Hot Chocolate of the Day: Maltesers

On one of my many shopping excursions for hot chocolates, cocoas or drinking chocolates, I came across a few interesting selections at World Market, which specializes in gourmet foods and unique items from around the world. One of my finds was Maltesers, a single serving instant hot chocolate from the UK. Maltesers is manufactured by Mars, Incorporated, or the company that makes the legendary Snickers candy bar, Twix and Skittles. Although this product is primarily for the UK market, it is equivalent to the very popular Swiss Miss hot chocolate here in the states.
With that in mind, I prepared myself to try a hot chocolate with what I call the "tri's and di's" or any beverage with large fancy names that we neglected to remember after high school or college chemistry. The bottom line is that Maltesers is not a pure chocolate beverage but potentially an enjoyable one for many.

Since I was running late to work and my boss was flying in preparation for another Release to Design meeting for the next release of the product line I manage (...you know my side job), I took my Maltesers single serving packet with "only 99 calories per serving" to the office. The instant chocolate mix contains milk, soy and barley gluten so any one allergic to anyone of those ingredients should take heed to the product alert.

Upon opening the packet and pouring the contents into a cup, I was surprised at the faint brown color. The mix was primarily cream or white....interesting. I knew this was be milk chocolate beverage but I was surprised by how light the coloring was of the mix. After mixing the contents with water, I proceeded to take a few pictures of this tasting (and hoped my co-workers do not walk in on my obsession with hot chocolate in the office kitchen). I returned to my office to savor the experience, or at least prepare my taste buds for a new experience. On the first taste, I immediately thought it was bitter. The beverage deepened in color by this time and the aroma was a mixture of Ovaltine and Carnation's Malt Mix. Uhh! Duh! This beverage is a parody of the UK version of Whopers called "Maltesers".

After a few more sips, the flavor began to wear on me as I became acclimated to the malted hot chocolate. Would I enjoy this again? Once in a while. I've become enamored of true hot chocolate thus instant mixes have become quite distasteful to me. However, I do prefer Maltesers over other common instant hot chocolates such as Swiss Miss or Carnations.

Blasted Tea Toddlers

After sweating to death on our girl power family walk around the Pasadena Rose Bowl, it was time to eat. Even as hot as it was, I wanted to try Zona Rosa Caffe's to see what their hot chocolate was like. However, I was overruled by my tea toddling family members.

Once we changed out of our walking clothes, we were off to tea. My mother and sister, the girly ones out of the family, enjoy having tea at the Tea Rose Garden. As we turned onto Raymond Avenue, a tear appeared in my eye as my husband and I use to live off of Raymond and walk around in the vicinity for groceries, dining and entertainment. Oh well. We will return again...one day.

Still fuming from missing my sole opportunity for a hot chocolate adventure, I participated in my first tea experience. I ordered the English Tea which includes a scone, tea and finger sandwich of your choice, along with a petal salad, fresh fruit and rose sugar cookie. My sandwich of choice was the Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwich. As for my tea, I selected the Berry Passion Tea and a Lemon Raspberry Scone.

I must admit, I enjoyed myself. We all ordered different sandwiches and scones so we could share our tea house treats. My Lemon Raspberry Scone ranked 1st among us girls and my favorite sandwich was my sister's Cranberry Chicken Sandwich.

This was absolutely an enjoyable experience. Normally, I would be fixating over the fact I did not have the opportunity to try a new hot chocolate. However, I will definitely get over it...this time!

The End Result

Tada! Here is my instant chocolate custard made with Bird's Custard Powder and Venchi's cacao due vecchi from Italy. Since I am in California, my husband is enjoying this custard without me. After following the recipe, I placed the dessert in the refrigerator to firm up. By adding a some cacao to a instant recipe gave this traditional dessert a little flare. Yum!

Hot Chocolate of the Day: Venchi's Hot Chocolate with Milk

I am back in California again! Yes! I enjoyed Venchi's Hot Chocolate with Milk from Italy before my departure to the golden state. However, I only had time to send out a quick tweet before my travels began.

One of the benefits of owning a store with an array of delicious hot chocolates is being able to sample them all. The Venchi hot chocolates are seasonal and, of course to non-hot chocolate aficionados, we are out of season. Clearly, this is nonsense! Nevertheless, the Venchi Hot Chocolate with Milk is made of 22% cacao and has a rich brown color. Unlike the traditional milk hot chocolates served here in the US, the deep color clearly shows the variance in what Americas and Europeans think is milk hot chocolate.

After the first sip, you can clearly tell this is not your typical milk hot chocolate. With a hint of sweetness, this hot chocolate would be appreciated by those that enjoy 70% or more chocolate beverages.

Would I indulge in this milk hot chocolate again? Surely! Make sure you do not eat something sweet simultaneously. A sweet or overly sweet item will cancel out the simple flavor of this hot chocolate.

Craving Chocolate Custard

With a craving for chocolate custard, I pulled out Venchi's cacao due vecchi (cacao powder) from Italy and Bird's Custard Powder from the pantry. I added a few teaspoons of cacao powder to the Bird's Custard Powder and proceeded to follow their directions.

I hope it tastes good!

Not just for hot cocoa anymore

Marshmallows are derived from an extract taken from the Altaea officinalis plant. This extract is now being used in numerous organic hair conditioners and face creams for their moisturizing characteristics.