Claim Jumper Chocolate Motherlode Cake

Few desserts are as impressive as seeing a "piece" of Claim Jumper's Chocolate Motherlode Cake delivered to your table.

The thing is massive.

But very delicious.

So, is a frozen version just as good as the one in an actual Claim Jumper restaurant?

I put that question to the test after the company sent me a box containing one frozen slice of the famed chocolate decadence. This box is actually available across the country at grocery stores, and is a part of a long series of Claim Jumper favorites designed for the freezer.

The instructions are pretty simple. Remove the cake from the box, and let it thaw for about 60 minutes.

While I'm not an expert on great tasting cakes, my wife is. She ate a whole slice, just as you see this picture, many years ago, for free. We were visiting a Claim Jumper restaurant, and after 20 minutes without a waitress asking taking our order, I complained to the manager. That's how I got the free Motherlode cake.

For this review, I did ask my wife to cut me off a small piece.


I'd have to say, "yes", it really does taste like a fresh piece of cake from Claim Jumper. I actually let my piece sit underneath my desk lamp, and allowed it to assume room temperature more quickly. I found it quite soft and moist.

It's just as chocolatey, and the icing is just as gooey, the little chocolate chips inside are just as sweet, and the whole thing it's just as rich.

My wife says it was absolute heaven.

Well, I'm not quite the junk food junkie that thrives on chocolate cakes. I tend to snack on beef jerky, sunflower seeds, and oatmeal cookies when my wife bakes them.

But I know that junk foodies come in all shapes and sizes, and those wanting to pull one of these baby's out of the freezers for lunch, will definitely have to be of a certain shape and size.

You can see all of Claim Jumper's frozen offerings online here...

http://www.claimjumperretail.com/

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Ghiradelli introduces Filled Chocolate Bar line

Ghirardelli which bills itself as a vendor of Moments of Timeless Pleasure™ is expanding their line of chocolate indulgences in their large bar line. Their new filled bars are 3.5 ounces each.

• Milk Chocolate with Caramel -- Buttery caramel soft filling surrounded by milk chocolate
• Dark Chocolate with Mint -- Tantalizingly refreshing mint filling surrounded by dark chocolate
• Dark Chocolate with Raspberry -- Delectably luscious raspberry filling made with real fruit surrounded by dark chocolate
• Dark Chocolate with Caramel (60% Cacao) -- Buttery caramel soft filling surrounded by dark chocolate
• Solid Milk Chocolate -- Rich, slow-melting milk chocolate
• Solid Dark Chocolate (60% Cacao) -- Pure, intense 60% cacao dark chocolate

Suggested retail price is $2.29.

Official website & Source

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Ritter Sport Dark Assortment

Ritter has expanded their line of Ritter Sport 100 gram bars to include assortments in stand-up bags.

The a la Mousse au Chocolat and Dark & Milk Chocolate Assortment can be seen at retailers such as Target and other discount stores.

The mini sizes of the bars were previously only available in sampler assortments.

For Ritter Sport enthusiasts, the German version of the site has rather fun animation.

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Dunkin Donuts - M&Ms Donut - Milky Way Hot Chocolate

Dunkin' Donuts has partnered with The Mars Corporation to produce two new offerings, the "M&Ms Donut" and the "Milky Way Hot Chocolate".

Milky Way Hot Chocolate is described as a rich, smooth, hot chocolate that blends chocolate, caramel and vanilla nougat flavors, just like the classic candy bar.

The M&M's Donut, comes with either chocolate or vanilla icing and is sprinkled with colorful mini M&M's.

Both are available at Dunkin' Donuts nationwide.

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Climate Change Chocolate Bar

Bloomsberry, LLC, a Salem, MA-based chocolate maker that sells its bars in whimsical wrappers, have now teamed up with TerraPass, a green energy broker, to offer these "Climate Change Chocolate" bars.


The wrappers have printed on them 15 tips to reduce your carbon footprint on the world, and in addition have included in their sale price, enough carbon energy credits from TerraPass to offset your carbon footprint for one day.

You can read more about the global warming confection at TerraPass' website...

http://www.terrapass.com/lp/index.chocolate.html

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Nestle Drumstick Ice Cream - Baby Ruth

Nestle's Drumstick Ice Cream Cone is now available in a new Baby Ruth variety.

It's promoted as Baby Ruth flavored ice cream with swirls of crunchy chocolate, topped with caramel and whole chocolate covered peanuts.

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EatRite BeFit - Candies

Sorbee International Limited, is launching a new line of sugar-free products called, "EatRite BeFit".

These consist of syrups, cookies, and chocolates, all sweetened with Splenda.


I've always been amazed at how companies can market junk food and convince you that you're doing something good for yourself. Imagine your mom handing you a bag of sugar-free chocolate and saying "Here junior, now you're eating right, and being fit".

Not that I want them to stop, I find humor in it. I understand that sugar-free candies have fewer calories than sugar candies, and are tolerable to diabetics. They do have their place. But do we need to be told that we're "eating right and being fit"?

I can't help seeing Jack-in-the-Box removing the cheese from their cheeseburger and calling it a healthy alternative for lactose-intolerant people.

Visit Sorbee International online...
http://www.sorbee.com

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Chocolate Flavored Imitation Crab

A Lithuanian food maker named Viciunai, has launched a new treat called, "Sweets del Mare - Chocolate Flavoured Surimi".

Surimi is just a general term used to describe a wide assortment of fish cake products, most popular of which is imitation crab.

Note that this is not chocolate covered, just chocolate flavored. I'm not sure I can imagine the taste of imitation crab with chocolate. The next time I order a salad buffet at Sizzler's, I'll have to get some imitation crab, and douse it with fudge from their dessert bar.

Sweets del Mar is not available in the USA, and probably for good reason. Lithuanians, and other folks who live around the Baltic Sea, however, must really love their seafood.

Viciunai doesn't yet have this product on their website.

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Filthy Food Company - Sexy Chocolate Confections

One of the newest chocolatiers to enter the market is Filthy Food Company, a UK-based confectioner, that's playing up the sexiness of eating in sin.

The company has crafted some saucy little chocolate dessert bites to tempt and tease your palate in a new kind of way.

Filthy's new chocolate desserts takes burlesque glamour run amok, and packs it into a bite-sized piece of sweet decadence, intended to heighten your pleasure and senses. It's belgian chocolate encasements feature a melting sensation said to burst its payload into your mouth, oozing and dribbling down your throat.

Pictured here are the "Kinky Creme Brulee Bites", which combine "creamy" Madagascan vanilla with "sensuous" smooth brulee, inside a "hard" belgian chocolate shell.

Other varieties include their "Cheeky Chocolate Bites", "Seductive Strawberry Creme Bites", and "Captivating Caramel Bites".

However, Filth Food's sexually appealing chocolates are only available in the UK at this time, and only at Sainsbury's. Perhaps they'll offer online ordering soon.

Visit Filthy Food Company online at...
http://www.filthyfoodcompany.co.uk

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Joseph Schmidt Confections Debuts 2007 Holiday Truffle Collection

Joseph Schmidt Confections announced their new 2007 Holiday Truffle Collection.

The indulgent new truffles feature exotic new flavors including: Sea Salt Caramel, Mexican Chocolate, Mandarin Zest, Vanilla Cognac, Meyer Lemon and Pomegranate. The truffles are attractively decorated and come in an impressive looking package.

The 2007 flavors include:

• Sea Salt Caramel. Premium milk chocolate and organic caramel are contrasted with a hint of sea salt to create a sumptuous balance of flavors.



• Mexican Chocolate. The perfect marriage of Joseph Schmidt’s rich dark chocolate ganache with Mexican cinnamon, allspice and a hint of habanero.



• Mandarin Zest. A bittersweet combination of sweet and tart tangerine zest and intense dark chocolate.



• Vanilla Cognac. Real vanilla and cognac combine to create a smooth and decadent dark chocolate center surrounded by a milk chocolate shell.



• Meyer Lemon. A dark chocolate ganache is paired with the sweet citrus flavor of Meyer lemon and surrounded in premium dark chocolate.



• Pomegranate. The refreshingly tart flavor of pomegranate blends with a dark chocolate ganache and a rich dark chocolate shell.

The 2007 line of Joseph Schmidt "Christmas" truffles (note that I added the word "Christmas") are available nationwide at Joseph Schmidt boutiques, specialty grocers, fine department stores and online at www.jsc.com.

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Ideas for Leftover Turkey

What do you do with all that leftover turkey you're gonna end up with this Friday?

Why, turn it into chocolate mole enchiladas of course!

AllChocolate.com has a recipe for enchiladas with chocolate mole sauce. They warn you that it's not as chocolately-tomatoey as you might imagine. It's more mole and just enough chocolate...
http://www.allchocolate.com/recipes/enchiladas.aspx

You know, leftover turkey is actually great with flour tortillas and cheese, either rolled up like a burrito, or just folded up into a soft taco. Toss in some turkey pieces, add some shredded cheese, and nuke for 20-30 seconds.

Make it even better, get some canned green chiles, and a bottle of Tapatio or Cholula sauce. Toss that on there, it'll even better than the actual turkey dinner.

Also good are turkey stuffing omelettes. My mom used to make these during post-T-Day. Just add a couple spoonfuls of leftover stuffing, and some turkey pieces, cheese, and you've got yourself an omelette.

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Lillie Belle Farms - Cayenne Caramels

Lillie Belle Farms of Jacksonville, OR, took the top honors of the 2008 Scovie Awards for its "Cayenne Caramels", in the candy division.

Cayenne Caramels are described as a semi-liquid center packed with full cayenne pepper flavor and encased in a dark organic chocolate shell.

The Scovie Awards is a promotion of the National Fiery Foods Show. It's named after James Scoville who devised a measuring system for registering how spicy-hot foods are.

Cayenne Caramels can be purchased online from Lillie Belle Farms...
http://www.lilliebellefarms.com/product.asp?specific=jnqmqsd0

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Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie - 86% Cacao

Ghirardelli announced this week the launch of a new chocolate variety in its line of Intense Dark Chocolates, "Midnight Reverie" an 86 percent cacao bar, one of the highest cacao content bars widely available nationwide.

The famed chocolate maker cites a growing obsession with dark chocolates in America, with sales figures having grown 49 percent from 2003 to 2006, culminating in $1.2 billion in sales last year.

Ghirardelli describes the Midnight Reverie as having a deep, full bodied flavor, with hints of dark cherries, dried plums and a roasted flavor. It has a "supremely smooth texture" with a fine, crisp snap.

You can buy it directly from Ghirardelli through its website...
http://shop.ghirardelli.com/....Midnight_Reverie

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Stix in the Mud

Stix in the Mud is the flagship product of Los Angeles, CA-based Funley's Delicious.

They describe them as a "sweet and salty clusters of savory cookie bits smothered in chocolate". Imagine tiny crunchy cookie bits, drowned in balls of chocolate, similar to like a Nestle Crunch, but in ball form.

The Original variety is actually made with a mixture of milk chocolate and dark chocolate. The Peanut Butter and Caramel varieties are just milk chocolate.

The product's website says the creator of Stix in the Mud got the idea after walking into a puddle of mud and dropping a load of sticks. Doubt that it's true, but it works.

Stix in the Mud cannot be purchased online.

Visit Stix in the Mud website at...
http://www.funleysdelicious.com

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White Trash Snacking

I discovered something from Nancy's Candy Co of Meadows of Dan, Virginia called, "White Trash".

It's described as a blend of cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar.

Remember those old Reese's Peanut Buter Cup commercials, where a guy carrying chocolate bumps into a guy carrying peanut butter? Well, in this case there would have been a third guy carrying cereal, and all three of them falling into a giant vat of powdered sugar.

You can buy them online from Nancy's (look under "Nuts and Brittles")...
http://www.nancyshomemadefudge.com

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Carl Brandt Whiskey Beans

Imported from Germany by GermanDeli.com, Carl Brandt Whiskey Beans takes the famous minature chocolate bottles filled with liqueur into a new form factor.


Pop 'em into your mouth and let the chocolate melt away releasing an alcoholic pleasure. Contains 13% whiskey.

They also come in Vodka Beans and Orange Liqueur Beans.

Each box contains 24 pieces, and retails online for $4.39.

Order online from GermanDeli.com...
http://www.germandeli.com

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Reimann Kalter Hund Chocolate Cookie Cake

Among the newest imports brought to the USA from GermanDeli.com is this Reimann Kalter Hund (Cold Dog), chocolate cake.

Described as a German Classic in the world of baked goods, it's a non-baked cake made from alternating layers of Butter Cookies and Chocolate Cream.

Slice it up at room temperature, or scarf it down whole with shame.

Regular price: $7.99, but now on sale for: $6.99...
http://www.germandeli.com/rekahu50cdog.html

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Dark Chocolate Covered Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Beverly Hills, CA-based Taste of Nature, Inc. recently released a new variety to its line of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites, "Dark Chocolate".

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites takes bite sized pieces of the famous cookie dough, coats in a chocolate covering, and serves it up in a theater-sized box for convenient munching madness.

And now, they come in Dark Chocolate.


Other varieties include, "Milk Chocolate", "Fudge Brownie" and "Peanut Butter".

Theyr'e also egg-free, eliminating any risks of salmonella.

The suggested retail price is $2.49.

Visit online...
http://www.candyasap.com/theatreboxes.html

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Hershey's Kisses - Camouflage

A limited edition variety of Hershey's Kisses are these standard milk chocolate Kisses in camouflage foil wrappers.


A great way to kiss the deer hunter in your family.

Nothing mentioned as of yet on Hershey's website. If you see these in stores, post a comment here.

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Hershey's Kisses - Crunchy Caramel Creme

Hershey's is coming out with a new limited edition Hershey's Kisses, "Crunchy Caramel Creme", as part of its 100th Anniversary.


Described as "Caramel Flavored Candy with Crunchy Candy Bits" on the packaging, they come wrapped in gold foil.

Nothing mentioned as of yet on Hershey's website. If you see these in the stores, post a comment here.

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