Valentine's Day special at French Broad Chocolate Lounge: Aprhodisiac truffles collection

As regular readers will already know, some of the best chocolates in the region are available with just a short day-trip-length drive over to Asheville, North Carolina, at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge.  They know this, of course, because of the recent article discussing how great a Valentine's Day option French Broad Chocolates are for Knoxvillians as part of a getaway Valentine's (or other) weekend, romantic day trip, or even as part of a luxurious celebration at home by choosing from among French Broad Chocolate's large selection of delicious, organic, gourmet offerings for mail order, at least if you think ahead on it.

As mentioned in the previous article about French Broad Chocolates, a new, gourmet, special-for-Valentine's-Day collection has been unveiled: the French Broad Chocolates Aphrodisiac Truffles Collection, and here is a sneak peak at the lovely selections they're offering!

Cabernet and Anise Dark Chocolate Truffle -- French Broad Chocolates starts with a fine Napa Valley Cabernet sauvignon, Bacchus, and gently infuses warming star anise into the wine as it reduces to a syrup.  That delicious syrup is combined with a dark chocolate ganache of fine Peruvian chocolate.  Atop its dark, glossy surface, a delicate dark chocolate star is laid in garnish, reminiscent of the anise lending its warming, relaxing flavor to the truffle.

Canela Picante Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle -- Here, a bittersweet (73% cocoa) chocolate ganache serves as a medium to deliver a classic fortifying recipe of the Aztecs, although it originated with the Mayan culture far earlier: rich, extra dark chocolate infused with cinnamon and cayenne pepper to enhance warmth and circulation.  It was part of Aztec lore to associate chocolate with the goddess of fertility, and the famed Emperor Montezuma is said to have consumed at least 50 cups of rich dark chocolate daily, following a recipe similar to this one, specifically to enhance his potency.  French Broad Chocolates fuses the flavors perfectly, delivering on bittersweet heat in the finest of ways.  The dark brown truffle is garnished with a light sprinkling of cayenne pepper powder so that there's no doubt about what's inside!

Fig and Port Double Dark Chocolate Truffle (Vegan) -- French Broad Chocolates spares nothing in the artistry of this truffle, combining a 55% cocoa Hawaiian dark chocolate ganache with coconut cream and a puree of fresh figs grown locally in Asheville blended with smooth, sweet port.  The decadent result is then coated in a powerfully contrasting 91% extra-dark-chocolate coating and rolled in crushed and toasted almonds.  There's something almost otherworldly about how these flavors combine, and the fusion of tropical coconut and Hawaiian chocolate with Mediterranean fig and port is surprisingly good.

Indian Kulfi Spiced Milk Chocolate Truffle -- Kulfi is a popular, dense, spiced ice-cream dish in India, and it serves as a basis for a fine milk chocolate truffle in French Broach Chocolates' aphrodisiac line.  Jael (one of the owners) was inspired to combine the warming and romantic flavors of kulfi -- rose, pistachio, and cardamom -- into a delectable truffle by slowly and gently steeping the cardamom pods and rose petals in rich, organic cream and then blending into that toasted pistachios and a rich 38% cocoa milk chocolate.  The entire truffle is coated in the same chocolate with an unassuming milk-chocolate appearance lightly garnished with a few pistachio crumbles.

Theros, Orange, and Fennel Chocolate Truffle (Vegan) -- Theros is a small, family-run grove of olives in Messenia, Greece, that produces a extra-fine, ultra-premium, extra-virgin olive oil that has been considered to be an aphrodisiac since Egyptian times, according to the French Broad Chocolates website.  By adding warming fennel seed and a touch of orange essential oil to this dark chocolate truffle, French Broad Chocolates creates a truffle that enhances and showcases the lovely, delicate Theros oil and complements its reputation perfectly in chocolate.  It's garnished with a few sugared fennel seeds across the top, contrastingly beautiful and white against the very dark chocolate truffle.

Cosmic Love Potion Milk and White Chocolate Truffle -- Perhaps the crown jewel of the French Broad Chocolates Aphrodisiac Collection, the Cosmic Love Potion chocolate truffle contains a true modern-day love potion courtesy of Asheville-local herbalist Christa Hebel, a honey-based elixir with a recipe she claims was inspired in a dream.  The love potion behind this truffle is made from ginseng, damiana, ginger, rose, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean, and kava kava, a slough of herbs known for their warming, stimulating, relaxing, and aphrodisiac properties.  To enhance this lovely blend, French Broad Chocolates adds some of the honey-based love potion to a milk chocolate ganache, which they then cover with a lovely white-chocolate coating adorned with a single, tiny, organic, pink rose petal pressed into the center (which is certainly edible!).  The result: delicious and worth the experiment.

French Broad Chocolate Lounge and Yours Truly invite you to try these tremendously artful and inspired chocolates with someone that you love this Valentine's Day.  For local folks in Knoxville, make a day-trip or weekend trip to Asheville to get in on the goodness.  If making your way to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge itself is out of the question, consider their mail order options by visiting their website: frenchbroadchocolates.com.  The truffles are a bit expensive but not in comparison to other truffles on the market, particularly when quality is taken into account.  These are stunning.

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