For Love of Chocolate, that is!
It's been used as money, but also for love, and for comfort. It's been called the food of the gods. Some think of it as the ultimate sensual eating delight.
It's not for nothing that it's associated with St. Valentine's Day.
So here's to chocolate. And to luscious chocolate desserts, good enough for any chocolate lover.
And worth sharing with your romantic love, too. In one week.
Or sooner.
Chocolate moments
1520s: Spanish explorer Cortez saw Aztecs using cacao pods as money. He didn't find gold, so he turned instead to making money off cacao pods.
1590s: the Spanish began to add sweetener and flavorings such as vanilla to their chocolate beverages. Before that, all drinks were of bitter chocolate, and the Aztecs mixed theirs with chile.
1674: chocolate shops first offered solid forms of chocolate made as rolls and cakes. Before that, most chocolate was consumed as a drink.
1732: Monsieur Dubuisson (French) invented a table mill for grinding cocoa beans. Mechanical grinding made a big difference in the ease of processing chocolate.
1690: Puritans who fled from England to Amsterdam unfortunately settled next to a chocolate house. They were so offended by the partying at the chocolate house that they labeled chocolate as "devil’s food." When they moved on to Plymouth colony, they outlawed chocolate completely.
1815: Chemist Coenraad Van Houten (Dutch) added alkaline salts to powdered cacao, which helped it to mix better with water and gave it a darker color and milder flavor. This process is called "dutching."
1828: a cocoa press was invented by Van Houten which squeezed out the cocoa butter, leaving behind cocoa powder. This resulted in making processed cocoa both more consistent and cheaper to produce.
1847: Joseph Fry (English) mixed cocoa butter back into the "dutched" chocolate with added sugar, creating a paste that could be molded, resulting in the first modern chocolate bar.
1861: Richard Cadbury (English) made a candy box in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day.
1868: Cadburys mass-marketed the first boxes of chocolate candies.
1876: Daniel Peter (Swiss) perfected a means of mixing condensed milk with chocolate, creating milk chocolate. It was considered more smooth and creamy, though less intense. It rapidly became popular. (possibly because it was also cheaper this way.) In 1879, he joined Henri Nestlé to form the Nestlé Company.
1879: Rodolphe Lindt (Swiss) created the conching machine (which looked like a conch shell). To "conch" meant to heat and roll chocolate in order to refine it. It churned cacao seed paste into a smooth blend, much more desirable for chocolate bars and confections. After chocolate has been conched for seventy-two hours, more cocoa butter can be added, making possible chocolate fondant and other smooth, creamy forms of chocolate.
1895: Milton S. Hershey (American) sold his first Hershey bar, using modern, mass-production techniques that made chocolate affordable to the masses.
1906: the earliest published recipe for chocolate brownies appeared in The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, edited by Fanny Farmer.
1910: William Cadbury (English) started a boycott which ended up including other English and American chocolate companies. They refused to buy cacao from plantations which had harsh working conditions.
. . .
1972: I discover Marshall Field's Frango Mint Chocolates while living in the Chicago area.
1998: Living in Iowa, I'm introduced to the bonbons at Chocolaterie Stam in Des Moines, featuring hand-made luxury chocolates from the scion of a Dutch family business. Absolutely rich and luscious. Champagne chocolates (cork-shaped!) are the best. Or maybe Forest Berry Cream. Or Chocolate Truffle. Or heart-shaped Chocolate Caramel. . . (Chocolate bonbon flavors are not listed individually on their website, but you can call and order them.)
Other Chocolate factoids
*The Aztecs felt that the trees that grow cacao belonged to the gods, thus the pods were offerings from the gods to man.
*Linnaeus gave the botanical designation to the tree: Theobroma cacao, or "drink of the gods." Chocolate was consumed mostly in liquid form at that time.
*Our word chocolate comes from the Aztec word for the drink they made from the pods: xocolatl. They prized chocolate for enhancing spiritual knowledge, energy and sexual prowess. It was the most common beverage offered during their wedding ceremonies. Warriors also prized it for energy and strength, taking compressed tablets with them on military campaigns.
*Chocolate has more than 1500 flavor components, often creating a complex layering of distinctive notes. These flavor notes come from the blending of cacao beans (there are three varieties), and from regional variations in growth and soil conditions. Also from variations in the fermenting process and roasting process.
*Most dark chocolates (those above 70% cocoa solids) have lots of flavinoids - potent antioxidants which help to overcome the oxidative stress present in our body.
*German Sweet Chocolate is a dark baking chocolate created by Samuel German who added sugar to the chocolate so home bakers wouldn't have to. (It's sweeter than semi-sweet chocolate) His name was also used for the German Chocolate cake recipe that was so popular in the 1950s. Nothing Deutsche about it.
*Côte d'Ivoire grows 40% of the world's chocolate these days. Neighboring Ghana, the world’s second largest producer, grows 16%.
*The Swiss are the largest consumers of chocolate. On average a Swiss person eats 10.3 kg. per year. In Great Britain the per capita consumption is 8.4 kg/year. In Germany, 8.2 and in the US, it's 5.3 kg. (that's 11.7 lbs. each for Americans) People in Asia eat the least chocolate.
*Feeding chocolate to dogs is a bad idea. Chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulant chemically similar to caffeine. Dogs lack a specific enzyme to metabolize theobromine, and overdoses can cause convulsions. Cats shouldn't eat it either.
*The more cacao solids a candy bar has, generally the less sugar it has. So a bar with 65% cacao usually has 35% sugar. One with 75% cacao has 25% sugar.
*Chocolate that has a grayish surface bloom has been stored at too warm a temperature, so that some of the cocoa butter has risen to the surface. It does not affect its eatability, just its look.
*Manufacturers may make chocolate cheaper by taking out most or all the cocoa butter and substituting vegetable fat. Another name for this is "you get what you pay for."
Useful definitions:
bitter chocolate: chocolate in its pure, unadulterated form. Processing it yields close to half cocoa butter and half solids.
cacao: refers to the tree, its pods and the beans inside the pods.
chocolate chips: since they are designed to hold their shape in baking, they usually have less cocoa butter. Beware of the chips that have almost no cocoa butter.
chocolate nibs: the beans inside the cacao pods.
cocoa butter: the natural fat extracted from the cacao bean, it is slightly yellowish in color. It is also used in medicines and cosmetics.
cocoa powder: a powder derived from solids of the cacao bean. It has had most fat removed and has no sugar at all, so many cooks like it because they can control fat content and sugar amounts.
dark chocolate: includes bittersweet, and semi-sweet and German chocolate, which can be used nearly interchangeably, depending on the sweetness desired.
German chocolate: a product sold by Baker's chocolate, it was originally labeled as "German's chocolate." It is pre-sweetened for baking, and is interchangeable with sweet chocolate.
milk chocolate: contains dried milk solids. Commonly used for candy bars, and apparently is preferred by more than half of Americans. It lacks the more intense flavor of dark chocolate. Not a good choice for baking, as it scorches more easily in melted form. It's also noticeably sweeter than most dark chocolate.
semi-sweet chocolate: has some sugar and vanilla, but has a high proportion of cacao solids and has cocoa butter. Amount of solids included varies by manufacturer. Most commonly used for baking.
unsweetened chocolate: made of nearly 100% cocoa solids and notably bitter. Also called bitter chocolate and baking chocolate.
white chocolate: made of cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids, and vanilla. Has no cocoa solids, and therefore is not labeled as chocolate in the U.S. It burns easily when melting it.
Working with chocolate:
Always melt it slowly, over hot --not boiling-— water. A double-boiler facilitates this. Chopping the chocolate up a bit helps it melt more evenly. While it is melting, stir it a bit.
Getting chocolate too hot makes it harden (called seizing) and it may look granular. If this happens, you can recondition it by adding about ½ teaspoonful of vegetable shortening (not butter) per ounce of chocolate, and mixing it under the conditions described above.
To make chocolate curls, warm a chocolate square, wrapped in paper, in your hand for just long enough to make it slightly warmer. Then partially unwrap it and shave curls off one side in long, thin strokes, using either a sharp paring knife or a sharp vegetable peeler. Use a toothpick to move the curls around and place them.
Stirring up some chocolate lava
Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes 6 servings
Dark, rich chocolate mounds with a molten flowing center . . .
Ingredients:
cocoa powder
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
10 T. butter
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Heat oven to 450º. Grease insides of six custard cups (6 oz. size) then dust each with cocoa powder.
In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, beat eggs and egg yolks with whisk or hand mixer until well blended. Beat in powdered sugar. Stir in melted chocolate and flour.
Divide batter evenly among the six cups. Set cups on metal cooling rack which can be heated in the oven. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, until the center of the top is puffed & cracked but still soft, and sides are set.
Remove from oven and let stand 3 minutes. Run knife around sides to loosen.
One by one, set a dessert plate on top each cup and invert. Remove cup. Serve cakes immediately, while hot, sprinkled with powdered sugar, or topped with vanilla ice cream.
Note: If centers are solid, you have baked them a minute or so too long. If centers are very runny, then not long enough.
The Chocolate Lava flows . . . Note that the one shown is just a bit too runny. That's because it was prepared in advance and chilled until time to bake. If you do this, you need to add about a minute and a half to the baking time.
_________________________________________________________________
Chocolate Walnut Pie 8 servings
Posh enough for all occasions. Chocolate enough for all tastes. Rich enough for all indulgences. The cognac gives it that certain je ne sais quoi, otherwise known as "flavor."
Ingredients:
9" unbaked pie shell
3 large eggs
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 c. cognac (or brandy)
4 T. butter, melted
5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
whipped cream
chocolate curls
Heat oven to 325º. Beat eggs in medium mixer bowl until pale and frothy. Add sugar, corn syrup, soda and cognac. Stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in butter, chocolate & nuts. Mix well.
Pour into pie shell and bake in the center of the oven for 40-45 minutes, until filling is set and crust is golden brown. Don’t overbake. Cool before cutting.
Serve, topped with whipped cream and chocolate curls.
It's interesting that the chocolate here is not melted and emulsified before baking. But it does it during the baking and comes out uniformly chocolate-y.
_______________________________________________________________
I'm afraid this got gobbled as soon as I put it on the table, before I got a picture! Note that I included some chopped Bosc pear in this one, but sadly, the chocolate covered the lovely honey-flavor of the pear.
Chocolate Bread Pudding 6-8 servings
A good use for stale, firm bread. Actually the texture of the bread is important in the final texture of the pudding. I like a firm, stale Italian bread, which comes out with a tenderness almost like whipped cream.
Ingredients:
4 c. dry firm bread cubes
2 2/3 c. Half & Half cream
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs, + 1 yolk, beaten
2 1/2 oz. unsweetened
chocolate, melted
1 1/2 T. butter, melted
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
2/3 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a one and a half quart baking dish & set aside. Combine the bread cubes and cream in large mixing bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. stirring a couple of times.
In medium bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, melted chocolate, butter & vanilla. Stir into bread mixture. Mix in pecans & semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips.
Pour into baking dish. Bake one hour, until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm, with ice cream.
I did save a peice for you, though. It's warm and ready for ice cream.
___________________________________________________________
Dessert fondue can be a fun (and romantic) end to dinner. But if there's just two of you, then you will want to downsize this recipe. You especially will want to select just a couple of fruits, for instance.
Chocolate Fondue for about 7-8 people
Many fruits go very well with chocolate. Try to find as many kinds as you can, though most are out of season at this time of year, and the flavor may be less.
16 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate squares
1 c. cream
1/4 c. liqueur of choice: Amaretto, Courvoisier, Grand Mariner, Kahlua, Kirsch, or others of preference
a variety of fresh fruits
cake: angel food or pound cake
Prepare fruit & cake by cutting it into bite size peices as needed. I recommend these:
-Strawberries (very popular)
-Black cherries (use whole, with stems)
-Raspberries
-Peaches or nectarines
-Pears
-Apricots, or dried apricots
-Banana chunks (peel & cut just
before serving)
-Oranges, peeled & sectioned
-Candied ginger pieces
-Pound cake or Angel food cake cubes
Melt chocolate in double boiler over hot, not boiling water. Stir in cream until well blended. Stir in liqueur of choice.
Transfer to fondue pot, and keep sauce warm while diners dip in fresh fruits or cake on their forks. Alternatively, diners can add fruit selections to their dessert plates and use a small ladle to spread chocolate over top, then eat individual pieces with dessert fork or spoon.
It's possible to make chocolate fondue without a fondue pot. Use a metal pot or bowl to set on the table, and set it on a heating pad warmed up to low-medium. Use bamboo skewers instead of fondue forks.
Enjoy!