Here are our top picks for Valentine’s Day classic gift—chocolate.
Fika ‘Date Night’ Box
Fika master chocolatier Hakan Martensson makes these truffles by hand, with six fillings—two truffles of each for sharing—bound to arouse your curiosity.
They bear names like Flirting Over Coffee (with espresso) and Holding Hands at the Movies (blueberry truffle, corn flakes coating).
Brace yourself for the delicious “Feeling the Heat.” One bite and the lingonberry caramel filling oozes forth, ending with a spicy kick.
Handmade in New York.
$22, FikaNYC.com
Grand Cru Chuao Truffles by François Payard
Everyone packs up chocolates in a heart box for Valentine’s Day, but these are the real thing, dusted in cocoa powder with a creamy ganache that melts on contact.
François Payard uses Valrhona’s Chuao chocolate (65 percent cacao), made with cacao beans that have been grown for centuries in the isolated village of Chuao, in north Venezuela, where its isolation makes for a unique terroir.
Box of 9 pieces, $21. Box of 18 pieces, $39. Payard.com
Savannah Toffee Chocolate Bar by Dear Coco
If you love toffee, you should get to know Dear Coco. Rachelle Ferneau encrusts large pieces of toffee into chocolate bars. These are gluten-free, too.
They come in flavors inspired by anything from baklava to curries, but the Savannah toffee chocolate is just like biting into a brittle version of pecan pie—buttery with a gentle hint of spices.
$8.50, DearCoco.com
My Cherry Baby and Cinnamon Love Crunch by Theo
Bean-to-bar chocolate maker Theo has come out with two bars for Valentine’s Day, as different as sour cherries can be from hot cinnamon.
You could easily eat lots of the My Cherry Baby bar, which sets the tang of dried sour cherry against creamy chocolate milk. The Cinnamon Love Crunch bar with its spicy cinnamon and dark chocolate combination is better in small doses, because it is so spicy, but if you liked Red Hots growing up, you'll love it.
$4 each. $8 for a two-bar bundle. TheoChocolate.com
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