Tomorrow is the biggest day of the year for chocolate. Yet what's the best to get and what can you make with it? There are a number of different brands and a delicious amount of recipes. Any home baker can create a tasty treat for his or her beloved.
Yesterday Melissa Clark wrote a very informative article in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Readers got to understand the bean to bar movement along with the difference between a bean to bar chocolate maker and a chocolatier. She also explained the cacao percentage and why some 74 percent bitter chocolate is not as bitter as one at 64 percent. There were fascinating comparisons between what African chocolate and South American chocolate tasted like.Yet which brands are the best? She wrote a sidepiece on the best kinds along with some interesting recipes. Of course the best is Valrhona which is also what's known as a B company which requires them to have a positive impact on its' community, its' workers and the environment.One of the oldest is Kahkow now in Brooklyn, started in the Dominican Republic in 1905. There is also Dandelion the up and coming San Francisco chocolate comapny that only has two ingredients cacao and sugar. The big cities such as New Orleans, Boston and Los Angeles all have good chocolatiers such as Acalli, Taza and Letterpress but also out of the way areas also are producing excellent bean to bar creations. There is Fruition, way up in the Catskills and Dick Taylor's tucked away in Eureka, California. Sudbury Mass gives us Goodnow, a chocolatier that blends in maple syrup in their bars.
There are some amazing recipes too. For a truly romantic dessert try Ms Clark's chocolate tahini mousse. It's actually a parfait blend off chocolate and tahini. The second is a tangy mix of the condiment and creme fraiche. The chocolate one is a mix of bittersweet chocolate mixed with an unusual ingredient for mousses - confectioner's sugar. Heavy cream is added to both for body and texture. You can also put candied cacao nibs on for decoration. Then there are the cookies. One is cocoa nib sables with flaky sea salt.It is a lush recipe calling for one cup European cultured butter and cocoa nibs. Think a French version of a chocolate chip that's drizzled with dark chocolate and sprinkled with flaky sea salt like Malden. Another must bake is bittersweet brownie shortbread - a layering of the best of flavors.The shortbread is the classic recipe calling for one and a half cups of unsalted butter while the brownie is also the traditional recipe. The shortbread is first baked as the brownie mix is created.Then the brownie is slathered on the cookie , sort of like a brownie pie or tart. The whole thing is baked for another half hour before it's cut into bars,
What to get your sweetie? A creamy mousse or mouth watering cookies and bars would fill the bill. What a great way to celebrate sweet love?
Showing posts with label Valrhona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Valrhona. Show all posts
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Spins On Classic Cakes
Classics are always in need of updating.This applies to almost everything, from main meals to sides to desserts, especially the last.Sometimes it takes a little tweak here and there as seen with snack cakes. Sometimes it takes a complete makeover like turning crepes into cakes.
These two updates were written in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Melissa Clark wrote about sprucing up the classic snack cake in her A Good Appetite column.. We've all eaten them, whether from Tastikake, Entemann's or home baked.. She creates a more lux one, thanks to the inclusion of pears and a brown butter glaze.It has a moist tender crumb, not unlike banana and pumpkin breads.Instead of baking it in a loaf pan , it's baked in a cake pan, easy for cutting squares. What is great about this recipe is that it can be baked in muffin tins and given extra spice with nutmeg and clove. The icing is optional if home bakers decide on this. Yet the cake is a perfect treat, even as a dessert. What gives it flavor and moisture are the pears.This is the season for them.Use the bigger Anjou kind. Don';t get the smaller Forell or Seckell pears, These are two small and more intense in flavor than the delicate Anjou. Not only is there flour but also three quarters of a cup of rolled oats,Toasted walnuts or pecans are also tossed in for crunch although these are optional. Four large eggs are used for body because there's no liquid in it, hence the dense texture. The glaze is equally mouth watering.It's a marriage of butter and brown sugar combined with heavy cream that creates a kind of caramel. The cake would be perfect at any Sunday dinner or holiday table.
Another classic that's been updated is the crepe.They are good on their own, whether as a savory, filled with chicken or ratatouille or sweet with a filling of ice cream or with butter and sugar. Another regular contributor to the Food section,Samantha Seneviratne creates a chocolate hazelnut crepe cake. She takes the basic crepe recipe and adds a cup of hazelnut meal. It is richer than a cake thanks to the inclusion of egg yolks, whole milk and heavy cream. It does have to have body, one to withstand the intense heat of the crepe pan and two able to stand up to the cream.As with any batter it does have to be refrigerated before using, usually between two and forty-eight hours (it's actually easier to make the batter the day before and spend the next day entirely on the cake's creation). Home bakers don't need a special crepe maker for this. A skillet will do just as well, however remember to use about three tablespoons of batter for each crepe. If there's too much , the result is thick, unwieldy layer. There should be twenty crepes. The chocolate cream is a mix of high quality chocolate (think Valrhona brand) along with good quality cocoa powder (Droste would be the best choice for this) along with milk. Brandy or coffee is added, the choice is up to what flavor is wanted.Stacking it is easy, Lay on the cream then a crepe and stack. The cake is decorated with whipped heavy cream and more hazelnuts.
Classics need to be updated every no and then. As with the snack cake and crepes, the update is a yummy new classic, full of flavor and moisture. They are so good, the original recipes will hardly be missed.
These two updates were written in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Melissa Clark wrote about sprucing up the classic snack cake in her A Good Appetite column.. We've all eaten them, whether from Tastikake, Entemann's or home baked.. She creates a more lux one, thanks to the inclusion of pears and a brown butter glaze.It has a moist tender crumb, not unlike banana and pumpkin breads.Instead of baking it in a loaf pan , it's baked in a cake pan, easy for cutting squares. What is great about this recipe is that it can be baked in muffin tins and given extra spice with nutmeg and clove. The icing is optional if home bakers decide on this. Yet the cake is a perfect treat, even as a dessert. What gives it flavor and moisture are the pears.This is the season for them.Use the bigger Anjou kind. Don';t get the smaller Forell or Seckell pears, These are two small and more intense in flavor than the delicate Anjou. Not only is there flour but also three quarters of a cup of rolled oats,Toasted walnuts or pecans are also tossed in for crunch although these are optional. Four large eggs are used for body because there's no liquid in it, hence the dense texture. The glaze is equally mouth watering.It's a marriage of butter and brown sugar combined with heavy cream that creates a kind of caramel. The cake would be perfect at any Sunday dinner or holiday table.
Another classic that's been updated is the crepe.They are good on their own, whether as a savory, filled with chicken or ratatouille or sweet with a filling of ice cream or with butter and sugar. Another regular contributor to the Food section,Samantha Seneviratne creates a chocolate hazelnut crepe cake. She takes the basic crepe recipe and adds a cup of hazelnut meal. It is richer than a cake thanks to the inclusion of egg yolks, whole milk and heavy cream. It does have to have body, one to withstand the intense heat of the crepe pan and two able to stand up to the cream.As with any batter it does have to be refrigerated before using, usually between two and forty-eight hours (it's actually easier to make the batter the day before and spend the next day entirely on the cake's creation). Home bakers don't need a special crepe maker for this. A skillet will do just as well, however remember to use about three tablespoons of batter for each crepe. If there's too much , the result is thick, unwieldy layer. There should be twenty crepes. The chocolate cream is a mix of high quality chocolate (think Valrhona brand) along with good quality cocoa powder (Droste would be the best choice for this) along with milk. Brandy or coffee is added, the choice is up to what flavor is wanted.Stacking it is easy, Lay on the cream then a crepe and stack. The cake is decorated with whipped heavy cream and more hazelnuts.
Classics need to be updated every no and then. As with the snack cake and crepes, the update is a yummy new classic, full of flavor and moisture. They are so good, the original recipes will hardly be missed.
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