Valrhona LE Lait 29% Cacao Milk Chocolate

Let me take a moment to introduce you to a little gem I found at Trader Joe's one afternoon ... and have since repurchased a handful of times. One day at checkout I noticed some chocolate bars and curiosity got the best of me so I picked one up. Checking out the nutrition facts and being completely wowed, I tossed one in my basket and decided I'd give it a try.

 

Upon giving it a try .. that's when the Valrhona LE Lait 29% Cacao Milk Chocolate became my new favorite candy bar. The chocolate is considered to be gourmet chocolate ... which in my opinion is exactly that. It's smooth, it's creamy, it melts in your mouth ... and it has that rich chocolate flavor that I tend to only find in European chocolates. A bar houses 7 small squares which when eaten slowly is like a delicacy. A delicacy that also feels like it's a lot more loaded with calories/points plus values that it is. It makes for enjoying chocolate to be more of an enjoyable experience over a guilty pleasure.

 

The bar also comes in a dark chocolate variety but since I'm not the biggest dark chocolate fan I stuck with the milk. I do have a bar of dark to try one day ... but so far, the milk chocolate is phenomenal.  Plus for 99 cents per bar, you're getting quite a fabulous bar of chocolate for under a dollar.

 

A bar (which is also a serving) is 150 calories or 4 points plus values.

Cupcakes from Eat Cake!

If you’re a fan of cupcakes and a fan of Food Network then you may have seen an episode or two of Cupcake Wars.  I admit, I’ve seen a few Cupcake War episodes in my past and I have a slight love of visiting spots that have been featured on the Food Network – primarily out of curiosity to “see what the fuss is all about.”

Almost 2 years ago my boyfriend and I stumbled upon this little bakery in Newburyport called “Eat Cake.” I was intrigued because there was a Food Network sign in the window and a little blurb about the shop being featured on Cupcake Wars. I was suddenly transformed to a magnet and the cupcake shop was my large piece of metal.  Heading inside the shop they typically have 5 variation of flavored cupcakes of the day.  You never know what you’re going find unless you go there or visit their Facebook page to see what the flavors of the day are.  Each cupcake is also $3/ea which is a bit pricey but for the experience and the different flavors, it’s worth it once in a while.

Popping into the shop the cupcakes are the main attraction.  The countertop is lined with glass covered cake pans with cupcakes piled high with buttercream – all assorted in flavors.  In front of the counter is a chalkboard which has the daily menu printed on it – to help make choosing easier. Or in my case, a little more difficult.

After giving the cupcakes a once over, my boyfriend and I decided on three. One cupcake he really wanted, one I really wanted and one we each wanted to try.  So 3 cupcakes we got were:

Coconut-Coconut Goo- Vanilla Butterceam.  Our pick. This cupcake was a vanilla cupcake, which was topped with a coconut “goo” which really reminded me of the inside of a mounds bar, just stickier.  It was then topped with a vanilla buttercream and garnished with toasted coconut.  It was moist and delicious, but definitely sweet.

Chocolate Fudge – Strawberry Buttercream. My boyfriends pick. This was a chocolate cupcake dipped into a fudgy chocolate, then topped with a strawberry buttercream and garnished with shaved chocolate pieces. My boyfriend enjoyed it as he’s a chocolate cake fan. His was actually not as sweet as one would suspect and it was undoubtedly moist.

Hummingbird Cake – Honey Cinnamon Buttercream. My pick. I have been eyeing a hummingbird cake recipe online for months – the only thing holding me back from making it being the fact I don’t have pecans in the house. So when I saw this listed on the sign, I immediately wanted it. The cupcake is a classic hummingbird flavored cake – bananay, cinnamonny, nutty and just delicious.  The buttercream was sweet with a cinnamon flavoring to it. Undoubtedly delicious. It reminded me of banana bead in a light and airy cupcake form.

I at first estimated each cupcake being 9 points plus values. After taking a bite, I decided to roll those estimates up to 12 points plus values.  Sure, it was high for a dessert … but it was worth it.

QUESTION:

What is the best cupcake you’ve ever tried?