Dessert Darling

Chocolates: Liliput Truffles by Sprüngli

Wow- so many 5 cherry reviews lately! What a sweet summer it's been :) Just the other day my guy surprised me with a little box of Swiss chocolates by Sprüngly.  These tiny truffles were so darling and delicious, you couldn't stop from popping them in your mouth as they'd instantly melt away.

Sprungli's delicate truffles are not much larger than a Gumdrop and have exceptionally thin shells that envelop soft and flavorful ganache.  My guy, who not only claims to dislike all sweets, but furthermore, hates chocolate, couldn't keep his hands off of my gift.  Well then, I guess there are some exceptions in life, especially for divine little boxes of extraordinary truffles. 

For more info on Sprüngly, click here. 

 

Milkshakes: Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop

This past weekend I had a lovely vacay in San Francisco where, naturally, I found myself at Ghirardelli Square. An enthusiastic line for the ice-cream and chocolate shop curved out the door, and after seeing the gorgeous Sundaes and milkshakes milling about, I knew I had to have one...or five.

Luckily I was with a group of guys who know that Sharing is Caring. They each got a "Quake Shake" whereas I got myself two milkshakes, a chocolate and strawberry.

 
 

Quake Shake

 

A Quake Shake is like Ghirardelli version of the Blizzard, where they take vanilla ice-cream, milk, and a chocolate bar, and blend it all together.  Personally, I' not the biggest fan of frozen chocolate as the cold renders it hard, waxy, and a bit flavorless.  It also perplexes me that in addition to a whole milkshake, I'm consuming a chocolate bar. That said, the Quake Shakes are a lot thinner than the milkshakes since extra milk is added to seamlessly blend the ingredients.  The three flavors that we shared were the Peanut Butter Chocolate, which had an extra serving of real peanut butter blended in, Raspberry Chocolate, and Mint Chocolate.

The PB chocolate was a raging hit with the guys who declared it a 5-cherry winner before I even had a taste.  It was mighty delicious, so who am I to argue the unanimous decision of four adamant men?  The Chocolate mint was strong and well done, if you like minty dairy treats, but the raspberry chocolate was totally uneventful to me. Over all, a 4.5 cherry average for the Quake Shakes.

Milkshake

 

The milkshakes were thicker and more concentrated than the thin and textured Quake Shakes.  The smooth chocolate shake particularily had a rich cocao flavor that would make anyone roll his eyes back in bliss.  Clearly, chocolate is Ghiradelli's heartbeat and soul. Mmmmmm, Good.

The strawberry milkshake was too zingy for me. In fact, strawberries are pretty tricky ice-cream additions.  They have to be perfectly ripe and wonderful to work.  Otherwise you end up with tart zingy-ness like this Ghiradelli's milkshake, or you end up with an artificially flavored experience, like the sweet McDonald's shake that I reviewed here.  

Ultimately, these milkshakes made for a happy little stop in our SF adventures.  While they're not my favorite consistency, and they melted pretty quickly (which was odd given how freezing the city is), I still highly recommend that locals and tourists alike enjoy a special day and treat at the Ghirardelli shop!

For more info on Ghirardelli, click here. 

 
 

Lemon Cake: Just Desserts

Ohmygawd, I'm totally melting.  I just inhaled a "single serving" lemon cake from Just Desserts. I couldn't help myself- it was that good.  Luckily, Just Desserts' goodies are %100 all natural and made with zero trans-fats.

The cake, the icing, the ratio of cake to icing... everything about this dessert was perfection!  Ohlord, who needs cupcakes when you can have mini cakes made from scratch? 

I always passed by these plastic domed cakes at Whole Foods, chalking them up as factory produced rubbish. Now that I've given it the time of day though, I see I was sorely mistaken.  Amazing. Just Desserts are my new Go-To cakes for gatherings like book-club and showers!

For more info on Just Desserts, click here. 

 

 

Thinny Thursday! Tip #2

Never Drink Sodas

This Thinny Thursday tip is pretty self-explanatory.  Soda has been linked to pancreatic cancer, heart risks, rotting teeth, and of course, obesity.  I know a guy who simply cut soda out of his diet and dropped 15 pounds. Wop-babaloo-bop, there you go.

And for you diet soda fans who drink a beverage as a snack or food substitute, you're drowning your insides in disgusting chemicals for nothing, because studies show that "artificial sweeteners increase weight gain odds." Studies also show that even sugar free sodas result in an increased incidence of metabolic syndrome ("a cluster of risk factors linked to diabetes and heart disease").

Yikes!

Anyway, it's a complete waist of calories to drink them, if you ask me. I'm a huge fan of the tall glass of water! If you need caffeine, drink tea! Tea can have incredible benefits for your body. Green tea is practically touted as a panacea by some!

If you need bubbles, try fruit flavored sparkling water.  Or if you want a cold palette cleanser with a kick, try Kombucha!  This fizzy beverage is amazing and naturally low in calories :)

 

 

Finally, if you must must must have "soda", try all natural brands made with natural sweeteners and fewer calories.  Hope that helps. :)

Rice Krispies Treat: Starbucks

On Facebook I asked my friends and fans if they had outgrown Rice Krispies Treats or if they still found them exciting.  An overwhelming response of Rice Krispies devotees expressed their love for this childhood treat. 

Woa, watch out cupcakes! I think there's an untapped market to bring back the nostalgic crispy treat in gourmet form!  Clearly, Milk and Krunchies is not the company to do so, but someone out there would enjoy an enthusiastic audience if they were to make fresh, delicious renditions of the Rice Krispies treat.

I spotted a promising display of "Marshmallow Dream Bars" at Starbucks today and had to buy one in vein of the Facebook response. You could tell this shiny bar would be nice and chewy as it sported whole little marshmallows in the batch. Additionally, the sign advertised that the Dream Bars were made free of high-fructose corn syrup. Considering that's not an ingredient in the traditional recipe, nor is it even an edible additive, I considered this a good thing.

When I brought the treat up for my first bite though, I smelled a faint strawberry flavoring. Hmmm, that was odd.  I took a bite and pondered....it didn't taste like sweet fruit, in fact, it tasted almost like a normal treat.. however, something was off. A few more bites and I determined that they must have used cheap butter. Well, what can I say, this was much better than the Milk and Krunchie rendition that I just had a few days ago. Not perfect or divine, but really not all that bad.  3 cherries for Starbucks' high-fructose corn syrup free Marshmallow Dream Bars!

 

TASTY TUESDAY!

Hi everyone! I'm really excited to announce my first Tasty Tuesday video! I hope to get one of these bad boys up at least once a month, so stay tuned for all the sweet action as I continue to hit up bakeries around town.

In the meantime, check out my first experience eating Blue Velvet cake at MILK on Beverly Blvd.  Ultimately, I'd give three cherries to both the red and blue velvet cakes there. But tune in to see my thoughts why! :)

ps: yes, I did shoot this around 4th of July.. just a little late getting it up ;)

Carrot Cake: Daily Grill

Mmmm, this carrot cake from the Daily Grill was surprisingly delicious! For one thing, I question chains abilities to execute fresh baked goods with skill, care, and fine ingredients, and for another, I noticed an alarming lack of frosting on side. In fact, the back edge of the layers was completely naked!

Normally, cream cheese frosting is the highlight of carrot cake. I love it lathered in the layers, on the side, and with a decorate dollop on top!  When I first saw the presentation with lightly whipped cream, sweet glazed pecans, and cinnamon dust, I thought it was lovely.  Then I noticed the dearth of side icing and grew completely skeptical.

Wow though, this cake shocked me.  Truly, it was phenomenal. The cake was moist and delicious with a perfect balance of spices and flavor.  The notable shavings of carrots and zuchinis, along with chopped walnuts and raisins, gave it delightful texture without being too chunky.  Since there were five layers of cake, each sandwiched by a layer of frosting, I did not miss the extra serving of it on the side.  Additionally, the whipped vanilla cream that was served on top did a wonderful job of adding a cool sweet creaminess to the mix.  Mmmmm.  Finally, I loved the sweet pecans and enjoyed them with every other bite! This carrot cake was a unanimous home-run at our table. Kudos to the Daily Grill on their 5-Cherry rating!

For more info on the Daily Grill, click here.

Adventures in New M&Ms

The other night I caught myself hovering over an M&M bowl at a party.  This was no ordinary M&M bowl though, it was a peanut-butter M&M bowl. Now, I know these aren't exactly the latest and greatest invention and long before the orange M&M bag we had Reeces Peices cornering the PB market, but these candies surprised me like a freshman geek who'd transformed into a senior hottie overnight. How'd I not know or remember how amazing these M&Ms are!? 

 Photo from TheToothHurts

I don't rate candy because it's loaded with artificial and low quality ingredients,  pandering to the least discerning palettes (children's!).  Instead, I enjoy fresh, home-made desserts that hopefully involve thought, creativity, and the finest ingredients.

That said, I did just indulge in M&Ms and as long as I have a dessert blog, I may as well share.  Naturally, my newfound love-affair with PB M&Ms made my eyebrows raise upon spotting a white M&M bag at my drugstore's check-out stand.  Why-Hello, what are you White Bag o' M&Ms??

 

Coconut M&Ms. Well, you don't say.  Visions of goey white coconut shreds miraculously encapsulated in M&M chocolate/sugar shells danced in my head and I knew I had to by the bag at once.. even if it only appeared to have 3 colors (green, white, and brown). 

Alas, the insides were solid brown chocolate (like large plain M&Ms) and had a strong dose of artificial coconut flavoring instead of the real, tropical stuff. ((Sigh)), a total bust. 

In conclusion, M&Ms are still tried and true childhood treats that have an array of options to target my any mood. Right now, my mood loves the Peanut-Butter bites!

Rice Krispie Treats: Milk and Krunchies

After a string of fantastic desserts this week, I had a disappointing experience with a fancy Rice Krispie bar that looked far more delightful than it's execution.

I found my Milk and Krunchies at Joans on 3rd, a very upscale market, cafe, and bakery. Rows of darling polka-dot wrapped rice-crispy treats ranging in flavors from Peanut Butter Cup to Fruit Loops tempted me into trying the childhood treat of yore. 

The first bite of my Kookies n' Kreme selection completely let me down.  Instead of a fresh and chewy trip down memory lane, I encountered a firm and artificial bar.  I then checked the ingredients to see some horrific items listed, a few of which I can't even pronounce. Bummer! I was totally duped by the adorable packaging.  (Sigh).. sorry Milk and Krunchies, but you missed the mark on this one. 

 For more info on Milk and Krunchies, click here. 

Thinny Thursday! Tip #1

EAT REAL FOOD

Hi everyone! You might recall from this post here that you all inquired about how one stays thin while eating dessert.  I'll repeat that I'm not a nutritionist and diet was never meant to be a focus of my blog, but since so many people have asked, I'm sharing my personal tips on Thinny Thursdays.  

My first tip is to EAT REAL FOOD. This might seem like a pretty basic demand of human survival, yet in this day and age, so many chemicals, additives, powders, bars, junk, and artificial "foods" abound, often times tricking people into thinking that they're "healthy," that it must be stated.. Eat real food. 

 Before I elaborate, reflect for one moment about the bodies you see in images from the '50s, '60,'70s,and  '80s. These were fairly innocent days before the Fat-Free, Sugar-Free, Carb-Free phases descended upon us (for which I was at Ground Zero for each trend).  In fact, there's a photo of my Dad in the 1960s at a breakfast table with a milk carton that advertised "Made with 20% more cream!"-  Can you imagine?!

Also, remember when "Chunk" was the fat kid in The Goonies?  He now looks like a typical kid!