Brownie Pop Sensations!

Cake pops!...They are everywhere these days. First it was cupcakes, and oh the dedication of the consumers, it was overwhelming! Then there was 'Cupcake Wars' and 'Georgetown Cupcakes' on TV. I actually went to Georgetown Cupcakes in DC once and there was a line around the block! I did not eat cupcakes that day. It seemed as though cupcakes were taking over until French macaroons entered the scene. Not only were they as vibrant as a bouquet of flowers, but they were delicious and decadent like a cupcake, yet not. Macaroons also seemed more high class and pretentious because they are French. Oh Je t'aime! Macaroons are not for everyone, the same for cupcakes, so then enters the Cake Pop! The cake pop is a fun and simple way of eating cake. Kids love them, they don't require utensils, and you can definitely class them up for more formal events.

So because I am in the business of chocolate I decided to cash in on this 'cake pop' fad and create a brownie pop. They are really quite easy to make, just time consuming. I decided that the best brownie for these cake pops would be my Grand Mariner Orange Zest Brownie. This brownie is not only a good consistency of moist and cakey, but they have an awesome flavor! I love a good chocolatey brownie, but one with a little extra flavor is even better in my books.

Like I said, these were time consuming! My zesty brownies looked so pretty until I had to rip them apart to create these brownie pops. Somehow it should be a crime to bake something beautiful and then tear it apart...luckily I was crumbling up my brownies in order to create something even more beautiful and delicious. The brownie balls pictured above are the crumbled brownies mixed with chocolate butter cream icing and then formed into balls with sticks.

 

 

Then came the fun part! I got to dip my funny looking brownie balls into dark chocolate. Because they are attached to a stick this was incredibly easy. The problem then comes with the cooling. Once a brownie pop has been dipped into chocolate what do you do with it?! I only have two hands, therefore I could only hold two cooling brownie pops at a time. At that rate I'd be making them all week! Luckily I am smart and was able to set up a cooling system in no time. Brownie pops saved!

So like I said, brownie pops can be easy, fun, and classy for any type of event. I made the brownie pops pictured above for the J. Ellis Wedding Show and they were very much enjoyed. (If you need a wedding photographer John is awesome! J. Ellis Photography.) I love watching formally dressed people eating a brownie on a stick, it makes my day.

Whiskey Caramels

I've had the idea for a while now to add some type of liquor to my caramel recipe. I haven't been sure of what liquor that would be though. I am definitely not a fan of whiskey, in fact I hate the stuff. My husband on the other hand, loves it! I also have quite a few friends who enjoy it too. So I figured I would make something more in their realm of enjoyment and step outside of my comfort zone.

When I am in a liquor store I am like a deer in headlights! No joke, I just don't know where to go or what to look at. There is so much liquor that it is overwhelming. It took me probably 30 minutes to pick our this bottle of Evan Williams bourbon whiskey. Next time I'll take a whiskey expert before making my decision because I know absolutely nothing about whiskey. I assure though, I am learning.

The first time I created my whiskey caramel recipe it was very dainty. Probably the most dainty delicate taste a caramel could have, which surprised me! I thought whiskey was supposed to be a harsh strong flavor, but this was nothing of the sort. Even though I really like the flavor I tweaked the recipe again and now the whiskey shines through a little stronger. It is still just a slight taste, but I now think that bourbon whiskey is the perfect compliment to caramel. I love this caramel flavor, it is my current favorite of everything that I make.

Bacon Butter

I have gone through a few recipes (of my own) for bacon truffles and I am still unsatisfied. I just can't seem to get something right. Yes, they taste great, but to me something is still off. I can't decide if I like whole bacon pieces in the truffles or not. So in an attempt to eliminate the bacon pieces, but keep the bacon flavor I decided to try making bacon powder.

I cooked the bacon as well as I could without it burning. It is quite an art that has taken me some time to learn. I must admit though, I am the best now when it comes to cooking crisp (not burnt) bacon. Then I crunched the bacon into little pieces and put it into a coffee grinder. This worked at first, but because of the grease in the bacon it started to stick together and wouldn't grind anymore. So I added some corn starch as a sort of binding agent that would also dry out the bacon. This worked at first, but after a while the bacon grease overpowered the corn starch, thus making it wet and sticky again.

After a few different attempts at bacon powder, I finally realized that it was not going to work. What I had created though, was a lovely bacon butter. It resembles a chunky looking peanut butter, but when tasted, it obviously was bacon. This bacon butter was a whole new revelation to me! It could be spread on sandwiches, used in dips, or the original reason for making it, I could use it in my bacon truffle.

So I did! It worked great, but you still get the little tiny pieces of bacon. I think I prefer that to having whole chunks of bacon in the truffle though. So I present to you my bacon truffle made from my own creation: bacon butter.

Blueberry Mojito!

I have a new flavor! Once again, my Dad came into play on this one. (Parents are so helpful!) Lately my dad has been very into creating his own ice-creams and sorbets. I must admit, he has become quite good at it too. Our family has a definite sweet tooth. One of his latest creations was a blueberry mojito sorbet...or maybe it was an ice-cream. Either way, it seemed like a genius flavor combination. He told me about it and mentioned how good it could be in a dark chocolate. So I set to work!


Sure enough blueberry with mojito combined in a dark chocolate ganache was a match made in heaven. I might just go mix up the frozen drinkable version of it now! Mojito has the flavors mint, lime, and of course dark rum. These were all very evident and flavorful in the truffle that I created. The blueberry flavor though, was more hidden. It came through just slightly, but I think it was overpowered by the other flavors. This truffle will be perfect when I can get the blueberry to shine through a little more.

Zest Chocolat LLC!

Today I applied for my LLC license, how exciting!! I am 3/4's of the way finished to making Zest an official business. And I have a feeling this is the easy part...

Next week Andy and I will be moving back to Harrisonburg, VA (our hometown!) where I will finish making Zest a business. I am hoping to get our kitchen there inspected and then I will officially be in business! There is still so much to do, (oh the details!) but at least I am getting there.

My dad has been so amazing in helping me design the logo for Zest. I had a few ideas and he had a few ideas, and in the end he has come up with a spectacular design! Here is a first look at what he has come up with and will continue to work on. I am more than trilled!

Salted Caramels

I have been craving salted caramels for a while now. Finally late the other night I got around to making them. Caramels take a while to make, so I was in the kitchen a little longer than anticipated. Once they were made I stuck them in the refrigerator for some quick cooling. When I took them out and tried to remove them from the parchment paper I realized they were stuck. Oh no! When I had put the parchment paper into the pan I must have put the wrong side down. It took me a while to to peel them off of the paper. Then, because I had messed up their shape I decided the best thing to do would be to re-melt them, but in a silicone mold rather than in a parchment lined pan. This time they came out perfect. The next day I dipped them in dark chocolate and topped them with a little fleur de sel. They are delicious!

New Flavors

A few weeks ago I made some truffles for a Guerilla Gallery art opening in Harrisonburg. It was put on by a good friend of mine. I did them as "art" along with some photographs of chocolate. The whole gallery was a huge success and my truffles went fast. I should have charged for them, but since it was a free art opening I wanted to be able to provide free truffles as well.

I made a total of 5 kinds of truffles, of which 3 were new flavors. Below are pictures of the new flavors. I was mostly pleased with them, but of course tweaking will be done before I make them again.

(Cinnamon Orange in a mild dark chocolate)

(Ginger Lemongrass in white chocolate)

(Red-wine Rosemary in milk chocolate)