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If you’re like many people, you satisfy your chocolate cravings with a candy bar, heart-shaped box of crème-filled candies or bag of foil-wrapped “kisses.” Your palate deserves more respect. Treat yourself to today’s exceptional artisan chocolates and delectable chocolate desserts. They’re all the rage in Utah. Some are locally made, most are widely available, and all are a direct path to experiencing the magic that makes chocolate the favorite-of-all-foods.
Pride of Utah
Locally owned Amano Artisan Chocolate takes its chocolate from bean to bar in small handcrafted batches overseen by Art Pollard, who founded Amano with business partners Clark Goble and Rick Raile in 2006. It sounds a little odd to find Orem trumping Belgium, but Amano has won awards around the globe—San Francisco Chocolate, the Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon, the Academy of Chocolate Awards in London. The chocolate bars are made in Utah County, but you can buy them lots of places, including Caputo’s and online at amanochocolate.com/retail.
Tasty Tips
›› See... first, there should be a glossy shine to the chocolate bar; this shows a good temper—a tight bond between the cocoa butter and the cocoa mass.
›› Smell... rub your thumb on the chocolate to help release its aromas. Inhale the chocolate’s ingredient notes deeply through your nose.
›› Snap... quality chocolate should always be dry to the touch. Break the bar into two pieces. Hear a crisp, ringing snap, which indicates a well-tempered bar of chocolate.
›› Taste... place the chocolate on your tongue and press it to the roof of your mouth. Within 30 seconds, the chocolate should slowly begin to melt around your tongue. The taste should not be evanescent; it should have a long, lingering finish.
›› Feel... benefit from the antioxidants in chocolate, ride the high of often-included chilies, and boost your immune system with some of the natural ingredients. Each chocolate bar brings its own sensations and benefits.
Vinto’s Molten Chocolate Cake
Serves 12
8 ounces plus 6 Tbsp butter
10 ounces bitter-sweet chocolate
6 whole eggs
6 egg yolks
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup flour, sifted
Melt the chocolate and butter together. Cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and yolks, then mix in the powdered sugar. Whisk this into the chocolate mixture, then whisk in the flour. Fill 12 greased 4-ounce foil tins or custard cups with the batter and refrigerate until cold. Bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Run a knife around each cake to loosen it, then turn out of tins immediately onto the plate.
Vinto, 418 E. 200 South, SLC, 801-539-9999
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