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Emperors, Chocolates, and Notes in Passing

February 13, 2022 by Nick Cardoni

In a previous life, among the trappings of a tiny shop in Manhattan’s West Village, I stocked glass vases and galvanized steel buckets with all manner of floral delights, and prepared wild-looking bouquets to order for local residents. Each year, just prior to February 14th, we’d break our rule of “no red roses — too cliché” and stock up on precisely that cliché, as a surefire way to capture sales for last-minute Valentine’s Day gifts. We were fortunate to entertain a diverse and eclectic clientele the year ’round, but, in this particular moment, and always up til and past closing time on the 13th, there was a predictable, reliable influx of customers buying flowers and chocolate for their romantic partners. We’d assist and suggest and coach and almost always save the day for folks caught up in the rush of a holiday tradition seemingly thrust upon them.

As we once again approach the most chocolate-y holiday, arguably, of the year, we thought it would be fun to explore the current trends, a few of the clichés, and a bit of the history behind gifting chocolate on Valentine’s Day. Many of us are at least somewhat familiar with the tale of St. Valentine: a priest imprisoned and sentenced to death for his crimes, namely, performing marriage ceremonies for soldiers in defiance of an emperor who thought warriors were better off in battle if they were “unfettered” by romantic associations. As he departed his cell for the last time, the priest left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter (a woman he had helped to heal and subsequently befriended). His card was signed, simply, “Your Valentine.” History is fuzzy as to who exactly inspired this story, but the legend survives, as good legends do, and Valentine has since been associated with the message, the card, the gift, and the love.

Love in defiance of an emperor … is there anything better?

Luckily, most mid-February observances these days don’t involve imprisonment, execution, or imperial decree, and the notes we pass are, perhaps, less urgent. That said, shouldn’t we endeavor always to write to those we care about as though we may never again have the chance?

When I was in grade school, the exchanges were somewhat less poetic: perforated sheets of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cards with hearts and quasi-romantic sentiments, Hershey’s kisses and sickly sweet foil-wrapped chocolate hearts from the other Big Chocolate machines. Shortly thereafter, it was the ubiquitous Whitman’s Sampler clogging the aisles of CVS (my first job). As I began my haphazard journey into dating — is there another way to venture forth? — I graduated to slightly more expensive chocolate and arguably “better” Valentine cards, usually sans Ninja Turtles. In any case, and at least in the very small world that was my corner of suburban Massachusetts, the overarching message seemed to be that Valentine’s Day was a holiday where “men bought women (a fairly predictable box of) chocolate.” As my world grew bigger, I found that this distillation often brought eye-rolls at best and downright scorn at worst. It’s certainly a fairly narrow view toward gift-giving, and relationships, and romance, and the intersection of it all … not to mention the chocolate! From whence comes this narrative?!

I reached out to craft chocolate expert and culture aficionado, Megan Giller, of Chocolate Noise, for her take:

Over the past 80 years, big chocolate companies have worked hard to make chocolate the perfect gift for Valentine’s, in particular creating a tradition where men give women chocolate. I’ve even read marketing materials from the 1940s and 1950s where executives talk specifically about gifting, and focusing on women (and gifts for women) as their target.

From the early 20th century on, Rowntree (a British brand) ran advertisements directed toward men for Black Magic chocolate boxes and Dairy Box chocolates. Here’s one for Dairy Box:

“Spend a lucky shilling

On giving her a treat

A DAIRY BOX of lovely chocs

Will keep your ‘Sweetie’ sweet!”

Note the conflation of women with sweetness, and that it’s intended to convince men to buy chocolate for women.

This is, perhaps, not quite as sinister as pitching cigarettes as cool accessories to hook young smokers through television and film inclusions, but the approach is still problematic, serving to underscore gender stereotypes, and enforcing the notion that men have an obligation to buy for their women, in a somewhat impersonal and possessive way, to earn or maintain their affection. Of course, love is love, and great chocolate should ideally flow in all directions, from all parties, without expectation of any kind of “return on investment.”

We’re quite lucky to have a direct line to a part of the world where Valentine’s gifting takes a bit of a different turn. I reached out to Yuki Yamagata at Dandelion Chocolate Japan for her view of local traditions and Dandelion’s involvement in chocolate gifting practices, posing the following questions:

What is your understanding of traditions around gifting chocolate in Japan at Valentine’s Day?

For teenagers, Valentine’s Day used to be a romantic day where girls express their feelings to boys! When I was a high-schooler, one of my friends received a chocolate gift from an unknown girl who had a crush on him, on the way to his school. How cute is that?

For professionals, it used to be a (possibly, at least for me) a problematic day — where female employees are expected to give chocolate to male employees.

(Yuki is referencing the common tradition of ‘Giri Choco’ or ‘Obligation Chocolate’.)

In exchange for Giri chocolate, female employees are gifted back from male employees for something on the [more recently adopted] White Day on March 14th. It could be a measurement of how popular you are as a professional in the company team. It’s also cute to see chocolate gifting happening in families, too. Little daughters give chocolate to their dads, like Father’s Day.

How have traditions/customs shifted in recent years and where are things headed?

I’m not sure if teenage girls give chocolate to boys nowadays. In professional situations, it has been changing and I rarely hear about chocolate gifting from female employees to male employees. Instead, I hear many ladies buy chocolate for themselves or for their girlfriends to thank them for their friendship. You will see lots of female customers at the Valentine’s gift fair. Gift giving to romantic partners is still happening, too.

How has Dandelion Chocolate Japan been involved with and impacted by Valentine’s Day gifting?

February is one of our busiest months, however our chocolate is not red, heart-shaped chocolate, and not affordable for Giri chocolate. I feel like people who select us for Valentine’s Day gifts are more enjoying chocolate itself than celebrating Valentine’s Day.

In a perfect world, we’re simply targeting people who love craft chocolate, and the only behavior we’d like to encourage is that they give it to anyone and everyone they care about! We are spoiled to stand amongst so many fine and admirable craft chocolate makers these days, and it’s no great evil if, by custom, we give and eat a bit more of the good stuff than usual at certain times of the year. As a means to say “I Love You,” chocolate provides a magical end. From my window on this ever-changing world, the only obligation we should honor is the one to say “You Are Appreciated” when we mean it, while we have the time to do it.

A Tribute to Chuck

October 5, 2021 by Jennifer Roy

We have a tradition at Dandelion of celebrating birthdays. We ask everyone what their favorite treat is on their first day, and then on their birthday, their team typically surprises them with pizza, a chocolate eclair, or a little cheese plate. There have been a few times when team members have joined Dandelion on their birthday (Anna, Pablo) and we’ve had to scramble to uphold the tradition.

One of our last in-person, unmasked birthday celebrations was in 2019. I happened to record the birthday on my handheld iphone. In the video, you can see about two dozen team members huddling in the hallway while Caitlin lights the candles on top of a plate of cookies and ice cream. And then, all at once, the chocolate factory erupts in a remarkably on-key Happy Birthday for our wonderful Production Mechanic, Chuck.

Chuck joined us over five years ago, half retired but wanting something to keep him busy. He started at Valencia and helped us open the 16th Street Factory in 2019.

He had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met as well as a habit of sending “love notes” to the factory every quarter or so. One went like this:

Hello Dear Dandelions,

Tomorrow I get to begin my sixth year trying to support the production team. What a ride! And I hope it keeps on keeping on.It continues to be a joy to come to work and spend my days with the wonderful people on our teams.
I have said this before but it bears repeating. When you discover someone worthy of your love, add them to the many you already love. You won’t run out. There is no limit to how many people you can love.

Also to repeat, somehow Dandelion finds amazing team members and I just love you all. Thanks to you all for being so thoughtful and helpful.

I continue to know that if I have these feelings and don’t share them the opportunity to say nice things may pass and I will rue the missed chance.

With great love to you all,
Chuck

During Covid, Chuck came to the factory every day to keep the chocolate production line humming so our bean-to-bar chocolate factory could exist through today — with pictures of his family and grandchildren on all walls and surfaces of his tool room cheering him on.

In early August Chuck came to Todd and said, “Todd, I think it might be time to think about really retiring,” which surprised us all. And perhaps Chuck suspected something because the next week, he received a late-stage diagnosis and shortly thereafter entered palliative care. Even from the comfort of his living room surrounded by family, he woke up to join our weekly virtual Wednesday-morning All Hands and told us (again) that he loved us all.

We hoped he had more time then. His wish was to have another Christmas with his family. But as Chuck always reminded us, you should always say “I love you” to those you care about because you never know how much time you have.

We’re a small team today and work shoulder-to-shoulder at the factory. And we’re still feeling the shock waves of losing someone we’ve worked beside, who helped carry the factory during these past 18 months, and whom we cared about very, very deeply.

Chuck, we miss you and we so love you too. It’s hard going into Q4, typically the busiest time for our chocolate factory when we all rally together, without our loyal mascot of so many years.

And yet, if there’s one thing that Chuck would want, it would be for us to make sure we remind those we care about that we love them. And sappy as it might sound and though it’s unlikely we’ve ever met, I want to say we love you all too. Thank you from all of us for supporting craft chocolate, for making our livelihoods possible, and for cheering us on during uncertain times.

Wishing you all health and many good days ahead.

Chuck, rest in peace our dear friend.

Elaine

Craft Chocolate:
Slow Food That’s Worth the Wait

February 18, 2020 by Emily Mantooth

Emily Mantooth is co-founding the Craft Chocolate Experience with us March 6-8, 2020. Her years of experience with the Dallas Chocolate Festival made her the perfect partner with whom to embark on this adventure. She has been the engine pushing the festival forward and so we thought you’d enjoy hearing about it from her perspective. We look forward to seeing you in March!

Making chocolate is a lesson in patience. To start, it takes a cacao tree about five years to grow enough to bear fruit. And even then it can take another four to five months (or longer) for the tree to actually produce that fruit in the form of cacao pods.

From there, beans are harvested, fermented, bagged, and shipped all around the world. This can also take months. For the craft chocolate maker, only the finest beans will find the way to the factory, assuring that the chocolate that is produced can highlight the nuances of these magical beans. And while the farmer may be looking to the next harvest, the maker’s work is just beginning: sorting, roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching, tempering….so many calibrated steps that all have to go perfectly to produce a high-quality bar.

And that’s just to make the chocolate. For confectioners, they take it a step further to create truffles, bonbons, and pastries that both taste delicious and look amazing.

So much work has gone into getting the chocolate made, but even that is not the end of the process. Once craft chocolate makers and chocolatiers perfect their recipes, they must add to that production the challenge of selling what they make. Decisions about product and shape, packaging, marketing, pricing, and shipping. Do we open a shop or just sell through others? Do we update our labels this year? How much should I produce of each product? How many beans should I buy? The rabbit holes are many and deep. So, while addressing the business decisions is a key part of actually making chocolate as a business, it is rare that a chocolate maker got into the business because of this step. And yet, day after day, amazing artisans grapple with these choices to keep their passion going.

As we put the finishing touches on Craft Chocolate Experience: San Francisco, I think about all those things daily. From the farmers to the folks wrapping bars that have come off the production line, everyone has a part to play in getting a delicious and beautiful piece of chocolate into the hands of someone who can enjoy its flavor while also appreciating all the time and energy and perseverance that it took to get it there.

We are thrilled that we have over 90 exhibitors coming to the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts from March 6-8 to tell their unique stories and share their amazing work. This truly is a chance like no other to learn and taste and experience the literal fruits of these labors. For our guests, this means tasting bars and confections from around the world, learning from industry experts on a range of in-depth topics, and also having some fun while gaining a deeper appreciation of what it takes to bring craft chocolate to market. These makers and their commitment to excellence, to doing things the right way, and to caring about the impact that their businesses can have on the communities they touch continue to inspire our whole Craft Chocolate Experience team.

So, while we excitedly count down the days until we see old friends and try new treats, our hope is that everyone who attends Craft Chocolate Experience this March shares our enthusiasm. We are mindful of the dedication, creativity, and tireless effort it takes to make each bar of chocolate…and we cannot wait to see these talented makers share that with every guest who comes into the Palace of Fine Arts.

Just as each chocolate bar begins with a cacao tree planted years before, we, too hope that Craft Chocolate Experience is just the beginning of a chocolate journey. That the things that guests taste and learn are the beginning of their own chocolate adventure….and we can’t hardly wait!

Alison Sullivan’s Camino Verde, Ecuador Mousse Cake Recipe

January 28, 2020 by Karen Solomon

The final night of our 2019 12 Nights of Chocolate event ended with this decadent and creamy classic layer cake, and we think it showcases our Camino Verde, Ecuador Ground Chocolate and Hacienda Azul, Costa Rica cocoa nibs really, really well. It was created by Alison Sullivan, the pastry chef at Prairie in SF; she and chef/owner Anthony Strong regularly use our chocolate on the menu. We love Prairie for more than just their desserts. It’s one of our favorites in the Mission for grilled modern and classic Italian.

Make the Camino Verde, Ecuador Ganache

453g 70% Camino Verde, Ecuador Chef’s Chocolate
475g heavy whipping cream
275g sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
340g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Myer’s Dark Rum

Melt the chocolate over a water bath using a rubber spatula, stirring frequently while melting. Once melted, remove the pan and bowl from the heat and keep the chocolate warm.

In a separate saucepan over medium heat, warm the cream with the sugar just enough to dissolve it. Add the salt.

Blend about 2/3 of the cream and sugar into the chocolate. Add the remainder of the cream and work with a spatula to loosen the ganache. Smooth out the emulsion with an immersion blender.

Blend in the butter in 3 parts. Then blend in the vanilla and the rum.

Cool the ganache to room temperature before using. Cover it with a layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate it at least 30 minutes but preferably overnight (note, however, that the ganache can be made up to four days ahead). If it’s thoroughly chilled, bring it to room temperature for about 30 minutes before using, or heat in a double boiler to pour over as a glaze. Makes 2 quarts.

Make the Chocolate Midnight Cake

600g sugar
332g all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
129g cocoa powder
7g baking powder
14g baking soda
4-5 eggs, depending on size
263 ml crème fraiche
176 ml whole milk
356 ml cold coffee
11 ml pure vanilla extract
85g unsalted butter, melted
75g neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the oven racks to fit three half-sheet pans.

Line 3 half-sheet pans with parchment paper, then spray or lightly oil the parchment. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift the sugar, flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda together twice.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, crème fraiche, milk, coffee, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in half of the wet ingredients. Whisk vigorously to combine and beat out any lumps or pockets of dry ingredients. Whisk in the second half of the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, then whisk in the butter and the oil.

Divide the batter evenly among the 3 pans. Bake the cake for 6 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for 2-3 minutes more. The edges will begin to pull away from the sides, and the center of the cake will spring back to the touch.

Make the Roasted Cocoa Nib Syrup

70g of Hacienda Azul, Costa Rica cocoa nibs
113g water
50g sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a rimmed baking sheet, roast the nibs until fragrant, about 10 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the water and sugar, then bring it to a boil. Keep covered until the nibs finish toasting.

Remove from the nibs from the oven and add them to the hot syrup. Steep for 15 minutes, then strain and discard the nibs.

Note that the syrup can be made up to one week ahead.

Make the Camino Verde, Ecuador Chocolate Mousse

850g 70% Camino Verde, Ecuador Chef’s Chocolate
1775 ml heavy cream
12 egg yolks
100g sugar
1/2 cup Roasted Cocoa Nib Syrup

In a large mixing bowl, melt the chocolate over a hot water bath using a rubber spatula, stirring frequently while melting. Once melted, remove the pan and bowl from the heat and keep the chocolate warm.

In a medium mixing bowl or stand mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks.

In a separate mixing bowl or in a stand mixer with a clean, dry whisk, whip the yolks until pale and doubled in volume.

Clip a candy thermometer to the side of a medium saucepan. Combine two tablespoons of water with the sugar, stir to combine, and then boil the syrup until it reaches the firm ball stage of 248 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius).

Pour the syrup in a slow stream into the whipped yolks, being careful not to get any sugar on the whisk.

Whisk the nib syrup into the melted chocolate, then whisk the yolk mixture into the chocolate.

Carefully fold 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate, then fold in half of the remaining cream. Fold in the remaining cream, making sure that the mousse is evenly incorporated.

Make the Hacienda Azul, Costa Rica Cocoa Nib Bavarian Cream

250g Hacienda Azul, Costa Rica cocoa nibs
610g whole milk
110g sugar
7.5 g gelatin
350g heavy cream
7 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a rimmed baking sheet, roast the cocoa nibs until fragrant, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the milk is steaming. Add the cocoa nibs, stir well, cool to room temperature, and then cover and chill overnight.

The next day, strain the milk from the nibs until you have 500 ml (discard the nibs and reserve the remainder of the infused milk for another use).

Bloom the gelatin in ice water and set aside.

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the yolks. In a medium saucepan, warm the infused milk until just steaming, then slowly stream it into the egg yolks while whisking vigorously to make a creme anglaise. Strain the anglaise back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and steaks across the bottom of the pot.

Add the softened gelatin to the anglaise and mix well. Once completely cool, but before it begins to set, gently fold in the whipped cream. Transfer to a container and chill overnight to set. Makes 1 quart.

Assemble the Cake

Cover a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and add a 2” high extender.

Pipe a1/2-inch layer of the mousse on the bottom of the pan. Cover with a sheet of Midnight cake. Top the cake with a ¼-inch layer of the ganache, then add another layer of cake. Layer on a second ¼-inch layer of ganache, then top with a third sheet of cake. Wrap the layer cake and freeze it overnight.

The next day, release the pan extender and cut the cake into logs of desired width and length. Warm the rest of the ganache until it is pourable and pour it over the logs. Finish and decorate as you wish. Move the cake to the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, then let it come to room temperature about 30 minutes before slicing.

To serve, stir the Bavarian cream until it smooths out enough to fall from the spoon in thick ribbons. Spread a healthy amount of the cream onto the center of the plate, then top with a slice of a cake.

Pairing Sake with Chocolate
at Umami Mart

September 4, 2019 by Karen Solomon

Kayoko Akabori is one of the founders of Umami Mart, an Oakland importer and retailer of Japanese food, barware, and household goods, and an online blog of food and drink. Brandon, our staff accountant, is a huge fan of the store, and he noticed that they expanded their space to include a tasting bar that can host events. He made an introduction to Leah and Christine, who happily worked with the Umami Mart team to taste chocolate after chocolate, and sake after sake, to find complimentary flavors between them. Together they hosted a sold-out event to highlight how sake and single-origin chocolate are made, and how complimentary they can be side by side. Kayoko blogged a recap of the event, and she kindly allowed us to share it here.

A few weeks ago, we hosted an event with our neighbor across the bay, Dandelion Chocolate, for a special event pairing sakes with chocolates. The event focused on chocolate and sake production, and we tasted through Dandelion’s bars made in San Francisco and Japan, paired alongside sakes that are also from the Bay Area, and Japan. It was an awesome night of discovery and our taste buds were awakened!

The event came about because as a chocolate lovers, we weren’t getting quite the right pairings with sake – but we knew there’d be a pairing out there! There is a lot of literature written about sake and chocolate. Many Japanese blogs and books suggest pairing sweeter style sakes like sparkling sakes and nigoris with chocolate. But we tried these pairings over and over again, and it wasn’t quite clicking.

It was time to bring the chocolate pros in – Dandelion Chocolate from San Francisco. Tasting through the chocolates with Christine really helped us open our eyes on how to taste chocolate and the production method of chocolate (from cacao fruit bean to bar).

The resulting pairings did not involve one sparkling sake or nigori! In fact some of the sakes we paired alongside these dark and complex chocolates were on the dry side. The only only outlier that was on the sweet side was the aged, vermouth-like Hisui red, which worked wonders for the extra dark Ecuador 85% bar we tried at the end.

Dandelion opened an outpost in Kuramae, a neighborhood in Tokyo, in 2016 where they make and sell chocolate. We were lucky enough to taste one of the bars made in Tokyo, along with three others made in San Francisco. We had worked with Christine and Leah from Dandelion to come up with these chocolate/sake pairings:

Pairing 1
Cahabon, Guatemala 70% (made in SF) with Enter Gold Daiginjo (brewed in Aichi, Japan)

Pairing 2
Maya Mountain, Belize 70% (SF) with Den Nama (Oakland)

Pairing 3
Gola Rainforest, Sierra Leone 70% (Tokyo) with True Vision (Fukui)

Pairing 4
Camino Verde, Ecuador 85% (SF) with Hisui Red Rice (Kumamoto)

Christine started off the event by cutting open a cacao pod!

The pods were slimy and tart, and when chewed, definitely tasted like a mild bean.

The tasting led to many lively discussions with our guests. I had personally never tasted sakes and chocolates alongside one another before and was astounded by how one enhanced the other. We all learned so much about sake and chocolate, and how to taste each individually, and together.

As someone who has paired lots of savory foods with sake, pairing chocolate with sake was pretty intimidating. With a little guidance and help from the pros of chocolate, exploring outside our usual pairing comfort zone was eye-opening and ultimately delicious.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event – it was our first ticketed event at the bar and we were so happy that it was a packed house. A very special thanks to Christine from Dandelion – she was so knowledgable and gracious. We hope to partner with Dandelion again in the future!

Angela Pinkerton’s Torta Caprese With Cacao Nib Gelato And Cherry Confitura

July 9, 2019 by Karen Solomon

Pastry Chef Angela Pinkerton (Che Fico, Eleven Madison Park) is a talent, a creative force in pastry, and a friend. She has been there for us several times as a volunteer chef for our annual 12 Nights of Chocolate fundraiser for the SF/Marin Food Bank, and she recently joined us on a chef’s trip to the Dominican Republic to see how cacao is grown, fermented, and dried, and to learn how the chocolate-making process begins. While there, she visited Zorzal Cacao, and the gelato for this dessert takes inspiration from her visit to the origin. Angela tells us that steeping the nibs in cold milk and cream overnight helps extract, “the fruity perfume essence I remember from eating the raw cacao beans during the trip, and the toasty cocoa flavors we expect to enjoy.” Angela currently serves this dessert at Che Fico Alimentari as a memento to what she experienced with us in the DR.

Time: 90 minutes active time, plus overnight steeping
Serves: 10-12

Make the TORTA CAPRESE

1 ½ cups/180g walnuts
4 cups/342g 70% Camino Verde, Ecuador ground chocolate
¼ cup/55g cocoa butter
6 ounces/165g unsalted butter
6 eggs, separated
1 ¾ cup/210g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon/4g sea salt
2 Tablespoons dark rum or Maraschino (optional)

Grease a 9” round cake pan and line the pan with parchment, then grease the parchment. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly toast the walnuts and let them cool. Chop the nuts until very fine.

In a medium saucepan over a hot water bath, melt the chocolate, cocoa butter, and butter together. Remove from heat and stir the mixture until cools.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and sea salt until light and fluffy.

In separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

Combine the cooled chocolate mixture with the yolks until thoroughly combined, then add the walnuts.

Carefully fold in the egg whites in three batches; the batter may look broken, but it will smooth out once it’s fully incorporated. Stir in the rum or Maraschino, if using.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a crust forms on top. (Note that a cake tester will not come out totally clean, but it shouldn’t have crumbs stuck to it. It will be coated in chocolate, but not gooey).

Cool the cake completely at room temperature. It can be served immediately or wrapped and chilled overnight. To remove the cake from the pan, quickly and evenly warm the pan on top of a burner or with a torch and invert the cake onto a plate. Peel off the parchment before cutting. For best results, slice the cake with a hot, clean knife.

Make the COCOA NIB GELATO

(Makes 1 quart. Note that you will need a thermometer and an ice cream maker.)

¾ cup/100g Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania cocoa nibs
1 cup/225g heavy cream
1 ½ cups/675g whole milk
½ cup/50g dried milk powder
¾ cup/155g sugar
¼ cup/38g dextrose

Lightly toast the nibs in a 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes just until you can smell the chocolate. Combine the hot nibs with the cream and milk and let them steep overnight.

Strain the nibs from the milk and cream and heat the milk mixture to 104°F.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk powder, sugar, and dextrose.

Once the milk reaches temperature, whisk in the dry ingredients and continue to heat the milk until it reaches 185°F.

Remove from heat and cool the ice cream base in an ice bath, stirring often. You can cure the base in the refrigerator overnight. Spin the base in an ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions and freeze until you’re ready to use it.

Make the CHERRY CONFITURA

4 cups cherries
¾ cup/151g sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon citric acid
1 Tablespoon dark rum or Maraschino
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Pre-freeze a metal mixing bowl.

Pit the cherries and cut them in half. In a medium saucepan, combine them with the sugar and then cook over medium-high heat until al dente, about 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the cherries and transfer them to a frozen bowl to stop the cooking.

Continue to cook the remaining syrup until it thickens, about another 5-7 minutes. Pour the syrup into the bowl with the cherries and stir in the citric acid. Cool the bowl in the freezer for 15-20 minutes or until chilled and thickened. Add the rum or Maraschino and the lemon juice to thin the sauce as needed. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Make the CANDIED WALNUTS

(Makes about 1 pint)

2 cups/300g walnuts
2 cups/500g water
2 cups/500g sugar
kosher salt to taste

Chop the walnuts into bite-sized pieces, then sift out the dust. Bring the water and sugar to a boil, add the nuts, then reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes, until the nuts have become semi translucent and saturated with sugar.

Drain the nuts from the syrup and spread them in a single layer onto parchment-lined sheet trays. Sprinkle them lightly with the salt and bake in the oven at 300°F for 15-20min until the nuts are dry, brown, and toasted, stirring halfway through to prevent clumps. Cool completely, then store them airtight in a cool, dry place.

To assemble the dish:

Warm slices of the cake in a 425°F oven until hot to the touch, about 3-5 minutes. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the cherry confitura on one side of the cake. Sprinkle on the candied walnuts and top with a scoop of the gelato. Serve immediately.

Chocolate 301: Our Trip to Belize in 2019

May 8, 2019 by The Dandelion Team

Rebecca and Renee wrote this blog post together, and they were fortunate enough to attend our annual guest trip to Belize that we offer each February (just one of the many perks in working for a chocolate company—in addition to all of the chocolate you care to eat). This trip is one of many that we’ve taken as a team: Greg visited in 2013, and Molly had a look a year later, but this is the first for Renee and Rebecca. Renee is a chocolate maker at our Valencia Street factory. Rebecca was formerly the manager of the Valencia Street café, but she just became the Director of the Chocolate Experiences team. Warning: their travelogue will make you want to pack your bags.

Hello Dandelion Friends! This February we had the opportunity to attend a Chocolate 301 cocoa trip: an interactive, hands-on, seven-day exploration into the world of cacao in the southern tip of Belize. Along with Greg, our Bean Sourcerer, and 11 chocolate aficionados from across North America, we stayed at the very scenic Chaab’il B’e Lodge in Punta Gorda. We ate amazing chocolate-infused meals and washed them down with local cacao rum and Coke prepared by lodge owners, Sheila and Rusty.

Diving right into the jungles of Belize, we spent our first day touring Eladio’s farm where we learned about the gospel of cacao, and the harmony between man and earth that helps synthesize healthy plant growth. As he led us through his farm, Eladio would stop to pick what appeared to be random plants and teach us about the benefits they have on the body, as well as how they contribute to the growth of the entire ecostructure. We ate hearts of palm, sugar cane, cacao, and corn right out of the ground! It was a wild jump into the deep end of Belize. He stopped to cut open a cacao pod and said, “now we look for faces.” As Eladio explained it, the faces that can be identified in the raw pod give us insight into all of the animals and creatures that love to eat them! I found Stitch. What faces do you see?

After our long trek through Eladio’s wild farm, we finished the day with a delicious, home-cooked Belizean meal and a lesson on making traditional Mayan drinking chocolate.

Another day, we went to Xibun Reserve, a former Hershey plantation of 1100 acres that has been revamped and is now growing cacao and citrus. It is HUGE. We spent a bumpy couple of hours riding through the orange groves and rows of cacao trees in the back of a tractor. We got to see firsthand as the farmers split the cacao pods and harvested the wet beans. It was mind-blowing to see how easily and quickly they got the pods open because they are so thick! We also hopped down from our iron chariot to walk around through the trees, enjoying the variety of colors that each pod produced. The trees were full of beautiful flowers and budding cacao pods. Seeing the difference in how the cacao trees were kept at Xibun and at Eladio’s was really interesting. Xibun had very well-kept, neat rows of trees that were in stark contrast to the wild jungle of Eladio’s farm. Even as we rode around the tractor at Xibun, one side was all cacao—and then we’d turn around and see all citrus. It was surreal.

On Valentine’s Day we went to Maya Mountain Fermentary. The name may sound familiar to some of you who may have tried our Maya Mountain, Belize chocolate bars—feel free to learn more about how Elman developed this bar’s flavor profile. Maya Mountain is an organization, not a co-op, from where we source our delicious Belizean beans. They collect wet beans from farmers around Belize and ferment the beans at their location in Punta Gorda. This experience took the term “hands on” to a whole new level! We got to actually stick our hands in the gooey fermentation boxes to see how much heat they produce! We also got to taste the beans at different stages of fermentation and drying. The flavor of the nibs changed significantly from one to four days of fermentation, as well as at different stages of drying. Truly in her element, Renee got right to work, showing the team how we sort beans and explaining what we look for in this process. We learned what their quality manager looks for when they sort before packaging and sending beans to the chocolate makers. She then showed us what she looks for when she grades beans. She could look at a cut test and see how far along fermentation had occurred. We then tasted a wide selection of chocolate made with Maya Mountain beans from other makers. As a chocolate maker, this is one of Renee’s favorite things to do. One origin can taste so vastly different depending on the maker, but there remains a consistent character from the terroir that is discernible in each bar from the same origin.

On our last day, we went to Copal Tree Lodge where we walked around their beautiful garden and made chocolate with their chocolate maker. It was amazing to learn about their process and see that one chocolate maker takes ownership of every step! He gave us beans to taste from different times in the roast. We could taste the flavors evolving. Then we got to winnow the freshly roasted beans. It was very therapeutic, like raking a zen garden. After this, the chocolate maker showed off his skills and hand-tempered a large batch of chocolate right in front of us for us to pour into molds. To remove air bubbles from the bars in our factory, we rely primarily on a vibrating table. At Copal Tree, they rely on the more rudimentary system of slamming the chocolate mold against a table to remove air bubbles—a very satisfying alternative. It was incredible to see such a large batch of chocolate hand-tempered with such ease. He didn’t even need a thermometer; he could just feel the change in viscosity and knew when it was ready!

This doesn’t even scratch the surface on what happened on the trip. There was so much more that can’t be captured with words or pictures. It was really refreshing to be around so many people who are passionate about chocolate; not just the customers, but also the farmers, fermenters, and other makers. It was so eye-opening to see how much goes into making a treat that the world enjoys. 10/10 would go back on this trip! Without question, it is worth every drop of bug repellant, sweat, and slathering of sunscreen!

To Belize with Love and Chocolate,

Renee and Rebecca

PS: Want to learn more about what life is like in Belize? Maya moved there to deepen her work in chocolate, and our friend Madeline shares her story of living there for several months.

A Visit to Areté Chocolate

February 26, 2019 by Ryan O'Connell

Ryan is a chocolate maker at our 16th Street factory, as well as a frequent traveler and motorcycle enthusiast.

Before Areté Fine Chocolate moved from Milpitas, California to Spencer, Tennessee in spring of 2018, Eric, Snooky, and myself had the pleasure of seeing the glory of what was, at the time, still their semi-operational facility before they’d fully packed up for their move. Areté Chocolate is owned and operated by David and Leslie Senk. As of our visit, David and Leslie were Areté’s only employees.

After meeting the Senks and seeing their process, it was abundantly apparent they are people of high personal and professional integrity, which very much shines through in their careful processing and top-shelf chocolate. Throughout the day, as our conversations meandered through chocolate theory, some noteworthy similarities and differences between us stood out:

We both believe in the importance of data collection to understand outcomes in the chocolate making process.
We both believe that when the chocolate is tempered may make a difference in its flavor. Aging chocolate and its impact on flavor is something we look forward to testing in more depth.
Areté removes the radicle from all of their beans, which is something we’ve always wanted to do and are we are working towards.
Much of their process is a result of custom and creative adaptations to fit their evolving needs while not sacrificing quality. Similarly, improving our quality is central to – and runs parallel with – our reflexive metrics for success as we continue to grow.
Areté makes all their chocolate in mini melangers, such as the ones we use for experiments.
David believes temperature control is crucial to consistent, predictable flavor.
We both believe that testing one variable at a time through experimentation is the best practice.
We’ve developed our own process for removing broken and moldy beans prior to roasting. At Areté, all moldy beans are removed after the beans are broken, one by one, through his mechanized, creatively-engineered process, speaking to the ingenuity and passion behind the operation.
After roasting in a convection oven, David’s beans are removed and then rapidly cooled to prevent any further, unwanted roasting. In a similar fashion, our beans are cooled in our drum roaster’s cooling tray post-roast.

The refining and conching room of Areté Chocolate

Takeaways to consider for experimentations or reinforcing in our current chocolate making practices:

We should continue to consider results of experiments done by others, while holding off on drawing any conclusions until a hypothesis can be tested through our own experiments.
We should also continue to revisit the effects of aging chocolate, with future experiments to support our previous investigations.
We should investigate further experiments testing the effects of melanger chocolate temperature, which may lead to more stringent temperature control guidelines and an improved understanding of how process temperature directs flavor.
Consider moving toward 2:1 mineral oil to chocolate ratio when testing microns via micrometer.

My personal favorite part of the tour: Talking with all those present about chocolate, life, and the chocolate life; seeing the incredible passion, enthusiasm, and dedication that the Senks have for making great chocolate.

Favorite origin/product: Ben Tre, Vietnam

Fun fact: We will be working with Ben Tre cocoa beans and releasing our take on the origin in 2019!

Biggest challenges: Possibly scaling up while maintaining quality, and chocolate making as a sustainable business.

My unexpected path to
Dandelion Chocolate Los Angeles

December 3, 2018 by Norah Hernandez

Norah is one of our original employees, and she has worn many hats and tied a lot of bows on our behalf. Right now she’s writing to us from LA, where she’s heading up our newest pop-up shop.

Six years ago this month, the WSJ published two tiny lines that declared: “Dandelion Chocolate makes some of the best chocolate in the world”. Dandelion Chocolate was so small back then, they could not handle the influx of online orders that came through following this little write up. With only 11 or so people in the company at the time, they needed some extra hands to help fulfill these orders for some of the best chocolate in the world – and this is where my journey with Dandelion began.

Norah and her team inside Dandelion Chocolate LA

At the time, I had no experience in chocolate, and thought, what the heck, how fun would it be to help at a chocolate factory! The one day gig included stickering bars (which we did by hand back then), sorting beans, foiling bars and tying the three packs with ribbon. Without realizing it, my first summer job at Tiffany & Co. many, many years prior, helped shaped the iconic Dandelion Chocolate bow. Maya showed me how they had been tying the bow, and without thinking, my muscle memory kicked in and I started tying the bows as I had been trained so many years ago. I owe this talent to be possibly the single reason that I was asked to come back day after day (at that time they could not afford to officially hire me until February of the following year), so I came in every day not knowing if it would be my last and this magical workplace would come to an end. My patience paid off and in February of 2013, I became an official employee and started working on the production team.

Back then, everyone wore many many hats and helped fill voids where ever it was needed, this led to me helping with gift box development and production after work and on the weekends, which turned into the start of our product department. In 2014 I became our first product manager and brand manager (I secretly feel I still hold this title because of the love I feel for our brand), and was responsible for developing new products, the production of current products, merchandising our retail shelves and making sure everything visual was always on-brand.

I eventually transitioned into the retail department when the Ferry Building manager gave notice two years ago. I took this opportunity to use my previous retail expertise and help the company where they needed me most. We were a small hot chocolate stand outside and this location had some challenges. After improving systems and sales during the first few months, the Ferry Building invited us to move inside to the old Scharffen Berger shop. We jumped at the chance to have one of the highly coveted shops inside this iconic San Francisco destination. Overseeing the construction last fall, we were able to open (by the skin of our teeth) the weekend before Christmas. Moving just a few hundred yards inside, we saw an immediate doubling of sales. The Ferry Building had become a real sustainable location for the company.

In the spring of last year, my family made a decision to move to Los Angeles. This decision came with the reality that I would have to leave a company that had made a permanent mark on me, and hopefully I too had made a small mark on it. When I first told Todd I was moving and joked that we should open in LA, he laughed, and then must have thought about it as a serious idea and came back to me and asked if I was really serious. I mean, how could I not be! Moving to a city that I love and bringing the chocolate and the company that I adore to share with this city has been an amazing opportunity for me. If there is anything I know about LA from living here years ago, it is that this city appreciates good food, beautiful design and amazing stories. I am so excited to share all those things through our pop-up at ROW DTLA for the next six months.

the outside of the Dandelion Chocolate LA shop

We have been open in LA for one week now and I have already met the some of the most amazing people (and kids). I cannot wait to share our story about chocolate and who we are as a company of now ~95 people. This a long way from the days when we all fit around the 12 person table on the mezzanine for All Hands, or the days when Maya started a rumor that if we hit a sales goal, Todd would take us all to Hawaii. At that next All Hands, his last slide just had the word “Rumors” on it, he told us, and I quote, “it would be crazy to shut down and pay for the whole company to go to Hawaii, so it’s lucky for you that we are crazy, we are all going to Hawaii!” Todd’s not crazy, he’s a brilliant visionary and I am so lucky to have stumbled upon his small dream for a chocolate factory he thought maybe 4 people would visit every day.

We will be open at ROW DTLA through April 2019 and our hours are M-F 11-7, Sat & Sun 10-6. We will start hosting Chocolate 101 classes on December 14 and 15 and you can find more details about how to sign up on our website under “Visit Us – Tours & Classes”.

The shelves inside Dandelion Chocolate LA

A Halloween Debut of a New Web Series Featuring Witches and Chocolate

October 29, 2018 by Megan Giller

Megan Giller is a longtime friend of ours and one of the most prolific journalists and authors in the field of chocolate. She’s also a feminist, a food historian, and our guest blogger for this post. Note that the video mentioned below is not suitable for children.

When I was working on my book, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: America’s Craft Chocolate Revolution, one of my favorite sections to write was “Chocolate Is for Everybody,” about craft chocolate being made by all sorts of minorities, including women. (After all, my business card says, “food writer, feminist, chocolate eater.”)

I’ve always wanted to write more about women and food, and when I asked Professor Kathryn Sampeck if she knew of some good stories, boy, did she deliver. She sent me two scholarly articles, “Chocolate, Sex, and Disorderly Women in Late-Seventeenth and Early-Eighteenth-Century Guatemala,” by Martha Few, and “Potions and Perils: Love-Magic in Seventeenth-Century Afro-Mexico and Afro-Yucatan,” by Joan Bristol and Matthew Restall.

These dense, academic papers contain a treasure trove of illicit activity. Long story short: In the 1600s and 1700s in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, thousands of women were accused of bewitching their lovers, enemies, and frenemies with magic hot chocolate. At that time, chocolate was a pretty gritty drink, and you could hide all sorts of ingredients in it. Fears of women spiking hot chocolate stemmed from anxiety about their changing roles in society, and women who challenged the status quo were persecuted — just as they were in every age, and all around the world.

One of the stories is so powerful that it inspired me to start a new project, a digital TV show called What Women Ate. The first episode is about one of the so-called witches, named Cecilia, who was accused of bewitching her husband with hot chocolate and making him impotent (sure, sounds likely). Before I write any more spoilers, here is the full episode for you to watch, just in time for Halloween. If you like what you see, subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow @whatwomenate on Instagram!