Chocolate Tasting

Chocolates are not created equal. I think I have always known that... but every now and I then, I suppose I think the money saved on inferior stuff is worth it. It never is.

Today we had a chocolate tasting, to celebrate Valentine's Day a little early. We had bought a selection of fun, fancy, gluten-and-dairy-free chocolates and wanted to see which ones were best. I threw the candy hearts on the plate just for fun. My favorite was definitely the Blanxart Chocolate Negro con Almendras. Very good, crisp to the teeth, a touch too-sweet, but not as too-sweet as the others.

While I'm talking about chocolate... I recently posted a recipe for Coconut Milk Ice Cream, and I need to amend it. That first batch was so much better than the two that have followed!! The only differences have been, the first time around I used what was left of some very fancy cocoa powder. I don't remember the brand, but it was in a tall cardboard cylinder. Very different packaging than most... shouldn't be hard to find. And, after I re-liquified the coconut cream (skimmed off the tops of the fridge-cold cans) in a saucepan, I put all the ingredients in the blender instead of just whisking. I think it was the cocoa powder that made the difference... but... thought I'd be specific. I'd hate any of you to make it, have it be as gritty and weird as my last two batches have been, and then decide that I'm crazy to say it's a good recipe.
Don't blame me, blame Hershey's. They suck.