Fran's Chocolates

[hungry_moose]

Stopped by Fran's at U-Village today for some truffles. I purchased 8 truffles (bitter sweet, dark, Chambor..) and some spiced macadamia nuts. I was almost shy to ask for a sample because the worker seemed so "formal", but while I was paying, she grabbed a little silver tray and dashed in the back. Then she came back with 6 different chocolates as samples. I chose a truffle sample. Nice! I also asked about their ice cream. They have both ice cream and sorbet. The home made flavors change monthly, and next month they will have the grapefruit/Tequila sorbet -- supposed to be very good. I will have to try it. Love you Fran's!

hungry_moose

[richards1052]

I also asked about their ice cream.  They have both ice cream and sorbet.  The home made flavors change monthly, and next month they will have the grapefruit/Tequila sorbet -- supposed to be very good.  I will have to try it.  Love you Fran's!

hungry_moose

DO try the ice creams! They're also heavenly like the chocolate. I love Tahitian vanilla, chocolats de chocolats, lemon. Oh hell, they're all declicious.

[reesek]

the lemon is a revelation. the raspberry sorbet is also amazing. oddly - the chocolate doesn't do much for me. it's good - but i can make a comparable facsimile. that lemon though...the container is half the weight of the others - it's very mousse-like.

[pupcart]

Stopped by Fran's on our way home from Cafe Lago tonight. For a limited time (January 18 through?) she is offering chocolate covered brandied cherries. I thought they sounded awful, but beloved bought one and generously offered me a bite of his.

Darn it! That bite was wonderful! It was nothing like I thought it would be. It was a dark chocolate sinful! I plan on gong back for a stash before they are gone. I will try to leave a few for you all, but no promises.

[kiliki]

I've been trying to duplicate their lemon ice cream. The stuff I'm making is good, but not the same.

[reesek]

I've been trying to duplicate their lemon ice cream. The stuff I'm making is good, but not the same.

←

kiliki - how are you going after the mousse-like texture? i've been thinking about mixing whipped cream and fresh lemon curd and freezing that in a loaf pan, but am worried that it will freeze too hard. the ethereal mouth-feel is what i like best about the ice cream. would you add a stabilizer? gelatin??

[kiliki]

The ice cream is somewhat mousse-y when I've not chilled the liquid for as long as I'm supposed to before adding it to the machine, but then the flavors don't seem as intense. I've never looked into adding stablizers. I kinda figure that I won't be able to duplicate it exactly-I only have a $60 Krups machine, which works great for most of my purposes (I've been making the best blood orange-tangerine sorbet lately!), but I figure that Fran's is working with a much better machine than I can afford.

Edited January 27, 2005 by kiliki (log)

[FWED]

On the Friday Night PBS program "SERIOUS MONEY" Tom Cox will talk with FRAN BIGALOW about her recent book "Pure Chocolate" and what its like to run a chocolate company. Also featured on the program will be an interview with Howard Schultz of Starbucks.

[Jambalyle]

Fran's is remarkable... the dark grey sea salt caramels are my favorite!

[vengroff]

Fran's is remarkable...  the dark grey sea salt caramels are my favorite!

←

Another vote for the salt caramels here. A recent guest of ours brought some of these over and they were fantastic. It was my first experience with Fran's but it won't be my last.