Recchiuti S'mores Kit and S'mores Bites

Summer doesn't have to be over. You can still enjoy S'mores at home! I've posted all kinds of S'mores recipes and S'mores round-ups here on DyingforChocolate.com. S'mores are so easy to make. Substituting different chocolate and cookies/grahams and homemade marshmallows makes a difference. You can always go with the basics: Graham Crackers, Hershey Bars and Regular Marshmallows from the bag, but if you want to have a kit at the ready that will really knock your socks off, try Recchiuti's S'mores Kit!

I'm a huge fan of Recchiuti Chocolate, and I always include the retail store in the Ferry Building on Teambuilding Unlimited's San Francisco Foodie Scavenger Hunts. Now, you can order Recchiuti's incredible S'mores Kit online (or in the store). This is the same kit the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay offers its guests.

S'mores Kit

An especially great gift for grownups who've forgotten how much fun a mess of gooey marshmallows and melted chocolate can be. You get 9 handmade Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, 8 Recchiuti Grahams and a Bittersweet 85% Chocolate Bar. Makes 4 to 8 servings.

Each kit makes 4 s'mores sandwiches or 8 open-faced s'mores.

Is this too much work? Pick up a package of S'mores Bites.

S'mores Bites

Fresh Recchiuti vanilla bean marshmallows lay atop tiny handmade graham crackers blanketed in pure bittersweet chocolate. S'Mores Bites are made with fluffy marshmallows filled with air.

Warm Chocolate Caramel Cakes

Today is National Chocolate Caramel Day! Don't you just love these food holidays?

Be sure and read  last year's post for Chocolate Caramel Day: Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies, Milk Duds, and a short review of some local chocolatiers' chocolate covered caramels.  I also had a post for Chocolate Caramel Trifle at Thanksgiving.

One of my favorite caramel sauces is Recchiuti's Burnt Caramel Sauce. This sauce is perfect in the following recipe, and you can order it online.   Of course, the Recchiuti Fleur de Sel Caramels are a real favorite of mine. Each dark chocolate caramel is a perfect balance of salty and sweet. They are addictive. Great for today's Chocolate Caramel celebration!

As in any recipe I post, I hope you'll experiment with different chocolate, cocoa, and other ingredients. This easy recipe is adapted from a recipe in one of my favorite magazines: Country Living. The final warm chocolate caramel cakes is a variation on molten chocolate cakes. Your guests--and you--will love the surprise when you bite into them! Caramel and chocolate goes so well together.

WARM CHOCOLATE CARAMEL CAKES

Ingredients:
Butter, softened
1 jar good-quality caramel sauce (Recchiuti)
1 1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong brewed coffee, warm
1/3 cup light olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar  (the best quality**)

Directions:

1. Coat six 6-ounce ramekins with softened butter. Chill in the freezer for about 10 minutes, and brush with a second coat of butter. Pour 3 tablespoons caramel sauce into the bottom of each ramekin and transfer to the freezer for 1 hour.

2. Whisk the cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. Stir the coffee, oil, vanilla, and vinegar together and whisk into the flour mixture just until smooth.

3. Fill each ramekin with 1/3 cup of batter. Bake at 400 degrees F until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and the caramel has bubbled up the sides, about 20 minutes.

Photo: Country Living