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Let’s start 2007 off on a very chocolaty note, shall we?
I’m the host for Sugar High Friday this month, and for some reason after hardly any discussion at all, chocolate seemed to be the natural candidate for my theme.

This sweet event was created by Jennifer, of Domestic Goddess and I invite any and all food bloggers out there to participate. (Well, maybe not all..there’s a lot of food blogs out there…)

So my theme for this month is: Chocolate By Brand

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To participate, whip up a favorite chocolate cake, a kettle full of candy, or a batch of chocolate-rich cookies. Or try your hand at something you’ve been itching to roll up your sleeves and tackle; dark chocolate truffles, delectable brownies, Mohrenkopf, Devils Food Cake, macarons, Schwarzwalder Kirsch Torte, or chocolate Rice Krispy Treats.

Then include the brand of chocolate you used and write about why you used it. Maybe you used it because it tastes good. Or you bought your chocolate on a trip and were saving it for some special occasion. Maybe it was marked-down or collecting dust in a sale bin. All are good reasons!
Tell us why you chose your particular chocolate.

And don’t feel compelled to use ‘premium’ chocolate either.

If you want to use a top-of-the-line brand, allez-y!…or use your local supermarket chocolate. Or melt down or chop up a chocolate candy bar that’s a favorite from wherever you live. Whatever brand you use, I want to know why you used it, and how you liked it. Want to make cookies packed with M & M’s? Go ahead! Recreate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or chop up a Nestlés Crunch Bar and toss the bits in a muffin batter and see what happens.

So go for it!

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Here are the rules:



  • 1. In order for me to post the entries by January 26th I need your recipe and the URL/Permalink by January 22nd at the absolute latest. You can email me using the link in the green box, in the column to the left.

    Please send me your entry by the deadline. Pretend I’m the Internal Revenue Service…you don’t send your taxes in late, do you?

  • 2. I’d like to attach a little photo to your description.

    If you’d like me to do that, you’ll need to send a 100 x 100 pixel image.
    Do not send larger images, which I can’t use. There’s a helpful Photoshop tutorial here.

    (Sorry, I’m unable to resize or manipulate other people’s photos, so if it’s not in that size when it’s sent to me, unfortunately I can’t include it. And only send 1 photo; don’t send several and ask me to choose because I’m not very good at decision making.)

  • 3. If you don’t have a blog, you’re encouraged to post a favorite chocolate recipe or reminiscence in the comments area for the Sugar High Friday post.

  • 4. One you’ve posted the recipe on your blog, email me an announcement of the posting, the recipe title and brief description, as well as the Permalink URL and the name of your blog. (If you just send the URL for your blog, I’ll use that instead of the Permalink), and attach the 100 x 100 pixel image.

I’ll be blogging a lot about chocolate this month and I look forward to hosting all the participants entries on January 26th….

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16 comments

    • Randi

    I’m excited about this. I have 3lbs of guittard coventure I’ve been saving for a “special occasion”.

    • Vladimir

    I presume you mean 100×100 pixel, not dpi (dots per inch) image….

    • David

    oops, thanks Vladimir. I corrected it!

    • Paul

    mmmmm sounds exciting, but does it have to be a sweet chocolate recipe? I have previously done a Chocolate sauce to go with game meats, and it was divine. Here’s the link to that recipe: http://eatmefood.blogspot.com/2006/11/kangaroo-with-chocolate-chilli.html

    I’m looking forward to all the exciting recipes that will appear soon!

    • Josephine The Food Fayrie

    I must admit that working with chocolate always causes me problems. When it’s good it’s very good but when it’s bad…well its just awful.

    I can make simple things like orangettes and chocolate cookies and more often than not my chocolate cakes and cupcakes are great-but how does one get a consistent standared all the time.

    But in saying that it’s really white chocolate that confuses Me I don’t think that I’ve successfully managed to melt it let alone cook with it yet (I’m only half joking here). I am looking forward to this challenge to prove to myself that if I wish the chocolate lots of love it should respond and allow me to create something lovely and to have consistently good results.

    Everything else that I bake is like a dream but chocolate and I have a volatile relationship let’s see what i can come up with.
    Thanks Jo

    • David

    Hi Paul: The sauce sounds great, but the event is dessert-only…so get cracking on that chocolate dessert!

    Josephine: White chocolate isn’t that tricky to melt, or to use. It works well in custards, sauces, ice creams, and lots of other things. The main thing to remember is to start with ‘real’ white chocolate (cocoa butter should be the only fat listed on the label).

    To melt it properly:

    -Use a clean, absolutely dry bowl, Even a drop of water can cause it to seize and not melt smoothly.

    -Chop the chocolate into very small pieces, roughly uniform in size.

    -Because white chocolate melts quicker than dark chocolate, melt it over the lowest possible heat. You can use a double boiler (make sure no steam gets into the chocolate), or in the winter, I just set the bowl of chopped white chocolate on the radiator and stir it until it’s smooth and melted.

    Best of luck!

    • Ulrike aka ostwestwind

    Do I have to use chocolate? Normally I bake a chocolate cake only with cocoa.

    • Meeta

    David,
    This is a great theme for chocoholics like me!! Now to decide on THE one!

    • David

    Ulrike: Cocoa works for me! Just let us know what brand you use, and why…that’s the most interesting thing.

    • lee

    Do you really have that many chocolate bars at your house right now? Can I come over?

    • Rachel

    i’m going to give it a try this month! i have the perfect “healthy” recipe for good chocolate.

    • Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy

    Yum…I am definitely doing this one!

    • Nancy

    I’ve been making those recreated reese peanut butter cups this holiday season but it’s not my own recipe…do you still want this type of entry?

    • arfi binsted

    wooopppsss!! i’m almost late! actually, i don’t know much about resize the picture as mine is 700X800 something, and i’m using GIMP.

    • Josephine

    Hello David, apologies for not touching base with you again sooner. The radiator method, liking that very much. Also I think I’ve been using a little too much heat when melting.

    It’s nearly 4 am here and I am about to attempt some Petite Fours for a little French Restaurant near my home. I told the manager there I could make magic…(here’s hoping).

    David do you believe in food magic? I used to watch my mum baking and I’ve always believed there is alchemy in it..once you get bitten by the food bug. you love it forever. wish me luck with the chocolate and thank you again for taking the time to write back.

    Lots of love your way

    Josephine

    • Josephine

    Hello David, apologies for not touching base with you again sooner. The radiator method, liking that very much. Also I think I’ve been using a little too much heat when melting.

    It’s nearly 4 am here and I am about to attempt some Petite Fours for a little French Restaurant near my home. I told the manager there I could make magic…(here’s hoping).

    David do you believe in food magic? I used to watch my mum baking and I’ve always believed there is alchemy in it..once you get bitten by the food bug. you love it forever. wish me luck with the chocolate and thank you again for taking the time to write back.

    Lots of love your way

    Josephine

A

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