A variety of 'kisses' for Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day and I'm hoping to get showered with kisses. Not the kind you're probably thinking about, though I trust I'll get my share of those, but the equally amorous kind that's always welcome, always sweet and carries no danger of mononucleosis. I'm referring, of course, to chocolate kisses.

Mention chocolate kisses and you probably think immediately of Hershey's, which is understandable. They churn out nearly 30 billion of them a year. But Hershey's is hardly the first manufacturer to call a candy a kiss. The term has been used since the early 19th century.

Moreover, Hershey's is not the only chocolate kiss on the market, much as they would like to be so. They're quick to defend their brand, as they did a few years ago, when they threatened litigation against the renowned chocolatier Jacques Torres, who was selling "Champagne kisses" in his New York boutiques. Shaped like lips and containing premium Tattinger Champagne, Torres' creation bore no resemblance to the Hershey's kiss, but the giant chocolate company wanted to take no chances.

The truth is, Hershey's did not even invent what we think of today as the chocolate kiss. That distinction belongs to the H.O. Wilbur & Sons Chocolate Company, founded in Philadelphia not far from Hershey's own Pennsylvania headquarters.

Wilbur, with its teardrop shaped "buds," beat Hershey's to the punch by more than a decade. The Wilbur bud, which is still available today, looks pretty much like a Hershey's kiss except that, instead of being flat on the bottom, it is stamped on the base with the word "Wilbur" in a floral pattern. Mr. Wilbur had the foresight to trademark the term "bud," but, unhappily for him, not the term "kiss."

Baci truffles, Italian chocolate kisses, are stuffed into a rich chocolate cake as it bakes to make Smothered in Kisses Cake.TOM HARTE

Thus, when Hershey's, with its superiority in manufacturing and distribution, came out with its own chocolate drop and called it a "kiss," there was no stopping it from becoming the dominant version of the candy. (The name supposedly came from the smooch-like sound made by the machinery that deposits each kiss on a conveyor belt.) Today when you think of chocolate kisses, you think of Hershey's. The treat was even depicted on a U.S. postage stamp to commemorate its 100th anniversary back in 2007.

However, there are at least two other "kisses" that are worthy competitors to the Hershey's version. The first is the Student Kiss, which I ran across on a recent visit to the oldest confectionery in Heidelberg, Germany. A chocolate medallion devised a century and a half ago by the shop's founder, Fridolin Knösel, it was originally intended to be offered by young men as innocent tokens of affection to members of the fairer sex back in the day when standards of propriety were far stricter than they are today.

The other version is better known. It was developed by two star-crossed lovers, Giovanni Buitoni and Luisa Spagnoli, at their Perugina workshop in Italy, appropriately enough on Valentine's Day in 1922. Called Baci (the Italian word for kisses), they consist of spheres of chocolate and hazelnuts with love notes, in five different languages, tucked inside the wrapper.

Given the wealth of chocolate kisses available on Valentine's Day, no wonder it's the perfect day to pucker up.

Smothered in Kisses Cake

This recipe, adapted from the Perugina website, calls for two kinds of kisses: one for the batter and the other to stuff into the cake as it bakes.

• 7 ounces semisweet Wilbur Buds or Hershey's Special Dark Kisses
• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Pinch of salt
• 15 Baci chocolate truffles

Melt together chocolate kisses and butter, stirring until smooth. Beat egg yolks with sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Add flour. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Stir half of egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whites. Pour batter into greased and floured 8-inch cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, quickly insert chocolate truffles all over cake and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer until cake is set and top has cracked slightly. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream.