Vosges Haut Chocolat

Um, sorry for the stupidity of this picture. When I view it on my computer, it's upright, but then it ends up horizontal in the post.

Anyways, I first ventured into Vosges in Soho, and my friend insisted that I try the chocolate bar with bacon. It sounded disgusting to me, but WOW. It's interesting how the deep milk chocolate, applewood smoked bacon, and Alder smoked salt went together so well. I think it's the smokiness of the bacon that blends well with the chocolate. I believe this is their bestseller, and I can see why. It's definitely my favorite out of all the chocolate bars I've tried. If it sounds disgusting to you, give it a try. You'll be surprised. $7 is still expensive for a chocolate bar, but where else will you get one that has bacon in it?

For Christmas, Gabe got me a little box set with a sampling of 9 of their other exotic candy bars. Among my favorites is the Gianduja Bar - almonds, caramelized hazelnuts, and deep milk chocolate. So obviously not as intriguing as the bacon bar, but I really liked the creaminess and smoothness of this one. The most exotic bar would be the Naga Bar - sweet Indian curry powder, coconut flakes, and deep milk chocolate. Yup, I bet curry chocolate sounds disgusting, but again, you'll be surprised. My other favorite would be the Barcelona Bar - hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt, and deep milk chocolate. There's something about salt that for some reason makes chocolate taste better.

I've also tried their hot white chocolate infused with lavender and lemon. I really liked the lavender and lemon taste - they went together really well. My big complaint with this drink is that it honestly seemed more like steamed milk to me rather than white chocolate.

Also, it turns out that Vosges originated from Chicago, where I'm from. The headquarters/kitchen is in Lincoln Park, and I got to go there when I was home for the holidays. Their store/interior decoration there is WAY nicer than the one in Soho. Not only is it ridiculously spacious, but they have nice displays, free samples, and overall better interior design. My mom bought 4 bacon bars after trying their free samples. She also got the Aztec Elixir hot chocolate - Ancho and Chipotle chilies, Ceylon cinnamon, and a few other ingredients. This drink was ridiculously good. The guy made it thick, but not too thick. This makes me think that the Soho location cheaps out on you a bit because my white hot chocolate was like nothing compared to the hot chocolate we got in Chicago. I really loved the incredibly light burn you get from the chilies after a sip of this Aztec Elixir. It definitely wasn't overpowering though. I'll have to try it here in NY, and if it's not as thick as the one in Chicago, then Soho is definitely cheaping out on its customers.

Anyways, these are my chocolate recommendations - perfect in time for Valentine's Day next month!

chocolate kahlua cake

I made this on Christmas Eve in order to bring to my aunt's house for our Christmas Day party, but since she said that they already had too many desserts, I saved it for our New Year's party. The great thing about cakes baked with liquor is the fact that it keeps it moist and preserves it for a very long time. Last year, I made coconut rum cake for New Year's, and it was a big hit, so since my house has like 5 bottles of Kahlua (coffee liquor), I decided to try chocolate Kahlua cake this year.

In a mixing bowl, I added one box of Pillsbury chocolate cake mix, one box of Jello chocolate pudding powder, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 1 cup of Kahlua, 1/2 cup of water, and 1 cup of sour cream. Most recipes I saw called for 3/4cup or less of Kahlua, but like I've said, my Dad and I tend to put more alcohol than needed. The sour cream probably sounds gross, but you don't taste it at all. It's just there to make the cake really moist, so maybe you can substitute with plain yogurt.

For the glaze, we heated and mixed 1 cup of sugar, 4oz Kahlua, and some Amaretto (almond liquor). I decided to throw in Amaretto because people often use amaretto flavoring/syrup in their coffee. That was a nice addition, but I think I'll put even more of that next time and/or use that instead of Kahlua for the glaze.

This turned out to be a great bundt cake. My cousin, Odette, loved it a lot as did others. Personally, I think the cake tasted a little more alcoholic than what I wanted, so I'll put less Kahlua in the cake mix next time.