On the Radio! and new flavors

LUCA is all over the internet airwaves this week. In a big surprise to me, the folks over at the 404 on CNET reviewed my bacon box (listen here). Let me tell you, it was rather painful for me to listen to, the guys get a bit dramatic, and of course I had no idea this was coming, but in the end, I think everyone liked it.

Also, tune in at 6pm EST on this Thursday to hear me in the inaugural episode of "Chocolate Covered Bacon - The best in Independent Food Finds". Just visit blockheadradiolive.com and click the player to tune in. (I think? this is all very new to me!)

Finally tonight - Mother's day flavors are up on the site! Here's your sneak peek:

Lavender Honey Buttercreams - dreamy Provence lavender melts into honey buttercream in a milk-dark chocolate shell

Rose Pistachio Creams - rosehip buttercream with a center of pistachio fondant in a milk chocolate shell

Lemon Chamomile Truffle - fluffy white chocolate ganache infused with lemons and chamomile tea, enrobed in white chocolate

Fennel Toffee - rich, buttery toffee infused with anise liqueur, brushed with dark chocolate and studded with candied fennel seeds

Violet Nougats - delicate violets lightly flavor and beautify bright white nougat mingled with apricots, mangoes, almonds and pistachios, half dipped in dark chocolate

Rhubarb Caramels - spring rhubarb flavors classic caramel, dipped in dark chocolate and topped with a candied rhurbarb slice

You may recognize some of the flavors - especially if you're one of my fabulous chocolate of the month subscribers (not one? what are you waiting for? go here), but this box is all about flowers and springtime, and it's a very limited edition, so order early, it may disappear very soon.

I'm also offering the biggest box yet, 36 pieces for $48.95. Why? Because your momma is worth it! Be sure to leave a note in the ordering instructions if you'd like me to add in a special note, wrapping or puppy (puppy availability not guaranteed).

Springtime is here!

I often get requests for chocolate bunnies, but aside from the cuteness and the thrill of biting off ears, I didn't know how to make them cool enough for LUCA. But, the creativity must be flowing because this year, I give you...Bunny Bark!



Studded with dried fruit, nuts, and toffee, these bun-buns give you something to nibble on besides chocolate. Try dark chocolate with apricots and almonds or milk chocolate with figs and pistachios. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, get a mixed bar - half milk, half dark with pumpkin seed toffee.

Also new for spring, Rhubarb Honey Caramels, Lemon Buttercreams, Pistachio Creams and Agave-Pecan Nougat. The Agave-Pecan Nougat blends toasted, ground pecans with an extra kick of agave nectar, 1800 Reposado tequila (just a touch), and the barest mention of smoked sea salt. The Pistachio Cream has the rich, buttery flavor of freshly roasted pistachios with sweet, homemade fondant. The Rhubarb Honey Caramel is springtime in a caramel - tart pink rhubarb is slowly cooked with honey and finished with butter and cream. And the Lemon Buttercream is pure, lemon meringue pie heaven. I took just-squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest and decadent creamery butter and put it all in a dark chocolate shell.


You know what to do! Order early and often for the answer to your springtime cravings!

V-Day flavors are here!

This is a quick one, because I've got chocolate orders piling up. Expect photos in a day or two (hopefully).

The valentines flavors are as follows:

Passion Fruit Truffle: passion fruit is one of those flavors that you might not have tried, but you won't soon forget it. Tart, with a citrus tang, I've blended it with a vanilla white chocolate ganache with just a hint of nutmeg

Rosehip Buttercream: the fruit of the rose, rosehip puree is blended with smooth fondant and rich creamery butter, a unique take on chocolate and roses!

Tart Cherry Cordial - the ultimate chocolate covered cherry, sweet mountain cherries, preserved in amaretto and rum, in a tart cherry coulis

They won't last long (probably until the end of February), and then we're on to spring! My houseplants are so excited at the thought of spring, they can barely keep their roots in their pots.

Photos to come...

***UPDATE***02/01




clockwise from the top, that's tart cherry coulis, passionfruit ganache (see the little vanilla specks?), and rosehip buttercream. The middle bit's chocolate, but I'm guessing you already knew that.

Chocolate Bacon in the High Point Enterprise

Last Tuesday, Jimmy Tomlin of the High Point Enterprise paid me a visit. We talked about the joys of making candy for a living, and the strangeness of dipping cured meats in chocolate. I have to say, though, if I'm going to keep doing interviews, I'm going to have to either request that the photographer work before or after the interview concludes, or work on my multitasking. It's not easy to model chocolate covered bacon, holding a piece hovering in midair while also trying answer questions about your business and not sound like an idiot. I just hope I didn't sound too ditzy.

I've pasted it below, you can also visit the website, which includes a photo, but you'll have to register. It's a lovely article, but I do have a couple of footnotes. The print version states that you can purchase choco-bacon at the Randolph Arts Guild and all the Weaver Street Market locations. It's not available at Weaver Street, but it is available in limited quantities at the Arts Guild and of course, always online. And also, I did once dream of becoming a pastry chef. Now I am one. I'm just also a chocolatier...

Chocolate ... & Bacon?

By Jimmy Tomlin
Jan 09, 2009

Leslie Cooper admits that chocolate-covered bacon is one of the most popular items she makes in her Randolph County kitchen.
RANDOLPH COUNTY - Sometimes the fun in eating chocolate is discovering which tasty filling has been buried underneath the chocolate coating.

Is it caramel?

Is it a cherry?

How about coconut?

Almond?

For Randolph County chocolatier Leslie Cooper, hickory-smoked bacon - cooked to a crisp, just the way we like it here in the South - is the filling that's been, well, bringing home the bacon for the past several months.

"It's been really popular," the 26-year-old Franklinville woman says. "(Chocolate-covered bacon) is the majority of what I made this Christmas."

Cooper, whose creativity in the kitchen once led her to make jalapeno cordials for a wedding, apparently has never met a filling she didn't like - or wasn't at least willing to try. So last March, when a blogger told readers of his desire to try some chocolate-covered bacon - fulfilling his lifelong dream of merging two of his favorite foods - Cooper was happy to oblige.

"I've never made it," she told him, "but I'd be glad to do it for you."

Cooper, who owns Luca Chocolate, retreated to her laboratory - er, um, her kitchen - and began to experiment, and before long she had a batch of chocolate-covered bacon ready for shipping. She also threw in a few bacon caramels, as well as another creation she'd been working on - bourbon and black pepper truffles.

"He loved it and wrote about it on his blog - he even did a little video that he put on YouTube - and people just started calling from all over, saying "I have to have that bacon,'" Cooper recalls. "One guy ordered two pounds for his father for Father's Day, sight unseen. He'd never even tasted it - he just said, "Send it now.'"

The orders came from all over the country - California, Arizona, Washington, New York, Connecticut - "anywhere and everywhere," Cooper says - and suddenly Luca Chocolate was a bit of an Internet sensation.

"What I'm learning is that there's this whole cult of bacon people out there who just love anything bacon - they've just gotta have it," she says, sounding a bit perplexed. "I mean, I like bacon - I like a BLT - but I guess it's not quite as much my thing as it is other people's."

Needless to say, chocolate-covered bacon has a uniquely distinctive taste.

"It's salty, it's sweet, it's smoky and a little meaty, but not too much," Cooper explains. "I think the contrast makes the flavors taste better. It's kind of like sweet and sour - the sourness is intensified by the sweet, and the sweetness is intensified by the sour. It's kind of like that with the chocolate and the bacon."

The cooking process is fairly straightforward. Cooper cooks the bacon in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes - until it's really crispy - then allows it to cool. Once the bacon has cooled, she dips the 3- to 4-inch strips in a bowl of tempered chocolate and lays them out to allow the chocolate to firm up. She sprinkles sea salt on top of the chocolate for one final zing of extra flavor.

Customers can buy a "bacon box," which includes the chocolate-covered bacon (with their choice of milk chocolate or dark chocolate) and bacon caramels, as well as bourbon and black pepper truffles.

Cooper once dreamed of becoming a pastry chef - she attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City - before launching Luca Chocolate a couple of years ago (Luca is the name of her horse). The business started slowly, "but it's grown steadily in these two years," she says. "It's exponentially better than it was at this time last year."

And for that - in part, at least - she can thank her lucky bacon.

"I never intended to make chocolate-covered bacon," Cooper says, "but it's easily one of the most popular things I make."



© 2009 by The High Point Enterprise. All rights reserved.

The Long Vacation is back!

Actually, it's back with a twist. This year, I've added a mango-chile truffle to the mix. Here's the rundown of the flavors:

Key Lime Cream: tart limes, sweet, creamy buttercream, all in a dark chocolate shell, what more could you want?

Coconut Cream: like a tiny slice of coconut cream pie, tropical toasted coconut and just a hint of extra butter in the buttercream, also in dark chocolate

Mango Chile Truffle: the new arrival for the summer, I've combined exotic mangoes with a spicy Japanese chiles in a white chocolate ganache, complemented by the richness of dark chocolate

Sea Salt Caramel: even long vacations benefit from a little taste of the familiar - this is the classic, sweet, smooth caramel enrobed in dark chocolate with a touch of Celtic grey sea salt on top

You'll notice that all the summer flavors feature dark chocolate. In addition to being the most "good for you" kind of chocolate, I also think the complex flavors and slight (very slight) edge of bitterness are a great complement to the sweet, tropical flavors of summer. If you absolutely have to have your key lime cream in milk chocolate (or white) just send me an email or make a note in the special instructions box on the order form, and I'll be happy to accommodate.

Order Here

Bacon and Chocolate, Part 2

I've discussed the pairing of breakfast meats and candy before Bacon and Chocolate, June 12, 2007. One might assume that I'd said all I had to say about it. One would be wrong...

A couple of weeks ago, I was flipping through one of my favorite blogs and came across this.. Find me that chocolate covered bacon. As an enterprising chocolatier, I couldn't let an opportunity to make somebody's food dream come true. So I wrote to the author, offering my services.

He emailed me back a week later, and I got to work. I didn't want to just send him a box full of bacon covered in chocolate, I'm too creative for that. So I put together a box with chocolate covered bacon, bacon covered caramel, and a couple of my favorite non-bacon creations. I think the results were well received...Chocolate covered bacon video. Not only did he like the chocolates, but I have the honor of being part of the very first Modern Materialist Video post!


What do you think? Should I add chocolate covered bacon to the Luca Chocolate stable of products? Let me know what you think!

Flashy!

If you visit the website today, and you should, you'll find that everything's different. I've spent the last few days re-vamping the whole darn thing. I think you'll find this version is a little easier to navigate, a little prettier, and chock full of pictures (which is one request I hear quite often). There are still a few kinks - some of the words run off the page in places, but they'll be fixed soon enough.

The shopping experience hasn't changed, you'll still find the familiar checkout and have the option of PayPal or Google Checkout. Chocolate of the Month has changed - it's now a subscription service instead of a big purchase. So, for $19.95/month, you can have a new and exciting box of chocolate delivered every month, for as long as you like!

If you find anything that needs adjusting, or if you're missing something from the old site that didn't find its way over, send me an email or leave it as a comment.

You'll also find a new flavor - just for Valentine's - Strawberries and Champagne. It's a milk chocolate ganache studded with strawberries and spiked with champagne, in a dark chocolate shell with a little popping surprise inside. (don't worry, they're just Pop Rocks).

the flavor-making process

I've been holed up in the kitchen for the past week and a half, trying to come up with brilliant new flavors that will cement LØVE chocolate into your hearts and tastebuds forever. Last year, work circumstances prevented me from having a big Valentine's, and I'm hoping to reverse that this year.

Before I get to the big flavor reveal, I thought I'd get a little more in-depth with the process of creating a new flavor. There are a few necessary factors that must be considered - obviously, it needs to taste good, it should be either a classic combination or an innovative one, and it has to have the staying power to last about a month.

Let's start with taste. It's always been my intention to create flavors that are memorable. The first step on that path is good taste. As any good cook will tell you, the easiest way to make a memorable meal is start with high quality ingredients. For me, that means chocolate that revels in its cocoa-ness, the brightest, freshest fruits, and butter and cream from happy, local cows.

After the ingredients are covered, I have to consider the combinations. My main consideration has always been innovation, and unique pairings that work. I don't want an anchovy and lavender truffle... unless it's the most amazing thing you've ever put in your mouth (don't worry, it's not in the works). Instead of being weird just to be weird, I try to think of the flavors that I love, and translate them into chocolate. The easiest example of this is the LØVE Chocolate signature - sea salt caramel. Salty and sweet are satisfying at a primal level - the nuances of fine chocolate and buttery caramel just add to the pleasure.

It's not all about innovation and uniqueness, sometimes the most satisfying taste is the familiar one. When crafting a flavor that has its roots in tradition, it all comes back to the ingredients and the technique. Balancing the individual notes can elevate a classic combination - like chocolate and peanut butter - into something a little more sophisticated, a little more interesting.

The last factor is just as important as the first two. I believe that chocolate candies are the best moments after they're made, and it's my goal to put them in your hands as soon after that as I can. But maybe you have a modicum of self control and don't eat them all as soon as the postman drops them off (I have clients who do, and they may be my favorite people ever). You may also have purchased my chocolate from one of the local retailers who stock it (also on that favorite list). To that end, I'm always considering scientific things like water activity and pH as well as the more creative things. It's not necessary to get into a long explanation - perhaps another day. The easiest thing to remember is that less water = longer shelf life, and more acidic things tend to last longer, too.

All of this is just a big, teasing lead-up to the new flavors...which will be here tomorrow!

Cranberry Cordial

I promised a new flavor, and a new flavor you shall have. This little lovely comprises cranberries, the flavor of almonds, white chocolate and milk chocolate. Let's dig in a little deeper...

I started with sweetened, dried cranberries and plumped them with amaretto and a little water. Next, I made a smooth ganache with cream, white chocolate and more amaretto. I enveloped the whole thing in milk chocolate, and called it done.

New Fall Flavors

Finally! They're here! Say goodbye to summer, because it's time for all things crisp and sweet. Sure, summer was a lot of fun, and nothing beats a cool, creamy Key Lime Cream in the middle of a hot August day. But now, the leaves are turning, the heat wave is over (and not a moment too soon), and without further comment, here are the new flavors for the season...

Candied Apple Caramel - soft, milk chocolate covered caramel made with fresh apple cider and bits of candied apple


Pumpkin Seed Toffee - crunchy toffee with toasted pumpkin seeds, half dipped in dark chocolate



Ginger Spice Buttercream - warm fall spices with the zing of candied ginger in smooth fondant blended with creamery butter in a white chocolate shell


Marzipan Squares – a perfectly candied almond nestled in sweet almond dough, covered in dark chocolate


Orange Apricot Cream – orange buttercream with a touch of Grand Marnier, blended with sweet, tangy apricot pieces, in a dark chocolate shell


They're available in several different collections, so click through to the store and buy yours today.

Random Bits of Excitement

There are lots of exciting things happening at LØVE Chocolate. I'll be updating you in detail over the next few days, but I wanted to share them all at once, too.

1. There is a new retail location for buying my chocolate. In about a month, you'll be able to stop by the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, NC and pick up a box or ten. I'll even be there one day, meeting people and pushing product.

2. Construction is moving right along. This week, we put in the water line and the line to the septic tank, installed all the windows, and re-gravelled the drive. Pictures and stories to come.

3. New Fall Flavors are coming! By the end of the week, the seasonal chocolates will change. So if you've got a hankering for one more box of coconut creams, key lime creams, or banana creams, you'd better order before the 14th.

I'll post and update more tomorrow.

Personal Assistance

This morning, as my business line was ringing for the third time (unfortunately, all wrong numbers and all the same person), I had a fun little idea. Maybe I need a personal assistant. He/she could follow me around all day, taking down notes and letters, answering my phone and getting me water and tea. Never again would I have to needlessly scramble to find good reception only to realize that the caller wanted Lisa or Danny and not some fine chocolates.

While indulging in my grandiose fantasies is a lovely way to wake up, I do have work to do. There are new flavors coming down the line. September 14 will be the last day to get banana cream, coconut, lime and mint flavored candies. They're moving out to make room for fall flavors:

The aforementioned Orange Apricot Cream will start out the lineup. Also in the works, Pumpkin Seed Toffee (the poll winner!), Candied Apple Caramel, Ginger Spice Buttercream, and Marzipan Squares.

In the next few days, I'll have pictures and descriptions ready to go, so check back soon.

New Flavor, New Construction

It's not on the website yet, but I've created a new flavor that I absolutely love. It's Orange Apricot Cream, and it's better than any creamsicle you've ever had. I realized that's a big gauntlet to throw down for all the creamsicle lovers, but it's true. It's orange buttercream with bits of candied apricot folded in, all in a milk chocolate shell (still not sure if it's going to stay milk or go to dark).

In other news, the kitchen construction continues...the new stairs and deck are in place. After the electrician finishes later this week, it will be time for insulation and drywall! Personally, I'm thrilled and repulsed by the drywall idea. Thrilled because it means that I'm much closer to being ready to move in, and repulsed because I've been studying up on the process, and it sounds like a pain in the ass.

Now with more stuff!

In the interest of keeping everyone's attention and perhaps attracting some more, I'm going to add a few new features.

First of all, if you'll visit the website, you'll find a poll. My brain is full of new flavors, but I'd like your input. So go to the website and give me your input!

Second, I'm going to start sharing some recipes and techniques. If there's something you'd like to see here, please comment or email, and I'll do what I can. In that spirit, here's the first recipe!

French Brownies (adapted from Dorie Greenspan "Baking: From My Home to Yours", Houghton Mifflin, 2006- via the NY Times)

Preheat the oven to 300℉. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray or very lightly brush with butter.

You will need:
10 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts or hazelnuts (optional)

Melt the butter and the chocolates together in a bowl set over simmering water. Stir often to avoid burning. Set aside when melted.

Mix the flour and salt together, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs and sugar, beat on medium speed until very fluffy and pale yellow. Alternately, mix eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy and pale yellow. (Alternately alternate - whisk eggs and sugar by hand, just be prepared to do it for a while - it helps if you're ambidextrous)

Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, blend until well combined. (*if your chocolate mixture is too hot to touch, put it over a bowl of ice or some ice packs and stir until it is cooled - if not, you may end up with chocolate scrambled eggs)

Gently and quickly fold in the dry ingredients until no flour remains visible (the best way to fold: think of the bowl as a clock face; draw your spatula from 12 to 6, rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat).

Pour batter into the prepared pan, bake for 50-60 minutes, until top is shiny and dry. Remove from oven, allow to cool before cutting (yeah, right, I always do that).


This recipe came from a fairly recent NY Times article about brownies. I've cut down on the butter very slightly and changed the chocolate ratio from all bittersweet to bittersweet and unsweetened. When I made them before modifying the recipe, I found them to be a little too buttery, and not chocolatey enough. If you want to try them the other way, add two tablespoons more butter and use 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate.

Enjoy!

New Flavors

We've been having storms almost every afternoon, which has put me in the mood for comfort flavors. One of my favorite candies from school was a chocolate carrè. Carrè means square in French, and these are little chocolate squares with a filling of chocolate and praline paste and feuilletine (little flaky crispy bits). Because I like peanut butter better than praline paste, I've recreated the carrès with peanut butter. If I don't eat them all, they're now for sale on the website alone and in combination with two other new flavors I made today, Banana Cream Pie, and Cafè au Lait.

Two years ago, I was in NYC, sitting on a rooftop bar with a date, trying my very first mojito. In the spirit of rememberance, and just because they're so tasty, I've created the Mint Mojito Cream - minty buttercream with a dash of lime and a "kick". It won't get you tipsy, but it will certainly refresh you on one of these ridiculously hot days.

Bacon and Chocolate

I was sifting through some blogs yesterday, and came across this story, Chocolate and... Bacon? , about a new chocolate bar by Vosges Haut-Chocolat with bacon. I have to say, this is not my first encounter with chocolate covered bacon. When I was a baby pastry chef at the FCI, my chef-instructor made little chocolate covered bacon candies as well as a red wine truffle. The truffle was not particularly good, but the bacon, was fantastic. It was a thick slice of bacon, cut into 1 cm pieces and cooked slowly until it was crisp-chewy. After the pieces were cooled, they were enrobed in dark chocolate. You couldn't eat more than one piece, it was pretty rich, but man, it was tasty.

Revisiting the bacon-chocolate issue made me think about my own weird flavors. In my line, I have several unusual combinations. In fact, I've made it part of my philosophy to find those good, unexpected combinations and make them. I started with salt and chocolate (the Sea Salt Caramel) and added pepper and chocolate (Pink Peppercorn Caramel) to balance the combination. It took many attempts to get it right, but I'm pretty pleased with the final result.

For me, chocolate is about a moment. I'd rather have one amazing piece of chocolate than a whole box full of something mediocre. With my candies, I hope I can re-create that for someone else. I'm trying to find that balance between unique flavor combinations and classic ones. I don't want them to be overpoweringly rich, but I'd like to find that a person savors each piece, instead of eating them quickly.

So, if you're reading, please, tell me, what are your favorite weird flavor combinations? (ideally they'd include chocolate, but all submissions are interesting!)