Finding a premium handmade chocolate to add to our NZ gift box range, proved more time consuming than first thought, until we came across Chocolate Brown. We all know the Swiss are master’s in the art of chocolate making, and Chocolate Brown is no different.

Tucked away in the quaint and quirky town of Warkworth lies Chocolate Brown Chocolatier and Cafe.Just 50 minutes North of Auckland, Warkworth is the gateway to Mahurangi and Matakana peninsula’s, boasting 37 stunning white sand beaches.

Owners, Susan and Des understanding of corporate gifting was the chocolate icing on the cake so to speak. They both come from an IT background and according to Susan “ he’s the guy that gets things done”. While Susan looks after Sales and the Cafe, Des oversees the chocolate making.

Chocolate brown chocolates are handmade and preservative free, sourced from Swiss company Barry Callebaut.

Did you know…….

Cocoa and dark chocolate are completely cholesterol free? and the word chocolate comes from the Aztec word “Xocoatl,” which literally translates to ‘bitter water’. That’s because the Aztecs used to make a cocoa drink without adding sugar or sweet ingredients.

FUN FACTS:

The cocoa tree – Theobroma Cacao – only grows in the tropical heat of the equatorial forest.

The cocoa tree flowers all year round, in two cycles of six months.

After six months, the cocoa pods are full-grown and are ready to be harvested.

No more than forty of the thousands of flowers will eventually develop into cocoa pods.

The farmers cut the outer peel of the cocoa pods open with long knives to collect the fruit pulp inside, including the cocoa beans.

The cocoa beans are further cleaned, roasted then ground into a liquor which makes chocolate.

High on their priority list is their on going commitment to their customers and employees. Being part of a smaller community, our customers know you and want you to succeed, says Des. With Gratitude gift box customers in mind, Susan is sourcing a new Ruby chocolate from Barry Callebaut that will be introduced in our Chockoclock gift box and as part of our Build a box range.

It sounds absolutely to die for! Raspberry with a hint of lemon or lime hand made into a tablet and attractive wrapping. We cant wait!

From the experts themselves, we can only describe this recipe as Divine, Decadent and Delicious!

Chocolate Souffle

Gluten Free Serves 6 / Oven @ 190c

Bake 10 - 15mins / use 6 x 1cup ramekins
Do not over Cook

Ingredients:
200g Chocolate Brown dark chocolate callets
    5 Egg yolks beaten
    1/3 c Sugar
    ½ t Vanilla
    6 Egg whites
    Sifted icing sugar to serve

Method:
With butter grease ramekins & sprinkle base & sides w/ sugar,
    place on baking tray.
    Gently melt chocolate stir until smooth
    Stir in yolks & sugar.
    Beat whites until firm peaks form.
    Stir a spoonful into choc to soften mixture, lightly fold in remaining whites w/ a lge metal spoon
    Spoon into prepared ramekins & bake until risen & firm to touch.
    Dust w/ icing sugar
    Serve immediately

For more yummy recipe’s visit Chocolate Brown’s website here.

The Chocolate Hunt