Choc-a-block

A haute chocolate cheat sheet

By LINDSAY CRUDELE

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Moonstruck Chocolates

The latest entrant into the world of food-that-looks- like-other-food is chocolate chain Moonstruck Chocolates based in Portland, OR. The month-old Natick café features more than 40 varieties of turtle-style chocolate, most filled with creamy, flavored ganache. Look for spicy chili chocolates at $2 a pop, or $2.50 for more sophisticated creations like truffles modeled to resemble banana splits built from flavored ganache and stuffed with more truffles inside.

The New England café is the first in the region, though the 14th to spring from the loins of the Oregonian headquarters. Store Manager Ben Silverstein touts the cinnamon roll latte truffle as a favorite, a mouthful of smooth milk chocolate and espresso. "The chocolates follow a European tradition," he says, "with intricate flavors, and are beautiful visually."

A home plant of about 30 women hand-form the chocolates, filling them with ingredients like Drambuie and champagne. Moonstruck was founded in 1993; the first café opened in Portland in 1996. "People see the pieces and how finished they look, and they think it must be a factory the size of a football field, but it really is a small operation," says Silverstein.

Try the Mayan, a truffle of almonds, milk chocolate and cinnamon rolled into a crackly cinnamon-sugar shell. The café also serves espresso drinks and creamy, melted hot chocolate drinks like chocolate chai and Mexican drinking chocolate. If that doesn't grab you, you can always take Oprah Winfrey's word for it -- she's a fan of the Grand Marnier truffle with orange peel and bittersweet chocolate.

[Natick Collection, 1245 Worcester St., Natick. 508.647.6707. moonstruckchocolate.com]

Hotel Chocolat

"Frankly, chocolate makes you feel good." Nicki Doggart, Chief Operating Officer of Hotel Chocolat, cuts right to the chase. The UK- and Boston-based chocolatier prides themselves on their feel-good ethos; sensuous chocolates, sure, but that also means business practices you can take home to mom.

"Our approach is very hands on," she says. "We roll up our sleeves; we get directly involved with the growers." Doggart explains that Hotel Chocolat sources their beans from their own plantations in San Lucia and Ghana; the company spent some time working plants back to good health and connecting with local farmers who work on community education projects, developing nurseries and sharing best practices. "Also," she adds, "we pay them on time. Sure, of course you would do that, but oftentimes these farmers have to wait more than six months to get paid for the products." She says the San Lucia plantation created 100 local jobs.

As for the chocolate itself, Doggart says Hotel Chocolat aims to reduce sugar content in their bars; even milk chocolate contains as much as 62% cocoa, compared to what is typically 30% or 40%. "By pulling back the sugar, we increase the cocoa and you get a full-on chocolate hit that's not bitter, still with that creamy flavor that comes through in the milk," she says.

Hotel Chocolat's Purist bars ($7.50) feature beans from a single estate, with wine bottle-like origin, usage and tasting notes in tow. If you're a size queen about your sweets, the 10x6-inch full-pound chocolate slabs ($25, in flavors like "High Cocoa Fusion" and "Rocky Road") are made by pouring the blended cocoa onto a marble surface to cool in the shape in which it settles. Bottles of shaved chocolate make up the Liquid Chocolat line ($12), whose varieties including "Macho" espresso and spicy Aztec Chili. Stir the shavings into warm milk and they'll melt into a rich and frothy drinking chocolate.

[hotelchocolat.com]

Fastachi

Souren Etyemezian went nuts as soon as he graduated from college. Upon learning how to roast them, he opened his award-winning shop, Fastachi, where he's sold gourmet nut mixes and Belgian chocolate turtles for 17 years. His wife, Susan, who operates the Watertown shop, says that they aim for a market-style display, baskets everywhere and gift arrangements made only to order by piecing together types of fruit and nuts.

Etyemezian points to his process as a distinguishing point: Every day, he dry roasts nuts in 50-pound batches in order to maintain freshness and avoid overstock. "It's important that nuts are not sitting around; they get soggy and rancid quickly," he explains. "How you roast, pack and keep the nuts is worth the effort every day; they just taste better."

His personal favorite snack is a raw almond, though Susan points to figs, stuffed and dipped in chocolate. Susan won't share her recipe for the coating in which she enrobes the nuts, but she said it's a blend of two bittersweet chocolates.

At $8.99 per pound, Susan says the cranberry nut mix is the longstanding customer favorite, with tart, chewy dried cranberries mixed with salted and unsalted peanuts, almonds, cashews and hazelnuts; she also notes the peanut butter and jelly nut mix ($5.99/lb). All chocolate nut barks go for $30/lb, nuts from $6.99 to 8.99/lb, and dried fruits range from chopped, dried papaya ($2.99/lb) to salted dried plums ($5.99/lb) or tart, dried cherries ($10.99/lb).

Souren says that over time, his customer base has shifted from gift-buyers over thirty to health-minded 20-somethings, eager to snack on protein-efficient roasted nuts. Souren proudly adds that Fastachi received two honors at the Fancy Food Show in New York this year.

[598 Mount Auburn St., Watertown. 617.924.8787. fastachi.com]