"Bowled" Over by Hot Chocolate

The sun had warmed the winter chill but with cloud cover in the afternoon, the air turned cold again. Spring had not yet sprung. I heard good things about Guerilla Cafe's Spiced Hot Chocolate, and with a cool afternoon breeze and a paper to write, I decided to allow a little hot chocolate to warm up the creative juices.

A small little coffee stop on Shattuck, Guerilla Cafe has a wonderfully cool, inviting eclectic personality. "Coffee, arts, and vibes" are its buzz words, and with an assortment of menu items and drinks from morning till evening, it is a wonderful place for writing, reading, day dreaming, or simply meeting up with friends. Unfortunately, it doesn't feature any chocolate desserts.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered the Spiced Hot Chocolate. My preference is a thick and creamy, bittersweet chocolate with chili flakes and cinnamon to warm it up and kick it up a notch. Served in a little espresso cup with a spoon and for me, it is perfect.

When my hot chocolate arrived, I was surprised and totally overwhelmed because what I received was not a CUP of spiced hot chocolate, but a BOWL -- a bowl "as huge as my face" (as one of my old co-workers would have phrased it.) No pepper flakes but you could see the swirl of chili spice powder which formed an "S" on the top. I asked for a spoon and began to stir before realizing I needed to take a picture (thus, the "S" is a bit blurred in the picture below).

I took my first sip. Hmm... Though it didn't have a strong chili kick, it definitely was a nice mild blend of warm spices. Unfortunately, it was not a bittersweet chocolate but a milk chocolate blend. In fact, it tasted more like milk than chocolate. And the spoon was totally unnecessary because it was not thick and creamy but simply milky. In other words, pick up bowl and gently sip. And that is what I did.

This was not an example of a fine drinking chocolate like I experienced in Italy or at Bittersweet, or even Ghirardelli. This was simply a hot cocoa, blended with milk and spices to give it a gentle kick. A nice warm treat for a cold afternoon.

Though disappointed with the milky chocolate flavor of this spiced hot chocolate, I was amazed with the size of the bowl, the generous portion, and the wonderful vibe of the cafe. The experience definitely warmed up those creative juices because I cranked out a book review in record time. Not a bad afternoon.

Overall assessment: 3 cacao beans (out of 5)
If you like your hot chocolate milky and mild (with a kick of spice), you'll be "bowled" over by the Spiced Hot Chocolate at Guerilla, especially its size. While it was "nice," it was far from my preferred little cup of thick and creamy, bittersweet drinking chocolate. I am learning there is definitely a difference.
(review date: 2010_03-09)

Chocolate Mousse Musings

After my foray into creating what I consider a fabulous chocolate mousse, I won't say that I'm now a chocolate mousse expert, but I do confess that I did pat myself on the back (metaphorically speaking) each time I enjoyed one of the leftover ramekins in the fridge. To be honest, I was not a "mousse person" before because I simply had not found one I enjoyed. Chocolate mousse was always too sweet, too whippy, too "chocolate-lite" for my bittersweet, dense, rich chocolate preferences. Having found one I enjoy (aka mine, via Alice Medrich's recipe), I now have a mousse standard, and decided to give my taste buds a taste test.

Au Coquelet on University and Milvia in Berkeley has a special place in my heart. Having lived and ministered 4 years in the area, I spent many hours in this cafe with people, enjoying good fellowship and wonderful fruit tarts. With my new chocolate passion, I wanted to check out their Chocolate Mousse Tart and to experience how its flavor palate resonates with my emerging mousse preferences.

As I had learned from Alice, mousse, which simply means "foam," is to be elegantly smooth and creamy, with all its flavor coming from the chocolate. In other words, a good mousse is all about the chocolate, and allowing its flavors to "sing."

Unfortunately, the first note of Au Coquelet's Chocolate Mousse Tart made me wince. My first bite was very sweet, very rich, and not very "foamy." It was more like a thick, sweet ganache cake, and not what I imagined a mousse tart should be.

Once I got over the sweetness and settled into this experience, I cut small slivers to sample, so to identify the unique undertones that were being paired with the chocolate. There was a coconutty caramel flavor in this dessert, which I was beginning to enjoy. Yet as this little slice, which had been refrigerated, began to warm to room temperature, the sweetness began to overpower the chocolate.

Luckily, the crust, which had a deeper (aka "not as sweet") chocolate flavor, helped offset the sweetness. Because the fine chocolate crumb was a bit too crumbly and began to cover the plate with each cut, it coated more of my small slivers of mousse, and formed a better balance of flavor.

Though I eventually found the balance I needed to endure the sweetness, by the last bite, I found myself a bit strung out on a sugar high. This was a rich, sweet dessert and when it was done, I was done. May be I'm becoming more of a chocolate snob, but I now know what I like, and what I don't like, especially in a mousse. My preference is for a less sweet chocolate where the chocolate not the sugar sings the melody.

Overall assessment: 3 cacao beans (out of 5)
Though the coconutty caramel undertones were a unique high note in this chocolate mousse tart, which I enjoyed, it was a bit too sweet for me. I know however that some people with more of a chocolate sweet tooth would love this. It wasn't a bad mousse tart (I have had worst), it just wasn't excellent. It was simply OK. But if I am ever in need of a sugar high, I now know where to go get one.
(review date: 2010_03-02)

Love At First Bite

For better or for worst, cupcakes are the latest rage when it comes to trendy desserts. Though they are not my first chocolate preference, when I heard about a little cupcakery near school that featured vegan chocolate desserts, I knew I needed to check it out.

Located near the corner of Shattuck and Vine in Berkeley, "Love At First Bite" has a side selection of cupcakes, cookies, and cakes. Though all of them looked beautifully tempting, I have learned that looks can be deceiving as I've sampled more than my share of chocolate desserts that looked delicious and decadent, but were anything but.

I walked in this small little shop, located off the main drag, and knew exactly what I wanted. Described as "the richest, moistest chocolate cake you'll ever taste," the Vegan Chococake has no eggs or dairy, and is crowned with vegan mocha frosting. After a productive afternoon in thesis mode, this was my reward. I was excited.

To be cliche, it truly was "love at first bite." This standard-sized cupcake was soft, light, and tender. There was a smooth creamy texture to the cake that needed to be savored. Resting on your tongue, this cupcake did not want to be chewed as much as it wanted to simply melt in your mouth.

While the frosting on its own was more sugary- sweet than mocha-d, it did bring out the chocolatey bite in the cupcake which on its own was a rather mild but pleasant semi-sweet. The frosting and the cake brought the best out of each other in terms of flavors. They needed one another to bring out the "love" in this dessert.

Though the Vegan Chococake was the complete antithesis for my preferred dense, dark, and rich chocolate palate, I definitely found myself falling under its spell. It was a $2.75 delight that was gone too quickly.

Overall assessment: 4.5 cacao beans (out of 5)
Not quite perfect for me, as my taste buds still prefer the deep, dense, dark undertones of bittersweet chocolate. However, if you enjoy light, fluffy, and mild, the Vegan Chococake is the perfect cupcake for you. And did I mention it is VEGAN? Not only is it good on the palate, it is good for the planet.
(review date: 2010_03-02)

Celebrating American Chocolate Week

Today begins the third week of March, and the kick-off for the 19th annual American Chocolate Week. There's a little discrepancy whether the celebration begins on Sunday the 14th or Monday the 15th, so I've decided to extend it to a "baker's dozen" week and have 8 days of chocolate indulgence, beginning Sunday the 14th and lasting until Sunday the 21st. How's that for a nice little compromise?

How will I celebrate chocolate this week?

Because I have a midterm on Friday, I've decided to blog about the study breaks I've taken this semester when at school, and to review the chocolate dessert locations around Berkeley.

(Not all my study breaks have been "study bakes"!)

With the thesis looming these past 3 months, I've indulged in a bit more chocolate decadence than I typically do. Because I continue to take pictures and make notes about all my chocolate adventures, I wasn't quite sure what to do with all my "research". American Chocolate Week seems like the perfect opportunity to share it, and the best way to celebrate the beauty that is chocolate.

This week I'll feature some short blogs on chocolate desserts in the Berkeley area. Some of what I've sampled has been excellent; some not so much so. But I'll share the best and minimize the worst, as I break and blog about chocolate this week.

Are you ready?

Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to discover the bakery in Berkeley that serves up a near "perfect" chocolate cupcake. And if I didn't tell you it was VEGAN, you'd probably never know.

Bittersweet Deception

There's something about chocolate and liquor that I've really come to enjoy this past year. It's not so such liquor with chocolate, as in a good red wine paired with a rich dark chocolate. It's more liquor within a chocolate dessert that I appreciate. For me, the smooth floral notes of the alcoholic spirits embrace the sharp bittersweet nature of the chocolate, forming a rich dessert harmony for the palate that makes my spirit soar.

After successfully making warm bittersweet mousse, I've been debating what my next study break bake (or "study bake") should be. Liking booze with my chocolate, Alice Medrich's Bittersweet Deception seemed a perfect candidate and I am glad to say, it did not disappoint. I was not only impressed with the overall taste composition of this low fat (yes, low fat) dessert. I was totally blown away by the fact that I could recreate it -- in spite my issues with the liquor. (And no, I was not sipping it along the way. )

According to Alice, the "deception" in this dessert is the fact that it is low in fat (no butter or cream) but rich in taste. It is truly a "dense, moist, melt-in-your mouth bittersweet chocolate dessert." The cognac in the recipe rounds out the richness and makes this nearly flourless cake a truly divine delight.

Being the first time I've really made a chocolate cake from scratch, I proceeded to line up all the ingredients I would need. I didn't have a single 5 oz 70% bittersweet bar as the recipe called for so I used one 3.5 oz with 56% cacao and one 1.4 oz with 70%. I cut out about 1 tablespoon of sugar to compensate, following suggestions Alice gives in her book, Bittersweet. It seemed to work.

I've never finely chopped chocolate before, and learned that my mom's big chinese cleaver works much better than the small paring knife and the medium utility knife I first used. The third knife was the charm.

After combining the 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, 2 tablespoons of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, and pinch of salt in a small sauce pan with 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, I continuously stirred the cocoa mixture over medium heat to prevent scorching as Alice directed. But I began to wonder how I would know when this very liquidy concoction was simmering, and ready for the final timed 2 minutes before I would need to remove it from the heat. It took a while -- stirring and stirring, but I soon noticed the mixture thickening. I began stirring faster and after 2 minutes, I could tell it was starting to glob. It was done, and I immediately poured it over the chopped chocolate and began to stir. It now came time to whisk in the 1 teaspoon of vanilla (no problem), and then the 2 tablespoons of cognac.

Uh-oh. Problem.

Now my parents aren't into liquor. There is a little cabinet in the dining room where the spirits are kept. The bottles have been there for God only knows how long. While she was still living, my grandmother (dad's mom) would often have a little sip of something before retiring for the evening. She passed away over 15 years ago. The booze is old, I know. But being in an unopened bottle and baked in a cake, the cognac, I figured, wouldn't be a problem. It unfortunately was.

Screwing off the lid, I discovered that the cork was so old it had disintegrated from the top and was stuck in the neck of the bottle! As I see the chocolate out of the corner of my eye starting to cool and I need to whisk the cognac NOW -- what to do? Use another liquor maybe? No. Alice specifically says cognac or rum, and I know there is no rum in the house. Alice also does not list the alcohol as optional, meaning that it probably is essential for the deceptively rich taste in this surprisingly low-fat dessert.

I grab a cork screw to see if it would help. It didn't get the cork out, but it did drill a hole through the cork's center so that I could see into the bottle. As I poured to measure out the necessary one tablespoon, little bits of cork came floating out onto the spoon. I eventually was able to skim off the cork bits, add the cognac to the chocolate mixture, and whisk it in. Breathe a sigh of relief.

The two eggs, egg white, and 1/2 cup sugar did double in volume after beating on high for about 5-6 minutes as Alice noted, creating a foamy liquid froth that was easily mixed 1/3 at a time into the chocolate. I had done this with the mousse and found myself getting the hang for this folding action.

My mom had picked up some baking parchment so I could cut a circle for the bottom of the 8 inch pan. With the sides greased, and the batter poured, it was into a baking pan which I filled with BOILING water. (I learned from my mousse experience.) 350 degrees for 30 minutes, and the cake was crusty on top and the surface sprung back when gently pressed. Well, sort of. I gave my chocolate creation a few more minutes so it would have a better "spring" rather than be a simple "sprungk."

After a cooling and a few hours in the fridge (Alice says overnight but I couldn't wait), I unmolded it, while my mom taught me how to lightly dust it with powdered sugar.

And with the first bite, I was hooked. It was rich and dense, moist and decadent, with a deep bittersweet bite that was underscored by the cognac which seemed to intensify the chocolate and to meld the flavors together so to raise this cake to a new level of royal richness. It's hard to describe, but boy, was it good.

The cognac created a rich flavor profile so that this low-fat chocolate dessert tasted deceptively bad for you. That is the "Bittersweet Deception."

The liquor in this dessert made it soar over the top, as the spirits with the chocolate made my soul sing with another dessert success. I'm getting the hang of this chocolate baking thing, and learning a few things too. Next time, check the booze before I begin.

And may be sample a little too!

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Walnut Cookies

The best breaks in life are free. With the thesis crunching in, time is a precious commodity. But thanks to my cousin, I was able to break, bake, and enjoy some homemade chocolate cookies, without having to do more than pop open the lid and scoop. It was almost as easy as "open box and bake." And the results - definitely much more delicious, though a bit crunchier than I would have liked!

My cousin Janeen (who won my 2009 "perfect" chocolate cake contest) was telling me about some of her recent baking experiences. There was a new VEGAN recipe she wanted to try from Veganomicon by Moskowitz and Romero. "Chocolate Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies" sounded yummy, veganly perfect, and not being shy when it comes to chocolate, I of course volunteered to be her guinea pig.

Since Janeen lives about 30 minutes away, sampling a fresh cookie from her is a challenge. But because my parents are in her area on Sundays to visit our grandmother, it worked out that they could be the cookie couriers. Rather than baking the cookies, Janeen decided to send the raw dough and let me bake them fresh and enjoy them hot from the oven because when it comes to home baked cookies, there is really no better way to enjoy them.

With the rain coming down this afternoon, thoughts of warm, fresh-baked cookies filled my mind. A perfect day to bake and to take a break from the thesis. And with Janeen already having done the hard part in assembling the dough, I just needed to form the dough into one inch balls, flatten them on the pan, and bake.

Now my mom isn't really much of a baker and supplies are a bit scarce here. "I have a non-stick pan for you to use," she said. With a high learning curve in baking, I consented, warmed the oven to 350 degrees and began to place the cookie dough on the dark non-stick cookie sheet. Though a bit oily, the dough was a deep dark brown with a wonderful chocolate smell, packed full of walnut and chocolate chips. I was so ready to eat the raw dough but I resisted.

(Come to think of it, I could have eaten them raw as there are no eggs and thus no salmonella fears to contend with. Next time...)

Soon the smell of warm baking cookies filled the air, and at the end of the allotted 10 minute baking period, the cookies came out of the oven looking wonderfully appetizing. My mom and I were both ready to get at them, but we let them cool, and my mom was patient as I took my pictures. In no time, however, the taste test began.

The cookies were still slightly warm and had a wonderful deep chocolate-flavor. "Not very sweet," my mom said. And personally, that's how I like them as the bittersweet undertones lifted the rich subtle sweetness in the chopped walnuts and the chocolate chips. There was however a clear crunch to the cookie, and an "almost burnt" taste that lingered. While my preference is moist and chewy cookies, my mom loves crunchy cookies (along with nuts and chocolate) and so for her, it was a perfect combination. She loved them.

For me, I adored the taste combination and the fact that they are VEGAN. I would, however, have preferred a chewy, fudgy texture. Now if I had listened to Alice, I would have known better.

In her book Bittersweet (my new Bible on chocolate baking), Alice Medrich notes that "cookies will have the best flavor and texture if they are baked on sheets lined with parchment paper, or even wax paper, which insulates them just enough but still allows the cookies to be a little crusty on the outside and soft within." She goes onto to write, "Pans with dark surfaces (even if they are non-stick) tend to scorch rich chocolate cookie bottoms before the centers are cooked." There is my answer. I baked these rich chocolate cookies on my mom's non-stick dark pan and the pans scorched the bottoms.

Alice knows best. And I know better now.

But in any case, the cookies were (and still are) excellent. What makes them better is that the ingredients were blended and sent with love by my cousin, and baked fresh and enjoyed with my mom. And I learned something about baking too.

Overall, it was a wonderful baking break on a rainy day. Now it's back to the books, until the next chocolate adventure when the baking plan will be Alice's Bittersweet Deception. "Cake," she writes, "doesn't really begin to do justice to this dense, moist, melt-in-your-mouth bittersweet chocolate dessert." Definitely, my kind of indulgence. When the thesis editing is done, the baking will begin. Stay tuned

Warm Bittersweet Mousse

With a thesis to complete, I've not had the time to blog about chocolate as I would like. I have a shlew of stories to tell about my month long chocolate travels in New Zealand and Australia last month. The chocolates "down under" were fabulous and I have the pictures to prove it. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to post and comment on the 100+ shots I took, but I am getting there.

For Christmas I received Alice Medrich's book, Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate. It has been an excellent study break and a wonderfully inspiring book. I've never really baked with real chocolate before. My experience cooking with chocolate has been for the most part, "Open box and bake." That is until today.

With my thesis writing coming along, I decided I deserved a break and decided to try making my first chocolate dessert from scratch. It would be my reward for working hard. And besides, the ramekins and candy thermometer I had ordered arrived yesterday. Alice had inspired and now, Alice would be my mentor as I attempted to create her Warm Bittersweet Mousse.

Mousse, which simply means "foam," is a classic French dessert, which, in its most elemental form, is elegantly smooth and creamy, with all its flavor coming from the chocolate. While a French chocolate mousse can be a dense foam or a light foam, it is definitely not the overly sweetened chocolate pudding-like, gelatinous "dessert-in-a-dish" which it has become in America.

I've never really been a big mousse lover because of that, but after the awful chocolate mousse we had on our New Zealand cruise last month, I knew I wanted to experience the pure beauty of an excellent one. I also had all 5 ingredients that the recipe required, and I knew I needed to use up the half-bag of Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips leftover from the chocolate silk pie I made for New Year's Eve. Thus, with cookbook in hand (or actually, the cookbook was on the table), I began.

Rather than tackle a traditional mousse based on the original French style, I decided to go with the warmed version because it required less egg skill. "Albert's Mousse," as the "non-baked" version is called, calls for a constant stirring of eggs in a bowl, on a skillet of "not-even-simmering" water so to prevent them from scrambling. I knew that for me the risk of chocolate scrambled eggs would be there. Thus the "baked" version seemed more promising as the oven would heat the eggs and solve the salmonella situation.

Thankfully, Alice's recipe was easy to follow, for even a beginner like me. When the smell of the 6 ounces of chocolate began to melt into the 1/4 cup of coffee on my home made double-boiler, I knew this was going to be a delicious delight, especially after the 1 1/2 tablespoons of brandy was added and I licked the spoon. The 3 eggs and 3 tablespoons of sugar did beat up into a "softly whipped cream" after 4 minutes on high. And as 1/4 of the eggs were gently folded into the chocolate a little at a time, I was surprised at how simple this was. The hardest part was scooping the mousse into the ramekins without making a mess, and making all 6 of them even.

Once the ramekins were filled, I felt like I was home free as I placed them into a baking pan. Excited that I had gotten this far without any mishaps, I unfortunately didn't read the next set of directions carefully and failed to fill the baking pan with BOILING water. (At least I remembered the water!) After 15 minutes, the estimated time the mousse needed to be baked at 325 degrees to reach 155 , I inserted the thermometer and found the raw looking mousse at only 74 degrees. Uh-oh! Going back to the recipe, I found my error, and simply waited another 15 minutes for the water to heat up and cook the mousse. Though it looked good, I discovered that 15 was a little too long as the thermometer read 170 degrees! ACK! I baked them too long. Would that be the demise of my first dessert?

After letting them cool for about 10 minutes, the time for the taste test had arrived. My mom took the first bite, and her widened eyes said it all as she exclaimed, "It's so smooth!" And it was. I had not overcooked it. The dense texture was still foamy, and the mousse had a rich bittersweet flavor, with the coffee adding that wonderful depth and extra bite that I like. Not sure what the brandy added however.

Alice writes, "Baking transforms chocolate mousse in wonderful subtle ways, deepening its flavor and making it more melt-in-your-mouth." And after thoroughly savoring each bite, I do agree. It was wonderful. It was easy. And I have a few more ramekins covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for me to savor and enjoy over the next few days.

But for now, it's back to the books, back to the thesis, and back to planning my next study break bake. What will be the next chocolate diversion Alice will lead me to? Stay tuned.