Two Times the Delish

I loved it after the first bite during my first visit. I loved it even more after the second bite during my second. And it had nothing to do with the thesis being completed -- though that did make the moment that much sweeter.

Chocolate has been one of the motivations for me and some of my classmates as we pressed forward together to achieve our thesis goals this semester. With different individuals, I would offer a day of chocolate delight once a chapter, a draft, or a final copy was turned in. With May 3rd as the official deadline for our completed projects, the past few weeks have been full of thesis celebrations.

The one destination of choice: Masse's Pastries.
The chocolate dessert of choice: the Chocolate Ruffle Torte.

I first sampled this beautifully decadent dessert two weeks back as Theresa and I celebrated the official turning in of her project. This study break was her gift to me as a thank you for my encouragement and help through the semester's ordeal. And what a gift it was - literally wrapped in chocolate.

As is my typical approach when sampling desserts at a new place, I begin by sharing with the clerk my dark chocolate preferences and asking for a recommendation. At this local North Berkeley bakery on Shattuck, near Vine, the Chocolate Ruffle Torte was the suggestion. A dark chocolate cake with chocolate bavarian cream encased in dark chocolate and topped with dark chocolate fans made this the perfect option for me. And after one bite, it was confirmed.

Not only was this dessert recommendation beautiful to behold, appearing as a chocolate present, the rich chocolate flavors were a culinary masterpiece for the palate. The dark chocolate cake which anchored this dessert was moist and mildly chocolatey. This subtle quality highlighted the semi-sweet chocolate bavarian cream on top which balanced the bittersweet chocolate which encased this chocolate gift. The cracking of the chocolate case revealed a hallelujah symphony for the chocoholic as it sang of pure delight.

It was rich, indulgent, and downright delish. It was heavenly - a gift of "theobrama," the genus name of the chocolate tree, which literally means "food of the gods".

I initially thought the filling was a ganache, but learned from the clerk that it was actually a bavarian cream. To be honest, I do not fully understand the difference between a ganache and a bavarian cream.

Ganache is basically chocolate and cream which can be tweaked to create a truffle, glaze, frosting, mousse, tart, or drink as the proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted. More cream makes ganache thinner and lighter, and more chocolate makes it thicker and denser. Chocolate bavarian cream adds eggs, gelatin, sugar, and sometimes milk to the chocolate and cream, and is more like a custardy pudding which can be used as a cake or pie filling.

The filling in Masse's Chocolate Ruffle Torte was a bit confusing as it was denser than typical chocolate Bavarian cream and lighter than basic ganache. It was somewhere in between. In any case, it worked as the dense fluffy texture (or fluffy dense texture) and semi-sweet chocolate taste complemented the cake and bittersweet crackle of the chocolate shell. It was a chocolate trio made in heaven.

Dense and delicious, all the chocolate layers of this torte were also very rich and heavy. After enjoying about half, Theresa had had her fill, and offered the remainder to me. How could I resist? Believing also that wasting good chocolate is a sin, I polished off mine and continued on to finish off hers. Pure indulgence. Though I had a chocolate buzz for the next few hours, I was in chocolate ecstasy.

2 weeks later when it was time to celebrate the official turning in of Amelia's thesis, we headed to Masse's and I again ordered the Chocolate Ruffle Torte. Though the other desserts sounded delightful as the clerk described them, I knew what I really wanted. It was almost a no brainer. The Chocolate Ruffle Torte is simply wrapped chocolate perfection.

I savored each decadent bite once again and enjoyed the moment with a good friend. A perfect end to our thesis writing semester. My only disappointment - Amelia polished off the chocolate on her plate and didn't leave me any leftovers!

There was no better way to wrap up a semester of hard work than spending time with good friends enjoying the Chocolate Ruffle Torte at Masse's Bakery. Both are true gifts of God.

Overall assessment: 4.8 cacao beans (out of 5)
The Chocolate Ruffle Torte at Masse's Pastries is simply a beautifully wrapped dessert of intense chocolate layers. If you love dark chocolate and crave rich chocolate desserts, this is a heavenly experience which is not for the milk chocolate at heart. It is bold but balanced, dense but delightful, rich but right on the money for $4.95.
(review date: 2010_05-06)