When it comes to entertaining, I prefer to keep things uncomplicated and straightforward. A cheese board is one of those answers to no fuss entertaining that not only looks impressive on your table but the preparation is minimal since the biggest draw are the ingredients themselves. After receiving these products from different French companies through the French Ministry of Agriculture I was thinking about what sort of recipe to make. It wasn’t until I tasted the blonde chocolate which has this distinct toasty yet creamy flavor that I knew these ingredients were completely worthy of standing on their own. I came up with this French fall inspired dessert chocolate and cheese board accompanied by 4 of different French wines. I love how visually beautiful cheese boards are when all the ingredients are gathered together, and when you have great ingredients like these it’s the perfect way to use them.

Here’s what’s included in this fall dessert chocolate and cheese board: Valrhona chocolates (specifically the blonde chocolates), whipped vanilla honey butter with mini toasts (scroll down for the recipe), sheeps milk cheese (smooth, nutty flavor), bosc pears, mini plums, crunchy pumpkin granola, and pistachios round out the board.

4 types of French wine, including:

Château Bonnet Bordeaux Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon – The vibrant nose features notes of fresh red fruit accompanied by smoky, vanilla aromas. The fruit and oaky nuances carry over onto the palate, resulting in a wine that is wonderfully balanced with elegant tannins and food-friendly acidity.

Château Bonnet Sauvignon Blanc – Fresh and Fruity. The aromatic nose shows notes of ripe peach and meyer lemon with floral underpinnings. On the palate, it is medium bodied with food-friendly acidity.

Moulin de Gassac, Guilhem Rosé – An extraordinary red fruit and berries aroma and flavors. (drink within a year)

Mas de Daumas Gassac White – Pure, mineral and fresh, with mouthwatering fruity savours and a voluptuous texture. Finesse, elegance when young. Amazing depth and complexity with age.

Typically we see cheese boards with charcuterie and savory foods, but honestly a dessert board like this is just as delicious and is great to serve after dinner or for a light meal. This would even work amazingly as a fall brunch cheese board (serve with fresh breakfast pastries, yum!)

Sampling the different wines and noting how they pair with the different foods is a treat, personally I loved the sauvignon blanc with the fruit and cheese. When making something like this cheese and chocolate board it’s important to incorporate things that are salty, fresh, crunchy and sweet to have a good balance of textures and flavors. Adding in seasonal fruits and/or vegetables is another element to consider when creating one of these boards. How cute would this be for a date night in or a girls night and to do a wine tasting?

Items used in this post:

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And here is the recipe for the honey whipped vanilla butter. This stuff tastes incredible and is especially good on toast, fresh bread, croissants, pumpkin bread, cornbread, muffins… pretty much almost all baked goods!