The Lure of Chocolate, Page 3

Cocoa Powder has had most of the cocoa butter removed by Dutching the cocoa paste. Dutching is when the cocoa paste is pushed through a hydraulic press and then the fat/cocoa butter drains out through a screen and reserved. A cake of cocoa powder is leftover. This powder is then pulverized and sifted, then packaged and shipped out.

To make the kind of chocolate we eat, some cocoa butter must be added back into the cocoa paste so as to increase its fluidity and enhance the flavor. The cocoa paste, some cocoa butter, sugar, milk, and any flavorings are crushed together and then kneaded. This homogenizes the mixture into a smoother paste. But it is still quite gritty so the paste is rolled under great pressure in huge mills in which some of the grit is left behind on the rollers and then scraped off. Then the final stage to make the chocolate smooth enough for consumption is Lindt's conching process. The paste is poured into vats, called conches that hold up to 9 tons. The paste is heated to 80 degrees Celsius and constantly stirred for roughly three days. During this process more cocoa butter and sometimes lecithin, an emulsifier, are added. The lecithin coats the extremely small cocoa powder particles so that the cocoa butter can in turn coat each of them to a luscious smoothness. The aeration that takes place during this process also enhances the flavor of the chocolate.

The next to last step is tempering. Chocolate must be tempered so that the cocoa butter does not solidify into different size crystals. Tempering helps the cocoa butter to solidify into the smaller stable crystals, enhancing the chocolate's fluidity, improving the gloss and uniformity, and increasing the shelf life of the chocolate. You can tell that a chocolate bar is out of temper if there is a bloom on it, which is the white substance that can form on the bar. Finally it is poured into molds, packaged and shipped.

Then, last but not least, it is eaten!

Recipes:

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Makes: 10

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (http://www.splendidpalate.com/frenchocbars.html)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
10 strawberries

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Add the cream and butter and stir until smooth. Hold each strawberry by the stem and dip into the chocolate. Place the dipped strawberry on the wax paper and repeat process. Chill the strawberries until chocolate is set, about to 30 minutes.

Strawberry Chocolate Cream Tart
Makes: 1 tart

2-3 cups Strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
Flaky Pastry Crust (makes 1 9" pie crust)
1 1/3 cup plus 3 teaspoons pastry flour or 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour or 1 ½ cups Wondra
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2-4 tablespoons ice water
1/2 egg white

Pastry Cream:
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon butter

Whipped Cream (Stabilized):
1 tablespoon cold water 1/2 teaspoon gelatin, unflavored
1 cup heavy cream, cold
2 teaspoons - 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

To Make Flaky Pie Crust:
Recipe makes enough dough for a 9-inch single-crust pie. Chill the butter in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, freeze the flour, salt, baking powder and a medium-mixing bowl. Then blend flour, salt and butter with a pastry blender until in resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons of the ice water and toss until incorporated if there is a not enough water to form a disk then add more water.

To precook the crust:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly flour disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. Flour work surface and roll out crust to a 13" disc. You can lightly flour the disc and roll it out between plastic wrap. Place in a glass pie dish and fold under the edges. Decorate edge by folding over or crimping it.

To fully bake piecrust, line with parchment and fill with beans, rice, or pie beads. And bake for 20 minutes. Then, lift out the parchment and weights then pierce entire crust with fork tines (do not go all the way through if using a liquid filling). Place back in oven for 5-10 minutes or until a pale gold, if the crust bubbles up, prick again with a fork. Let rest for 3 minutes then brush with 1/2 egg white and return to oven for 2-3 minutes until egg layer is dry. Cool on rack completely.

To Make Pastry Cream:
In a heat proof bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar. Add water and whisk until light yellow and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and combine until smooth. In a saucepan combine milk, chocolate, and vanilla over medium heat. Whisk until chocolate is incorporated. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Slowly add chocolate mixture to the egg mixture on tablespoon at a time while whisking constantly so the egg does not cook. Once fully incorporated, pour entire mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium, whisking constantly. It will get very thick and take about 5-7 minutes to boil. Once it boils, whisk for another minute until it becomes very thick. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Pour into a clean bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap so a film does not form.

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