http://www.tcho.com/blog/ en greta@tcho.com Copyright 2012 2012-01-03T15:47:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/mixology_tcho_style/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/mixology_tcho_style/ Ever wonder how we prefer our drinks at TCHO? On the rocks? Straight up? Dirty? Neat? Shaken, not stirred? Yes! Any and all of the above as long as TCHO is involved. Try a few of our favorites below, but first be sure you have plenty of TCHO drinking chocolate!  TCHOtini Ingredients 4 tablespoons TCHO Drinking Chocolate 4 tablespoons boiling water 2 ounces vanilla vodka 1 ounce Irish cream liquor 1 ounce milk ice Preparation 1. Combine TCHO Drinking Chocolate with boiling water. Emulsify. 2. Pour vanilla vodka, Irish cream liquor, milk and drinking chocolate into a pint glass full of ice or martini mixer. Shake or stir to combine. 3. Pour contents into chilled martini glass. Recipe Notes For raspberry variation, add 1 ounce Chambord.  DiabloTCHO Ingredients 6 tablespoons TCHO Drinking Chocolate 6 tablespoons boiling water 1/8 teaspoon ground guijillo pepper 1 ounce tequila 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice Preparation 1. Combine drinking chocolate with boiling water and guijillo pepper. Emulsify. 2. Pour tequila and orange juice into glass. Add drinking chocolate mixture. 3. Stir until completely blended. TCHOSnuggler Ingredients 6 tablespoons TCHO Drinking Chocolate 6 tablespoons boiling water 3 ounces steamed milk 1 ounce Rumpleminze Preparation 1. Combine drinking chocolate with boiling water. Emulsify. 2. Pour Rumpleminze into mug. Stir in drinking chocolate. Add steamed milk. 3. Stir until completely blended. 2012-01-03T16:47:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/modern_cookie_co/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/modern_cookie_co/ Modern Cookie Co., Exactly What You Want Make it. Bake it. Dip it. Roll it. Eat it. Give it. Love it. That’s Modern Cookie Co.’s philosophy and that’s a philosophy we’re totally ready to hop on board with! Modern Cookie Co. is like the Coldstone of cookies. The ultimate personalization experience. Of course, we highly recommend TCHO, but the possibilities are truly infinite! Mod’s top TCHO recommendations? Chewy Fudge Brownie with PureNotes™ “Chocolatey” Bars, Sugar Round with TCHOPro 66% and their Biker Bar with Roasted Cacao Nibs—nom nom nom! Check out the picture perfect photos here. Better yet, go to Modern Cookie Co. yourself! 25 Ward Street in Larkspur, CA. 2011-12-19T03:18:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/chocolate_cream_pie/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/chocolate_cream_pie/ Three Babes Bakeshop Chocolate Cream Pie Three Babes Bakeshop is a pop-up pie shop in San Francisco. You can find this skilled trifecta at Stable Cafe every Saturday and Sunday, surrounded by a posse of perfectly prepared, pleasantly palatable pies ready to purchase. (Alliteration, anyone?) These babes believe in building community. A piece of this community building is a strong devotion to using only organic and locally sourced ingredients. So, for all their chocolatey needs, they come to TCHO. We’re pumped they do, because we could all do with some additional babe-liness in our lives. Take a slice out of their pie. Craft their Chocolate Cream Pie (recipe below) and amplify your babe factor. Ingredients: Crust 1 fully pre-baked pie shell, cooled Filling 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 large egg yolks 3 cups whole milk 5 oz TCHO 66% Organic Fair Trade Baking Drops, melted 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla Caramel 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 6 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream Bourbon Vanilla Whipped Cream 1 liquid cup heavy cream, cold 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extra 1 tablespoon bourbon Instructions Filling Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and yolks in a 3-quart heavy saucepan until combined well, then add milk in a stream, whisking. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 1 minute (filling will be thick). Force filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in chocolates, butter, and vanilla. Cover surface of filling with a buttered round of wax paper, or parchment, and cool completely, about 2 hours. Caramel Heat sugar and water on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color, and you want the sugar to come to smoke point), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use potholders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving. Assembly Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons Caramel on bottom of crust. Add TCHOcolate filling. Chill pie, loosely covered. Before serving, top with Bourbon Vanilla Whipped Cream. 2011-12-19T01:00:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/aahsome_tchocolate_brownies/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/aahsome_tchocolate_brownies/ auntie fruf’s aahsome TCHOcolate brownies We met auntie fruf on Twitter. Yes, seriously. On Twitter. Also known as Christine Hanson, auntie fruf got our attention by tweeting about using TCHO in her Raspberry Truffle and Chocolate Chip fudge. Sounds seriously scrumptious, right? We thought so, too. A few weeks later, a beautiful box of aahsome fudge arrived at TCHO. It was love at first bite. And second. And third and fourth and fifth! We nommed away Espresso, Raspberry Truffle, Chocolate Chip, Caramel Pecan and Milk Chocolate fudges. After finishing the grand feast of fudge, we knew auntie fruf’s aahsome fudge needed to come to San Francisco. Now, just in a nick of time for Christmas, aahsome fudge has arrived! You can find these gorgeous, giftable boxes in our Pier 17 Retail Shop. Want the tasty treat but can’t stop by Pier 17? Give auntie fruf’s TCHOcolate brownie recipe a go! Ingredients: 6 ounces TCHOPro 68% Cacao Baking Drops 2 ounces TCHOPro 60.5% Cacao Baking Drops 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 4 large eggs 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup TCHO Roasted Madagascar Cacao Nibs vanilla ice cream aahsome fudge chocolate sauce (makes the brownies extra special) Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 13-by 9-inch baking pan. Set aside. In a double boiler, or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the TCHOPro baking drops and butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and put the chocolate/butter mixture into a mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer). Let cool until lukewarm. Stir in the sugar and vanilla, then add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the flour and the salt until just combined. Stir in the cacao nibs. Pour the batter into the baking pan, and smooth to have an even layer. Bake on a rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until it is slightly crusty on top and your skewer comes out with wet crumbs. Cool completely in the pan on a rack. Cut into squares (you decide the size of the serving). Serve with scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of chocolate sauce. For that extra oomph! of mouth-watering goodness, melt a few pieces of auntie fruf’s aahsome fudge until soft, either in a double boiler or on low in the microwave in a glass bowl, stirring frequently. Generously pour fudge sauce over brownies. 2011-12-19T01:00:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/delice_au_chocolat_noir/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/delice_au_chocolat_noir/ Le Dix-Sept’s Délice au Chocolat Noir First things first. For all those non-French speakers, Le Dix-Sept is pronounced: “lay dis-set”. Michelle Hernandez, food goddess extraordinaire behind Le Dix-Sept, chose the name as an ode to the Parisian quarter she called home while studying classic French technique at the Michelin-starred houses of L’Angle du Faubourg, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, La Table de Joël Robuchon and L’Agape. (You’re on your own for pronouncing all those names!) Now that you’ve got the basics, we can move on to ogling over the divinity of French desserts. French desserts are like the Aston Martins of the sweets world. Other cars, like a cute Volkswagon Beetle, a sturdy F150, and the ever energy-efficient Prius are great. And in the sweets world these vehicles would probably be a darling strawberry shortcake cupcake, a triple-chocolatey-chunk brownie with extra fudge sauce on top, and a raw, vegan, organic, gluten-free, Fair Trade slice of banana bread, respectively. All of these treats are wonderful in their own right. But there’s just something about French desserts, like sitting behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, that’s beyond blissful, just pure pleasure.  Whatever that extra-special element is, Le Dix-Sept has mastered it—and then some! Le Dix-Sept marries San Francisco food culture with classic French techniques. Michelle uses organic, Fair Trade, and local ingredients in all her dishes. Extra bonus: each Le Dix-Sept treat is made-to-order. So your dish will be much fresher, much faster and much more delicious than waiting for those macarons directly from Paris. If you can’t even wait that long for pure heaven to reach your tongue, try making Le Dix-Sept’s Délice au Chocolat Noir yourself. Ready, set, nom! Ingredients 150 grams butter 200 grams TCHO 66% Organic Fair Trade Baking Drops 4 eggs 125 grams sugar 22 grams flour pinch espelette powder (French chili powder) 100 grams almond flour Instructions Butter a 9” round baking pan. Place a circle of parchment into the bottom of the pan. Brown butter, let cool. Melt the chocolate. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks with the sugar. Mix in the brown butter. Fold in the chocolate. Sift in the cocoa and espelette powder, then almond flour. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the batter. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 25 until set. Cool completely before turning out of pan and serving. 2011-12-19T01:00:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/world_peace_cookies/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/world_peace_cookies/ DeLise Dessert Cafe’s World Peace Cookies DeLise is the epitome of what a dessert cafe should be: pure delight! DeLise, named for the two owners Dennis and Catherine Eloise, is committed to offering only the freshest, most delicious, and most nutritious selection of sweets and treats. Yes, you read that correctly: most nutritious. DeLise seeks out organic and local ingredients, without artificial flavors or preservatives. Based on this criteria, Dennis and Catherine Eloise sought out TCHO. And we’re so pleased they did! DeLise worked with the TCHO Store Manager to develop a Kinder Bueno mousse cup. Kinder Bueno is a German candy bar, kind of like a Kit Kat filled with hazelnut cream. For the mousse cup, think Nutella-like whipped, creamy goodness on the bottom, then a layer of chocolate ganache and sprinkled with candied hazelnuts on top. Tasty! Or should we say “schmackhaft” (German for “tasty").  Another delight DeLise has so skillfully crafted is their World Peace Cookie. This cookie is one schmackhaft treat you’ve got to try! Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour 1/3 cup (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder 1/3 teaspoon baking soda 11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons, or 150 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2/3 cup (120 grams) packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or fine sea salt 3.5 ounces (105 grams) TCHOPro 60.5%, chopped into pieces 1.5 ounces (45 grams) TCHO Roasted Cacao Nibs, Toasted Instructions: Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more. Turn off the mixer. Add in the flour. Mix at low speed only until there’s very little flour left. Pour in the chocolate pieces and nibs and mix only to incorporate. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1˝ inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you don’t need to defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.) When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about one inch between them. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months. They can also be frozen in log form for months, and can be sliced and baked directly from the freezer, adding a few minutes to the baking time. 2011-12-19T01:00:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/chocolate_budino/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/chocolate_budino/ Biscotti Bari’s Chocolate Budino We are nothing short of obsessed with Stacey Bruno Migale’s Biscotti Bari. Taking a bite out of her handcrafted biscotti brings your tastebuds on a whirl-wind of a trip to Italy and back. The only thing we could love more than the taste of her biscotti is the story behind it. Her love of making this traditional Italian treat goes all the way back to her Nonie’s kitchen. There, in that kitchen, she experienced the pure bliss of sitting in the morning light, enjoying Nonie’s biscotti dipped in the perfect latté. Fast forward a few years, and Stacey meets one of the founders of TCHO. She shares her dream of recreating this simple pleasure, of making enough homemade biscotti that everyone can enjoy dipping that Italian treat in their morning latté. TCHO’s co-founder encouraged her to go ahead! Do it! And, of course, to use TCHO! So, Stacey did it! She went ahead! And, of course, she used TCHO! Now, Biscotti Bari is available for wholesale, retail and to buy directly online. Even with all that TCHO/Biscotti Bari love, we couldn’t pry the top-secret biscotti recipe out of Stacey. Instead, she’s shared her “flippin’ crazy good” recipe for Chocolate Budino. Well, if it’s “flippin’ crazy good”, Stacey, we’ll definitely have to give it a try! Ingredients: 10 ounces TCHO PureNotes “Chocolatey” chocolate, broken into pieces (about 5 bars) 4 ounces TCHO SeriousMilk “Classic” chocolate, broken into pieces (about 2 bars) 9 egg yolks 1/2 cup white sugar 3/4 cup whole milk 2 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream high quality olive oil sea salt (medium flake) 1 (5.29 ounce) package Biscotti Bari Instructions: Melt chocolates in large bowl stainless steel bowl over simmering water. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar together in large bowl till combined. Warm the milk (in microwave or over the stove); slowly pour hot milk over the yolks, whisking to combine while pouring so you don’t cook the eggs!  When chocolate is melted, remove from the stove and allow to cool a little. Add the yolk mixture into the melted chocolate slowly, whisking to combine completely.  Stir in the whipping cream. Pour the mixture into a large baking dish (a 9 x 13 metal baking pan with high sides works well). Cover tightly with foil.  Place into a larger pan (a roasting pan works well) and fill with water until half way up the sides of the budino-filled pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes in a preheated oven at 300°. Check to be sure that the edges are set but the middle will still be loose & runny. Remove from the oven and whisk to homogenize.  Pour into a large bowl.  Set the bowl of budino over a larger bowl filled with ice to cool; continue to whisk occasionally. Chill budino at least overnight in the refrigerator.  Spoon into dessert cups (or pastry shells or premade chocolate molded shells); top with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and a biscotti. 2011-12-19T01:00:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/tuesday_market_granola_bars/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/tuesday_market_granola_bars/ Snyder’s Honey and Cristina’s Tuesday Market Granola Bars Snyder’s Honey is a family run apiary in the Bay Area. Since it’s a bit of a challenge to have a shop right next to the beehives, the Snyders themselves can be found at different farmer’s markets throughout the week. We love to tromp down to the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market on a Tuesday morning and snag a taste of their delectable honey. Lately, one of our own has become especially enthralled with the concept of honey + chocolate. Cristina, a long-time farmer’s market fanatic, started up a conversation with the Snyders about how the two treats would taste together. The Snyders were immediately intrigued. And so the task of pairing chocolate and honey had begun! High quality chocolate and honey share a distinct quality: the flavor depends on origin. For chocolate, the origin of the cacao bean gives the distinct flavor notes. At TCHO, we distinguish these notes with our Flavor Wheel ("Chocolatey", “Fruity”, “Nutty”, “Citrus"). Honey’s flavor depends on the bees, where the bees fly and what time of year the bees are producing honey. Two seemingly totally different foods are really extraordinarily similar! While the final pairing menu is still underway, Cristina created another glorious way to combine the two heavenly products—the Tuesday Market Granola Bar. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal 1 cup Alfieri raw almonds, halved 1/2 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed 3/4 cup oat flour or wheat germ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2/3 cup Snyder’s Sage Honey 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extra 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds / pepitas 1/4 cup crunchy quinoa 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 1/2 cup Hamada sun dried pitted cherries 2 - 3 bars TCHO PureNotes “Fruity” bars, broken up Optional: pinch of chili powder, smidge of freshly grated nutmeg, bit of ground sage, or hint of whatever else may tickle your fancy Instructions: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x13 pan with greased parchment paper. Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the oat flour. Reduce the oven temperature to 300ºF. Place the butter, honey, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add remaining ingredients, except the chocolate, and stir well. Add the chocolate chunks last, so that the mixture has cooled to room temperature by the time you add it. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares (very important, chill in the refrigerator an additional 20-30 minutes after cooling to prevent crumbling). Serve at room temperature. 2011-12-19T01:00:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/shiaos_handmade_peppermint_bark/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/shiaos_handmade_peppermint_bark/ Shiao’s Handmade Peppermint Bark Ingredients: 8 ounces TCHO 68% Baking Drops 2 ounces old fashioned peppermint sticks, about 5, 6 inche sticks 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract (for an extra minty option) Equipment Needed: Double broiler Half sheet pan Parchment paper Scale Thermometer Fan Instructions: Find a cool spot in your house and set up your fan with an area to place the sheet pan once the bark is ready to chill. Crush the peppermint sticks into 1/8” bits, you can either use a thick plastic bag and break them up using a wooden spoon or a mortar and pestle. Set the peppermint aside, pulling out 1/4 cup for sprinkling on the top of the bark. Temper the chocolate according to the instructions on the bag. While the chocolate is tempering, cut a piece of parchment to fit the sheet pan. Once the chocolate is tempered, stir in the crushed peppermint *and peppermint extract, pour it onto the sheet pan spreading to about a 1/3 of an inch thick. Sprinkle the remaining peppermint evenly over the bark and place of the direct flow of the fan to chill. Once the bark has hardened, break it up and enjoy with a cup of hot cocoa or just by itself! 2011-12-19T01:00:00-08:00 http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/the_best_of_the_bestso_far/ http://www.tcho.com/blog/comments/the_best_of_the_bestso_far/ The Best of the Best...So Far Through extensive research, hundreds of recipe iterations and enough carbs to make Dr. Robert Atkins roll over in his grave, we’ve come up with quite the curated selection of sweet and savory TCHOcolate Sandwiches. Read, drool, and be inspired to craft your own TCHOcolate Sandwich! Nib Salad Chocolate 411 Quickie: Nibs are crushed up pieces of the most flavorful part of the bean. Nibs are pure cacao, so this product is the most nutritious of all chocolate products. Theobromine, antioxidants, polyphenols—here we come! Nibs are incredibly versatile because these little bits of pure bliss have no added sugar. For this salad, we tossed nibs with spinach, avocado, Earl’s Organics persimmons, and a simple balsamic vinaigrette. Citrus, Sweet and Savory And simple! Perfect as eye-catching, mouth-watering appetizers. We used a sweet baguette, Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam (triple cream) and generous drizzles of our PureNotes Citrus dark chocolate. Minted Marscarpone Madness Prepare to have your mind blown. Fresh minted Marscarpone Cowgirl Creamery cheese, Jamwich jalapeno jam and just the right amount of PureNotes Chocolatey. How could such a strange-sounding combo yield such beyond-infinitely-delicious flavors? No clue. We just know this recipe works. Seriously. PB&J Goes Foodie We’re all for a good ol’ classic PB&J sandie. And we did try many different variations of PB&J with TCHO before discovering something jaw-droppingly delicious. What was it? Drumroll, please! The one and only hazelnut butter! Spread on a nice, thick layer of hazelnut butter, add a bit of your favorite jam, top with ripe banana slices and cover with PureNotes Fruity. PB&J Goes Foodie is heaven in a lunchbox. Turkey Day Reprise A majority of our TCHOcolate Sandwich R&D happened in the weeks before Thanksgiving. So, naturally, our minds were on the big day. And the big turkey. And what to do with that big turkey after the big day. Being the creative, resourceful and perpetually hungry chocolate group we are, we came up with a scrumptious solution: Ciabatta bread (or leftover rolls) topped with turkey, cranberry sauce and a bit of squash (if you’d like). Mix our drinking chocolate extra-thick. Drizzle on top. Enjoy! Xoco Carnitas Torta with Cilantro Lime Crema A recipe from our very own chocolate maker, Shiao Williams-Sheng, this sandwich is the most savory and the most complex of the bunch. Be on the lookout for our full recipe. In the meantime, enjoy gazing at this mouth-watering photo of our Speakeasy Sutro Stout (chocolate beer) braised carnitas! GelaTCHO Sandwich Even a meal made completely out of TCHOcolate Sandwiches needs a proper dessert! We love squishing a gigantic scoop of Gelateria Naia’s scrumptious gelato between two equally scrumptious cookies, most preferably made with TCHOPro. Yum! Have more ideas? Tried it yourself and want to share? Our eyes and ears (and mouths) are wide open! Shoot us over an or connect with us on our Facebook page. Nom on!  2011-12-13T14:05:00-08:00