Photograph by Peter Newcomb
February is the month of love, Cupid and shooting for your heart’s desire. Not so coincidentally, it’s also American Heart Month. So, break out the chocolate. Not only will the creamy, sweet taste send you into your own state of euphoria, its antioxidants scientifically help your ticker. Pop those bonbons. Fortunately for all of us, St. Louis has a superb supply.
The newest addition to the chocolate scene is Lake Forest Confections, a truly beautiful shop in Richmond Heights with European glass cases filled with elegant confections, all made in the back of the store. Owner Bud Kolbrener learned the business at Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier. With Lake Forest, he and his head chocolate maker, Marley Otto, have been able to step up the quality and selection of candy making in St. Louis with specialty confections. Opera crèmes are so difficult to make, Kolbrener said Lake Forest can only make nine pounds per day. The Lilly Langtrees, a handmade, marshmallow-covered mint fondant dipped in dark chocolate, were first made by the Bissinger family in honor of the legendary singer. The marzipan, which takes five days to prepare, is used in the pecan nut balls. The unique chocolate-covered liquid caramels and chewy caramels are some of the employees’ favorites, along with the freshly roasted jumbo cashews.
An all-time local favorite is Crown Candy Company, which has been in business in North St. Louis since 1913. Here, delicious milk chocolate reigns as king, but, according to owner Andy Karandzieff, dark chocolate is starting to make inroads. One of the company’s biggest sellers is its memorable heavenly hash. On Valentine’s Day, the chocolate-dipped strawberries tend to be the big favorite. But the enormous eight-pound box for $175 is reserved for those “who are in a whole lotta love or a whole lotta trouble,” says Karandzieff.
Small batches of custom-made chocolates are available from Neika Soissons (314-353-1878, www.chocosweets.com). Her specialty: small-bite candies. Her luxe candies, available by special order only, are worth the price, ringing in at $40 per pound. These may not be for everyone, but everyone who has some is hooked. Soissons is a great guest to have over since she always likes to bring a box of her handmade truffles. She sells a lot more dark than light (milk), but she creates her own light by combining her special dark with some white chocolate. Adding to the benefits of chocolate, Soisson says a chemical in chocolate puts out an endorphin resulting in the same feeling as being in love.
The famous chocolate-dipped strawberries at Merb’s Candies are available almost year-round as owner Teri Bearden is always on the hunt—worldwide—for the choicest berries. Scrumptious strawberries are dipped in a superfine fondant and drenched in dark or milk chocolate. Bearden, who bought the business from her father 20 years ago, believes her customers enjoy the deeper and more intense flavor of Merb’s dark chocolate (which is her personal favorite). She recommends first-time buyers sample molasses puffs enrobed in dark chocolate. Other famous Merb’s specialties include handmade marshmallows dipped in thick dark or milk chocolate, pecan snappers and colossal caramel apples. Queue up early at the Southside store on Valentine’s Day. The line snakes around the shop long before it opens its doors for the biggest chocolate day of the year.
Handmade marshmallow hearts are one of the Valentine’s favorites at Bissinger’s. There are four locations around St. Louis, but be sure to visit the flagship store in the Central West End. You’ll feel as if you just slipped into a Parisian confiserie. Store specialties are based on chocolate recipes that are more than 300 years old. Longtime specialties include the famous molasses lollipops as well as legendary chocolate-covered raspberries, strawberries and blackberries (available only in the peak of the season). The dipped glaceed apricots, nut balls and bite-sized ganache truffles are popular year-round. All the delicacies are created under the watchful eye of Terry Wakefield, Bissinger’s first chief chocolatier. Recently, the confectioner worked with Washington University’s director of university nutrition to develope Bissinger’s new spa chocolates.
