Recently we joined the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA), the professional non-profit organization supporting the development and innovation of the fine chocolate industry and best practices.

And the other week, while at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, we got to attend their semi-annual meeting and meet lots of chocolate fanatics just like us!
 
It was inspiring to meet and network with others as passionate about chocolate and confections as we are!    Our friends from TCHO were there as well as knowledgeable retailers who feature Lake Champlain Chocolates like Bittersweet Café (San Francisco) and Chocolopolis (Seattle).

Of course, in addition to networking, there was plenty of CHOCOLATE!    I sampled a delicious Meyer Lemon Buttercream and some dark chocolate made from bean to bar at the source in Madagascar, full-flavored and intense with fruity notes and hints of sour cherry.

It is great to be a part of a group, not out to change the chocolate industry – but focused on celebrating our small segment of it by offering another level of support specifically focused on the best practices in fine chocolate making.   To learn more, visit  http://www.finechocolateindustry.org/.

The season of love is upon us, and you know what that means...chocolate!

Since Valentine's Day is on a Sunday this year, we have a couple suggestions and one big incentive to make sure Valentine chocolates are part of the day. You will have no excuses!

Shall I start with the incentive?

Lake Champlain Chocolates is offering $5 flat-rate shipping for any orders between now and February 8th (click on any of the links in this blog for the discount).  So you can splurge and get the biggest box your honey deserves, 'cause shipping will be $5 no matter how much chocolate you buy! 

Now for some suggestions to make this year's Valentine's Day amazing (we know, not all of you need help).

Let her co-workers think you're the greatest and have chocolates sent to her at work.  Being early never hurt anyone.  She'll know you didn't run to the grocery store on the way to pick her up.

Send a heart-shaped box to you and hand-deliver it on the fourteenth.  Better yet?  Make it a surprise visit.  I'm sure she'll be much happier to see you than the delivery guy at the front door.

With a card that reads "You deserve an extended Valentine's Day", you can definitely get away with having chocolates sent to her the day after.  Don't worry; we'll take care of the card!

So there you go!  With $5 shipping, you really can't afford to miss this Valentine's Day.  Make it extra special with gourmet chocolates from Lake Champlain Chocolates.

For anyone who’s ever kissed a frog, or for someone who’s already met their prince, consider sending Lake Champlain Chocolates famous Kiss Me Frog – the perfect Valentine chocolate to give to just about anyone.  Need ideas for Valentines gifts for the man in your life?  What about your sister?  Son?  Daughter? These little guys are cute yet sassy and will put a smile on your Valentine’s face no matter what.

Venturing into the factory for a peak of our Valentine chocolates being made, I realized that these gourmet little frogs might be the coolest – and most versatile - Valentine candy out there.  How can you go wrong with an adorable frog handmade of chocolate?

 

The mould for the frog’s body is hand-decorated with dark chocolate accents and then filled halfway full with milk chocolate.  A ride on the magnetic tumbler hardens the chocolate and brings it to the outside of the mould, leaving a hollow center. 

The frogs are lined up on a sheet tray while their feet are prepared.

 

A sturdy base of white chocolate and dark chocolate webbed feet will hold up each frog – held together by a generous dollop of white chocolate and proudly standing tall, awaiting a Valentines chocolate kiss.

 

Don’t forget you can include a personalized message.  Chocolate is much better than boys! for that friend who was dumped right before Valentines Day.  You are my Princess if you think you’ve been a little toad-like lately.  And a simple Kiss Me will never go out of style.

 

Think that Vermont honey is pretty sweet?  So do we!

Need something fun to do this Saturday afternoon?  Well, we're inviting you to join us this Saturday, January 23rd for a FREE honey and chocolate tasting at 2:00pm at our 750 Pine Street Factory Store & Café.  This is our second event in our Local Secret series, which we kicked off last October with the Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery.  The afternoon will start off with a honey tasting presentation by William Mares of the Vermont Beekeepers Association (VBA).  William will talk about how beekeepers collect the honey, the variety and sources of honey including the unique aspects of Vermont honey, and VBA's work with over 1,200 local beekeepers who work to sustain Vermont's honey industry. You'll be able to sample honey in its many forms including liquid, comb, creamed and whipped, something out of the ordinary for a Saturday afternoon.  Educational and fun!

Participants will learn how to taste and evaluate the varieties

of honey and engage in a discussion of the different flavors, as well as the storage and shelf life of honey (the difference between buying honey from Wal-Mart vs. Artisan Honey, for example).  Of course you'll be able to sample your favorite LCC products such as our chocolate caramels so you can taste for yourself why we use VBA's honey in our recipes.  Looks like our secret's out - again!

It's indoors, so take a break from your outdoor adventures, or come after you get back from a morning spent at the mountain to warm up and taste something sweet with us at LCC.  Our Hot Chocolate Café will be open, too – in case you were wondering – so if you want to come get some of your favorites as well as stock up on your chocolate supply you’ll be all set!

We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Your Choice:

A Dozen Red Roses (that have been sitting in a cooler for who knows how long)

Dinner out (with everyone else in the world)

Lingerie (that you know will be worn once- maybe, if it even fits)

Fresh, all-natural chocolates from Lake Champlain Chocolates

Ok, I know I may be biased, but come on!  What would you rather have for Valentine’s Day this year?  Granted most of those items listed above go quite well together- chocolate hearts & flowers, chocolates in a heart-shaped box & lingerie, chocolate truffles after dinner out- but if you want to make sure you get it right, go for the chocolates no matter what. This way you are covered in case the flowers are dying, all the restaurants in town are booked and you’re not quite sure what size lingerie to get (you’re taking a big gamble on that one).

You do have to act soon though if you want to be sure to have your first choice.  Yes, there are some people out there who plan ahead- even for Valentine’s Day.

And what choices we have for Valentine Chocolates!  The Grand Heart Assortment is the ultimate in a heart shaped box of chocolates, perfect for the romantic.  The Sweetheart Assortment couldn’t be sweeter with its two trays of chocolate and a hand tied bow.  Or how about our adorable and delicious Kiss Me Frog? The perfect gift for friends, siblings or children.   

Make it easy on yourself, go online and place your order to guarantee a sweet Valentine’s Day this year. It will even come with a personalized gift card if you don’t have time to make it to the card store. 

And if you can pull off the flowers and dinner too, more power to you!

Every year, it seems like more and more people are hosting their own New Year's Eve party instead of spending the night out on the town.  But with entertaining comes a lot of planning and hard work.  What will you do?  What will you serve?  One way to both keep it simple and have fun while you wait for the ball to drop is to have a chocolate & cheese pairing party.

Arrange different combinations of chocolates and cheeses around the room (with cards identifying each) for guests to sample and discuss.  Have them start with the mildest pairing and then work their way up.  You can even print out instruction cards, with advice on how to taste like a pro.

For guests to cleanse their palates between pairings, you might want to serve a dry sparkling wine such as Presecco (it is the holidays after all!).  Sparkling water, plain crackers, or baskets of fresh bread also work nicely.

Our friends over at the Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery came up with a few pairings to help you get you started (you can also watch Allison Hooper, owner/cheese maker, demonstrate these pairings on VPT Cooks Chocolate):

• Fresh Goat Cheese (Chevre) with Dark Sea Salt Caramels

• Sharp Vermont Cheddar with Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger or Ginger Lemon Organic Truffles

• Blue Cheese with 70% Dark Organic Truffles

• Hard Sheep’s Milk Cheese with Organic Honey Fig Truffles or with Organic Milk Chocolate Sea Salt & Almonds

• Bijou with Spicy Aztec Organic Dark Chocolate

• Bonne Bouche with Champagne Truffles

These are just a few suggestions; you could also browse your local cheese shop for other ideas and recommendations.  Just remember, as Allison says in the video, there are no absolute right answers for pairing...just have fun & enjoy!

What's sweeter than a box of our chocolates?  Why that could only be a FREE box of our chocolates!

From November 29th to December 31st, exclusively at Macy's, receive a complimentary 15 Piece Assortment of our mouth-watering chocolates (specially-designed for our friends at Calvin Klein) with the purchase of any 3.4 oz fragrance from the euphoria collection.

Isn't it nice when you get two presents for the price of one?

Happy Holidays!

Lake Champlain Chocolates is thrilled to be a participant and sponsor of Vermont Public Television’s live cooking special "VPT Cooks Chocolate" premiering on Saturday Dec 5th from 2-4pm.  Just in time for holiday entertaining, Chef Sean Buchanan of the Stowe Mountain Lodge hosts Vermont chefs and chocolatiers demonstrating their favorite recipes.

Kirk Weed of LCC will be demonstrating how to make a Flourless Pumpkin Ganache Cake, the same creamy ganache used in our amazing truffles! In addition, Allison Hooper of Vermont Butter & Cheese Company will be hosting a chocolate and cheese pairing using Lake Champlain Chocolates.  Chefs from The Belted Cow Bistro, Cafe Provence, New England Culinary Institute and others will also be cooking and sharing their chocolate recipes.

LCC staff will be answering phones during the live show so please call in to show your support of VPT during its winter membership campaign.  The chocolate recipes demonstrated in the show, a gift box of local chocolates and other treats will be offered as thank you gifts for contributions! 

If you miss the live premiere this Saturday, the show will re-air on Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 12 at noon and Dec. 13 at noon.  It will air on VPT’s broadcast channels, and the premiere will be online at www.vpt.org.  We hope you check it out!

I’m the cake-maker in my family.  About a week before someone’s big day, with much anticipation, I make the call.  “What kind of cake would you like this year?”

A few days ago I got the go-ahead on a cheesecake from a very important family member.  I wanted a challenge, so I decided to guild the lilies a bit; add a chocolate crust and maybe some sort of chocolate cheesecake swirls. 

The chocolate crust was made from King Arthur Flour’s Chocolate Graham Crackers Recipe, mixed with a few tablespoons of melted Cabot Butter.  You can make this as thin or as thick a crust layer as you like, I used about 2 ½ cups of crushed crackers, for a ½”-thick bottom layer.  Our Unsweetened Cocoa Powder made the crackers rich and light, and the recipe makes enough for leftovers to nibble on for days after. 

For the cheesecake swirls, I melted a small handful of Lake Champlain Chocolates 54% dark chocolate chips, mixed them with about 1/3 cup of the cheesecake batter and piped out the decoration on top. 

The secret to making a cheesecake that doesn’t crack on top while baking?  Instead of placing your spring form pan directly on the oven rack, place it in a roasting pan filled about halfway with hot water, using foil to wrap the bottom if you’re nervous about water seeping in.  The extra humidity from the water prevents the cake from cracking and makes it extremely moist.

Crust
2 – 3 cups of Chocolate Graham Crackers, either homemade or store-bought
4 tbsp melted butter.

Cheesecake
¾ c + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
30 ounces cream cheese (3 ¾ 8-oz packages), softened
1 egg
½ c heavy cream
¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract

Chocolate Swirls
2 ounces Lake Champlain Chocolates 54% dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350º.  Generously butter the bottom and sides of a spring form cake pan.

To make the crust, crumb the graham crackers, either with a rolling pin in a plastic bag or with a mortar and pestle.  Mix with melted butter, press an even layer on bottom of buttered pan.  Refrigerate while preparing the cake.

Whisk together sugar and cornstarch.  Combine with softened cream cheese and mix over low speed until combined.  Add egg and heavy cream separately, combining well after each addition.  Add extracts.  Make sure to scrape down sides and bottom of pan to incorporate all ingredients.

In a double-boiler over medium heat or at 30-second intervals in your microwave, melt chocolates, just to liquid – do not over heat.  Add about 1/3 cup cheesecake batter and mix well.

Gently fill the pan with the cheesecake batter, smoothing the top by tapping it on the counter.  Pipe or drizzle the chocolate cheesecake and swirl around if you’d like. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until you begin to see very light brown spots on top of the cake.  Cool on a wire rack at least three hours and then refrigerate to chill before serving.

This week I decided on pie. 

Not just any pie, but a Chocolate Mousse Pie with a Graham Cracker Crust.  The Graham Crackers were made from scratch, using King Arthur Flour’s recipe.  Not quite as sweet as store-bought, the homemade crackers were a nice balance for this very sweet mousse, but I’m sure any kind would work.  Fresh Vermont Cream and a touch of local honey chimed in with sweet Lake Champlain Chocolates milk chocolate, making this pie as fresh, local and gourmet as our chocolates.

Crust
2 c crushed graham crackers
1/3 c brown sugar
2 tbsp c honey
5 tbsp melted butter

Filling
3 egg whites
2 tbsp c honey
¼ c sugar
¾ c Lake Champlain Chocolates Milk Chocolate Chips
2 c heavy cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract

To make the crust, combine graham crackers and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.  Press into prepared pie dish and refrigerate while preparing filling.

To make filling, combine egg whites, honey and sugar in top of double boiler.  Whisk over medium heat about five minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and beat until it thickens.  Meanwhile, melt chocolate in double boiler or at 30-second intervals in the microwave.  Fold melted chocolate into meringue and mix just until fully incorporated.

Separately, whip the cream to soft peaks, about five minutes, adding vanilla after about two minutes.  Add to meringue in three additions, and mix until just incorporated. 

Spoon into prepared pie shell, cover and chill at least two hours before serving.  I garnished the pie with our Old World chocolate shavings.