Chocolate and peanut butter is one of life’s great flavor pairings. But chances are that, even if you’re not avoiding peanuts these days, you know someone who is. Maybe they have to avoid tree nuts as well. How do you allow these people to experience the pleasure of a really good chocolate nut butter cup? It used to be that such individuals were out of luck, but Seth Ellis Chocolatier of Boulder, CO has come to the rescue with their Sun Cups.
As you might have guessed from the name, Sun Cups are fluted chocolate cups filled with sunflower seed butter. Now, you might have tried sunflower seed butter before, especially if you’re a child of the 60s. It’s got a very strong flavor and can taste extremely “green”. But before you get nervous about the sunflower seed butter overwhelming the taste of the chocolate, you should know that the clever folks at Seth Ellis Chocolatier have found a means of taming the sunflower seed butter. In a nutshell (so to speak), they blend it with white chocolate.
Ingredients in the dark chocolate Sun Cups: Dark Chocolate (cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cane sugar, soy lecithin), Sunflower Seed, White Chocolate (sugar, milk powder, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), Cocoa Butter, Glucose, Sea Salt. All ingredients except Sea Salt are certified organic. The chocolate and cocoa butter are Fair Trade Certified.
This combination tones down the sweetness of the white chocolate while rendering the sunflower seed butter a little sweeter and much milder. This filling doesn’t quite have the same texture as a peanut butter filling; it’s a bit stiffer, but melts beautifully on your tongue. There’s a little sea salt added to the Sun Cups, too, but it isn’t excessive. Sun Cups are available in milk chocolate and dark chocolate varieties. I’d tell you which I prefer but for the fact that I can’t make up my mind; I enjoy both kinds equally.
Sun Cups are available in milk chocolate and dark chocolate varieties.
In addition to being peanut-free and free of tree nuts, these cups are certified organic, gluten-free, and kosher for dairy. The cacao used is Rainforest Alliance Certified, a designation that represents and promotes sustainable agricultural practices. The packaging is even made of a special kind of film that you can compost!
Besides the Sun Cups, Seth Ellis makes several other delectable treats. Their mint ganache is made with fresh organic cream infused with peppermint and spearmint, organic butter and organic dark chocolate.
These organic lemon slices are candied slowly (over 25 days) using a traditional European method to preserve the intense lemon flavors. The slices are then quartered and enrobed in all-natural dark chocolate.
Seth Ellis Chocolatier was founded by three friends, brothers Rick and Neil Levine and David Lurie. All three have spent a lot of time working in chocolate and food, and have a love for and fascination with chocolate and the way people respond to it. The business is driven by a set of assumptions concerning openness and honesty, committment to excellence as well as full and honest disclosure of ingredients and process. Underlying all of these are two basic questions they ask themselves to test if they’re on the right track: Are we doing good? and Are we having fun?
Distribution in retail stores may be a little spotty on the East Coast right now, but should improve soon. Sun Cups are already available in many Western retailers, such as Whole Foods Markets, QFC, Central Market, Sprouts, and PCC. However, mail order is always an option; you can find Sun Cups at amazon.com, peanutfreeplanet.com and naturalcandystore.com. To read up on the company itself (and they have some interesting information), head over to www.sethellischocolatier.com. If you would like to learn more, there is quite a bit of interesting information on Seth Ellis’ blog/website.
Chocolate and sunflower seed butter might just become a new classic duo!
