Yum. Yum. Yum. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Right next door to the The Dailey Method in Berkeley is Casa de Chocolates, a woman-owned, handcrafted chocolatier specializing in Latin American recipes. As soon as you peek your head into the quaint shop you’ll be instantly welcomed with a smile and a sample by the friendly team.
Everything is handmade onsite, from the truffles and decorative chocolates to the delectable flan and cakes. The chocolates range from individual, uniquely flavored, and delicately painted pieces to large sculpture-like chocolate renditions of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Día de Muertos skulls. It’s all very interesting and unique to look at and to taste. There is a small selection of milk chocolate, but mostly I find they use a rich 61% cacao.
I’ve been frequenting this shop since it opened, and have tasted just about everything at this point. Our favorites include:
1) Chocolate lollipops. Bennett and Graham go nuts for these. They are shaped like a flower and wrapped up with a sweet ribbon. In fact, Bennett is such a huge fan that we did a custom order for his birthday party favor. The team at Casa de Chocolates was easy to work with and made something cute and special for my guy’s big day.
2) Macaroons. I rarely pass up a macaroon. (I have a similar philosophy about churros). These macaroons are really special, though. They are toasted and crunchy on top, and drizzled with chocolate for a nice sweetness. Inside, they are very most and have little pieces of apricot in them. The first time I had one I couldn’t place what the flavor was – it’s interesting and different, yet somehow is a great combination.
3) Tres leches cake. Hands down, the tres leches cake is my favorite sweet treat from Casa de Chocolates. It’s absolute perfection. The cake is dense but super moist, cinnamon-y, and a little gritty (in a good, textured, spicy way). The three milks that they soak it in puddle around the bottom of the cake, perfect for dipping each bite in for a little bit more deliciousness. They sell small individual size pieces (at least I hope that’s an individual size!?) and also full size cakes, which we have treated our family to for special occasions.
Did I mention it is right next door to The Dailey Method? It’s almost impossible to walk by after my awesome workout and not stop in for a macaroon or at minimum a quick whiff of fresh chocolate. Life is all about balance, right?
Stop by next time you are in the Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley, and good news for our friends across the country – you can order most of Casa de Chocolates items online and have them shipped directly to your home.
xoxo (those are extra sweet kisses today!)
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