Flavours and Textures | Chocolate Apprentice

Tea Infused Chocolate – Bars and Truffles

A few weeks ago, I had a great time with my panel of two teenaged tea aficionados, tasting black, green and herbal teas with dark, milk and white chocolates. We were surprised and delighted to discover how well the flavours of some of the teas blended with or accentuated the aromas and flavours of some of the chocolate … and some definitely did not.

Clearly, I have not had enough of the tea and chocolate experience because this week I picked up a half dozen tea infused chocolate bars and am making batches of tea infused truffles using some of the flavours which seemed to go so well together. [Read more…]

Tea and Chocolate Tasting

Tea and Chocolate: These are a pair of my favorite things.

There is nothing like a vibrant cup of well brewed tea in my favorite translucent-but-strong mug, my fingers laced around its warmth, feet slung over the arm of a chair, nose in a book, to calm me down and make me feel everything is going to be okay.

I feel the same way about a square of really good chocolate. Holding a piece strategically, between tongue and hard palate, just sorta letting it melt inconspicuously, no one ever need know I am not paying attention to what they are saying. [Read more…]

Theo

I love Seattle. Two hours away from my lovely Vancouver, crossing that border into the United States accentuates the “we’re on a holiday” feeling, as I nudge my little red car onto the I-5, and carefully check the smaller inside dial on my accelerator. We are now travelling in miles per hour and I don’t want to get this mini break off on the wrong foot with a speeding ticket.

Younger Son, my intrepid companion on this trip, laughs aloud when I express my concern over this. [Read more…]

Delicious Disaster

Sometimes, good things come out of big failures.

Last week, I made a flag, for Vancouver’s Pride Parade celebration, of six different flavours and colours of Pâtes de Fruits (French fruit jellies).

I took a shortcut for the final two batches (I was running out of time and patience), and used unflavoured gelatin as the setting agent, instead of the fruit pectin I usually use (I like the texture better and they are suitable for vegetarians).

Now, unflavoured gelatin is a perfectly acceptable gelling agent for pâte de fruit. Several recipes, including one of Jacques Pepin’s use it. [Read more…]

Pâte for Pride

I am making a rainbow flag – in jelly.

It’s Pride Week in Vancouver, culminating in the huge, colourful, float and fun filled Pride Parade on August 4^th, through Vancouver’s West End, which is now sporting the world’s first permanent Rainbow Crosswalk, at Davie and Bute Street.

There are rainbows everywhere, including the one I saw this morning – after our first day of rain in over 31 days (nearly a record for Vancouver).

And because it’s fun, colourful and relatively easy to do in this hot weather, I am going to make six different flavours and colours of pâte de fruits, using the bounty of fresh fruit now in season. [Read more…]