Its week two of my food-focused gift round-up, and this week, its all about the sweet surprise, the delectable dessert, the tasty treat, the well, you get the picture. Here are five sweet gifts that will make the food enthusiast in your life drool with delight.
Former Four Seasons executive chef (and master baker) Gerhard Weitzel has been retired for years, but he does don the apron once each year in order to put out just over 1,000 of these unique Christmas cakes. Raisins, sugar, and a creamy marzipan centre make this one holiday loaf that is guaranteed not to stick around long enough to get stale. $22 at YewSeafood.com.
Think of it as a modern take on the candy-filled chocolate Santa. The Santa hat ($40), snowman ($75) and fir tree ($50) are each made from 64 per cent dark chocolate. Theyre filled with an assortment of pebbles, like the chocolate-covered Marcona almonds, caramelized Fraser Valley hazelnuts and sun-dried Okanagan cherries, as well as peanut butter pretzels, and are edible from top to bottom. Beta5Chocolates.com
The only log-like thing about this cake is the shape. Peter Fong, owner and pâtissier at Ganache in Yaletown, specializes in decadent French desserts with exotic flavours. The Bûche Chocolat Caramel Passion is a pavé-style cake made up of multiple layers of brownie biscuit, caramel crunch, salted caramel ganache, 70 per cent dark chocolate-caramel mousse and flourless chocolate biscuit, with a centre of passionfruit mousseline and vanilla guimauve. Available in 6 ($34.95) and 12 ($54.95) sizes. GanacheYaletown.com
Cant have Christmas without cookies, right? This year, Beaucoup Bakery has taken the classic financier, and given it a candied ginger twist. $6 for a bag of three makes for a lovely little stocking stuffer, or try a bag of the mini peanut butter sandwich cookies ($8). Small gifts with big flavours make for happy holiday cheer! BeaucoupBakery.com
For the holiday season, 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters have released their Holiday Celebration Blend ($20/lb), a Honduras roast with intense fragrances of honey and spice, and a flavour-profile of caramel apple, cherry and hazelnut. Pair it with Luckys stöllen Bismarck with marzipan pastry cream and spiced fruit dough, or the gingerbread old-fashioned topped with white chocolate ganache, candied orange peel, ginger and cranberries. Coffee is also available in gift sets starting at $33. LuckysDoughnuts.com | 49thParallelRoasters.com
Anya Levykh has been writing about all things ingestible for over a decade. Hear her every Monday on CBC Radio Ones On the Coast, follow her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and catch up at FoodGirlFriday.com.
