Chapter Thirty-Nine: Dude, Sweet Chocolate

It's good to be back! We needed a bit of a breather since Laura has just come back from China and Gaby's been keeping busy in Texas. For the month of March we will feature bars that Gaby bought while visiting Dallas, Texas. These are local, artisanal chocolatiers with a cult following. We're excited to share what she has found with you! 

For our first post back, we will be tasting two chocolate offerings from Dude, Sweet Chocolate, one of which is a toffee fudge concoction. Dude, Sweet got its start in a dive bar in South Dallas in 2008. Since then, Chef Katherine Clapner ran with the idea and established Dude, Sweet as a leader in the Texas chocolate market. With a focus on the taste of the chocolate and a decision to keep bells and whistles minimal, Chef Clapner has excelled in creating unique sweet and savory offerings, as we will explore below.

Tasting No.: 37Dude, Sweet Chocolate: Holiday in Cambodia Chocolate BarDude, Sweet Chocolate: Fungus Amongus Soft Butter Toffee

Initial Impressions: 

The Holiday in Cambodia chocolate bar is a beautiful bar to look at; smooth and dark brown with a soft snap, which reveals the inner texture of whole black sesame seeds. The aroma is sweetly acidic and earthy, reminiscent of chocolate covered cherries. The bite is firm, leading into a surprisingly savory and delicious complexity.

The toffee fudge is soft and its appearance has many evident chunks of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and porcini mushroom chunks. Its main chocolate ingredient is Valrhona cocoa. The aroma is rich, and almost like a gamey meat, with notes of soil and musk. There is no snap, we cut it and the outside was firm while the inside sliced easily. It melts easily once it hits the tongue. 


Chocolate Bar                                                              Chocolate Toffee

Flavor Profile:                                                             Flavor Profile:

Initial – soil, smoke                                                       Initial – sweet, maple

Middle – nutty, slight sweetness                                   Middle – toffee

After – earthy, sesame                                                 After – earthy


Texture:
The bar melts easily but is still chewy with crunchy bits of black sesame seeds rounding out the tasting, a fascinating texture that kept us wanting more.

Of course, the fudge smooth, with a pepita every once in a while that adds a surprise crunch.

Here you can see the delicious texture of the chocolate bar

Overall:
The chocolate bar was most definitely a savory bar with only a slight sweetness.  It was incredibly satiating and Laura and Gaby have both added it to their list of favorites.

The toffee fudge was cloyingly sweet, but it is a toffee fudge! We would have enjoyed it more with a strong espresso while tasting only the smallest piece. Because we don't normally try toffee fudge, we did not feel that we should rate this chocolate.

Bar Rating: 10/10
Toffee Rating: N/A

*Notes:

Purchased at Dude, Sweet Chocolate

Price range: Under $7

Next week, we'll introduce you to another Dallas local chocolatier from Gaby's trip. Join us!

For now savor: "The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare...neither knew chocolate." - Sandra Boynton

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Taste of the Dominican Republic

We are taking a break from our normal chocolate bar tasting (Don't worry! We are still consuming chocolate bars) and tasting hot chocolate for the month of November. If you missed our first post about hot chocolate, we suggest reading it to understand our tasting methods, ingredients, and tools. You can find Chapter 26 here.

This week, we are excited to taste a single origin bar from the Dominican Republic which was a gift from Laura's sister Christine and her husband Thomas. This cacao came in a large brick from which we had to chop a chunk off and then chop into small pieces.  We love that this bar was purchased directly from the farmer that grew the cacao trees. We also were excited to discover the cacao nibs which provided a bit of "crunch" to our tasting.

Tasting No. :25

100% Whole Cacao from the Dominican Republic

Left: Guittard Base Cocoa Right: Dominican Republic Cocoa

Guittard Base Cocoa

Initial Impressions:

The base cocoa powder was a dark red while the Dominican cocoa was a deep rich brown with golden bits. It smelled of earth and truffles, almost mold while the base cocoa was spicy and earthy with notes of cinnamon. This cocoa was nutty, and earthy with deep, rich tastes to which the crunch of the nibs served to provide us with a complex chocolate experience.  

Texture:

In comparison to the base cocoa which was thick and smooth, the Dominican cocoa was even thicker and each sip was flecked with crunchy cacao nibs.

For a bit of fun, we made ourselves a second cup and added whipped cream made with:

Whipping cream (hand whipped!)

Vanilla bean paste (we used Neilsen-Massey)

After a few sips, we added a sprinkle of cinnamon to the top for an added depth. Both cocoas responded very well to this addition, but the Dominican cacao almost seemed completed by it.

Overall:

We were happy to have the molinillo to mix this cocoa as this is the sort of solid cocoa that it is meant to mix.  This cocoa was so deeply earthy and seemed to speak to our souls with every sip; this must be similar to the chocolate that the ancient Aztecs used to drink in ceremonies of old.

Rating: 10 /10

*Notes:

Gift from Christine and Thomas, we don't know the price or where to find a product such as this.

Next week, we'll be trying a cocoa from Taza.  This brand has been a bit of a mixed bag for us, but we both loved their 70% dark chocolate bar, so we are anxiously anticipating tasting their cocoa.  Join us!

For now savor: "My goal in life is to skid breathlessly up to my grave, with a large chocolate bar, half eaten, in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, yelling 'Damn, but it was a good life!'" - Anonymous

Chapter Five: Russian восхищение 100%

This week we’ll introduce you to the bar that was our inspiration for starting bar hopping [chocolate].  As we mentioned in our first post, Laura discovered this bar while living abroad.    It is a Russian brand, восхищение, which translates to "admiration".  We think you’ll definitely admire this bar after giving it a taste.  As always, we’ll be comparing this to our base bar.

Tasting No. : 3
восхищение, Admiration 100%

Initial Impressions:

When separating the squares, the snap is firmer than our base bar and is so firm it’s audible. The color of this bar is much more brown and has no red tones like our base bar.  This bar is earthy and unadulterated in smell, while our base bar smells much sweeter and can be tasted and is noticeable in how even though it’s dry, it’s still a smooth texture. 

Flavor Profile:

Initial – Very mild and earthy

Middle – Strong acidic and spicy tones  

After – Clean finish

Texture:

This bar’s purity definitely can be tasted and is noticeable in how even though it’s dry, it’s still a smooth texture.  

Overall:

Laura: When I first found this bar, I was skeptical that a 100% chocolate bar would taste good, I had taken the occasional nibble on a bar of generic baking chocolate and so I equated this taste with all 100% chocolate.  My friend recommended it so highly that as a dark chocolate snob, I could no longer resist my curiosity.  The bar was unbelievably delicious, the quality was almost palpable and the chocolate taste was practically perfect.  I love love love this bar dipped in a jar of almond or peanut butter.  Mmmmm.

Rating: 9/10

*Notes:

Purchased outside of the U.S., available on Amazon

Price range under $15

Next week, we’ll dive into a bar of handmade, artisanal chocolate from France given to us as a gift!

For now savor: “Reminiscent of childhood memories, luxury, sweetness and sensuality, chocolate is more than just a food -- it is therapy.” – Christelle Le Ru, Passion Chocolat