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Chocoholics, listen up! Here is a great recipe for you. This old Hershey’s recipe for Cocoa Bundt Cake is fantastic. And it’s great for any occasion from birthdays to parties to pitch-ins, the list goes on and on. And here’s a holiday hint. For Christmas, crush a candy cane and sprinkle over the top of the glaze to give the cake a pepperminty, holiday taste and look.

HERSHEY’S COCOA BUNDT CAKE

This recipe was in an old Hershey’s recipe give-away.

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk*
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze (recipe below)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. In the large mixer bowl, blend flour, sugar, dodoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add remaining ingredients except chocolate glaze. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with the chocolate glaze.

Yield: 12 to 16 servings

*If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar plus milk to equal 1 1/2 cups. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes before using.

Chocolate Glaze:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Mini-Chips

In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a rolling boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat. Immediately add the chocolate chips. Stir mixture with a wire whisk until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool until slightly thickened. Drizzle over top of cake.

Note: For a pretty presentation, add a few chopped pecans around the top of the cake over the glaze.

Enjoy!

By: Linda Carol Wilson

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Chocoholics rejoice! We have more recipes for the Chocoholics out there to enjoy, especially this summer! You can drink your chocolate with these delicious beverage recipes! Chocolate Mint Drink is chilled and vanilla ice cream added just before serving for a cool, frothy drink. And who wouldn’t enjoy a Classic Old-Fashion Chocolate Shake? Try these yummy old-fashion beverages and go back in thought to the days of the popular Malt Shops and drugstores with soda fountains. You may even want to add two straws to enjoy the drink with your Sweetheart!

CREAMY CHOCOLATE MINT DRINK
This is an old recipe from my childhood, growing up in hot and muggy Southern Indiana.

1 cup hot milk
1/2 cup chocolate malt powder (not cocoa)
3 cups cold milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 pint vanilla ice cream

Combine the hot milk and the chocolate malt powder, stirring until the malt powder is completely dissolved. Add the cold milk, vanilla, salt, and peppermint extract; refrigerate to chill. Before serving, add a pint of vanilla ice cream and stir until frothy. Great refreshment on a hot day!

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE SHAKE
This classic recipe is from a very old newspaper clipping about an old “Shake Shop” that was popular during the 1950s but is long gone.

1 cup cold whole milk
3 scoops vanilla ice cream
2 tbsp chocolate syrup
whipped cream
2 maraschino cherries

Combine the whole milk (whole milk is important to make a really good shake), vanilla ice cream, and chocolate syrup in a blender container and mix until blended. Note: The longer you blend, the thinner the shake will be. Pour into two chilled glasses, top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. Serve immediately.

Serves two.

Enjoy!

By: Linda Carol Wilson

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It is always a good time to make something with chocolate. When the mood seizes you, discovering you haven’t got a crucial ingredient can ruin the mood. Knowing its equivalent or substitution can save the day. Today, Mom helps cooks and chocoholics with tips on chocolate and includes the world’s easiest dipped strawberry recipe.

Chocolate is made from the bean of the tropical cacao tree. In its purest baking form chocolate comes powdered, is usually sold in tins and is called cocoa. There are two types of cocoa in this world; regular cocoa and Dutch cocoa. Dutch cocoa, or alkalized cocoa has reduced the natural acidity of the cocoa bean resulting in a darker, mellower, more chocolaty cocoa powder. For the most part, these can be used interchangeably, especially for flavoring foods like frosting. However, if you are baking, be aware the reduced alkalinity of Dutch cocoa may affect how cakes rise. Cocoa powder is not to be confused with those packaged hot cocoa drink mixes, which don’t work well in recipes.

Sugar and fat are usually added to cocoa powder for sweetening and consistency and cake! In our kitchens, fat can be in the form of cocoa butter, margarine, butter, vegetable shortening or vegetable oil. Sugars, either powdered or granulated add sweetness and also add to consistency. Powdered sugar will be smoother. Once we understand the basics of chocolate it makes substituting ingredients much easier. Here are some more definitions and equivalents.

Cocoa: Powdered, chocolate in its most basic form (beyond the bean).

Baking Chocolate: Generally sold in bars and measured in squares of 1 ounce each. Normally has some fat but no sugar content.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Sold in chips or bars. Normally has some fat plus a small amount of sugar.

1 square (1oz) of baking chocolate = 3 tablespoons cocoa + 1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 cup (one 6 oz package) of semisweet chocolate = 6 tablespoons cocoa + 7 tablespoons granulated sugar + 1/4 cup shortening

1 cup (one 6 oz package) of semisweet chocolate = 6 oz or (6 squares) of semi-sweet chocolate


Classic Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

This will also work with cherries or any other fruit with a skin. Use about 18 large fresh strawberries, room temperature and patted dry plus 1 pound semi sweet (or any type) chocolate pieces, coarsely chopped.

1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Or heat the chocolate at 50% power in 30 second intervals in the microwave, carefully checking temperature until it is smooth.

2. Using the berry stem or a toothpick, dip the strawberries into the chocolate.

3. Cool the berries on wax paper, or put the toothpicks into styrofoam (or a potato).



More Chocolate Tips: Make sure the strawberries are completely dry. Even a drop of water in the melted chocolate can cause it to “seize” and make the chocolate grainy. This recipe will produce tempered chocolate, or chocolate that dries to a hard shine. If the chocolate becomes too thick to work with, add drops of vegetable oil, small amounts of vegetable shortening or cocoa butter (butter and margarine contain water) stirring until it becomes the right consistency. Happy cooking!

By: Laura Zinkan

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In recent years, chocoholics and chocolate lovers have more reasons to celebrate and to eat more chocolates with less of the guilt. Recent studies show that cocoa actually contains a substantial amount of antioxidants that is even higher than black tea or red wine! That’s a lot of antioxidants to help fight free radicals that cause various ailments, from heart disease to cancer. Chocolate studies also show that cocoa lowers blood pressure and can offset chocolate’s high sugar level. Still, there are chocolates that are healthier than others. Dark chocolate, for instance is healthier than milk or white chocolate because of its higher cocoa concentration. There are also more alternative choices for healthier organic chocolates made from natural ingredients. Some, targeted for vegan chocolate lovers, contain soy instead of milk. Diabetic chocolate, targeted for those who have diabetes, are also available in the market. If you eat a lot of chocolate and are worried about how it will affect your health, organic sugar-free chocolates are a good alternative.

Organic Chocolate
In today’s market, following the organic foods band-wagon, there are organic chocolate manufacturers that use high quality organic ingredients that meet or exceed organic standards for qualification. For a chocolate to be certified as organic, it should not contain any genetically modified ingredient. In producing milk chocolates, only milk that is free of recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), an artificial hormone given to cows for increasing their milk production, can be used. Organic chocolates are made from organic cocoa, which are cultivated in small pots and are grown under a canopy shade to preserve the natural way it grows in its native tropical environment. Many of the cocoa that are grown in big plantations are sprayed with pesticides to prevent the development of diseases and to ensure its proliferation.

According to the Pesticide Awareness Network (www.panna.org), cocoa plantations are second only to cotton plantations in the use of pesticides. Growing cocoa organically ensures that there are no pesticides involved. Biologists, in recent years, were able to determine and create environmentally sound farming methods that maintain biodiversity for cultivating cocoa organically, which at the same time, protects the winter habitat of migratory songbirds. Most organic cocoa manufacturers are also fair trade certified, which ensures that the labor that went into growing and cultivating the cocoa was fairly compensated. Under the fair trade agreement, sugar and cocoa farmers receive a fair share for their produce and thus helping to elevate their quality of life. Not only are organic chocolates politically correct and environmentally safe, they are also intriguingly delicious. Because organic chocolates are somewhat of a specialty, there are many varieties and flavors that are unique to organic chocolates and are worth the adventure for the true lovers of chocolate.

Soy Chocolate
For those who are lactose-intolerant or are allergic to milk, or for those who are simply interested in Vegan products, soy-milk chocolate is a revelation. Some soy chocolate products claim that they have the “rich milk chocolate taste without the milk.” Most of these chocolates are GMO-free, non-dairy, lactose free, rich in soy isoflavones, and 100% vegan and healthy!

By: Chris Alleny

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What creates the difference between dark, white and milk chocolates? Is it the color, or perhaps the flavor? Or is it just the history and the background behind each? Nutritional values, maybe? Or how about the ingredients of each? The making process? How about all of the above?

We all know that there are three different types of chocolates. What we don’t really understand are the differences between these, which cause each to be taken as an individual substance! For example, did you know that white chocolate isn’t really considered to be chocolate? Many true chocolate aficionados might put white chocolate in a separate class -

The first and most characteristic that differentiates dark from white from milk chocolate is the distinct color of each! While dark chocolate is a deep, rich brown due to the high amounts of cocoa in its composition, milk chocolate is a lighter shade of brown, showing the presence of milk. White chocolate on the other hand, is completely white since it has no part of the cocoa liquor that’s present in the other two. This is also the reason as to why white chocolate doesn’t conform to the standards of chocolate

Another major difference between dark, white and milk chocolates is the history behind each. Chocolate was drunk as a spicy beverage about 2000 years ago, when no one had heard of mixing it with milk! When the cocoa press was first invented in 1828, solid eating chocolate was created. Thus dark chocolate was born. Later, in the year 1875, Daniel Peters created the first milk chocolate White chocolate came much later, after World War I, when it was introduced by the Swiss! Dark chocolate becomes more bitter as the amount of cocoa liquor in it increases.

In terms of taste, dark chocolate is the bitterest, followed by milk chocolate which is usually semi-sweet in response to the lower quantity of cocoa liquor used, as well as the added sweetness of milk and sugar. White chocolate is completely sweet, since it has no cocoa liquor. Cocoa contains theobromine, a healthy substance that is extremely bitter in nature. This explains why dark chocolate is more of an acquired taste than a first love!

The other difference between these three types of chocolate is in the ingredients each contains. Dark chocolate is very simple, containing cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar, whereas milk chocolate has a smaller portion of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, milk and sugar. White chocolate on the other hand, is more of a flavored candy containing cocoa butter, lecithin, sugar, milk solids and other flavorings.

As has been recently discovered, cocoa powder has many nutritional benefits, due to the flavonoids and polyphenols it contains, which are said to be antioxidants and relieve heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes type II, and prevent a score of other diseases. Cocoa also contains epitachin, a flavonoid which widens the heart and blood vessels, leading to reduced heart risks. Since dark chocolate has the highest amount of cocoa present, it follows that dark chocolate has greater nutritional benefits compared to milk and white chocolate Milk chocolate also contains cocoa, but the goodness of it is generally wiped out by the other saturated fats contained within! White chocolate having no cocoa content, has no nutritional benefits at all.

Another scenario where the differences between these three types of chocolate are stark is the consumption and popularity of each! Dark chocolate is normally a favorite with diabetic chocoholics, because of the low sugar content it contains. Milk chocolate on the other hand, is very popular with the masses. If you’re creating a gift basket without knowing your recipients taste, you’re in the right if you include a majority of milk chocolate goodies! White chocolates, on the other hand, tend to be a love at first taste choice. You either like them or you don’t!

There are obviously major differences between the three types of chocolate However, each of them is a sumptuous decadent delight in its own way! When you’re thinking of chocolate you’re obviously not going through the differences between them. What you are thinking of is that moment when they melt in your mouth, and everything is all right with the world! So today go ahead and enjoy that delicious piece of chocolate after all you now know a little bit more about what you are eating!

By: Colleen Maguire

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Why do gourmet chocolate gifts make people happy? If you think it’s all in their heads – you may be right!

Most chocoholics will tell you that they love chocolate because it makes them happy. The question is, why does it make us happy? Of course, our taste buds will confess to to the pleasures of gourmet chocolate…but is there something else going on behind the scenes – in our heads?

1. According to BBC Science & Nature, there is. They say that chocolate contains the natural ‘love drug’, known as tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. Tryptophan is used by our brains to create serotonin.

A lack of serotonin is associated with chronic fatigue syndrome. In a study from Hull York Medical School, researchers found that participants eating dark chocolate experienced less fatigue than those who ate white chocolate dyed brown. They believed that because dark chocolate is high in polyphenols, it improves the level of serotonin in the brain. High levels of serotonin diminish anxiety and can produce extreme happiness, working in a similar way to the drug ecstasy, although to a much lesser effect.

2. Chocolate also contains phenylethlamine, known as the “love chemical” which stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers – which might be why chocolate has often been identified as an aphrodisiac.

3. Anandamide is another component which create something akin to a ‘natural high’. For a flash movie to see exactly how anandamide works, check out BBC’s online science hot topics chocolate.

4. Chocolate also contains small amounts of caffeine that increase dopamine levels. Dopamine also activates the pleasure centers of the brain.

Gourmet chocolate often contains more cocoa, and more cocoa means more of the good stuff, good for your brain and your heart, with more antioxidant properties. Look for gifts for chocolate lovers that contains at least 70% cocoa solids. Also, look for gifts made with cocoa butter which is better for your heart than palm or coconut oil.

By: Sarah R. Parker

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On Valentine’s Day, seems everyone loves getting chocolate. But are chocoholic gift baskets healthy? Find out what to look for in a Valentine’s Day gift basket that will satisfy both the chocolate lover and the body.

Is chocolate good or bad for the body? Well, that depends on who you ask, and what kind of chocolate your talking about.

Most diet gurus say chocolate is bad – that is – if you want to lose weight. For chocoholics, that’s the bad news. The good news, is that the right kinds of chocolate in moderate amounts can actually be very good for your body! Harvard Medical School research findings indicate that the cocoa found in chocolate is naturally rich in flavenols which help to maintain a healthy heart and regulate blood pressure. They also found that people who consume cocoa with a high flavenol content also experienced better kidney blood flow and filtering. Chocolate also contains magnesium, an important mineral most of us don’t get enough of. In fact, we may actually be craving chocolate because our bodies need more magnesium!

Not all Chocolate is Created Equal:

In 2003, in a study done by Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome and colleagues, researchers found those subjects who ate dark chocolate alone had the most total antioxidants in their blood (as opposed to those subjects who ate solely white chocolate or milk chocolate).

Dark chocolate gifts are the gifts for chocolate lovers you should get if you want to satisfy both a chocoholics cravings and your own peace of mind.

By: Sarah R. Parker

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chocoholics

Chocolate is an exceptional food and ingredient because of the cacao plant. This plant thrives in tropical regions that are all equidistant from the equator. Cacao can become a solid, a liquid, or a powder. Chocolate itself