Ballantyne Magazine covers news, events, real estate, restaurants, shopping, health, schools and business in the upscale Ballantyne Area of Charlotte, NC.
Issue link: https://ballantynemagazine.epubxp.com/i/42111
FOR CENTURIES, people have nurtured a love affair with chocolate. Mayan texts show that cocoa pods were considered the food of the gods and represented fertility and life. Cocoa beans were used as currency, medicine and aphrodisiacs. Cocoa is still king. It gathers family and friends together over the holidays via chocolate-laced cookies, chocolate-iced cakes and much more. It captures lovers' hearts in chocolate- dipped strawberries and confections fit for cupid come Valentine's Day. It can be the magazine has compiled some of the best chocolate Ballantyne has to offer. Whether you're a full-fledged chocoholic (a Colorado State University study cites 40 percent of women and 15 percent of men can claim the description) or an occasional chocolate lover, check out our suggestions for something new the next time your sweet tooth strikes. 'Triple D' Dare Big View Diner, 16637 Lancaster Highway, has a chart-topping chocolate option with a challenge. Chocolate in ABOVE: The salted caramel sauce with Firebirds' brownie makes it a memorable experience. LEFT: Brendan Williams shows off the Big View Diner's "Triple D" extravaganza. found in cupcakes, cookies and fudge, steaming hot chocolate, frosty martinis and even bottled water. In honor of everyone's favorite guilty pleasure, WINTER 2010-2011 Ominously labeled "The Triple D … order if you dare!" the dessert features eight inches of devil's food cake, six scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, Check out Irresistible Ballantyne By Regan Michelle White Photos by Shane Baskin/Blackbox Studios anyone who can finish it without assistance. "People try it all the time without much success," explains pastry chef Frank Kaltsounis. "You have as much time as you want. The first person to finish was a lady who came in on a Friday afternoon. She was about middle age, vegetarian. She sat there and just went to work on it. It took her two and a half hours but she finished it." Only a handful have been as lucky. If you prefer your chocolate sipped through a straw, CELEBRATING TEN YEARS 2000-2010 Blushing Bites For smaller bites with big chocolate taste, head to The Blushing Bakeshop, 14825 Ballantyne Village Way, where the cupcakes are named for people and carry personalities all their own. "Right now our constant chocolate is our Lola, which is chocolate cake topped with a light chocolate buttercream (frosting). That's really popular for true chocolate lovers," says head baker Caitlin Foster, for whom the "Caitlin" — a chocolate walnut and carrot cake topped BALLANTYNE MAGAZINE 35 caramel, nuts, sprinkles, cherries and ice cream cones. At $13.99, the dessert can feed a large family but is served for free to Big View's shakes also deserve attention. Favorites include chocolate-covered strawberry, chocolate malt and Oreo, $3.99 each. The "Matthew" is the most popular fi lled cupcake at The Blushing Bakeshop.