Pastry Round-Up: Chocolate

During the course of my research, I come across interesting tidbits that don’t always fit into the course of my writing. This doesn’t make them any less worthy of sharing so I am posting these randomly interesting links into a section titled “Pastry Round-Up”. 

(Opusculum) How to Make Chocolate: written by renowned pastry chef and creative director of ICE, Michael Laiskonis, this post explores the botany and science of chocolate, from its humble origins to the complex manufacturing process that transforms the bitter astringent bean into a prized and flavorful confection. After reading this article, you will start to unlearn the notion of an all-purpose chocolate and appreciate the flavor nuances (as well as the price differential) between chocolates of varying origins.

How Crispy is your Bonbon: a nifty article that illustrates how videos of chocolatiers making bonbons inspired engineers to create a mathematical formula that would predict a shell’s thickness based on the viscosity of a liquid polymer. This formula would allow shells to be produced with a predictable thickness and uniform consistency on an industrial scale. Chocolate inspires science!

3 Things to Do with Valrhona’s Caramelized White Chocolate:  Caramelized white chocolate is one of the most delicious forms of chocolate. On most days, I prefer it to its bittersweet counterpart. Caramelizing white chocolate is a time-consuming and laborious process, but if you can’t buy Dulcey (Valrhona’s professional grade of caramelized white chocolate), then it is well worth caramelizing your own. This post provides clear instructions and illustrations and suggestions on incorporating the finished product into your desserts. Or you could do as I often do, and eat it straight up.

Chocolate Sourdough: Though it sounds unusual, chocolate sourdough is not a recent invention and given America’s love affair for all things chocolate, I’m always surprised that chocolate bread has never been a “thing”. The piquant tang of the sourdough punctuated by chunks of barely melted bittersweet chocolate creates a bread that is rich and just sweet enough to satisfy. This post also includes a link to a beginner’s guide to sourdough.

Creamless Ganache: “cream + chocolate = ganache” This is how we were taught to make ganache in culinary school. But the cream can actually be any liquid: oil, nut milks, or even water. It is well documented that dairy mutes the flavor of chocolate and this article outlines some of the ways that experimental chocolatiers have omitted the cream to create intensely flavored (and mostly vegan) bonbons.