1 of 13
2 of 13
3 of 13
4 of 13
5 of 13
6 of 13
7 of 13
8 of 13
9 of 13
10 of 13
11 of 13
12 of 13
13 of 13
Right now is the perfect time to saunter into either of the Kakao Chocolate locations and ask what’s new – and not just because Valentine’s Day is coming up.
Yes, the very chocolatey, lovey-dovey holiday means that Kakao and their ilk are busily prepping pink-hued creations for spouses dutifully performing the annual pilgrimage to the candy shoppe. It also means, however, that the months-long frenzy of the Christmas season has passed into the rear-view mirror, and that Kakao owner Brian Pelletier has encouraged his employees to take the available time to experiment with new, non-traditional flavors.
Each January, Kakao becomes a veritable mad-science lab, where would-be Mr. Hydes (the employees) stagger from stainless-steel table to ganache pot and back, pushing new confections down their addled gullets to see if they’re worthy for the public. Nearly every day, said Pelletier, there is a new champion of the kitchen, ready for sale or darned close.
Now, after five or six weeks-worth of experiments, close on the heels of V. Day, there are dozens of new tastes crowding the counters at the maverick chocolatier. Let’s call these fresh goodies “New Stuff,” “Stuff Dudes Would Like for Valentine’s Day,” and “Stuff Gals Would Like for Valentine’s Day.”
Please consult the compendium of options below...
NEW STUFF
-Vietnamese-cinnamon meltaways (right). Kakao chocolatier Jenny Bazzetta said these are “like a cinnamon-chocolate doughnut that just melts on your tongue,” and she’s so right. They’re made with coconut oil and cocoa butter, which have low melting points, explained Bazzetta, so they melt faster on the tongue for “a cooling effect.”
-Hibiscus bars made with hibiscus ganache, nougat, and toasted almonds
-Coffee meringue bars made with coffee meringue and toasted-hazelnut Gianduja paste
-Marshmallows in flavors like peanut butter and candy-cap mushroom
-Cherry stout brittle (below left) with toasted macadamia nuts. With chewy cherries, high-fat nuts, and the dark, smoky sugariness where brittle meets beer, this is hard to stop eating once you start
-Tropically colored “Mango Splash” bonbons (above right) – the ganache contains whipped mango butter and a splash of St. Germain elderberry liqueur . They’re punchy.
-“Black Bear Bark” – almond-crunch granola from Black Bear Bakery with toasted coconut. Think of it as a decadent trail mix, if you will.
-Fig-bourbon and pineapple pates de fruit (aka gelees, or gumdrops, if you prefer)
-Root beer cream bars made with sassafras meringue (this one is still in development)
-New and being sold at the new MX Movies cinema at the Mercantile Exchange building downtown, a buttered popcorn-flavored marshmallow developed by Kakao owner Brian Pelletier at the behest of the MX’s Josh Galliano
-Finally, a collaboration with Maplewood boutique Maven has yielded beauty products (left): lip balms, body scrubs, whipped soaps, and “solid perfume” that use Kakao cocoa butter and other flavors/fragrances. Maven also created a candle that fills the room with the aroma of Kakao’s chocolate-bourbon truffles.
-And a whole lot more. It’s hard to keep track, actually.
STUFF DUDES WOULD LIKE FOR VALENTINE’S DAY
Ever the innovators, Kakao is offering a selection of truffles designed to appeal to more masculine tastes. The men’s “six-pack” (below left) is available in your choice of flavors, or pre-selected for the dude in your life. The chocolate in these truffles is the usual mixture of semisweet and bittersweet chocolates, butter, cream etc. “Guys tend to like the darker chocolates,” said Bazzetta.
-Maple-bacon truffles topped with candy-cap mushroom powder (above right) – a complex, smoky, exquisite taste
-Root beer-flavored truffles made with Root liquor
-“Smoke” truffles made with Lapsang Souchong, a notoriously strong Chinese tea made from smoked leaves. Bazzetta calls this truffle, sourced from local tea shop Traveling Tea, “in-your-face.”
-Chocolate-dipped bacon caramels (right)
-Quadrupel truffles made with Quadrupel Ale by Schlafly
-Single malt Scotch truffles made with Scotch from the Islay region, with a peaty flavor
-Chili truffles, made with Anaheim Cayenne Pasilla peppers, topped with cocoa nibs
-Maker’s Mark bourbon truffles
-Turkish coffee truffles
-Bacon-pecan brittle (aka Nature’s perfect food)
-Kakao’s cocoa-based rub for smoking and grilling meats
STUFF GALS WOULD LIKE FOR VALENTINE’S DAY
-Double Chocolate Hugs and Kisses (left) – heart-shaped chocolate marshmallows dipped in dark chocolate, and painted with little x’s and o’s
-Lemon pepper rose-petal bark (opening image) – the combo of strong pink peppercorns, delicate roses, and lemon to bridge the gap is a revelation. It’s a very savory sweet with a delicate, romantic look.
-Fondue sets that come with your choice of Kakao “button” chips (white, milk, semisweet, or bittersweet) for melting and dipping
-Two clever reconfigurations of the chocolate-covered strawberry: strawberry marshmallow clusters in dark chocolate with a drizzle of pink-colored white chocolate, and bonbons (below) with a layer of ganache coated in layer of strawberry pate de fruit, dipped in semisweet chocolate, and drizzled in pink-colored white chocolate
-Heart-shaped boxes made from chocolate, that you can fill with truffles you select
There is one other new product at Kakao that’s particularly cool for kids, but fun for all ages: chocolate-scented pencils (below). Use them to make a list of everything new at the shop you want to try.
