cupid has struck: black dinah chocolatiers and b.t. mcelrath

I have recently felt myself to be one lucky duck. As I watch the weather outside my window change from sunny and warm to snowy and uninviting, albeit beautiful, I find myself enjoying some really amazing chocolate.

Apparently it only takes fifteen months of writing in excruciating detail about the subtle nuances of craft chocolate (so excruciating that your loved ones grow tired of your blather and kindly suggest you take up a new hobby) before you are generously gifted said craft chocolate for the chocolatest of all chocolate occasions, February 14th.

Not once, but twice. Love me two times!, the Jim Morrison-influenced duo of chocolate has repeatedly cried out, as somewhere, a small tinny harpsichord plays in the background. After all, this chocolate is territorial. A wonderful selection of Minneapolis’ B.T. McElrath from my parents back in Minnesota mingles somewhat suspiciously with a lovely 18-piece collection from Black Dinah Chocolatiers on Isle au Haut, here in Maine.

And all of it is dwindling fast.

 

B.T. McElrath is great at what they do. The company excels at churning out artful truffles with delicate couverture, as evidenced by this year’s Passion Fruit Hearts. But it is the popping, wowing flavors that keep me interested in what their next flavor combination will be: this passion fruit, for instance, is so intense and refreshing. It is a very cleansing truffle – if there were such thing as a dessert mouthwash [hmm… must invent], this would be it.

While the most prominently featured truffle in their 5 piece Epicurean Truffle Assortment had morphed a bit from that depicted on the label, all treasures hidden within proved more gorgeous than anticipated. With only five small truffles (and I shared each one, so more like with only 2.5 small truffles…), the flavors came and went quickly. From the sublime Chile Limón, to the snazzy Kaffir Lime with Coconut and Ginger, to the complex Signature Dark, and the perhaps slightly underwhelming Zinfandel-Balsamic – which while tasty did not quite live up to its name – this box acts as a fine introduction to what B.T. McElrath is capable of. The fifth truffle was another Passion Fruit, but I preferred the thinner, crunchier chocolate shell of the seasonal heart shape to this mainstay in the assorted truffle lot.

 

Also included in this fantastic grab bag was one of B.T. McElrath’s most recent chocolate bars: the Super Red. This pairing of red fruit and chocolate proves an enticing combination that I have been looking forward to trying since last fall. As I’ve spent the past week indulging in truffles, I will review the bar here at a later date.

A super warm squeezy hug of a thank you to my parents for this unexpected and most welcome surprise. I was floored, and I am most appreciative. I would grin wide and say “thhhankshh,” but my teeth are probably filled with chocolate, which as you may know, would just about be my worst nightmare come true (next to snakes in the basement, of course). Thank you !

   

And just a day after making a very lame and snobby offhand statement that I was filled with ‘ennui’ because I knew my fella would never buy me amazing chocolate like my parents (and really, who would want to buy chocolate for such a jerk?)….. well, he did. Truffles from Black Dinah Chocolatiers. Martha Stewart likes BDC. So do those fancy people who vacation on Maine’s rocky coast in the summer time. I, on the other hand, very much disliked their lavender chocolate bark, but have since been eager to try their truffles. Why? I think truffles are the strong suit in a chocolatiery operation such as BDC. Chocolate bark, schmocolate schmark.

Since I wasn’t able to make it down to Isle au Haut before the season ended last year, this gift was the perfect way to sample Kate Shaffer’s creations.

Knowing that my dislike of white chocolate was almost as large as my dramatic ennui, my chocolate partner-in-crime made sure to have the  fully-white and potentially-despicable Lemon truffles removed from my 18-piece Valentine’s Day box of truffles. What remained were BDC’s Varietal, as well as several amazing Persian Love and Earl Grey truffles.

The Varietal truffle ganache is made of “rare” Peruvian cacao, and is very silky smooth and creamy. I found the truffle to be reminiscent of sour cream, in a good way. Not sour cream, but sour cream. The flavor is slightly overpowering, and is not my favorite, but it is well-made nonetheless.

The Persian Love dark chocolate truffles are heart-shaped, and contain whole pistachios that have been enrobed in rose and cardamom-infused caramel cream. This is a step (or perhaps, a jump) in the right direction for me, although the cream persisted in tasting a bit sour. Whole pistachios were quite a treat, and although the caramel didn’t taste much like rose or cardamom, it tasted fully-flavored and complete.

Finally, my favorite. The Earl Grey truffles, of which there were not nearly enough. This truffle’s dark chocolate ganache was infused with the perfect amount of Earl Grey tea, pairing the bergamot flavor excellently with a Venezuelan 45% milk chocolate exterior. This was truly outstanding.

The only issue with all truffles was that the couverture tended to flake, and at times separate fully from the ganache. While not much more than an aesthetic issue, it is the only point for improvement that I could see here.

Another thank you is merited at this time. This thank you is filled with x’s and o’s, much the same as the Varietal truffles are decorated. xoxoxo.

B.T. McElrath Chocolatier

2010 E. Hennepin Ave., #78
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Black Dinah Chocolatiers

PO Box 13
1 Moore’s Harbor Rd.
Isle Au Haut, ME 04645

207.335.5010

Read more from Chocolatier Kate on her blog, Black Dinah Chocolatiers.

the epic hamlet, and black dinah chocolatiers

I have this thing where I talk a bit of trash from time to time. The object of my despise varies widely, from mashed potatoes, to coleus plants, to expensive chocolate made from couverture. Which am I most likely to delve into here? Ah yes, the latter.

However, as with all things I life, I often have to remind myself to cool it. Mashed potatoes, when mixed with yams, make for a delicious side dish. Coleus plants, no matter how offensive to my eyes, provide a colorful, exotic border for any annual garden. And expensive made-from-chocolate chocolate? It is still tasty, and can represent something quite lovely. Before I get to the chocolate bar – an all-Maine affair – I’d like to share the merriment that accompanied this bar. His name is Hamlet.

A few things you may have gleaned from the above pictures:

1. Hamlet loves America.
2. A balding man may get in the way of theatrical interpretation.
3. Choosing a female for the role of Rosencranz ensures some funny business, with an emphasis on funny.
4. Hamlet has tattoos.
5. Staging a play within a fort provides an excellent way to enact scenes taking place on ramparts… on ramparts.

This version of Hamlet was put on by the Ten Bucks Theatre Company, and was, shocker, only ten bucks! It was played out within the grounds of Fort Knox (no, not that Fort Knox, that that conveys impregnability and excessive wealth). At this Fort Knox, I hear a cannonball could once be shot nearly three miles – accuracy not guaranteed. While true that the theater and I are not as close as we once were, this performance reaffirmed two things: my interest in the dramatic arts, and my interest in never performing Shakespeare. I’m sorry, but it’s just a bit long to maintain that night-after-night enthusiasm, especially given that the language of the Bard is now a world apart from all human beings.

I will say that this Hamlet (the actor, that is) was the best I have ever seen. By far. As someone who tends to dislike physical comedy, I was impressed by this Hamlet’s terrifically-funny portrayal of the role. Great job, Greg Mihalik.

There were only two weak points to the play, in my mind. Some of the actors rushed their lines quite a bit, especially at the beginning – when I wasn’t yet sick of sitting through an intermission-less play. I’m sorry, Horatio. At least everyone was audible; that is always a surprising bonus. And two… the sword-fighting. After years of swooning over Highlander, I found the swordplay – and the silent punch – to be quite weak. Thinking back to my time on stage, I only hope that my few choreographed fights did not appear this fake. Ah, weird ghetto-British-meets-American-street-style-accented dirty, nasty, nasally vampire-slaying Mud, I miss you.

Photo from Chas. Campbell, pepper shaker from…. Williams Sonoma?

…

On to the chocolate, no?

Black Dinah Chocolatiers hail from Isle au Haut, Maine, a small island where privileged folk frolic in the summertime. In addition to vacationers, the island is inhabited by two notable things: fishermen, and parts of Acadia National Park. And, if I may add, Black Dinah Chocolatiers.

I couldn’t refuse this lavender bar. I love all things lavender and lavender-infused. I found it for sale at the Winterport Winery, in Winterport, Maine, which offers fruit wines running the gamut from dry to sweet to ultra sweet, all made with ingredients found regionally.

Made with 61% single origin Venezuelan chocolate, organic Maine-grown lavender blossoms (of which there were three on my bar), vanilla-infused sugar (since I’m still out of vanilla, I have to get my it in some way), a “squiggle” of white chocolate, and a few other ingredients, this bar was quite the looker. Squiggle ‘er up!

As far as appearances go, this bar(k) had it in aces. But as far as taste? Well… that would probably depend on who ate it.

I ate it.

The bar’s aroma is a pleasant sweet chocolateyness. I left it uncovered as I mused over my photographs of the hamming-it-up Hamlet. I left it uncovered as I perused the internet for information on Black Dinah Chocolatiers. I left it uncovered as I began to write about Hamlet, and Black Dinah Chocolatiers. And all the while, it kept on aromating, aromatically. It was a good scent. Moving on to tasting, my first impression was of nothing terribly special. Unfortunately, it tasted like nondescript chocolate-that-was-already-chocolate. I wasn’t getting too much out of it other than it was very chocolatey: can you tell, from my lack of more thoughtful words? It tasted quite milky too, understandable given the dry whole and skim milk added to this bar. Some bites brought out more of the lavender than others, with the sprinkled sugar offering a nice textural difference. The most unfortunate part of this bar was that there was a rather strange aftertaste.

I found myself continuing to take bites to try to wash the aftertaste out of my mouth. It was a mixture of bitter and sweet, but not bittersweet – the flavors remained separate. However, as anyone who can put 2 + 2 together could attest, this combination of continual nibblings didn’t alleviate that aftertaste. When I did bite on a lavender flower, it cut through the taste no problem, and even made the experience enjoyable. Given that there were only three lavender flowers on my bar, however, this wasn’t even or thorough aftertaste-cutting action.

Without the aftertaste, this would have been a simple and very enjoyable bar. With it? Perhaps not worth my $4.50. As with Coastline Confections, I wonder if this Maine company simply caters to tourists with cash. I have my doubts though – I think Black Dinah Chocolatiers has promise, and is inspired. After all, their three chocolate bark flavors are Lavender, Coffee-Peanut, and Ancho Chile – – rather uncommon flavors to simply be catering to tourists.

The company also makes an extensive line of truffles, which I believe are likely much more suitable for the style of chocolate that they are producing. I would love to try these truffles, of which the Blueberry-Black Pepper, Down East Sea Breeze, Rhubarb, and Tree to Sea Caramel truffles most catch my eye.

It is my hope that I can make it out to Isle au Haut before their café closes for the season on October 9th.

Black Dinah Chocolatiers

PO Box 13
1 Moore’s Harbor Rd.
Isle Au Haut, ME 04645

207.335.5010

Read more from Chocolatier Kate on her blog, Black Dinah Chocolatiers.