Donovan - Chocolate: Heavenly recipes for desserts, cakes and other divine treats

HEAVENLY RECIPES FOR DESSERTS, CAKES AND OTHER DIVINE TREATS

JENNIFER DONOVAN

There are few things in the world that evoke such intense emotions as chocolate. Silky, smooth and sensuous, chocolate has been around for centuries. It is thought to have been discovered in Mexico by the Aztec Indians, and then brought to Spain in the 16th century. It is believed that the Aztec Indians first used beans from the cacao tree to make a drink for royal occasions, and that the Spaniards made this bitter drink more palatable by adding cane sugar and spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. By the 17th century, drinking chocolate was fashionable throughout Europe, and by the 19th century chocolate to eat had been developed, and traditional hand-manufacturing methods for making chocolates gave way to mass production.

Today, chocolate has become more popular than ever. Gourmet chocolate boutiques cater for the growing passion for top-quality chocolate. Around the world, consumers are demanding better-sourced and higher-quality ingredients, so Fairtrade chocolate (where the cocoa beans have been sourced direct from farmers at prices that allow the farming communities to thrive and expand) and organic chocolate are both reaching a wider market.

This comprehensive book explains all you need to know about chocolate. It guides the home cook through a range of delicious chocolate recipes, from fabulous home-made cakes, brownies, ice creams, puddings and muffins to spectacular desserts and hand-made chocolates. Some of them will be familiar favourites, while others will provide some new and exciting ways to use chocolate.

As well as providing a wealth of simple-to-follow recipes, and briefly outlining the origins of chocolate, this book explains in simple terms the most common ingredients and methods used when cooking with chocolate all designed to make the recipes even easier for you to reproduce at home.

Cocoa beans, from which chocolate is derived, are a product of the cacao tree. This is believed to have originated in the tropical areas of South America, although the exact location is a source of some dispute. A relatively delicate plant, the cacao tree needs protection from wind and a good amount of shade; it usually bears fruit in the fifth year of cultivation in natural conditions. Although there are around 20 different varieties of cacao plant, only three are widely used in the making of chocolate Forastero, Crillo and Trinitero.

The fruit of the cacao plant, known as pods, contain between 20 and 50 cream-coloured beans, and it takes around 400 beans to make just 500g/1lb chocolate. The beans are fermented, dried, cleaned and roasted. Then the roasted beans are ground to produce a thick cacao liquor, or cacao mass, and finally pressed to extract the fat, known as cocoa butter.

Cacao liquor and cocoa butter are the essential ingredients of any chocolate product, and the amount included varies from around 25 per cent of the products weight up to approximately 80 per cent, occasionally more. Other ingredients, including sugar, vanilla and milk, are added to the chocolate before it goes through the final processing stages. Generally, the sweeter the chocolate, the more sugar has been added and the less cacao liquor and cocoa butter it contains. The darker and more bitter the chocolate, the higher the cacao liquor and cocoa butter content; this is widely considered to be a superior chocolate. However, chocolate preferences vary between individuals, so it is best to experiment with what you have available to see which you prefer.

There are a number of basic categories of chocolate. The first is dark chocolate, sometimes referred to as plain chocolate or couverture. This is designed for both eating and cooking. Look for chocolate with a high cocoa content (usually marked as a percentage on the label). Ideally, the percentage should be somewhere between 70 and 85 per cent, although it is important to remember what you are ultimately using it for. The most readily available chocolate tends to range between 60 and 70 per cent, which renders good results, though higher percentages do exist.

The recipes in this book have all been made from dark chocolate (where specified) with a cocoa butter content of 70 per cent. However, if you want to enjoy the best-quality chocolate straight from the packet, be aware that many people prefer the highest cocoa butter content they can find, which can be up to about 85 per cent. I prefer not to use a chocolate of that percentage for cooking as the result can often be too bitter for a chocolate sauce or cake, which requires a slightly sweeter finish.

Also commonly available is milk chocolate, which generally contains less than 3 per cent cocoa butter, and has sugar, milk powder and vanilla added. Milk chocolate is not as successful in baking and cooking as dark chocolate, but you can happily use it as a substitute in mousses, fillings, drinks and cookies, particularly if they are destined for children, who prefer the less bitter flavour. However, once again, for the tastiest results look for good-quality milk chocolate, as many manufacturers use vegetable oils, artificial flavours, fillers and milk solids in their products. Organic varieties of chocolate make a good choice here.

White chocolate is another widely available product, although it is technically not chocolate at all. This is because white chocolate does not contain cacao liquor, instead being made from cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla. Although not a pure chocolate, white chocolate is still very popular and gives good results in cooking.

Cocoa powder and drinking chocolate are also derived from chocolate. Dutch-processed cocoa, where the cocoa is treated with an alkali to give a slightly different flavour and a darker appearance, is considered to give the best taste. Cocoa powder is derived from the pressed cake that remains after most of the cocoa butter has been removed. It may have 10 per cent or more cocoa butter content. Most commercial drinking chocolate (which is designed to be made into a hot or cold drink) is usually made from a mixture of cocoa powder and sugar. Both cocoa powder and drinking chocolate have their uses in cooking, but, as with chocolate, the quality does vary, so experiment with the different brands and buy the best you can afford.

As a rough guide, chocolate will keep for a year if stored in the correct conditions. Store in a cool place around 20C (70F) and dont refrigerate it unless the temperature is very hot, as the moist environment of the refrigerator will shorten the life of the chocolate. Chocolate also absorbs the odours of foods stored around it, so be sure to keep it wrapped tightly in plastic film or in a container with a tight-fitting lid.

The white film sometimes found on chocolate that has been stored incorrectly is called a bloom. This is caused by condensation that has melted the surface sugar on the chocolate, and although it will not taste or look as nice as chocolate in good condition, it can still be used for melting or baking.