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Holiday Gift Guide 2019: The Best Dark Chocolate Truffles

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Dark chocolate continues to be in high demand not only because it is infinitely delicious and complex but also because of the reported health benefits. Chocolatiers are taking the dark chocolate experience to a new level with exotic flavors, bean-to-bar expressions, and even wellness offerings, but the truffle remains the mainstay for impressive holiday gifting. Head Chocolatier at Kreuther’s, Angela Borah, senses a movement in chocolate towards the return to nature. Says Borah, "There’s a heightened interest and awareness of where everything originates; from the kind of butter you use, the source of your vanilla, to the terroir makeup of your cocoa beans, etc. Consumers are beginning to treat chocolate like wine - recognizing there are different flavor notes found in each chocolate.” With that in mind use fully-vetted list of award-winning chocolatiers as your shopping guide for the holiday season.

Cacao & Cardamom: Based in Houston, Texas, this chocolatier gets the nod for crafting architecturally stunning truffles. The presentation features a black box that twists open into a spiral of dazzling selections. Shapes run the gamut from trapezoids and pyramids to concentric layers of circles. Best bites include the Cashew Cinnamon pyramid with caramelized cashews, and Vietnamese cinnamon enrobed in dark chocolate or the Chipotle Truffle comprised of 85% Huila chocolate with soft notes of chipotle, ancho and guajillo chili—we loved it’s earthy, seductive character.

Kreuther Chocolates: These epicurean truffles are the delicious result of a partnership between New York’s Michelin-starred chef Gabriel Kreuther and Pastry Chef Marc Aumont. Their creations build on French techniques—lending each one a singularly silky, decadent mouthfeel. Several of the chocolates won multiple awards at the International Chocolate Salon this year, but for holiday gift giving consider the Chef’s Selection ($70)—a hedonistic chocolate odyssey brimming with seasonally inspired decadence such as the Salted Butter, French Baguette or Tahitian Vanilla truffles.

LeSaint Chocolates: Stéphane Lesaint focuses on purity, with simple flavors that shine through by using the best ingredients (such as the artisan vintage liquors he sources from France) and, of course, “Organic whenever possible.”  Says Lesaint. But what he loves most is boozy chocolate. “I make a Whiskey Truffle using Bulleit Bourbon and a Red Velvet Truffle perfumed with Grande Marnier. “ He makes seven different kinds of classically shaped truffles, all of them with dark chocolate, and all of them rich and decadent. One truffle (which Lesaint insists must be enjoyed at room temperature) goes a long way—best bets include his Saigon Cinnamon, Whiskey and Red Velvet offerings.  

Delysia Chocolates: This award-winning chocolatier based in Austin, Texas offers a sophisticated riff on traditional chocolates with their knockout spice lover’s gift box. The collection includes Latin-inspired dark chocolate truffles infused with spices such as cayenne, jalapeno and habanero. Best bite is the Mexican Hot Chocolate bark infused with cinnamon, cayenne and ground coffee—all of life’s pleasures in one bite. Ditto the Salt Lick BBQ Dry Rub bar which seduces you with rich dark chocolate notes that come to a crescendo of spice and complexity—we melted this one down and drizzled it over vanilla ice cream, sensational.

Kate Weiser Chocolates: Chocolatier Kate Weiser is based in Dallas, but you’ll find her stunningly beautiful hand-painted truffles in Neiman-Marcus stores nationwide. The colorful truffles are almost too pretty to eat, but you’ll get over that pretty quickly. Be sure to try her Red Wine and Berries (dark chocolate, cabernet and berry ganache) or the Mango Habanero with dark chocolate, habanero ganache and mango pate de fruit. The Buttery Popcorn truffle is exactly on point combining white sweet corn ganache with a thread of fleur de sel. Exquisite to look at, decadent to eat. Says Weiser, “Personally, I love to end my day with a glass of red wine paired with my dark chocolate raspberry bonbons. It's the perfect combo and melts the day's stress away.”  

La Maison du Chocolat: Paris-based Master Chocolatier Nicolas Cloiseau delivers a spin on healthy indulgence with his wellness chocolates like the 15-piece Bien Être collection with five plant-based and dairy and gluten-free ganaches. If you simply want to indulge in traditional dark chocolate truffles your best bet is the La Maison Collection, a silky rich assortment of bite-sized ganaches such as Andalousie (dark chocolate ganache infused with lemon cream and zest from the South of France) or the Akosombo, a serious dark chocolate truffle featuring the spiced cacao notes of single origin chocolate from Ghana. Looking ahead to 2020, Cloiseau wants to “build upon our wellness offering and figure how we can guarantee the featherweight texture of ganache with its silky flavor, while zeroing in on more health-conscious ingredients. Stay tuned!”

Christopher Elbow Chocolates: Based in Kansas City, chocolatier Christopher Elbow has traveled the globe in search of sustainably farmed dark chocolate. Choose from any of his seven single origin handcrafted bars for a dense dark chocolate hit, or opt for one of his festive holiday collections. Sleek, glossy and festive the traditional collection features peppermint, pumpkin pie and gingerbread offerings. Elbow prefers to savor his chocolates with spirits, noting, “I have found pairing some of our chocolates with a dram of fine aged rum to be a fantastic pairing; the molasses and oak flavors that a lot of these rums exhibit works really well with both dark chocolate and the caramel fillings that we incorporate into our chocolates.”

Garcia Nevett Chocolatier de Miami:  The dynamic sister duo of Susana and Isabel Garcia Nevett bring an epicurean edge to the Venezuelan dark chocolate offerings. Their Passion Fruit truffle is a sumptuous confection of dark Venezuelan chocolate with passion fruit coulis. The team has been winning awards for years with selections that weave in ingredients such as dulce de leche, coconut, Colombian coffee and even matcha. The Nevett sisters also have wellness in mind with healthful options such as snacks like dark chocolate covered dried fruits and nutty barks that appeal to most everyone.

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