Bring on the screams!

The ice cream has only been in The Candy Store for six days this year, but there's no denying that it is already a huge hit (just ask our girls - their ice cream serving arm muscles are already getting a work-out!). Who doesn't love a big scoop of hard-packed, cold ice cream on a hot, sunny day? Here at The Candy Store we serve up local ice cream from Tracey's in Renfrew in either cones or cups and top each mouth-watering flavour with one of our oh-so-divine and much talked about gourmet malt balls.




Every week we'll be dishing up the three traditional flavours: Chocolate, French Vanilla and Strawberries & Cream with a feature flavour. Currently in rotation as our feature flavour is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. And coming up we have Maple Walnut and Bearfoot Brownie Fudge!

Did you know that ice cream used to be reserved only for those who could afford such luxuries? The icehouses where the ice cream had to be kept before the days of home refrigeration were very expensive to maintain and therefore only the upper ranks of society could indulge in this creamy concoction. Thankfully Marcel Audiffren of France helped to champion the use of personal refrigeration units for the masses allowing us full-time access to one of summer's hallmark treats. Merci monsieur!

In other news, if you haven't already heard, The Candy Store's own Diane Lenihan was on the A-Channel morning show on Monday talking about candy buffets and favours. If you missed the broadcast but would like a look at the buffet presented, it is currently on display in The Candy Store and really makes a statement! Thanks A-Channel for your wonderful hospitality as usual. We had a blast!



This Saturday's Cupcake Menu:
New: Death By Chocolate! Bring a glass of milk...need we say more? So deadly, only a limited number will be available!

Strawberry: a strawberry cupcake mounded with strawberry buttercream. Made with real strawberries!

Labels: ice cream

posted by The Candy Store @ 3:11 PM  0 Comments

Taffy Talk

For a lot of people nothing says summer vacation and the return of warm weather quite like salt water taffy. This creamy, soft, flavourful treat has been pleasing people for over a century and though the story of its birth sounds more like an urban legend than fact, perhaps it really was this simple:

The story goes that along the Atlantic City boardwalk taffy vendors had set up stands for vacationers to buy their souvenirs and pick up tasty treats. In 1883 one vendor’s wares were caught in a storm and covered in salty water – this enterprising gentleman decided to sell the taffy as “salt water” taffy and his creative attempt to salvage his taffy trove was rewarded with booming sales of the not-so-salty stuff. Soon others were following suit and the salt water taffy industry was born.

Now, let’s talk frankly about the composition and process for a minute: salt water taffy actually contains no salt water. In fact, if you’d like to try your hand at making some, the Exploratorium has an excellent recipe and thorough guide to getting your taffy on. Just make sure you really pull the taffy – that’s what gives the treat its light, fluffy texture and soft chew.

Want a taffy fix fast? Our salt water taffy buffet is currently on display and boasts 18 individual flavours with a dozen more hidden in the mixed assortment, tropical assortment and berries & crème mix! Our taffy comes from Taffy Town in Salt Lake City, Utah and is peanut, tree nut and gluten free as well as Kosher (dairy)! In fact, Taffy Town has been making taffy for nearly eighty years and they pride themselves on their dedication to making taffy that “simply melts in your mouth” – come in and see for yourself!

Labels: gluten free, kosher, peanut free, salt water taffy. peanut free

posted by The Candy Store @ 3:48 PM  0 Comments

Candy on the big screen

We've been thinking a lot about candy lately (ok, that's not true, we think about candy all the time!), and how candy has managed to make a name for itself on the big (and little) screen. Imagine what the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be like without the Wonka bar! The multitude of plot holes aside, it would be unfocussed and fail to really capture that feeling you had as a child with that wrapped bar in your hands. That sense of promise and delight separated from you by a thin cellophane wrapper. Both the 1971 and 2005 films gave candy a friendly pat on the back and now Nestle makes the Wonka Bar, just to keep that feeling alive (chocolate with graham cracker crisps - if you haven't tried one, we highly recommend a movie night with Mr. Wonka - Wilder or Depp, we don't play favourites - and his bar!).

But Golden tickets aren't the only game in town. Seinfeld fans will remember the episode entitled "The Opposite" where Elaine's love of Jujyfruits causes a series of unfortunate events for her (we'll leave the Junior Mints for another day!). Robert De Niro's character in Taxi Driver also loved Jujyfruits - he requests them at the theatre.

While we're on the subject of small screen candy stars, the British among us might recall that in Blackadder's Christmas Carol Ebenezer Blackadder offers Mr. Baldrick a humbug from his bag of sweets. In fact, the British have quite a soft spot for the sweet stuff - Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor in the Doctor Who series always came well armed with a pocket full of Jelly Babies to diffuse any stressful or uncomfortable situations (unfortunately Daleks are the only creature immune to the force of Jelly Babies).

Sharing both the large and small screen in the classic Narnia tale, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Edmund Pevensie falls prey to the delights of Turkish Delight! Thankfully Fry's Turkish Delight will not cause a good vs evil battle for supremacy in Westboro...but it might cause quarrels if you're sharing - best to get two!

And no review of candy on film would be complete without an appearance by Razzles as featured in 13 Going on 30. The repopularized candy-then-gum causes gasps and excitement on a near daily basis when it is recognized in The Candy Store, so it only seems fair to let them have the final word.

Have we missed any on-screen candy moments that should be included here? If you know of one that we haven't covered, send it along to us in the comments or in an email and we'll compile a Candy In Film list of all the sweetest (literally!) cinematic moments!

Want more candy news and updates: check us out here.

posted by The Candy Store @ 1:09 PM  0 Comments

When Somebunny loves you...

Bouncing bunnies and clucking hens? Have you gone into the wrong
store?? Nope! You?re still in The Candy Store and we have some
incredible foil-wrapped German milk chocolate bunnies and hens waiting
to surprise somebunny (pun fully intended!) you love this weekend.

How about feeding those bunnies? We have a bountiful blend of bunny
corn in vibrant spring colours waiting to satisfy curious little
munchers. Speaking of munching, did you know that, according to the
National Confectioners Association, 76% of you prefer to eat the ears
of chocolate Easter bunnies first?

In other tasty news, we have a brand new page on Facebook and we'd like to extend an invitation for you to join us on our page. Did you know that you can access our page without being a member of Facebook? You can even keep up to date with all the latest news from the store and even check out photos and soon candy reviews and discussions - sounds sweet to
us!

And in other sweet news, here is the month's cupcake menu:

April 11
Strawberry - strawberry cupcakes topped with strawberry buttercream
and a fondant flower. Made with real strawberries!
&
Lemon Coconut Nests - a buttermilk lemon cupcake topped with coconut
buttercream and toasted coconut fashioned into a tiny bird's nest
complete with chocolate eggs!

April 18
Boston Cream - a vanilla cupcake filled with vanilla bean pastry cream
topped with chocolate ganache.
&
Chocolate Mint - chocolate cupcake filled with chocolate ganache and
topped with smooth chocolate mint buttercream.

April 25
Dulce De Leche - chocolate cupcake filled with chocolate ganache and
topped with creamy caramel buttercream.
&
Ultimate Vanilla - vanilla bean cupcake filled with vanilla bean
pastry cream and topped with vanilla bean buttercream.

Labels: easter bunnies, german chocolate

posted by The Candy Store @ 1:01 AM  0 Comments

Egg-cellent!

Happy April Fool’s Day! We’re not fooling at The Candy Store when we say we love Easter – and what could be more fun at Easter than dying eggs? Egg-dyeing experts know all the tricks and little extras for making beautiful eggs, but if you’re not an expert, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with a step-by-step guide using Germany’s most popular egg dye! Using a packet of the egg dye available at our store and a few other tools, you’ll be on your way to basket-worthy eggs in no time.

Since Easter eggs can be made with hard-boiled eggs or hollow, blown-out eggs, we thought we’d show the more advanced hollow eggs (but you’re welcome to use hard boiled at home – both work with this dye – you’ll just skip to the 6th step!). Our tutorial includes both brown and white eggs.

Tools for hollowing out your eggs:
pin
rubber ear syringe (available at the pharmacy)
dremel bit and a rotary drill

Tools for dying your eggs:
5 glass cups
vinegar
boiling water

Step 1: Using your pin, poke a hole through the bottom of your egg and gently increase the hole’s diameter.



Step 2: Once the hole is noticeable, hold your drill with dremel bit to the hole and apply even pressure while depressing the drill trigger. You want to apply enough pressure for the hole to gradually widen, but not so much that your egg’s hole shatters open (consider your first egg a practice egg to get the feel for the drill). The finished hole should be just over twice the size of the ear syringe’s nozzle.







Step 3: Insert the pin into the newly created larger hole and poke about a little to break up the egg yolk.

Step 4: Over the sink or a bowl, insert the nozzle of the syringe and GENTLY force air into the egg – doing this too hard or too fast can put a lot of fluid pressure on the egg shell from inside and cause a crack. Holding the egg upright, with the hole at the bottom, can help to speed this process along.



Step 5: When your eggs are all emptied, wash them and let them dry (or sterilize them if you plan to make chocolate filled eggs - see Martha Stewart for an incredible staff-tested chocolate egg recipe and the source of this fabulous egg blowing technique!).



Now you’re ready to start dyeing!



Step 6: Open your packet of dye and place a tablet in each cup with 2 tablespoons of vinegar and ¼ liter of boiling water each. Stir the water to dissolve the tablet.




Step 7: Immerse your eggs in the solution (Moms! This is messy business and fingers REALLY have to be scrubbed clean if they come in contact with the darker dyes!) for five minutes or until you’ve achieved the desired colour.





Step 8: Remove your eggs and pat dry with a paper towel.



Step 9: Add any further embellishments or decoration to your eggs. The dyes can also be mixed if you’re looking to do custom colours – just make sure you’ve dyed as many eggs as you want in the basic colours before you start blending!

Finally, for an added shine you can rub your eggs with a little fat to make them sparkle. And don’t forget to have fun! If you make some eggs at home with our new favourite dye, we’d love to see them – send a snap shot along and don’t forget to have an egg-cellent time!

posted by The Candy Store @ 3:28 PM  1 Comments