From erotic, exotic and peppery chocolates to spice up your love life, to fairytale cakes that would make even the hardened heart flutter, master chocolatiers and top luxury pastry boutiques have come out with another wide assortment of sweet treats for this year’s Valentine’s Day.
From Pierre Hermé, for instance, described as the French Picasso of pastries, comes a quartet of heart-shaped cakes enrobed either in a chocolate caramel ganache; a compote of berries; a silvery white jasmine ganache, or white chocolate and mascarpone.
Premium pastry house Dalloyau, which has boutiques in Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Dubai and Doha, has also released heart-shaped versions of its signature offerings that include a Macaron of Love, a raspberry-flavored cookie filled with a Madagascan vanilla cream and raspberry compote or a shortbread pastry filled with a Sabayon mousse and berries, both made for two.
Want to spice up your regular repertoire? French chocolate boutique La Maison du Chocolat has come out with special edition bonbons with interesting flavor pairings, such as a vanilla and Jamaican pepper-spiced praline filled with almonds and hazelnuts.
Another unexpected flavor pairing for Valentine’s Day includes a lemon, almond and Galanga-flavored chocolate bonbon.
La Maison du Chocolat has locations in Paris, Tokyo, London, New York and Hong Kong.
It’s not just premium chocolate boutiques that are innovating this Valentine’s Day.
Godiva offers chocolate boxes for the gents such as milk chocolate cigars, and masculine, dark chocolate and truffle gift sets.
Commercial brand M&M’s also allows fans to customize the candy-coated chocolates with messages of love and even pictures of themselves and their loved ones.
Some of their suggested lines?
“My heart skips 4 you,” and “Your smile makes me melt.”
AFP RELAXNEWS
Tue Feb 12 2013
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