By Will Grunewald
Photographed by Danielle Sykes
From our March 2022 issue
Pass through Searsport and you might spot Alice, of Wonderland renown, in her blue dress and white apron, or the Queen of Hearts, in her red-and-black regalia, out front of the old Italianate bank building on Main Street. Alice is Meryem Rogan, owner of Splendiferous Sweet Shoppe. The queen is her mother, DeAnne. Inside the store, there’s Wonderland-themed wall art, tea-party paraphernalia, a large cardboard cutout of the story’s DRINK ME bottle, and an ornate Victorian clock whose swaying pendulum would undoubtedly distress a tardy rabbit. Also, there’s a load of candy, including shelf upon shelf of hot-chocolate bombs.
A couple of years ago, as the Instagram-friendly orbs were taking over the foodier corners of social media, Rogan tumbled down the internet rabbit hole and figured out how to make what the Washington Post called “the perfect storm of viral food trends.” After forming two halves of a shell by melting chocolate into molds, she fills the shells with more chocolate, plus accoutrements (marshmallows, crushed candy canes, fall spices, etc.), then seals them shut. These days, she’s perpetually dreaming up new iterations — flavors from birthday cake to butterscotch rum; designs from narwhals to gnomes. Drop one in a mug, pour heated milk over top, and voilà, a rich, sweet, belly-warming sipper. Anyone who thinks there’s a better way to do hot chocolate? Off with their heads!
Splendiferous Sweet Shoppe sells hot-chocolate bombs (and other treats) in store and online. 21 East Main St., Searsport. 207-538-6729.
