Tag Archive: chocolate pairings

Chocolate Beer Pudding Cake

Yep, chocolate and beer pairing is getting so popular I might as well share a recipe that has it.

It may sound bizarre to others who don’t experiment with food much, but beer and chocolate go together splendidly, especially the dark variants. The pairing sounds pretty strange but boy does it work!

People who aren’t crazy about beer often have a fancy for chocolate, so it’s safe to say it’s a win-win recipe. Huge beer fanatics can find flavors in beer that can also be found in chocolate.

With some experimentation, foodies now have come up with something that would make beer fans and chocolate lovers meet halfway. Those who have a sweet tooth are the ones who will enjoy it better, though!
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BitterSweet: Beer+Chocolate

As you may have read in the earlier blog posts, one of the things that makes a chocolate and beer tasting great is the fact that it is unusual, yet it works!  Even people who say they don’t like beer, often do like chocolate so everyone can enjoy the event.

Last week’s Craft:Beer+Food event was a huge hit, the pairings were sublime. If you weren’t able to attend, fret not, as a sequel to this delightful affair is anticipated. After Craft:Beer+Food comes the next big thing, BitterSweet:Beer+Chocolate. It is a non-profit happening that enables local breweries to showcase their beers along with the remarkable chocolates of Seattle’s own Theo Chocolate.
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Choco-Laté Festival

People who come to pay a visit at the Bruge’s Choco-Laté Festival, held in the Belfort bell tower, can relish their much loved dessert in whatever shapes & forms possible! So all you chocoholics, listen up and unite. Succumb to your every chocolate craving and indulge in your favorite sweet treat!

Choco-Laté is the annual festival of our favorite guilty pleasure. The vibes that chocolatiers give off at several stands lure the customers and magically bring them to a chocolate haven.

The festival will be hosting an array of activities to make visitors drool with tons of interesting and fun interactive programs such as body painting, chocolate recipe exhibitions, creations such as sculpture by chocolate artists and sculptors, a chocolate village for the little ones, and a “chocolate walk” through the town of Bruges, among many others.
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Chocolate and Wine Pairing

Although wine is pleasurable all its own, most people pair it with an array of different foods as it magnifies the tastes of those food. But did you know that wine and chocolate make a good pair? When the combination is created correctly, it gives a divine blast of taste in the mouth.

First and foremost, you need to make an appropriate choice of chocolate. Grabbing any chocolate bar available won't be enough as they don't hold distinctive flavors. Gourmet chocolates are your best bet, be it dark, white, or milk chocolate.

With regard to the wine you’ll be pairing the chocolate with, you need to find one that is at least as sweet as the chocolate, maybe even slightly sweeter. One of the main rules in pairing them is that the distance between wine and chocolate sweetness should always be short because if the wine isn't sweet enough, the sour notes of wine will make it appear hollow, which makes it a horrible combination.
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Chocolate Categories and Pairings

Over the last couple of centuries, the cacao bean been has been used in many different ways such as medicine, as money, etc.  But today, we eat it almost exclusively for pleasure.

There are different varieties of cacao beans and it has been said that each strain has been significantly changed due to its tree’s ability to naturally cross-pollinate, not to mention all the intended hybridization of the cacao bean for the past centuries.

Cacao beans go through a lot of processing to produce the chocolate we all love. They are harvested, fermented, dried, roasted, and ground to make chocolate liquor, which is then further processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
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Chocolate Pecan Caramel and Petite Sirah

Bogle Petite SirahDuring a recent chocolate and wine tasting program, I introduced the pairing of a dark chocolate covered pecan and caramel cluster with a Bogle Petite Sirah. 

Looking for a wine that would work with cluster, I described what I needed and then took the suggestion from a very knowledgeable wine guru.   But up until serving it, I had not tried this particular combination.  This always makes me a bit nervous because I am using something unfamiliar, yet I’m simultaneously excited to try something new.

The pairing did not disappoint!  This wonderful twosome worked great in the tasting and would also be a very satisfying after dinner treat.
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Like Coffee for Chocolate

==> www.chocolateuniversityonline.com/goto/northstar.html

North Star Fine Coffees is introducing a new coffee that is designed for students of Chocolate University Online and chocolate lovers with a keen sense of taste. 

"Simply Decadent" is not a chocolate flavored coffee, but rather is a coffee designed to pair well with chocolates and chocolate desserts.
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Chocolate and Food Pairings

A few days ago I walked into my kitchen and saw my 12 year old daughter take out a bowl of melted milk chocolate from the microwave and dip a stick of string cheese into it.  Yummy she crooned. 

I was not so sure about that combination, but I tried it anyway.  Actually, it was not bad. 

Lately, I have been eating all sorts of chocolate and food pairings that I never thought I would enjoy.  For example, I recently ate a dark chocolate covered piece of bacon I bought from my local chocolates shop.  You heard right, bacon!  It was very delicious.
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