It’s my favorite time of year, when we remember our blessings and indulge in gifts! For me, the Menu for Hope charity campaign represents the spirit of the holidays. The idea is simple: for each $10 you donate, you’ll get one virtual raffle ticket toward the food-related prize of your choice. This year, bloggers are again raising money for the the UN World Food Programme, the world’s largest food aid agency.

For the campaign, I’m offering some of my favorite chocolates in the world. Amano is a small-batch chocolate maker in Orem, Utah, yet it holds its own against the heavy hitters (such as Valrhona). The cacao beans are carefully sourced and processed, resulting in incredibly complex chocolate. You can taste notes of lapsang souchong, lavender, and cinnamon. No kidding! Amano has donated four bars each of

the 70% limited edition Montanya, 70% Dos Rios, and 70% Guayas
OR
the 70% Montanya, 30% Ocumare, and 30% Jembrana.

Winner’s choice! All together that’s 12 bars. If you’re having difficulty choosing, the first set is for traditionalists; the second is for those who like the creaminess of milk chocolate and the complexity of dark. Personally, I wish I could win the all-dark set. Please remember, this is prize # UE18.

Here’s how to win:

• Browse the tempting list of prizes at Chez Pim.
• Donate to the campaign at First Giving.
• Each $10 you donate will count towards one raffle ticket for a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. For example, a donation of $50 can be five tickets for UE18. Please write, “5xUE18.”
• If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
• Please allow us to see your e-mail address so that we can contact you if you win. Your e-mail address will not be shared with anyone.
• Check back on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18 for the results of the raffle. Good luck!

Photo: Amano Chocolate

If you only associate American chocolate with gritty Hershey’s bars, you’re in for a big surprise. One of my favorite chocolates in the WORLD is made on a mountain top in Orem, Utah. When Amano debuted two years ago, they only made 70% chocolate, but the bars differed radically because of where the cacao was grown.

Now Amano is making “dark” milk chocolate. This is not your mother’s candy bar. In the U.S., milk chocolate only needs a minimum of 10% cacao solids; Amano’s is 30%. As a result, you have the creaminess of milk chocolate and the complexity of dark.

Amano’s really nice PR lady is offering three of their newest bars for free. You can win the limited edition 70% Montanya (notes of grass, apricot kernels and toasted marshmallows), 30% Ocumare (notes of coffee and peaches), and 30% Jembrana. All together, they’re worth $22.

To enter the giveaway, please pay it forward: promise to do a good deed (we’re working with the honor system here) and tell me what kind of chocolate you crave most (milk, dark, or white) in the comments below. Contest ends Fri., Oct. 30 at 9:00 PM EST, just in time for Halloween!

Related links:
How to judge chocolate based on its origin
First impressions of Amano
Amano website

Sorry to invoke wrath of Southerners, but red velvet is not a cake flavor. It’s a fancy name for a neon novelty. According to legend, the color comes from the chemical reaction of cocoa powder and acid (nowadays, we enhance it with food coloring). That doesn’t sound right, because most recipes only have two tablespoons of cocoa, which isn’t enough to cause a huge change in hue, much less chocolatiness.

Even though the FDA says that food coloring is nontoxic, I have second thoughts when I have to dump a whole bottle of red #40, ground beetles, or whatever into a cake. I’d rather use non-lab produced ingredients, like beets. And seriously, why so stingy with the cocoa?  The cake has to taste like chocolate.

I found a recipe that satisfies both criteria: it’s from the American Cancer Society’s Taste More Birthdays Cake Contest.  As the name suggests, it’s semi healthy with less sugar and fat but plenty of vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. The ingredients sound strange, but the earthiness of the beets goes well with the chocolate, and the fruits add tartness. Just tell your friends that you made chocolate-raspberry cake, and they won’t have to know your secret. It’s so moist and rich that I don’t think it needs frosting. My only complaint is that it loses its bright red color after it comes out of the oven.

I adapted the recipe so the prep time’s cut in half (using canned beets saves more than two hours). I also changed the dried fruits so it’s less expensive.

New Red Velvet Cake

Adapted from Alexandra Mudry
(Recipe will make 1-9×14” cake, two 8” round cakes or 24 cupcakes)

Cake:
1 1/2 15-oz. cans unseasoned beets (to make 2 c. purée)
1/2 c. dried dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 c. prunes, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. applesauce, unsweetened/natural
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. canola oil
3 large eggs
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tsp. instant espresso powder or instant coffee
1/2 c. unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
1 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Place beets in a blender or food processor with 2-3 tbsp. water. Purée beets until they reach a smooth and even consistency. Blend in the dates and prunes. Set aside. (Can be made several days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray baking pan(s) with canola oil spray and dust with flour. Discard the excess flour (or if making cupcakes, line tins with paper wrappers).

Combine oil, eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment until smooth and light colored.

Add the tsp. of espresso powder to the melted chocolate and stir until combined.

Turning the speed down to low, slowly drizzle the melted chocolate into the mixture. Once the chocolate has been added, turn off the machine and scrape the sides of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa powder, applesauce and beet purée. Add this mixture to the egg mixture. Place the machine on medium speed to incorporate. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

Sift the remaining dry ingredients together and then gently fold into the mixture (do not over mix or the cake will become tough and dense).

Pour batter into pan(s) and bake for 40-45 minutes (or 20-25 for cupcakes), until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool and remove from pan(s). If not using immediately, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate. Cake can be made a day in advance. (The cake is rather delicate and crumbly so it is significantly easier to work with once chilled. )

Cream Cheese Frosting (optional):
24 oz. (3 pkgs) reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 c. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Lightly beat cream cheese and vanilla extract until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

Stop machine, scrape down sides of bowl then add confectioners’ sugar. Cream together until smooth. Do not overmix or the frosting will become too soft and difficult to spread.

Assembly:
If using 9” x 14” pan, cut the cake lengthwise down the middle so you have two layers.

Frost with cream cheese frosting or any other desired frosting.

Finished cake serves 10-12 generously.

Vegetables in Dessert:
Heirloom Tomato Cake, Chocolate-Potato Cake, Bean Brownies, Classic Carrot Cake, Potato-Chip Cookies, and more

One month ago, I promised to share more of my favorites from the Fancy Food Show.  I don’t have an excuse for the delay, unless you count the many distractions I’ve had: a box of Parisian chocolate and three Amano bars (more on that later). Here are the last items that caught my eye.

Best Brownies

New York City’s Peanut Butter and Co. is best known for its natural peanut butters. Here they branch out with a boxed mix. I normally bake from scratch, but these are just as good, and you can’t beat the rich peanut butter taste. Recommended for all baking phobes.

Best Confections

Photo: Amella

Amella cocoa butter caramels have unique flavors (carrot cake, black forest and passion fruit), and the packaging is beautiful.  The true test, though, is the flavor: the black forest tastes like fresh cherries, and the texture is smooth and lingering.

Best Energy Bars

Element Bars lets you customize your energy bars with a variety of fruits, nuts and grains, and it doesn’t taste like medicine. I suspect it’s because the default mix contains whole soybeans rather than soy protein isolate. Nutritionally, it’s like comparing white sugar to a piece of fruit. Soy protein isolate is processed at high temperatures (which renders most of the protein ineffective) in an alkaline solution, then an acid wash, and lastly neutralized in an alkaline solution. Appetizing, huh?

Best Coffee Cake

Jennifer’s Kitchen, a startup from Indiana, makes super moist coffee cakes, but the best part is all the crunchy streusel. 10% of each purchase goes toward a non-profit organization.  Sorry, no pictures, although their site has lovely ones.

Related links:
Dispatches from the previous years’ Fancy Food Shows
Make your own energy bars: Chocolate-date “Larabars”

At the Fancy Food Show, virtually everything you’ve ever seen on the grocery store shelf is yours for the taking, plus unreleased products and the rarest foods: jamón Ibérico (the porcine equivalent of Kobe beef), fresh mangosteens, black garlic (I don’t know what the big deal is: it tastes like salted prunes) and crudo from David Burke Townhouse.

When I was young (relatively speaking; I’m 27), I tried hundreds of samples and had the clarity of mind to describe almost everything I ate. Clearly I’ve abused my tastebuds; this year, I got palate fatigue at sample #2. But this is what I do to in the name of research.

The Chocolate (this is what we’re here for, after all)

Amano, Domori, Valrhona and Pralus were at the top of my list in years past, and I don’t see anyone replacing them any time soon. But here’s some more standouts.

Better Than Nutella

Chocolate-hazelnut spread is my favorite condiment, and I sought out ones that were better than Nutella and my homemade version. A half dozen of them were too sweet, resembled a ball of shortening or were just underwhelming.

The winner by far was Pralus. The deep, toasted hazelnut flavor could only be matched by their exquisite chocolate. They also debuted two single-estate Venezuelan chocolates (Sorry I can’t remember the names. Blame it on the fatigue.). One tasted like raisins, and the other had soil notes that morphed into coffee. Amazing what a couple degrees in latitude can do to chocolate. The chocolate-hazelnut spread is available at Zingerman’s and Murray’s Cheese (Greenwich Village only). They run out quickly, but I think it’s worth checking back everyday. While you’re there, also pick up the infernal bar, a brick of chocolate-covered chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Coming in a close second is Marco Vacchieri from Italy. The poor man’s version is Sunland’s chocolate peanut butter (a paltry $5 for top quality stuff). Because it’s made with Valencia peanuts, which are naturally sweet, there’s very little added sugar.

Top Chocolate Bars

I actually tried Pacari last year but didn’t include them in my roundup. I’m usually not fond of Ecuadorian chocolate because it tends to be neutral. Pacari, however, is strong and fruity. They also don’t use vanilla (only the bravest chocolate makers attempt this).

It’s one thing for a chocolate maker to personally source his beans, but Claudio Corallo is the only one I know who actually grows them. When they’re harvested, they’re fermented for nine to 17 days (instead of the usual two to seven) and not conched. Conching makes chocolate smooth, but Corallo insists that it sacrifices flavor. As a result, his chocolate is among the most complex I’ve had.

I’m going to break the rules and promote something that’s inaccessible to 99% of the population. For the best ice cream OF YOUR LIFE, you need to get a $4,000 Pacojet, 80% Claudio Corallo chocolate and a killer recipe or pastry chef. The Pacojet makes ice cream in reverse: instead of churning a liquid base, you start with a rock-hard frozen mass, and the blades shave it till it’s literally smoother than silk. It’s eons ahead of gelato and frozen custard. The machine’s been around for 20 years. Where have I been all this time?

Some practical applications: if you know of a restaurant with a Pacojet, run there as fast as you can. And only use the best ingredients in your ice cream recipes.

White chocolate doesn’t hold the same value as the dark stuff (it’s not legally chocolate anyway), but I think it’s because most people haven’t tasted good white chocolate.

Most white chocolate is made from deodorized cocoa butter, which gives the bar its characteristic paleness. Deodorizing masks inferior cacao, but you also lose subtle flavors. Even if you find white chocolate without any vegetable fat (avoid “white coating” and palm kernel oil), most likely you’re only tasting the milk and vanilla.

El Rey Icoa is made from non-deodorized cocoa butter, and it shows in the flavor. Coming in second place is Askinosie (read my review of their 70% chocolate). It’s the least sweet white chocolate I’ve had, and the goat’s milk adds a mellow note. The San Jose del Tambo with cocoa nibs is a winning combination: sweet and bitter.

Honorable Mentions

Madécasse’s (aka Malagasy) entire chocolate-making process, from growing to packaging, is done in Madagascar to benefit the locals. The chocolate has a long finish and is favored by pastry chef Pichet Ong.

Escazú, of Raleigh, N.C., debuted two years ago and shows promise as another small-batch chocolate maker. I’m fond of the 60% dark chocolate with goat’s milk. It has a sharp flavor, and the goat’s milk doesn’t taste like hay (in lesser brands it does, though).

Coming up in part two: everything else.

Related links:
Dispatches from the previous years’ Fancy Food Shows
How to judge cacao by its origin, and why it matters
Chocolate Show coverage