that people tend to focus on most. That ganache is wonderful in its freshness and strength, and it works perfectly with the flavor of the chocolate. The only problem is that the bottom part of the shell is much too thick. Even if the idea might have been to thicken the shell in order to not have too much of the ganache (and have the effect become possibly too tangy), there still shouldn't be this much chocolate in one layer on a truffle. Proportions.

The main point, as per usual, is that whatever flavors sound the best to you will probably be the best to you. As far as flavor compilations, the Earl Grey Lavender and Hibiscus Caramel were on top. The Marshmallow and Strawberry were also pretty nice. So whatever assortment of truffles you put together for your Valentine, your friend, or yourself, there is plenty to choose from and it is all much, much better from the shelf-life-of-a-thousand-years "truffles" you'll find at the grocery store. And let's also not forget my beloved white chocolate bar with all the hearts; you would certainly win me over if you gave me that one.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company: Strawberry Champagne Truffle

Wow, I found a Valentine's Day chocolate bar to review. How unusual. Normally there isn't much available and what is available I may have already looked at in the past (like Theo's My Cherry Baby bar). This is from the wordily-named Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company, and as you can see, the bar is a Strawberry Champagne Truffle Dark Chocolate.

Not that I have ever had a glass of champagne with a strawberry inside and an edge rimmed in chocolate, but the image does look nice on the cover. Honestly, I've never eaten strawberries and champagne together, either, but these are classic pairings. The bar is in the usual clear wrapper; its eight squares are sleek and shiny. And I seem to have neglected reading the chocolate's description before tearing in, because I was surprised when I went to break off a piece to find a light pink center inside of the squares. You know, Ghirardelli style. That description calls this "a fresh cream truffle." I don't know that the effect is like a truffle, but okay.

The aroma is a little boozy, though the flavor really isn't. The first taste is some regular dark chocolate, then some sweetness, and then everything melds into a complete chocolate covered strawberry experience. The strawberry element comes from strawberry puree, so I have no complaints about the strawberry flavor. While normally this isn't the kind of chocolate I would praise on its own, it works here because this is confection territory. This "kind of chocolate" is the kind that is mainly just sweet and not in fact dark in any sense of the word other than its color. Honestly, too, this is better chocolate than the kind that most places use to dip strawberries in (aka. compounded chocolate, which is chocolate that is made with oil). Maybe because that's the most common reference for chocolate covered strawberries that this whole chocolate covered strawberry chocolate bar effect comes across as so pleasing.

And the champagne part? I don't usually taste it at all. It seems to lurk in that pink center, so when you get a bite that includes a good amount of that center versus more of the chocolate edges, then you do get a sort of richness and a certain flavor that, while not necessarily the same as drinking a glass of champagne, is different from the flavors of either the strawberry or the chocolate. While this doesn't sound like much, it's enough. Unless this really were a truffle, just getting the strawberry to go along with the chocolate and have a hint at champagne is already covering sufficient ground.

One random note: I have no idea why white chocolate is listed in the ingredients list.

My comments, then, are pretty similar to what I said about the first bar I looked at from this company. While their chocolate isn't the absolute best, they handle flavors well, which most of the time is going to be enough. Most people don't even mind sweet dark chocolate (and would never even think to describe this chocolate in that way)--and even I said that it works in this context. So I will recommend this chocolate bar either for yourself or as a gift. It's an indulgence.

The Adventures of Connor & Abby: Part 18

Primeval's Connor and Abby wish to offer you a happy Valentine's Day. 

Connor also gave to Abby a "My Hero" heart, in thanks for the many times she saved his life. 

I think, however, that Abby had Rex in mind when she picked out this green "My Boy" heart.