Today is going to be a great day… it is Friday, hopefully the sun is shining where you are and it is National Chocolate Cupcake Day! I believe cupcakes are the perfect sweet morsel. They are just as delicious as a cake but you can eat them with your hands and have all of the deliciousness of the cake in one or a few bites, depending on the size. When thinking about the perfect chocolate cupcake the one that comes to mind are cupcakes I often had during my childhood. These cupcakes were a moist chocolate cake and had a dollop of cream cheese chocolate chip filling baked right on top. It was like they were frosted without the added mess of the frosting. Here is an upgraded, adult version of that recipe from my childhood.
Be sure to have a chocolate cupcake or two today to celebrate!
-Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper cups and set aside.
-In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese, egg and sugar for the filling. Once combined fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside
-In another bowl, combine the sugar, flour, Rococo Chocolates Drinking Chocolate, baking soda & salt. Gradually add the water, vegetable oil, white vinegar and vanilla. Mix to combine, stirring well for 2-3 minutes.
-Pour cupcake batter into prepared muffin cups just filling ½ way. Drop a large spoonful of cream cheese filling on top the muffin batter.
-Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cupcake should come out clean.
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and what better way to show your person that you love him or her than gifting chocolate; food of the Gods, a tried and true symbol of romance. Luckily, we and Rococo Chocolates have got you covered, because nothing quite says ‘I love you’ like artisan chocolate paired perfectly with wine, spirits, and food. This year, in addition to a lovely home cooked dinner, a meal at a nice restaurant, a dozen roses, a bottle of wine, or a combination of the previous, make sure to add a bar or two of high quality artisan chocolate to elevate the occasion to the next level and show your special person the true depth of your love. We’ll supply the chocolate, you supply the love.
Rococo Chocolates was founded in 1983 by Chantal Coady who strived to change the way fine chocolate was perceived, and is now known as a luxury British chocolate company. Crafted using only the finest ingredients, Rococo Chocolates Artisan Bars boast an exquisite taste, indulging consumers in a rich tapestry of flavors and balance. Not only is each bar meticulously crafted to ensure pristine quality and flavor, the wrapping for each bar is also artfully designed to highlight the bars majesty. Luckily for you and your Valentine, our showroom selves are overflowing with Rococo Chocolates Artisan Bars, and using the pairings guide below, you’ll have the tools necessary to create a magical experience this Valentine’s Day.
When pairing chocolate, it’s important to play in harmony, pairing the flavor notes of the bar with complimentary flavor notes of the wine, spirit, or food with which you are pairing; flavors that enhance one another rather than overpower. Going beyond simply taste and rather turning to molecular structure, the best pairings happen when the dominant aromatic molecules of the chocolate are the same dominant aromatic molecules of the paired wine, spirit, or food. For example, when pairing chocolate with herbal teas, one should pair fruity teas with fruity bars, spiced teas with spiced bars, minty teas with mint flavored bars, so on and so forth. Along similar lines, if pairing with beer or wine, it’s lovely to pair sweet with sweet and tart with tart, as long as the beverage is sweeter than the chocolate. When pairing with wine, opt for similar style and weight, matching more elegant, lighter flavored chocolate with lighter-bodied wine, and stronger, more pronounced chocolate with a full-bodied wine, pairings that can be further honed based on the flavor notes of each.
Below, we’ve complied a list of complimentary pairings with Rococo Chocolates Artisan Bars. We hope this list proves helpful in creating a magical experience for you and your Valentine.
Shop the collection today to receive your Rococo Chocolate in time for Valentine’s Day.
https://www.juliesbeet.com/collections/rococo
Cheers to chocolate!
Happy Friday,
Payton
White Chocolate Cardamom: Tokaji Dessert Wine
White Chocolate Cardamom Crackle: Terra Botanical Gin
Milk Chocolate Sea Salt: Caña Brava Reserva Añeja or similar aged rum
Milk Chocolate Honeycomb Crunch : Aged Tawny Port
Milk Chocolate Christmas Pudding: IPA or Stout
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt: Smokey Whiskey
Dark Chocolate Chili Pepper: Crisp, Sweet Reisling
Dark Chocolate Basil & Persian Lime: Pinot Noir
Dark Chocolate Gold Frankincense and Myrrh: Blue Moon Beer
Dark Chocolate Earl Grey: Black Tea like Earl Grey
Dark Chocolate Violet: Chamomile Tea
Dark Chocolate Mint: Bobby Burns Whiskey Cocktail
Milk Chocolate Rose : Pinot Grigio
Milk Chocolate Almond, Rosemary and Sea Salt: Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey
Dark Chocolate Rose: White Tea
Milk Chocolate Gingerbread: Egg nog, of course
Milk Chocolate Orange Blossom Neroli: Light and smokey Mezcal like Los Amantes Mezcal Joven
