A Valentine’s Chocolates

12/17/2021

Chocolate coffee syrups by yours truly 🤎

12/17/2021

Vegan, gluten free and nut free, and cane sugar free matcha whoopie pies 💚

Still a WIP

12/17/2021

candied orange and cocoa muffins 🧡
(Of course I had to stripe them in chocolate after)

Chocolate mixed with clove for a Christmas touch

12/10/2021

Working with vegan chocolate is much more difficult than traditional ingredients, but much more rewarding! Here is the messy aspect of chocolate projects: they don’t look pretty during the first few trials. It’s about what works and what tastes good before making it pleasing to the eye!

Chocolate is an experience beyond taste. It’s intended to be aromatic, look delicious, feel smooth… it is an aphrodisiac after all!

These are for Goji. It’s going to take a few more trials before they turn out right, and mind you, the brand also factors in to the creation. Expect these on shelves there soon.

12/07/2021

♥️Gabrielle Chocolates and Ice Cream ♥️

My first job in the food industry was at a local ice cream shop owned by a woman named Gabrielle. Within a month of working there, she promoted to a management role, where I trained and delegated daily chocolate and ice cream tasks to my coworkers. I adored this place. I was in a bit of a rough spot so I wanted to work constantly. Some of my fondest memories include driving past Cazenovia lake in the snow to a blizzard-coated ice cream parlor, only to then take the “Open” sign outside, through the slush and crazy Syracuse weather, down to the road. No sarcasm there! I never realized just how much I’d miss and later appreciate the cold (and despite being surrounded by frozen treats, this was one of the most cozy spaces in the winter!).

I often find my mind trailing back to those memories of opening the shop in the middle of winter, the fun beautiful packaging, and creating treats I took pride in. I found some more pictures from Yelp and Google so I’ll post those as I share throwbacks of my creations. Moral of my sharing though… you never realize how much you’ll miss a moment or a time in your life until it’s gone. Sometimes you’re so busy getting to the next step or just trying to get through the day that you don’t acknowledge this is exactly where you wanted to be at one point. Enjoy the moment for what it’s worth. 🍦🍬

12/07/2021

Thinking about these vegan truffles we made at Goji last year…
Peanut butter and coconut. I’m personally craving the peanut butter ones right now 🥺

12/02/2021

Sometimes mistakes are the best surprises. ✨

What was intended to be peanut brittle ended up becoming a new creation that I’m even more excited about: Brittle Bites (although I left a request that Goji refers to them as “Petite Noël’s for the holidays— it’s only fair).

I improvised when I realized their kitchen had no corn syrup and so I made my own. Then, when the corn syrup ingredient was completed, I started boiling the mixture for the brittle batter… only to realize I couldn’t find the peanuts anywhere and it’s time sensitive. I thought about what would taste best with this so on a whim I combined roasted almonds and cashews with chopped dates, added melted Earth Balance vegan butter into the batter, and created these little bites that will eventually be drizzled in vegan caramel.

Expect to see them at Goji soon.

Not to make a treat post deep or anything (throwback to 2019…) but my takeaway was it’s okay to go with the flow, and you’re smarter than you think. 🤍💜🐇

12/02/2021

It’s taken a year in the making, but things have started falling into place. I’m not sharing all the details just yet… but very soon 🥰

Coming soon: launch of my homemade vegan chocolates for a cause. 💜

While living in upstate New York, I worked at a chocolate and ice cream shop. Before going vegan, I was eating countless ice cream sundaes as I made various chocolate projects. From sparkly, pastel waffle cones to dark chocolate covered potato chips and dense munchie bars 🍫— if you know you know! — I found my passion and solace in one. “A Valentine’s Chocolates” has been a dream of mine from the moment I played around with white chocolate. These desserts are from my head and heart. You can feel good eating anyone’s treats, but you’ll feel great eating these. Each purchase goes towards a good cause: helping the animals. 🐾

More details to come. Expect vibrant colors, a unique palette (yes GF/sugar free/oil free/and even cacao and cocoa free “chocolate” options) and most importantly, stories about the animals we’re helping. ✨

So let’s hop to it! Launching soon.
🤍🐇

11/04/2021

Setting the vibes for AVC! Exciting news coming soon
♥️🐇🍫

12/26/2020

Ang Valentine (hence the name “A Valentine’s Chocolates) and I hope everyone had a lovely, healthy and compassionate Christmas!

We’re so excited to see AVC flourish! Enjoy the rest of the holiday week; it’s always a bit disorienting before New Years. Expect some dessert previews during this limbo!

xo Noel & Ang