In January I was contacted by Sivonne, owner and chocolatier behind Sweetly Demented, about doing a review of her dark, dreamy and occasionally disturbing confections. Morbid and unusual chocolate? Seriously? How could I say no to that? Yeah. I couldn’t.
Sivonne’s creations live in a land where the beautiful and bizarre not only meet, but get all flirty with each other…complete with coy smiles and meaningful glances. With products that range from skulls with brains exposed to gorgeously crafted silver deer antlers to (and no matter how good this probably tastes I just don’t think I could bring myself to eat it) rainbow sprinkle covered chocolate poo, this chocolate is far from run of the mill. My care package consisted of a blueberry Hypnopop and a bag of raspberry Bye Bye Birdie Bites. Before I dish on her delicacies, I want to give Sivonne an opportunity to tell you a little about herself and how Sweetly Demented came to be:
“Sweetly Demented is something I started out of having a lot of ideas, some free time, a love for anything dark in humor or shabby chic. Things in nature like deer antlers and anything with wood grain pattern are also things I love. I am also a chocolate whore and took a chocolate class at the French Culinary Institute. I have always loved making things since I was a little kid and started experimenting with making my own chocolate designs and making my own chocolate molds.”
I must say these are delicious. Not only were they a treat for the tummy, they were also a treat for the eyes. The Bye Bye Birdie Bites were perfectly sculpted and have just enough raspberry to enhance the flavor of the chocolate and not overpower it. I still have one left that I’m saving for a rainy day. Yup. They’re that good (and cute…I have a thing for bones. Is that weird?).
Next: the blueberry ganache Hypnopop. First of all I like swirly things. Second of all…um, blueberry. I love blueberries. I will eat them till I’m sick. Sad and gross but true. I freakin’ love ‘em…and I could smell the blueberry the second I opened the wrapper. Heaven? Almost. While the aroma of blueberry was strong, the flavor was very subtle, which disappointed me, but that had more to do with my expectations than the actual taste (which was super melt-in-my-mouth yummy). My only real complaint about the Hypnopop? What ever Sivonne used to get that gorgeous bright metallic blue hue on the chocolate also got all over my lips. But it didn’t stain too badly. My kisser only stayed blue for a little while – unlike a Kool-aid moustache which, as we all recall from childhood, lasts forever and a day.
Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick
image credits: image #1 © Sweetly Demented * all others © 2012 Alli Woods Frederick
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