Daniel Le Chocolat Belge

On an early April foodie safari along Granville Street, I came upon a little chocolate shop, just in time to add a few goodies to my Easter basket. Daniel Le Chocolat Belge had plenty of goodies to choose from. In addition to their regular supply of truffles and molded belgian chocolates in the candy case, there were shelves and displays filled with adoreable bunnies, chickens, and delicious praliné eggs. It was hard to decide what to pick!

I didn’t want to blow my basket budget, so I went with a small box of peanut butter bunnies, four exotic truffles, and a few praliné eggs. I’ve waited ages to break into them, but now I can tell you all about how delicious they are. These are some of the creamiest chocolates I’ve ever had, with gorgeous mouth-feel and flavour. Not grainy in the slightest, not too sweet, and the exotic truffle flavours were fun.

Here’s a rundown of my sampling:

Dark Advocaat Brandy
Lush and velvety smooth

Milk Cinnamon-Nutmeg
Interesting. Snickerdoodley.

Dark Chipotle
Good. Super creamy, not peppery.
Flavour is a little hidden.

Milk Mojito
Excellent! Creamy chocolate with
a fresh hint of mint and lime.

Praliné Eggs
Creamy, crunchy, sweet, delicious.
Milk or dark chocolate with a creamy chocolate filling made with ground caramelized almonds or hazelnuts.

Peanut Butter Bunnies
Melt-in-your-mouth cuteness.

About Daniel’s Divine Chocolates

View Daniel’s Chocolate Map

Daniel Poncelet (Chocolatier) was born and raised in Belgium, where he says “chocolate was an inseparable part of my daily diet. I still remember how good it was to let it melt in my mouth and try to make the piece last as long as possible in order to be the last one in the family still enjoying it.”

He learned his craft from Clovis Harmegnie, “an exceptionally passionate Belgian master chocolatier,” and grew to appreciate not only the art of making chocolates but also fine quality ingredients. According to Daniel, this inspired his determination to create chocolates “without compromise, with zealous adherence to purity.”

Daniel uses only 100% natural ingredients to make chocolates that are preservative free with no artificial colorings and flavors and no hydrogenated oils or tropical fats.Daniel sources premium chocolate from world renowned chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut. Callebaut’s chocolate heritage spans more than 120 years, and the company actively supports cocoa farmers and communities as part of its commitment to maintaining a sustainable cocoa industry.

Daniel’s Belgian Chocolates is located at 2820 Granville St. Vancouver, BC with additional locations in Metro Vancouver and Toronto as well as an online shop.

Advertisement

Key Lime Pie

Last week was Ginger Man’s birthday, and I promised I’d bake him any kind of cake he wanted. Of course, he wanted pie. Key lime pie. I’ve never made one before, but that hasn’t stopped me from cooking yet. So I turned to ol’ Faithful, my “Best Recipe” cookbook and got to it.

I love the science behind the food, and the people at Cook’s Illustrated really know what they are doing. They go through bunches of different recipes, tweak the methods and ingredients to achieve desired results, and test multiple versions before laying out the Best Recipe. They haven’t failed me yet. They promised a pie that was full of limey citrus flavour, with a creamy texture and a sweet graham cracker crust. The recipe delivered.

My favourite pie pan.

I wanted to toss a bit of toasted coconut on top of the whipped cream, but Ginger Man was so excited to eat it I barely had time to snap a photo, as you can see.  I love my hexagonal pie pan. It’s old and aluminum and my Sissy gave it to me, so I cherish it. The shape makes for perfect gigantical slices. The pie was absolutely delicious. We even had a slice for breakfast the next day (a full day’s supply of Vitamin C)! I did add two drops of green food coloring to the filling, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I think the crust could have used a bit less sugar (as could the whipped cream), but not too much less. Next time, I think that is the only other change I’ll make.

Some traditional recipes specify Key Limes, a tiny little lime with a thin skin that isn’t easy to juice or zest. Some say they are sweeter than regular limes, but they both taste limey enough to me. I say go with the big limes. Easier to find, easier to work with, and you only need three or four as opposed to a dozen. Speaking of zest, this is where a microplane grater comes in mighty handy.

Another interesting variation among recipes is whether or not the pie filling is baked. The recipe uses eggs, and even though the acidity of the lime juice will essentially “cook” the egg protein and curdle the milk to solidify the filling, I think The Best Recipe got it right by opting to bake the pie a few minutes. It sets up well, doesn’t hurt the crust, and there are no worries about a runny pie making for runny poo. Sorry, but it had to be said.

Happy Birthday Ginger Man!

Having never made a Key Lime pie before, I’m so glad to have started with The Best Recipe. There are so many variations available (using ingredients like sour cream, cream cheese, pudding, gelatin, flavourings, meringue topping, and more), the possibilities are endless. Here’s one from Martha Stewart that is pretty close to the version in my cookbook: Martha Stewart’s Key Lime Pie.

Lessons Learned:

• Take the photo before Ginger Man demands birthday pie.
• Leftover juice and zest can be frozen for later use.
• Make individual pies in a muffin tin!