The value of chocolate: Part II

Eek! Seriously the person who invents a machine to slow down time will make an insane amount of money. Part I of my chocolate posts was published on March 16 and I had meant to follow up with this one a fortnight later. Before I know it is half way through May! At this rate I better start planning for Christmas.

So back to chocolate. Part I on this went through basic chocolate labelling and some brands that are readily available in New Zealand. This post will cover the basics of chocolate production and the cacao beans. Hopefully it will help you understand on a second level the differences in chocolate that is available to you.

The cacao plant - Like most plants the cacao plant is broken up into several subspecies. These are, Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario.

Criollo

The Criollo bean represents 5% of the total crop produced. The chocolate made from this bean is expensive and DELICIOUS. It is native to South America and is very temperature sensitive. It grows very close to the equator and is incredibly sensitive to its surroundings making it quite temperamental. It has a lower yield than other cacao plants as well. These factors combined mean that it is not suited to the large scale commercial use that big chocolate companies require. It is generally grown and processed by smaller boutique companies and comes with a higher price tag.

My Criollo recommendation: If you ever get the chance to try Amedei's 'Chuao' go for it. They are a small Italian chocolate house. The beans for their Chuao come from a small island off the coast of Venezuela. The Chuao has notes of 'cigars and raspberries'

Forastero

The Forastero is most likely native to a similiar region in South America. It is however a very hardy plant and thus easier to introduce to other areas. The African crop is entirely Forastero. It has high yield with easy care making it the most suitable for large scale commercial use. It can withstand a wider range of temperatures and so can grow in a wider variety of places, not just right on the equator. The majority of chocolate that you eat is Forestero.

Trinitario

The Trinitario bean is a natural hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero plant. It is not as widespread as the Forastero but is easier to produce the the Criollo. Within the Trinitario there is both high and low grade plants with each going to respectively produce boutique and larger scale chocolates.

Baked apple custard donuts

Words by Jamie at The Cake Eating Co.
Photography by Hohua at Hohua Photography

There is nothing that gives a more delicious flavour in food than fresh delicious produce. As we all know availability of fresh fruit somewhat wanes in the colder months. Lucky for us the foods that are readily available make wonderful comfort food.

Apples are in abundance, juicy and sweet, they are perfect for cooking into so many desserts and treats. They pair perfectly with a wide variety of aromatic spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla so whilst cooking your kitchen is filled not only with the beautiful smells of apples but also those lovely spices!

Recipe - Makes 12

Doughnut dough

Ingredients
7g yeast
100g white sugar
5g flaked sea salt
375ml milk
2 eggs
90g butter
625g flour

Method
1. Heat the milk until it is about 50 degrees (similar to a warm shower) and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Stir in yeast and 1/3 of the sugar. Place in a warm place for 5 minutes or until it looks 'creamy'
3. Whisk the eggs and melt the butter. Add to the milk mix.
4. While mixing slowly add the flour to the wet mix until a dough forms. The dough should feel tacky to touch but should not stick to you. Add a more flour in small additions if necessary.
5. If you are hand kneading knead for 10 minutes or 8 in a machine on low.
6. Cover the bowl in glad wrap and leave aside in a warm place until the dough has doubled inside. Preheat oven to 180degrees. (MAKE CUSTARD AND CINNAMON SUGAR)
7. Knock the dough back by giving it one large 'punch'. Re-knead the bread for a minute to redistribute the yeast. Roll into 12 balls, place on a greased tray and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.


8. Fill a frying pan with about 2 cm of oil. Heat for 3-4 minutes on high then add your donuts. Add them without over filling the pan. Once brown on one side flip and cook the other. Remove from oven and place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and toss in cinnamon sugar.
10. Using a piping bag with a thin nozzle push it into the doughnut and fill with custard.

11. Eat

Baked apple custard

Ingredients
100g sugar
6 apples
6 cinnamon sticks
60g brown sugar
280ml milk (full fat)
2 eggs
35g flour
10g custard powder
2t vanilla paste (I love Heilala)

Method
1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a tray with baking paper.
2. Core the apples and place on lined tray. In the centre of each apple place on cinnamon quill and sprinkle the brown sugar between them.
3. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Peel the skin off with you hands and place in a blender.
4. In a pot bring milk to the boil.
5. In a bowl combine the eggs and the white sugar, whisk. Add the vanilla paste, flour and custard powder. Whisk.
6. Once the milk comes to the boil slowly pour it into the egg mix ensuring that you are whisking the whole time. Return the mix to the stove but reduce heat to medium. Whisk while reheating. Once bubbles start to appear remove from the heat and put in blender with the apples.
7. Blend the custard and apples until a smooth puree is formed. Transfer to a container, cover with glad wrap and put a lid on. Put in the fridge.

Cinnamon sugar

In a bowl combine 3 tablespoons of cinnamon with 1 cup of white sugar. Mix.

Little Misters First Cake - Coconut Strawberry Cake

Recipe from Jamie at The Cake Eating Company

We had a family friendly baking day today. For us this pretty much entails baking something that requires ONLY moderate paced stirring as for mister almost two that is one of his favourite hobbies of 'cooking'.

This recipe is perfectly adapted for the small people in the world or the big people short on time. It uses oil instead of butter which means that is keeps for a bit longer. However if you have little people like mine around then you won't be able to keep it for any longer than the night!

Coconut strawberry crumble cake
Makes 1x 8" cake


Cake
2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup coconut milk (or if you are feeling extra decadent use some coconut cream)
2 tablespoons strawberry powder (Fresh As is deeelicious)

Method
1.Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Grease and line an 8" cake tin
2. In a bowl combine and sift the dry ingredients and make a well in the center

3. In a second bowl combine the milk, eggs and oil. Whisk together and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix together and pour into the cake pan.

4. Lick the spoon to check that it tastes good

5. Top with crumble and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Make sure you keep stirring because it really is the most fun (please don't stir after the crumble goes on, or once the cake is in the oven. You might get burnt.

Crumble topping
1/3 cup flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
1. Rub the butter into the flour. Add the sugar, coconut and cinnamon. Spread evenly over the cake.


Strawberry compote (for the side - naturally)
200g strawberries (frozen is good, especially in winter)
50g sugar

Method
1. Combine ingredients in a pot. Heat until the sugar dissolves. Puree and set aside to cool. Serve with drizzled over the finished cake.

Final Step:

EAT THE CAKE

The value of chocolate

Words: Jamie at The Cake Eating Co.

I have the pleasure of teaching classes on a variety of cooking and decorating topics. It is so interesting to meet new people and even though I am teaching them I do get the pleasure of learning from them by experiencing the lesson through fresh eyes and seeing how I can develop either my teaching or a recipe for the future.

There is one thing I find myself discussing in almost every lesson I teach and that is chocolate. Like every food that goes through the manufacturing process there are so many different elements that go in to its production that the end results are so varied. Without being educated in the difference we as consumers are reasonably naive as to what the product we end up actually is. Chocolate is like many products; wine, olive oil, even fruit juice. The end product is a result of a combination of factors The following are notes that I like to share to help my students understand the differences in chocolate and how the quality is determined by the different paths taken during production. This post will take place over to posts so it is not too much to swallow at once. Today we will be discussing a few chocolates that are available to purchase and how they are made. There is a massive range of chocolate available so just use these notes as a guide to experiment further. The next post will discuss those ingredients in greater depth and explain how they make up a quality (or not so much) chocolate. Please not that I am not a chocolate expert and that I highlight the fact that taste is entirely subjective to the person tasting it. For example I love milk chocolate and am commonly caught in fights with those who love a darker variety.

To taste chocolate you should have a fresh palette (believe it or not first thing in the morning is the best time for this). Break of a small piece and place it on your tongue, close your mouth and let is melt. As the chocolate melts in your mouth you will notice the flavour notes coming through as it hits your taste buds. Your sweet and sour receptors will also note the bitter and sweet flavours. A lot of chocolates have flavour notes of florals, fruits, even cigars so get experimenting.

If you are a lover of chocolate try using this as an eating guide for a girls night in or get together with friends!

To begin lets start with what a lot of people use for cooking, 'cooking chocolate' or 'compound chocolate'

Compound chocolate
Compound chocolate is found in the cooking section of supermarkets in block, chip, melt or drop form. It is available in white, milk or dark.
Compound chocolates main ingredients are: Oil, sugar, cocoa powder (for milk and dark), and milk powder (for milk and white)
Compound chocolate is called this for a reason, it does not contain enough cocoa solids to be called chocolate. Similar to the fruit juice vs fruit drink that you may familiar with.
Compound chocolate uses oil instead of cocoa butter, this has a big effect on how the chocolate melts in your mouth. Cocoa butter has a high melting temperature meaning that chocolate has a nice sharp 'snap' when you break or bite chocolate and then slowly melts in your mouth. Oil is liquid at room temperature meaning that there has to be a lot of sugar and cocoa added to it in order to make it solid. This results in a softer chocolate. The oil also leaves an oily residue in your mouth as you eat it.
Because the only actual chocolate component in the compound is the cocoa is also lacks a well bodied chocolate flavour.
Compound chocolate is also sometimes called 'candy chocolate' as it falls more within the scope of a sweet than a chocolate.


Supermarket chocolates
The next category is made up of several sub categories. In here I will go through a few chocolates that you can commonly find in blocks at any NZ supermarket

Cadbury
Cadbury chocolate underwent a large scale loss of face in New Zealand in 2009 when they switched from using cocoa butter to using palm oil as the fat in their chocolate. They returned to cocoa butter that same year but neither the company or their chocolate never really won back all they had lost.
Personally I find that Cadbury chocolate feels tacky (as in more oily) and softer than others available. Most of their chocolates seem quite sweet and cater for a sweeter palete.
Their dark chocolates range from 45%, their white chocolate contains 22% and milk 28%.

Whittakers
For New Zealanders Whittakers is like gold. It is made in New Zealand, which we all love. A little bit pricier the quality is reflective and out of the middle price range of chocolates here I think it is the nicest (although like most things that is entirely subjective to your palate).
Their chocolates are higher percentage than its main rival, Cadburys which is indicative of more flavour notes appearing in the chocolate. Their standard white is 28%, milk is 33% and their dark ranges from 50%.

Couverture
Couverture chocolate is what is widely used in the handmade chocolate industry. Couverture means that the chocolate contains a high percentage of cocoa butter (about 35% and up) which means that it is typically harder to work with and requires the use of tempering (each chocolate has their own specific temperatures) to get the final smooth, shiny perfect result. Most high quality couverture brands come from Europe which means that for us here in little old NZ their price can be quite high.

Callebaut
The majority of chocolate that comes from Belgium is Callebaut, which is not really surprising seeing as they are the largest chocolate manufacturer in the world. Their chocolate is produced in signature round 'callets' available widely throughout NZ at speciality food shops.  A lot of the Belgian chocolate you will buy will either be Callebaut or be a product made from their ingredients.
Their chocolate percentages commonly available in New Zealand are dark (56% and 70%), 33% milk and 28% white, although others are also available just not as readily.

Valrhona
Valrhona is a French brand of chocolate and is widely considered the best in the world at the moment. It is delicious and they take extraordinary pains of ensuring the quality of the product they sell. They are also innovative and regularly have new flavours coming out (try the Dulcey...).
Their chocolate is very pricey in little old NZ but for a treat it is well worth it. It is sold in bars and blocks as well as 'feves'. They have a phenomenal range of percentages available within each category all with pronounced flavour profiles. For example my personal favourite is the 72% Araguani ( I know I earlier pronounced my love of milk chocolate) which  the Valrhona website describes as, 'Made from rare Venezuelan cocoa beans, Araguani can be compared to great wines with high tannins and a long lasting finish on the palate. It has flavors of currants and chestnuts with hints of honey and fresh baked bread.'

Summer smells of strawberries

Recipe: Jamie at The Cake Eating Co.

Photos: Josh at Hohua Photography

My favourite thing about summer is the fact that in the space of a few months my garden becomes laden with fresh fruit. Berries are my favourite and strawberries seem to be the only one that I manage to grow with any level of success. If only they grew on trees it would be so much easier!

This recipe is a mix of quirky flavours which come together in delicious harmony. If you haven't tried either balsamic or peppered strawberries by themselves before make sure you do. They are delicious on their own or as a side to pretty much everything. I am a little bias though as I don't think a strawberry can do any wrong. 

I had a little bit of fun and made this dessert in a 1970's colour palate of oranges, pinks and browns. If you want to liven it up a little try cutting the balsamic glaze and replacing it with a mint sauce or try making a burnt milk custard.

I have garnished this dessert with little flowers from the garden, violas (my favourite) and geraniums. I choose all the flowering plants in my garden so that they are also edible. They go great not just on desserts but also add delicious pops of colour in salads and are complimentary flavours in infusions with many herbs and fruits. 

Peppered strawberry cheesecake

Cheesecake

250g mascarpone cream

250g cream cheese

100ml cream

100g strawberries (sliced and coat with cracked pepper. Leave to sit for at least 30 minutes)

140g castor sugar

3t gelatin powder

60ml water

Method

1. Soak the gelatine in the cold water to rehydrate.

2. In a food processor blend the mascarpone, cream cheese, sugar and strawberries

3. Bring the cream to the boil, remove from heat and mix in gelatine. Add to food processor and blend until well mixed in.

4. Pour into a tin to set. I have use 3" tart tins for mini cheesecakes. They will take at least 2 hours to set. 

Cheesecake base 'crumble'

100g butter

50g icing sugar

100g flour

50g rice flour

20g honey

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar until pale. Beat in honey.

2. Sift flours together and fold in. 

3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured bench, transfer to a lined tray and bake for 12 minutes until golden. Leave to cool. 

4. Using your hands or a food processor break the biscuit down to a crumb.

Balsamic glaze

100ml balsamic vinegar

100ml brown sugar

Method

Combine the two ingredients in a pot over a medium heat. Cook until they form a thick syrup, remove from heat and set aside.

n.b. Keep your eye on the pot the whole time during this process. It is a small volume and will easily burn.

Strawberry compote

100g strawberry

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

10g sugar

Method

Combine ingredients in a pot. Cook over a low heat until the strawberries are soft. Blend until smooth.

Mint creme

150ml cream

1/2 teaspoon gelatine

20ml cold water

20g sugar

20g fresh mint

Method

1. Hydrate the gelatine in the cold water.

2. Bring the mint, cream and sugar to the boil in a saucepan. Set aside for 20 minutes to let the mint infuse.

3. Bring the cream mix back to the heat, strain through a sieve onto the gelatine. Mix in and let set for a couple of hours.

4. Once set whip with a hand held mixer.

To assemble

Brush the balsamic glaze over the plate, over the top of this crumble the base biscuit.

Slice the cheesecake in half and place on top of the biscuit. Pipe or spoon the compote and creme around the plate. Finish with fresh flowers, mint and cracked pepper 

Salted bitter chocolate tart

Words by Jamie from The Cake Eating Co.
Photography by Joshua from Hohua Photography

One of my favourite things about everybody having their own unique skills is that it opens up a vast world of bartering. I often find myself swapping something sweet for something that someone else can do for me be it an oil change, some baby sitting or one of my current favourites a food photography session. The wonderful Josh patiently watches me cooks, steals a few photos in the midst of my lack of ability to slow down to let him do so and then happily eats the final result after he has laboured with extensive patience to get the perfect shot. I figured I should make his sweet tooth extra happy and after finding out the secret  to that was chocolate it was decided a chocolate tart would fill his hungry man stomach. If you are a chocolate lover then this is one of the best recipes. It is so rich that you really can't eat more than a slice but it is also incredibly simple. Just a few ingredients and a bit of waiting round as it cooks. Sounds like the perfect recipe to me.

Salted bitter chocolate tart (9" round)

Chocolate pastry

100g cold butter (I like to grate it before I rub it in)
170g plain flour
30g cocoa
100g castor sugar
1 medium egg (50g) lightly mixed

Method
1. Place in a bowl the butter, cocoa and flour. Rub the butter in until there are no lumps and it has a consistency similar to bread crumbs.
2. Add the sugar and mix through. 
3. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the egg and mix it through until you get a smooth paste. Do not over mix. Wrap in glad wrap and let the mix rest for 20 minutes.
4. Roll out chilled dough on a floured bench until it is 3mm thick. Line your tart tin with the pastry and smooth off the edges. Freeze until firm.

n.b. I like to bake my pastry from frozen as opposed to blind baking. I find this works very well for this basic short pastry to prevent shrinking without the extra hassle of beans.

5. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 10 minutes until the pastry is just cooked. Turn oven down to 150 degrees.



Chocolate filling

350ml cream
200g dark chocolate - in pieces
2 eggs
1/2 tsp flakey sea salt

Method
1. In a saucepan bring the cream to the boil. Pour over chocolate pieces until mixed in and you have a homogeneous liquid. 
2. Add the salt and whisk in the eggs.
3. Pour the mix into the pre-baked tart tin and bake for a further 20 minutes at 150 degrees. 
4. Remove from the oven and cool.



Chocolate ganache top

100g cream
100g dark chocolate - in pieces.

Method
1. In a saucepan bring the cream to the boil. Pour over chocolate and mix until thoroughly dissolved. Pour over cooled chocolate filling and let set.
2. Decorate to your liking. I have topped mine with cacao nib nougatine, edible flowers, fresh raspberries, mini macarons (if you want a recipe for these there will be one in the next issue of' Hazed' out in March) and chocolate bricks. 
3. Eat it. All of it! You know you want to. 

Want a chance to win not just a chocolate tart but also the ingredients and tart tin for it? Head on over to The Cake Eating Co. Facebook page to enter. Prize pack is worth over $150!

TKO or Thomas Kellers Oreos

Words by Jamie at The Cake Eating Co.
Photography by Joshua at Hohua Photography

These cookies will revolutionise your life. Seriously. I am a big fan of using all my own recipes but there is no way anything I ever come up with will beat anything by Thomas Keller. This guy is big in the cooking world, he has some of the best restaurants in the world and 7 Michelin stars to his name. I was first introduced to the recipe at a master class I attended several years ago run by one of the best Pastry Chefs in the world (she even has an MBE for her contribution to Pastry arts - talk about awesome right?!). 

The Bouchon Bakery TKO (warning: your eyes may have a heart attack if you follow this link) is a deliciously rich chocolate shortbread which is then filled with a silky smooth white chocolate ganache. It is a more grown up version of a classic oreo. The sweetness of the original is exchanged for a deep dark richness which means you can eat way more without feeling sick, I am about 90% sure this is a good thing.

If you can't eat a whole helping of them at once you can also freeze the batter in logs then slice and bake to serve. I love doing this, it's my number one trick that keeps people thinking I am some kind of domestic goddess that always has fresh baking coming straight out of the oven.

Ganache has a brilliant shelf life and can last for 4-8 weeks at room temperature (depending on how hot it gets). It is easily frozen and can stay in the fridge for 8 weeks as well. When refrigerated it goes very hard so make sure you leave it to set at room temperature or it will make piping quite difficult. Ganache does not normally use butter but in this recipe I have opted for it as it gives a better texture for the filling. When making ganache make sure that you use proper chocolate not cooking chocolate or compound chocolate. The reason for this (apart from taste) is that the oil in compound/cooking chocolate is standard vegetable oil while in coverture it is cocoa butter. This affects the setting ability of the chocolate, especially when mixed with cream. Just think of it as oil being liquid at room temperature and cocoa butter being a solid with a high melting point. 

Recipe

Ingredients

Chocolate Shortbread

260g plain flour
90g cocoa (my favourite is Valrhona but if you can't get your hands on this then try to use a dutch process cocoa, your taste buds will thank you!)
1/4t (1.5g) baking soda
225g soft butter
2t flaky sea salt
160g castor sugar

White chocolate ganache

150g white chocolate (go for a high percentage...spoil yourself)
50g cream
25g butter

Method

Chocolate Shortbread

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
2.Into a bowl sieve the dry ingredients. Start mixing and as you mix add chunks of the butter. Mix until totally combined and a smooth dough is formed.
3. On a floured bench roll out 1/2 the dough. Using a circle cutter cut rounds and place them on a lined baking tray. The cookies will not spread much so leave about 1cm between them.
4. Mix the scraps from the cutting with a handful of fresh, 'virgin' dough and repeat step 3. Mixing the used and the virgin dough helps prevent it from getting overworked and keeps a better texture.
5. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until matte. Set aside to cool

White chocolate ganache

1. Break up the white chocolate into fine chunks.
2. In a pot scald the cream, remove from heat and add the butter. Mix until melted.
3. Pour over the chocolate and whisk in until all the chocolate is dissolved.
4. Set aside to cool and set.

To assemble

Using a piping bag, or a teaspoon put a blob of ganache on the centre of half the biscuits. Put another on top, squish together and eat them. All of them. Make sure you do this before your husband or children see this mouthwatering delicacy that you have created. If they find out I cannot guarantee the TKOs safety.