Dessert Surveillance

As a chronicler of dessert and business trends (and perhaps much more importantly, a glutton), I attended the Specialty Food Association’s 2016 Summer Fancy Food Show,

What did I notice?

A lot of caramels; chocolates and desserts infused with spirits; and sometimes a combination of the two.  Coconut was everywhere.  A fair number of nut butters; treats made with nuts; and nuts for snacking.  Interestingly, peanuts seem to be embraced now, instead of shunned.

Here are some of the interesting products I saw and/or sampled:

Milk Chocolate Apple Caramels from Lake Champlain Chocolates – Photo Courtesy of Lake Champlain Chocolates (Burlington, VT)

Milk Chocolate Apple Cider Caramels from Lake Champlain Chocolates — I don’t know of any other apple-filled chocolate product.  It is a 2016 sofi^TM finalist in the Chocolate category. (The sofi^TM awards are bestowed by the Specialty Food Association.)

Chocolate Peanut Brittle from Sir Francis Bacon – Photo Courtesy of Sir Francis Bacon (Atlanta, GA)

Peanut brittle from a company with a rather unusual name, Sir Francs Bacon Peanut Brittle. Why stop at plain Peanut Brittle when you can snack on Brittle gussied up with bacon and then coated with milk chocolate?

Clairesquares’ Shortbread & Caramel Dark Chocolate Squares – Photo Courtesy of Clairesquares (San Francisco, CA)

Clairesquares’ Shortbread & Caramel Dark Chocolate Squares — This product is a 2016 sofi^TM finalist in the Cookies, Brownies, Cakes or Pie category.

Brooklyn Blackout Cake Ice Cream from Steve’s Ice Cream – Photo Courtesy of Steve’s Ice Cream (NYC)

Brooklyn Blackout Cake Ice Cream from Steve’s Ice Cream — Growing up in Brooklyn, I have fond memories (as most Brooklynites did) of Ebinger’s Blackout Cake – a filled and frosted Chocolate Cake, complete with Chocolate Pudding inside. 

Turkish Coffee Ice Cream from McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams – Photo Courtesy of McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams (Santa Barbara, CA)

McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams’ Turkish Coffee Ice Cream — The Company’s tag line for this product: A true coffee fanatic’s ice cream.  (Well, I am a coffee fanatic…)

White Chocolate Sauce from Somebody’s Mother’s – Photo Courtesy of Somebody’s Mother’s (Houston, TX)

I’ve written about the next two products before, but can’t resist mentioning them again: White Chocolate Sauce from Somebody’s Mother’s and Jeni’s Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream.

So few days….so many carbs!