So I didn't post the photo of the entry and the recipe on February 15. My bad. We made a yummy buttery toffee with a chocolate nib and almond base and a chocolate glaze and a sprinkling of the nibs and almonds on top. We didn't win, but the contest overall was a huge success. I had the location wrong. It was held at Hotel Limbo on Isla Colon. Hotel Limbo bent over backwards to support the contest and Cerutti and Family Chocolate. There were 28 entries and over 200 people showed up to taste the delicious entries. JoEllen Jeffers was this year's winner for a second time. She won the first time two years ago. Congratulations to JoEllen and to the Cerrutti's for another great turnout.

Tags: chocolate, bocas del toro

Cerutti and Family Chocolate is hosting its annual contest once again this Thursday, February 14 at the Buena Vista in Bocas Town on Isla Colon. We have been working diligently on a new recipe that has taken its inspiration from a variety of sources. Today alone we have prepared the recipe twice. I think this second version is going to be the final version. It is both fun and interesting to develop a recipe using the ingredients we have directly available to us. Of course, using the finest, deepest, darkest chocolate around makes it even better.

And yes, I have intentionally left out what we are developing as the contest is anonymous so we don't want to put any spoilers out. We will post a picture of our entry along with the recipe on Friday, February 15.

Until then - Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Tags: chocolate, bocas del toro

Here is the recipe for Molten Chocolate Cake that we serve at Tranquilo Bay. We make it using our friend's Dave & Linda's delicious organic chocolate. I think it is my favorite chocolate cake as you really get to taste the chocolate. Use the highest cacao content chocolate that you can find. This recipe has plenty of butter in it to compensate for the dryness of the high cacao content chocolate.

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ cup sugar
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 400 (360 convection oven) degrees. In a saucepan, bring ½ inch of water to a simmer. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over the saucepan until the chocolate is melted. Stir; remove from the heat.

2. In a small bowl, mix the flour and sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the flour and sugar, then stir in the melted chocolate until combined. Scrape into six six ounce ramekins. Bake for about 12 minutes until the edges are firm and the center is still runny. Serve the cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center while still warm.

Tags: chocolate, recipe, bocas del toro

We have some good friends here in Bocas del Toro who own and graciously operate an organic chocolate farm. They intended to retire here and tend a garden, but I am quite certain neither Dave nor Linda ever expected to be seriously into chocolate. And oh my is it good chocolate. Nothing like you have ever tasted. I have always been addicted to chocolate, but this stuff could make even the strongest weak.

What do you know about chocolate? Did you know that at one time it was traded as currency. Did you know it was used for its medicinal properties. It has been considered as a food for the gods. The main ingredient in cocoa and chocolate is cacao.

Cacao beans grow within the fruit pod of the cacao tree. Cacao trees grow only in tropical climates and almost always within twenty degrees of the equator. Panama is at 9 degrees - perfect for cacao farming. Cacao trees develop better under a canopy of taller trees. There is a slippery membrane that encases the beans inside the pod. This membrane tastes similar to a sweet tart candy.

Cacao beans are removed from this membrane and then allowed to ferment to begin the development of the chocolate flavor. Once fermented, our local organic beans are placed in the sun to dry. Larger bulk chocolate production uses another method for drying the beans. Once dry, the beans are then roasted. Roasting cracks the beans a bit into small pieces - the resulting nut is called a chocolate nib. Chocolate nibs go through a process similar to grinding called conching which transforms the nibs into a liquid. This liquid is chocolate liquor.

Commercial chocolate production continues on with additional processes which add sugar, milk and other ingredients. The chocolate is tempered to develop its sheen and then placed into molds and wrapped. Our friend's artisan organic chocolate is processed a bit further into either bittersweet chocolate bars or unsweetened chocolate for baking, etc.

Here is a photo gallery of our friends' farm. I bet you can just taste it now. Here is the link for a great chocolate recipe.

Tags: chocolate