Bread & Circuses Issue No. 4. Autumn 2015
magazine
Chocolate issue
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Chocolate is the first luxury. It has so many things wrapped up in it: Deliciousness in the moment, childhood memories, and that grin-inducing feeling of getting a reward for being good. Mariska Hargitay
Autumn is like chocolate, it comes in different flavours and colours: dark, milk or white. What does chocolate mean to you? I love the smell of chocolate. Sweet, magical and inspiring. I love the truffles rolled in cocoa powder or coated in chocolate, or a cup of hot chocolate with a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of red wine. This issue of Bread&Circuses is a special one, it's all about chocolate! We hope you'll enjoy finding out more about people who's passion for chocolate turned into their dream job, you will travel with MiglÄ— to Belgium, the capital of chocolate, you will find fabulous recipes of chocolate and carrot cake, GiedrÄ—'s mysterious and healthy chocolate avocado mousse, chocolate beetroot mini cakes, white chocolate tiramisu and many more other recipes. Warm up your hands and hearts. Breathe in chocolate spiced autumn.
Jurgita -4-
Dream team
{chocolate-y}
Miglė Šeikytė Blog: My Kitchen Affair Instagram: @_migle__ E. mail: seikyte.migle@gmail.com I do not know why exactly, but for me chocolate associates with sophistication and luxury. If I tried to portray it as an individual, it would be a quite cold, composed and reserved man, which also holds a unique personality, each time different, tremendously colourful, deep, and multi-layered. However, today my relationship with chocolate is a little bit more on the professional side. And here, it is the perfect ingredient, absolutely self-sufficient but at the same time wonderfully complementing the others.
Giedrė Augustinavičiūtė
Bread and circuses free quarterly online magazine. Food + Travel + Stories The sweet side of life. Blog: www.duonosirzaidimu.lt Editor-in-Chief: Jurgita Vaskel jurgita@duonosirzaidimu.lt Photos: Giedrė Augustinavičiūtė Paul John Kearins Anne Moltke Miglė Šeikytė Chris Tonnesen Jurgita Vaskel Questions & contributions: redakcija@duonosirzaidimu.lt © All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole is prohibited without written consent of the publisher. Made in Lithuania.
Instagram: @gi.august E. mail: gi.august@gmail.com When cold and dark autumn evenings comes, when it's raining outside, I like to make myself a cup of tea and have it with a few pieces of dark chocolate. It always takes me back to my childhood. Chocolate reminds me of that magic cup of hot chocolate that I used to have with my mom at the theatre. I can't remember if play or hot chocolate was more impressive at the time. I would like to think that it was this hot and aromatic chocolate drink. -5-
Cover photo: Jurgita Vaskel
in this issue: stories
10 The Story of Chocolate: from Cacao Bean to Chocolate Bar 16 A Passion for Chocolate: 18 Paul, the Chocolatier 26 Happiness is Chocolate
travel
34 Belgium, the Capital of Chocolate
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desserts ̬ 52 Dark chocolate cake with plum jam 56 Pear̬ loaf ̬cake ̬ ˛ bread with crystalised ginger 58 Chocolate banana 59 Chocolate avocado mousse ˛ ˛ 60 Chocolate beetroot little cakes ̬ ̬ 64 Hazelnut ˛ & Nutella tart 66 White chocolate tiramisu̬ ˛ ‐ 68 White chocolate and pecan biscuits 69 No-bake̬ date cocoa cookies ˛ chocolate drops ˛ 72 Apple pie with 76 Farmers cheese,̬ blackberry and chocolate swirl buns 80 Chocolate bonbons 82 Chocolate French toast ̬ ˛ carrot ˛ cake 86 Chocolate 92 Pumpkin marble cake ̬ 94 Triple chocolate brownie 100 Hot thick chocolate and churros ·
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Chocolate on instagram:
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1. @boxofspice 2. @tartamour 3. @a_violet_dream 4. @gechocolates 5. @mdmgateau 6. @copenhagencakes 7. @foodbandits 8. @chocolatmilano 9. @tworedbowls
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the story of
Chocolate:
from cacao bean to chocolate bar Text and photos: Jurgita Vaskel - 10 -
Cacao beans and cocoa butter. Dark, milk and white. Ganache and tempering. Maya, Aztecs and Napoleon. What do they all have in common? Chocolate. No other sweet excites such extremes of emotion as chocolate. Legend has it that French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte carried chocolate with him on all his military campaigns, and the average Brit, Swiss and German eat around 11 kg of chocolate a year. So what is it about chocolate?
For the first two thousand years of its history, chocolate could not be eaten. It was a drink; the first chocolate bar did not go on sale until 1847. The first European to come across chocolate was Christopher Columbus. His chronicler described the dried bean of cacao tree which he found therein as a kind of almond - he apparently did not realise that they could be eaten. In 1520 Hernando Cortes spent time at the court of the king of Aztecs, and was reportedly struck by the chocolate, which was not sweetened, and a variety of flavours were added to it - chili pepper, vanilla, allspice and various flower-petals. The beans were sundried and then roasted in earthen pots. The shells were removed and the kernels ground on stone over a firebox. Flavourings were added to the resultant paste, and the mixture was patted into cakes and left on banana leaves to cool and harden. To make drinking chocolate, the cakes were broken in pieces, dropped in water and whipped up. For the Aztecs, chocolate was the most important foodstuff of all, an aphrodisiac and an important part of religious rituals. The word chocolate comes from the Aztec word Xocoatl, which literally translates to bitter water. That’s because the Aztecs used to make a cocoa drink without adding sugar or sweet ingredients. Drinking chocolate was brought into France in the form of plump, aromatic cacao beans in 1615 by Spain's Anne of Austria, who married France's Louis XIII. There has been a rumbling association of chocolate with poison ever since. The Spanish colonists were serious about mixing their chocolate: they experimented with various new flavours, such as cinnamon, aniseed, cloves, hazelnuts, musk, and liked to replace the Aztecs' ground cornmeal, used as a thickener, with ground almonds. They also habitually added sugar, which was to become as essential additive to chocolate back in Europe. By the early seventeenth century in Spain, chocolate had become a sweet, rich drink, particularly suited to breakfast. A fashion for chocolate made with milk emerged in England, and in Florence the court of Medici made jasmine-scented drinking chocolate. Chocolate was marketed as a substance beneficial to health as well as delicious to taste. The apothecaries realised that there was money to be made from chocolate, and chocolate became a basic commodity sold in chemists' shops. Several of the pioneers of industrialisation in the early eighteenth-century confectionery industry started as
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apothecaries. For example, Rudolphe Lindt was the son of an apothecary. There were two great revolutions in the end of eighteenth-century, one in Paris, and one in Bristol where Joseph Storrs Fry invested in Mr Watt's steam engine as a way of grinding his cacao beans. The newly mechanised European chocolate industry slowly developed, with the foundation of a number of companies which survive to this day: in France, Amsterdam, Turin, Switzerland. But despite the foundation of all these small companies, chocolate sales were relatively depressed. It was usual practice to thicken the cocoa powder with potato starch, flour, treacle, and even more undesirable additives, such as brick-dust as a colouring, were commonplace. The biggest single complaint about drinking chocolate was its slightly oily fattiness, a result of the large proportion of vegetable fat in cacao bean. Efforts were made to isolate the fat content of chocolate by pressing out a substance called cocoa butter, a vegetable fat, which was thrown away. Eventually in 1847, Fry in Bristol produced a tasty bar of dark chocolate, that was designed for eating rather than dissolving and drinking. This experimental product, which first went on display at a Birmingham trade show, consisted of the cocoa solids, thickened with some of the cocoa butter. Mechanisation almost completely passed by the chocolate industry in Spain, where the beans were still ground down by hand, and chocolate retained its primary identity as a drink. The breakfast tradition of chocolate with churros can be found in the caffes in many Spanish towns today, and the visitor used to pre-sweetened eating chocolate might be surprised to find that one adds sugar to this drink, as one might with coffee. The invention of milk chocolate in Switzerland in 1876 is usually hailed as a turning point. Until then, milk added to the eating-chocolate mix was liable to turn rancid and make everything too liquid. But Henri Nestlé's invention of powdered milk provided the basis for an ideal new ingredient. Milk chocolate did not gain wide popularity for another thirty years or so, however. The real breakthrough in chocolate came with Rudolphe Lindt's invention of conching. This process creates the superfine texture and mellow chocolate flavour, when the chocolate melts on the tongue in the most delicious way. In 1888, production of chocolate and other products arrived to Kaunas, situated in the south-centre of Lithuania. In 1913, the Swiss chocolatier Jules Sechaud created the technology for making moulded chocolate shells, and in the 1930s, a white chocolate bar was launched in Europe by Swiss company Nestlé. White chocolate is not chocolate in the strict sense as it does not contain cocoa solids, the primary nutritional constituent of chocolate liquor. It commonly consists of cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. Developed by worldrenowned chocolatier Valrhona, the Dulcey, or blond, chocolate launched in 2013. It all started by accident, when Valrhona cooking school founder chef Frédéric Bau left some white chocolate in the bain-marie a little too long and returned to find it caramelized. The flavour profile was unlike any seen before in chocolate – and the colour was a striking light brown. The citizens of every country believe that their own chocolate is real chocolate, and that anything else is an inferior version. The French, Swiss and Italians declare that anything which contains less than 25 percent cocoa solids is not really chocolate at all. EU regulations specify a minimum of 35 percent total dry cocoa solids in dark chocolate.
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a long way from bean to bar
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The cacao tree only grows in the tropical heat of the equatorial forest. The shadow of the tallgrowing plants protects the young tree against the burning sun or strong wind. Cacao trees come in three varieties: the Criollo, the Trinitario and the Forastero. The Criollo is a very high quality cacao bean and is very aromatic and lacks bitterness. The Forastero constitutes approximately 80 per cent of world production of cacao. The Trinitario is a crossbreed between the Forastero and Criollo. Manufacturers generally use more than one type of bean in their products and therefore the different beans have to be blended together to the required formula when making chocolate. After six months, the cacao pods are full-grown and are ready to be harvested. There are two harvests per year. The farmers cut the outer peel of the cacao pods open with long knives to collect the fruit pulp inside. The beans are then left to ferment for five to seven days. During fermentation, the beans change from gray to brown to purple and develop their aroma. After fermenting, the beans are spread out and left to dry in the sun for about six days. When the beans are dry enough, the cocoa farmers bring their harvest to collection centers. The beans, packed in sacks or containers, are then shipped to the our cocoa processing and chocolate producing sites in Europe, America and Asia. Cacao beans are cleansed of stones, dirt and sand and dried quickly under heaters. This makes it easier to break the beans and to remove the shell around them. Nibs are then roasted. In special grinders, nibs are ground to a very fine, liquid mass, the cocoa liquor. This is one of the main ingredients of chocolate. Cocoa liquor can be further processed into two different components: cocoa butter and cocoa powder. However, it can also be used directly as an ingredient in chocolate. The cocoa liquor is pressed to extract the cocoa butter, leaving a solid mass called cocoa presscake. The cocoa butter is used in the manufacture of chocolate. The cocoa presscake is broken into small pieces to form kibbled presscake, which is then pulverised to form cocoa powder. Cocoa liquor is used to produce chocolate through the addition of cocoa butter. Other ingredients such as sugar, milk, emulsifying agents and cocoa butter equivalents are also added and mixed. The mixture then undergoes a refining process by travelling through a series of rollers until a smooth paste is formed. Refining improves the texture of the chocolate. The chocolate powder is put into large tanks called conches. Conching is the process whereby liquid chocolate is repeatedly kneaded in a machine armed with wide rollers. It is kneaded for several hours until the aromas have fully developed. The mixture is then tempered or passed through a heating, cooling and reheating process. The mixture is then put into moulds or used for enrobing fillings and cooled in a cooling chamber. The chocolate is then packaged for distribution to retail outlets.
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a Passion for
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Please meet Chocolatier Paul and the Chocolate Blogger Anne.
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Some people can't get through the day without a chocolate fix. They have chocolate for breakfast and a slice of chocolate cake after dinner. However, for some people chocolate is way more than just a sweet treat. They're pursuing their sweet passion and sharing the love for Chocolate with our readers.
Paul, the Chocolatier
Once you have chocolate in your blood there is no denying it, says Paul. Started his career in London and Amsterdam, Chocolatier, Chef and Author Paul moved to USA to further grow in the world of Chocolate and explore new avenues of innovative cookery. Here is Paul's story. Text: Jurgita Vaskel Photos: Paul John Kearins - 18 -
- Paul, what was the moment you knew you wanted to be a Chocolatier? What inspired you to start working with chocolate? It was a really long time ago. I am the grandson of a pastry chef - my grandmother was a pastry chef, and baking and cooking were always a big part of my upbringing. I knew when I was a very young that I wanted to make chocolates. It was a fun thing, I loved to do it. My mum used to save the egg cartons for me, and I would paint them and decorate them, and then I would make candies and chocolates and put them in the egg cartons and give them to family members as gifts. I think I must have been about 8 or 9 years old then, and it was very clear then that I was going to follow the culinary path. I actually studied the full gamma of bakery and pastry production. I studied in London for 3 years and I learned how to bake bread professionally, how to make pastries, confectionery. Another part of it was chocolate technique, cake design and cake decorating, sugar craft, making sculptures and also bakery technology so I can develop recipes. So that was the beginning. - 19 -
- What does a typical day of a Chocolatier consist of? Where do you usually look for inspiration? My days are very varied. I tend to begin the week making all my ganache for my filled bonbons. I say bonbons because they're not truffles. There's a current trend to call every filled chocolate a truffle these days. Being a bit of a purist (I wouldn't say a traditionalist because I'm a little more outside the box in my approach) I find the naming of everything a truffle kind of annoying but, respectfully, we all have our style so there's no criticism of my colleagues! So all my filled bonbons are ganache - based. Then I will proceed to manipulate this ganache in three main ways: one is by slicing it, so it would be poured into a flat slab mould and then when it's firm enough I slice it into shapes ready for dipping in chocolate. The other way is by scooping with a tiny little scoop, 2 cm width, into balls of ganache. And the third way is by whipping the ganache in a big mixer - I whip lots of air into it until it becomes very light and fluffy. Then I use a pastry bag to pipe the ganache into interesting shapes. - Tell us about the process of creating the recipe and getting the best flavour in each bonbon: how long does the process take? Does it vary from chocolate to chocolate?
they have no idea why it's gone wrong, and the most important thing in my opinion for any chef, baker, chocolatier or pastry chef is to know why you're using the ingredients, what these ingredients do, how they react in the presence of other ingredients. Once you have that knowledge you can create a recipe in an instant, you don't have to take a huge amount of time trying to do that. There're some flavours that just don't go together but there're flavours that 50 years ago were considered unimaginable combinations and now they're extremely popular. So I think the cultural preferences and or trends also affect what flavours are acceptable, what are the best flavours in anything. It does vary from chocolate to chocolate. Some flavours are very delicate and don't do well up against the very robust chocolate. One of the surprising things that people discover when I do my wine and chocolate pairing is that the strawberry ganache is actually the darkest ganache, it's 70 percent cacao ganache. You think of a strawberry being a very delicate flavour... Well, it may be a delicate fruit but the flavour of a strawberry is actually huge and it will cut through anything. So the more delicate, fragile flavours I would pair against much softer flavour profiles in chocolate. - How would you describe the type of chocolate you make?
It's difficult to say. In my mind is kind of this encyclopedia of flavours and ingredients that I just think about a lot. Or something will pop I don't know, it's difficult to say... I would say into my head one day, or I will smell a smell or they're eclectic. I would also say that there is a see something in a market or a grocery store, degree of deconstruction involved in my recipes and I'll think to myself: Oh, I wonder if I could or in my approach. For example the cheesecake do something with that? So I will then proceed to - I make a blueberry cheesecake bonbon. And experiment. With enough training and enough it's actually all the components of the blueberry experience in the business the formulation of a cheesecake but then rearranged. So my chocorecipe is kind of a standard process for people lates are deconstructed, eclectic, outside the box. like me because we know the important thing But at the same time produced in a very tradiabout the recipe, which is knowing why the in- tional way. My recipes are very traditional, very gredients you use are in them. I mean we can simple. I would call my chocolate simple, beall write down and repeat, reproduce a recipe cause basically the ingredients: chocolate, cream created for us but the majority of people will and all fruit juices, and essential oils, spices, do that blindly and if anything goes wrong they're all very pure and very simple. - 20 -
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- Tell us about your book Chocolat-asm Volume one - Easy does it. That was funny because someone said to me a few years ago that I should write a book. And at that point in time I was actually in the process of relocating to the US and I thought to myself: I suppose I could start collecting stuff together. And then one evening Shawn said to me: Hey babe, can you make us dessert? I said: Yeah, I'll see what's in the cupboard. I got up and I went into the kitchen. I just had a rummage through the cupboard and the refrigerator just to see if I had anything that I could make into a dessert. And I did. I had some chocolate, eggs, and I can't even tell you what it was I've made but I just whipped up this dessert. And Shawn said: Oh my god, how did you do that? I wish I could do that. Because everything you've used I have in my refrigerator but I just don't know how to do that. People have said that to me in the past: It's amazing that you can just make something in a few minutes from stuff that you have in a cupboard. And that was the point of Chocolat-asm. The book was intended in a very very small and humorous way to show you that you can make something restaurant-worthy in less than half an hour, just by throwing some ingredients together. That's why it's called Easy does it. A lot of people either don't have a time or the energy or don't know how. Everyone has it but you just need to be guided in the right direction. So Chocolat-asm Volume one - Easy does it was just a fun way for you to see that you can make something really fast with minimum of skill or technique needed. - What has been most difficult challenge you have faced in your chocolate career? I think building Chocolatasm as a business. It started as a Facebook page (Chocolatasm by Paul John Kearins) about my exploits but I didn't have a company Chocolatasm as it now is. I was more of a private chef. Building the business gained the people to buy my stuff and for me to get my kitchen sorted out, to get my equipment, to find a good supplier for my ingredients.
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- What are your favourite flavour pairings of your chocolate? My specific favourites are the fruit flavours. I love acidity combined with chocolate. I like chocolate to be sweet and tangy. Great deal of my fruit ganache is non dairy, the dark chocolate ones are vegan. I find that that gives a very clear, crisp cacao flavour but along with a tang of the tartness of the fruit. My favourite combinations are strawberry, balsamic vinegard, black pepper; also apple ganache spiced with cumin and clove - it's warm, it's inviting, comforting, I like the tangy crisp apple flavour and very dark chocolate (70 percent cacao). I also have a white chocolate with a key lime oil infused whipped ganache. It's very light, zingy, zesty, and I finish it with a touch of raw muscovado sugar which adds earthiness to it. - What's the most unusual chocolate you've ever tasted? I've tasted kimchi chocolate. It was the most awful thing I've ever tasted! - How much chocolate do you actually eat on a given day? Please be honest!
I would say I eat chocolate every day unless I don't go to work. And at the moment I go to work every day. But I would say I eat a handful of chocolate in a course of the day. I'm very lucky, I have a very fast metabolism. I'm very busy always, even on a day off I have to be doing something. So all goes to good use that chocolate that I eat every day. - What is next for you with your work? What can we look forward to from Chocolatasm? I was briefly pondering opening a store here locally but since I have thought about that The Universe is pushing me into other direction very clearly as well. I think at least the US and Canada can expect to see Chocolatasm chocolates on the shelves in their towns. I'm probably going to go nationwide in the next year. I do ship now all over the US and Canada. I have shipped to Europe although it's very expensive so for most customers it really needs to be a special occasion. For the most part is just private customers but I'm moving into the wholesale market. So Chocolatasm infused chocolate bars will probably be on the shelves in someone's town in the US very very soon.
Find out more about Chocolatasm: www.chocolatasm.com
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Happiness is
Chocolate Anne is a cookbook author, chocoholic and one of the most popular chocolate bloggers in Denmark. Text: Jurgita Vaskel Photos: Anne Moltke Portrait photo: Chris Tonnesen
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- Anne, can you describe your blog? How long have you had it and why did you start it? My blog is a sweet, indulgent universe with lots of recipes of chocolate cakes and other delicious sweet treats, ice creams and desserts. I make simple recipes but always use the very best quality of ingredients because I want the best taste experience as possible. I started my blog six years ago because I wanted to create a platform where I could collect all the cakes and treats I made. I have always loved to bake, write and take pictures and thus it made so much sense for me to create a blog. - You're posting mouth-watering cakes and desserts in your blog and Instagram! What inspires you?
desserts and also on top of my breakfast bowls. Magazines, travelling and fellow blogger alsoinspire me a lot. - What does chocolate mean to you? As crazy as it might sound chocolate is a great influencer in my every day life. I start every day with a piece of good quality chocolate (most often from the French chocolate brand Valrhona). Besides the fact my day tastes better when it is started with a piece of chocolate, that chocolate piece also helps to awaken my senses. I love to eat chocolate, cook and bake with chocolate, experiencing new chocolates, teaching people about chocolate, and I could go on!.. - Do you have any chocolate memories from your childhood?
At the moment I am on maternity leave with I remember being a huge fan of chocolate in my my 8 months old son Kaj and I don’t update my childhood. I didn’t have the same knowledge afblog as often as before at the moment. However ter chocolate making and the whole proces from Instagram is such an easy platform to share all the cacao fruits growing from the cacao trees to the breakfasts, cakes and desserts I make and the chocolate bars in the supermarket. It was eat. I get inspired by lots of things – going to just pure pleasure eating chocolate. Back then I the market and picking up what is in season prefered milk chocolate, but now I like all varieright now. To illustrate: at the moment I use ties: dark, milk, white and even blonde. a lot of fresh Danish berries to decorate cakes, - 29 -
- What do you do when you're not blogging about chocolate?
that you don't like? What's the most unusual chocolate you've ever tasted?
When I am not blogging about chocolate I work full-time with social media and communications for the Danish company Chokolade Compagniet (The Chocolate Company) that distribrutes high end chocolate, tea, coffee and other tasty food products. I also do chocolate demos and chocolate lectures as part of my work. As mentioned above, at the moment I am on maternity leave with my eight months old son Kaj.
I am not that fond of chocolates with added flavour, because I prefer a clean taste of chocolate (dark, milk, white and blonde). I have once tasted a chocolate bar with bacon pieces – it was a quite interesting experience! - Tell us about your book „Happiness is chocolate“ („Lykken er Chocolade“).
If you love chocolate and chocolaty cakes and desserts you must visit Strangas Dessert Boutique and the food market Torvehallerne.
It is my first cookbook about chocolate released in 2014. I wrote it with my dear friend and fellow chocolate blogger Maja. It is filled with mouthwatering recipes – ice creams, desserts, cakes, breakfast and much more, all of them made with chocolate. This year our ice cream book „Lykken er is“ („Happiness is ice cream“) was released.
- What's your chocolate lover's dream destination?
- How much chocolate do you actually eat on a given day? Please be honest!
I visited the organic AMMA chocolate cacao plantation and factory in Bahia, Brazil two years ago. And that was indeed chocolate paradise. Getting to see the cacao trees in real life and tasting freshly made chocolate at the factory was such an adventure.
Everything from 10-100 g!
- Do you have any must see/do/eat recommendations for chocolate lovers planning trips to Copenhagen or Denmark?
- Are there any traditional chocolate flavours
- What is next for you? What can we look forward to from Anne au Chocolat? I will continue to create delicious cakes and desserts with chocolate, and I would love to publish a cookbook in English!
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Find out more about Anne au Chocolat: www.anneauchocolat.dk
instagram.com/anneauchocolat
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Belgium,
the Capital of Chocolate Ever since the Belgian Jean Neuhaus created the first praline a hundred years ago Belgium has been home of the chocolate business. Belgium produces 170 000 tons of chocolate a year, sold in over 2000 shops located throughout the country. Here are some of our favourite Chocolatiers and Chocolate houses when visiting Belgium: Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp.
Text and photos: Miglė Šeikytė
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Brussels and Bruges offer you special chocolate tours, where you learn about the history of chocolate, see how pralines are made and taste them in the best shops of the city. Most tours start at the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate (Choco-Story) where you receive information on everything you need to know about chocolate. In the Museum of Cacao and Chocolate you discover the world of chocolate, and a chocolate master shows you how pralines are made. Chocolatiers, Belgian chocolate shops, can be found all over Belgium. Godiva, Leonidas, Neuhaus, Galler, Marcolini, Darcis are some of the main chain manufacturers in the country although some of the traditional ones are located all over the country. In Brussels, visit Concept Chocolate, Planete Chocolat and Zaab채r Chocolaterie. They're offering an opportunity to learn all about the art of chocolate making. All the steps in the manual production of chocolates are performed in front of client's eyes, and the crucial moment of tasting is not forgotten!
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Wittamer is known as a Chocolate house in Brussels - the current owner is the founder's granddaughter, still dedicated to the art of fine chocolate and pastries. Stop into the shop for chocolates to take home, or lounge in the cafe for coffees and desserts as a midday pick-me-up. In fact, the expertise of Wittamer is so famed it has earned them the title of Official Chocolate Supplier to the Court of Belgium, so never doubt the quality of what's in store. Wittamer is famous for it's Truffe du Jour - a truffle so fresh that is made and consumed on the same day, literally du jour. In 1999, Wittamer is entrusted with the great honour of designing and making the wedding cake of crown heirs Prince Philippe and Mathilde. We recommend to try chocolates with black pepper, fresh cream, coffee and cinnamon. Chocolatier Laurent Gerbaud, and his fabulous chocolates, will tickle your tastebuds in the historic centre of Brussels. Unlike most Belgian chocolatiers, Gerbaud primarily uses couverture chocolate Italy’s Domori. Gerbaud is known as the chocolatier with new flavours. He chooses the best cocoa beans, and works with an exclusive blend of two different varieties of high-quality coca bean: the Trinitario, from Madagascar, and the Nacional, grown exclusively in Ecuador. These chocolates are married with high-quality aromatic fruits. Gerbaud blends innovative and exotic flavours to create his world-renowned artisanal chocolate delicacies. He use cocoa beans, chocolate powder, as well as chocolate, candied fruits like ginger, bergamot, orange peel, and dried fruits. Gerbaud's chocolates are with no added sugar, butter, alcohol, artificial preservatives or soy lecithin – just a wonderfully sublime flavour. Frederic Blondeel is not only one of Belgium’s finest chocolatiers, in heart and soul he is a roaster. A burner of cocoa beans, until they have taken on the desired taste and texture. The most modern of techniques help him on the way to the end result: the production of grand cru chocolates. This Belgian chocolate maker in the centre of Brussels prepares cakes, biscuits, pralines and ice-cream with special house flavours that you can eat on the premises in his friendly tea room, or take-away. We recommend to try Blondeel's speculoos ice-cream. And don't leave without trying black currant and cardamom, raspberry and clove, rose and caramel, brown sugar, basil, thyme or dill chocolates. - 40 -
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Mary's chocolate house is based in Rue Royale, right in the centre of Belgium’s capital. Keeping a close eye on the raw materials used, Mary Delluc's hand-made and hand-decorated chocolates are what can only be called little gems. A legend grew up about the unique taste and the beautiful appearance of these oyster and snail-shaped chocolates filled with fabulous pralinés, whose secret was jealously guarded by Mary. Caramel, fresh creams, pralinés, gianduja, black chocolates, milk, coffee, almond paste, walnut paste, pistachio paste, fruit paste, liqueur, candied fruit, dragees chocolates are offering a real festival of flavours. Each praline is created to produce the most carefully balanced selection of tastes, flavours, textures and appearances. Excellence, tradition and quality are still Mary’s guiding principles in the case of the selection of raw materials, paying respect to the founder’s recipes, the packaging and the customer service. We recommend to try chocolate bonbons, filled with white chocolate and cinnamon, dark chocolate and Earl Grey mousse, champagne, strawberry and tonka beans. In Bruges, Dominique Personne is Belgium's most audacious chocolate maker, a self-styled Shock-o-latier who has shaken up the kingdom's delicious but tradition-bound world of pralines, cream-filled manons and cognac truffles, by stuffing bite-sized parcels of the finest chocolate with the likes of tobacco leaves, wasabi or fried onions. Personne has brought a new range of tastes to chocolate-making, marrying the humble cocoa bean with all sorts of unlikely flavours. His exotic cocktails sound improbable, until you try them. Smoked salmon? Cauliflower? Both gorgeous. Oyster? Asparagus? Even better. His marzipan with black-olive purée has to be eaten to be believed. He is one of the few Belgium chocolatiers to feature in the Michelin guide. The best way to taste his wares is to visit The Chocolate Line, his chic HQ in Bruges. Perhaps Bruges' smoothest, creamiest chocolates are at Chocolaterie Dumon. Madame Dumon is still dropping by to help make their top-notch chocolate daily and sell it fresh. In Chocolatier Dumon, you will find a wide variety of chocolate bars with spices, nuts and fruits and new trendy pralines with a dash of cuberdon, blood orange, grapefruit, limoncello and verbana. Try a small mix-and-match box to sample a few out-of-this-world flavours, and come back for more of their favourites.
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In Antwerp, Chocolatier Goossens is a creator and producer of high end Belgian chocolates. The chocolatier is specialised in hand made chocolate gifts and personal service to top clients and leading companies with high quality demands. Goossens is a well-known chocolate maker. The more artminded chocolate fans will be delighted to discover TNT, or Explosive Chocolate, which is inspired by the Deep Fountain in the square in front of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. But beware when you put this sparkler in your mouth because the filling with eucalyptus and lemon is a real blast. Burie in Antwerp makes delicious chocolates, but he's best known for his chocolate sculptures. Over the years, his shop window has become an ad hoc gallery, with new models drawing big crowds every Easter, Christmas and Valentine's Day. Making chocolate models might sound like fun, but for him it's serious. His greatest hits include some magnificent Easter Island statues, models of the White House and the Kremlin, and a life-sized car made for Opel that took 725 kg of chocolate and three weeks for him and six colleagues to build.
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save a room for
chocolate:
Recipes - 51 -
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dark chocolate cake with plum jam Recipe and photos: Jurgita Vaskel
For the cake: 250 ml strong brewed coffee 90 g dark chocolate, chopped 230 g flour 190 g sugar 60 g cocoa powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 3 medium eggs 250 ml buttermilk 125 ml canola oil 1 tsp vanilla extract For the plum jam: 300 g plums, pitted, halved sugar to taste For the buttercream: 90 g dark chocolate, chopped 40 g butter, softened 2 tbsp mascarpone icing sugar For the chocolate shards: 50 g dark chocolate, chopped
Line a 22-26 cm cake tin with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a small bowl, combine the hot brewed coffee and chopped chocolate. Mix well until melted and set aside. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder. In another bowl, beat buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, add the wet ingredients slowly. Add coffee and chocolate mixture next. Mix just until combined. Pour the batter into the tin. Bake for 50 mins or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Take the cake off the tin and leave to cool completely. Slice the cake in half. For the plum jam, add the plums and sugar into the saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 mins until thickened. Leave to cool completely and cut the cake into two layers. For the buttercream, melt the chocolate over the pan of simmering water. Beat the butter with mascarpone and icing sugar. Fold through the melted chocolate. For the chocolate shards, melt the chocolate over the pan of simmering water. Pour the chocolate on a parchment paper. With a spatula, spread the melted chocolate thinly and evenly. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper of the same size. Roll and refrigerate until it has firmed up. Cover the top of the first cake layer with the plum jam. Place the other cake layer and press gently. Spread the cake with buttercream. Place the chocolate shards on the cake. Refigerate.
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Pear
loaf cake Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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3 eggs 160 g butter, softened 130 g brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 180 g flour 2 tbsp cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder 90 ml single cream 3 medium pears
Preheat the oven to 175C. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Cream the butter and 65 g of sugar. Beat the egg yolks with the rest of sugar and vanilla extract, and stir into the butter mixture. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa into the butter mixture. Stir in the single cream. Carefully fold in the egg whites. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment. Spoon one third of the batter into the tin. Place pears, stem sides up, into the batter. Spoon over the rest of the batter. Bake for about 1 hour, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. Serve dusted with icing sugar.
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130 g sugar 110 g butter, softened 1 egg 3 tbsp milk 2 ripe bananas, mashed 220 g flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp cinnamon 100 g dark chocolate, chopped 2 tbsp candied ginger
Preheat the oven to 180C. In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in the egg and milk. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, stir in the chocolate and candied ginger. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring by hand until just combined. Mix in mashed bananas. Lightly grease a loaf tin and line it with baking parchment. Pour the cake batter into the tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 45 mins.
Chocolate banana bread
{with candied ginger} Photo and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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Chocolate avocado mousse 2 servings
Photo and recipe: Giedrė Augustinavičiūtė
2 ripe avocados, large 3 tbsp coconut cream (the solid part in a can of chilled full-fat coconut milk) 2 tbsp honey 3 tbsp cocoa powder few cherries from a jar cocoa powder for topping 1 can (300-400 ml) full fat coconut milk (just the solid part of the can, or whipping cream) 1 tbsp honey Place avocados, coconut cream, honey, and cocoa powder in a small food processor. Then, whirl until smooth. Divide into glasses and stir in the cherries. Refrigerate before serving. Top with whipped cream (or coconut milk, below) and cocoa powder. Beat coconut cream and honey with a hand mixer for about 5-10 mins, or until stiff peaks form.
Chocolate beetroot mini cakes •
Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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170 g flour 2 tsp baking powder 15 g cocoa powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 150 g sugar 150 g cooked beetroots 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 eggs 100 ml canola oil 60 ml milk 50 g milk chocolate, chopped For the red wine ganache: 40 ml red wine 50 g dark chocolate, chopped
Preheat the oven to 180C. Sift flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Place the cooked beetroot in the bowl of the food processor and puree them. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and oil. Blend until smooth. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the milk and chocolate. Mix well until melted and set aside. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the wet mixture from the food processor, melted chocolate, and mix well. Grease 6 individual small cake tins. Pour the batter into the tins. Bake for about 25 mins. Leave to cool completely. Pour the wine into the saucepan. Add the chocolate. Simmer over the low heat until melted. Drizzle chocolate ganache over the mini cakes.
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For the crust: 70 g sugar 2 egg yolks 70 g butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla extract 210 g flour 1 tsp cinnamon For the filling: 2 tbsp corn flour 500 ml double cream 250 g Nutella ¼ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp instant coffee ½ tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 250 g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
In a large bowl cream together the sugar with the egg yolks, and butter. Add vanilla extract and mix it to blend all the ingredients together. Put flour and cinnamon into the mixture, start mixing using the fork, then use your hands and form a round ball. Knead the dough gently with your fingertips. Wrap the ball of dough with cling film and keep it in the fridge for 30 mins. Preheat the oven to 180C. Roll the pastry on floured work surface. Butter a 20 cm tart pan and start to mould the pastry into the pan making it even and creating the edges. Using fork make holes in the bottom of the crust, line with parchment paper filled with baking beans or rice, and bake for 20 mins. Take the pan out of the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 150C. Whisk the corn flour in a small bowl with 60 ml of the double cream. In a saucepan over the low heat pour the rest of the cream, add Nutella, vanilla, coffee, cinnamon and salt. Whisk in the corn flour and cream mixture. Bring it all to a boil. Whisk the mixture to make it thicker. Cool for about 10 mins. Pour the mixture into the pie crust, put back into the oven and bake for about 25 mins. Leave it to rest for about 20 mins. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts.
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hazelnut& Nutella tart
Photos and recipe: Giedrė Augustinavičiūtė
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Tiramisu
white chocolate
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Inspired by classic tiramisu,- with chocolate sponge, white chocolate and mascarpone cream, and a splash of coconut liqueur.
Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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For the sponge: Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 26x16 cm tray. 1 egg In a large bowl, use an electric hand whisk to whiz the sugar and 1 tbsp sugar egg yolk until light and fluffy. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder 1 tbsp flour into the bowl and fold the mixture together. 1 tsp cocoa powder Beat the egg white until stiff. Carefully fold the beaten egg white For the topping: into a batter. 100 g white chocolate, chopped 2 tbsp milk 250 ml mascarpone cheese 1-2 tbsp icing sugar a splash of coconut liqueur 1/4 cup brewed coffee
Spread the cake mixture across your prepared tray. Bake for 8-10 mins. Remove the sponge from the tray, and leave it to cool for a few minutes. Peel off the parchment paper carefully, and leave the sponge to cool completely. Add the white chocolate to the saucepan with milk. Sit it over the pan of simmering water, and leave to melt, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool a little. Mix the mascarpone with icing sugar and liqueur. Fold through the melted white chocolate. Cut the sponge into 3 equal parts. Place one sponge into a tin. Drizzle the sponge with the coffee. Spoon one third of the mascarpone mixture over the top. Repeat this with the rest of the layers (you probably won't need all the coffee for the sponges). Refrigerate overnight. - 67 -
White chocolate and pecan biscuits Photo and recipe: Giedrė Augustinavičiūtė
250 g butter, softened 100 g icing sugar 200 g brown sugar 2 eggs ½ tsp vanilla extract 400 g flour ¼ tsp baking powder 100 g white chocolate, chopped 100 g pecan nuts, chopped
Mix the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking powder and mix well until smooth dough is formed. Stir in the chocolate and pecan nuts. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into 2 equal rolls measuring 15–18 cm in length. Wrap the rolls in clingfilm and put them in the freezer to set completely for couple of hours. Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Remove the clingfilm and cut the dough into discs about 2–3 cm thick. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking tray. Make sure that the biscuits are spaced apart to allow for spreading while baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 10–15 mins or until golden brown around the edges and quite flat. Leave the biscuits to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
No-bake date cocoa cookies Photo and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
100 g dates, pitted 70 g desiccated coconut 1 tsp cocoa powder coconut oil For the filling: cream cheese pomegranate or beetroot juice cocoa powder
In a food processor, process the dates and coconut until crumbly. Add the cocoa and a few drops of coconut oil. Process until it all begins to stick together. Refrigerate the batter for 30 mins. Using a small cookie mold, shape the batter into cookies. To make the fillings, blend the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Divide the cream cheese equally into 3 bowls. Stir in the pomegranate juice, cocoa powder and leave one filling plain. Sandwich the cookies with the fillings. Refrigerate for 30 mins. - 69 -
apple pie
with chocolate drops Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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For the crust: 250 g flour 2 tbsp sugar 130 g butter, chilled 1 egg, beaten 1-2 tbsp cold water For the filling:
600 g apples 200 ml applesauce 3 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp desiccated coconut 70 g dark chocolate, chopped 1 egg yolk For the top: a splash of milk
In a bowl, combine the flour with sugar and butter. Work it through with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg, pour in 1-2 tablespoons of cold water, and work until the crust forms a ball. Roll out the 3/4 of the dough on a lightly floured work surface and line a 20 cm springform tin. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling. Preheat the oven to 180C. Peel, core and dice the apples. Place them into a large bowl. Add the sugar, applesauce, coconut, chocolate and egg yolk. Toss thoroughly to combine. Spread the filling evenly over the crust. Roll out the rest of the dough. Roll reserved dough out. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into even strips. Make a lattice top. Brush the top with milk. Bake for about 40 mins, until golden brown.
serve warm!
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farmers cheese, blackberry and chocolate
swirl buns Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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125 ml milk, warmed 2 tsp dried yeast 60 g sugar 420 g flour finely grated zest of 1 orange 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp cinnamon 125 ml warm water 40 g butter, softened For the filling: 100 g blackberries 2 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp cinnamon 25 g butter 50 g farmers cheese 1 tsp honey 50 g dark chocolate, chopped For the syrup: 50 ml water 20 g sugar a pinch of cinnamon a splash of milk, for brushing the buns
In a cup with warmed milk, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar, and set aside for 5 mins. In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, grated orange zest, salt and cinnamon. Add the water, milk, vanilla extract and butter. Mix together all of the ingredients and knead until a smooth dough forms. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it. Allow it to rest at room temperature for 1-1,5 hours. For the filling, in a small pot bring the blackberries, sugar, cinnamon and butter to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 mins. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, mix together the farmers cheese and honey until smooth. Lightly grease a muffin pan. Roll out a 40x40 cm square. Then make small cuts at every 5 cm down the side of the square. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 strips. Place a teaspoon of the honey farmers cheese filling at one end of the strip, then take 1 teaspoon of the blackberry mixture and spread it down the remainder of the strip, sprinkle with chocolate. Gently roll the strip up, starting with the farmers cheese end, and roll at a very slight angle so that the center is the highest point of the bun. Place the bun pointed-side up in the muffin pan and repeat until all of the buns are in the pan. Lightly cover the pan with a sheet of plastic wrap and allow to proof for another 40 mins. Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush each bun with milk. Bake for 30 mins until golden brown. For the syrup, bring all the ingredients to a boil. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 10 mins. Then pour the syrup over the buns and allow them to sit soaking in the syrup for 30 mins. Serve with vanilla sauce.
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makes 8 swirl buns
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Chocolate bonbons Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
70 g dark chocolate, chopped 1-2 tbsp canola oil 1 tbsp honey 2 tbsp cocoa powder a pinch of chili powder 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
Melt the chocolate with canola oil and honey over the low heat. Stir in the cocoa powder, chili and orange zest. Pour the chocolate into small muffin cases.
Top with blackberries, pistachios, salt, hazelnuts, apricots, candied ginFor the toppings: ger.
blackberries, shelled pis- Refrigerate until set. tachios, sea salt flakes, shelled hazelnuts, dried apricots, candied ginger - 81 -
French toast chocolate
{ with fresh figs } Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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2 servings 375 ml milk 2 tbsp cocoa powder 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla sugar brown sugar to taste 4 slices of white bread or brioche milk or dark chocolate, grated butter or oil for frying
Warm up the milk in the saucepan. Add in the cocoa powder and stir thoroughly. Beat in the eggs, add vanilla sugar, brown sugar, and whisk. Heat the skillet and melt the butter. Dip a slice of bread on both sides into the egg mixture. Remove from the egg mixture, place slice of bread into the skillet and fry until lightly brown on both sides. Remove the toast to the plate, sprinkle with brown sugar and grated chocolate. Fry the next toast and place on top of the first toast. Repeat with the rest of the bread, adding more butter before you fry each slice. Serve the toasts warm, with additional gratings of chocolate, sugar and ripe figs on the side (or a dollop of fig jam!). - 85 -
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Chocolate carrot cake Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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For the cake: 170 g carrots, finely grated 1 banana, mashed 2 eggs 150 g sugar 1 tsp vanilla sugar 120 ml sunflower oil 100 g all-purpose flour 40 g whole-wheat flour 10 g cocoa powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 15 g poppy seeds For the buttercream: 50 g dark chocolate, chopped 2 tbsp milk 30 g butter, softened 250 g ricotta cheese icing sugar to taste 6 tbsp cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 15-18 cm springform tin with baking parchment. In a bowl, mix the grated carrots and mashed banana. In another bowl, beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar. Pour in the oil, add the carrot and banana mixture, and mix thoroughly. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, spices and poppy seeds. Gradually beat into carrot mixture until blended. Pour the batter into prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 mins, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely. Add the chocolate to the saucepan with milk and melt over the low heat, stirring occasionally. Beat the butter with ricotta, icing sugar and cocoa powder. Beat in the melted chocolate. Divide the cake into 3 equal parts. Place bottom layer on a serving plate, top with half of the buttercream. Repeat with remaining cake layers. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
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Pu m
m a r b n i l e k p cak e
Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel
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For the pumpkin cake: 250 g pumpkin, peeled and cubed a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves 2 tbsp olive oil 115 g butter, melted 150 g sugar 2 eggs 210 g flour 1 3/4 tsp baking powder For the cocoa cake: 170 ml sunflower oil 150 g sugar 2 eggs 125 g cocoa powder 120 g flour 1 3/4 tsp baking powder For the chocolate glaze: 80 g dark chocolate, chopped
Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with spices, drizzle with olive oil. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Roast in the preheated oven for 25-30 mins, until tender. Puree the pumpkin in a food processor. To make the pumpkin cake, cream together the melted butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Then mix in the pumpkin puree and eggs followed by the dry ingredients. To make the chocolate cake, in another mixing bowl cream together the oil and sugar then beat in the eggs. Sift in the cocoa and add the flour and baking powder. Mix well. Grease a 20 cm bundt tin. Spoon each mixture alternatively into the bundt tin - fill the tin in layers. The bottom layer is the pumpkin batter, then spoon the cocoa batter on top of the pumpkin. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Insert the end of a wooden spoon into the cake mixture and drag it around carefully. Bake for 45-50 mins, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Add the chocolate to the saucepan. Sit it over the pan of simmering water, and leave to melt, stirring occasionally. Pour the melted chocolate over the cake.
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triple choco
brown
Photos and recipe: Jurgit
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olate
nie
a Vaskel
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Tip the butter and dark chocolate into a medium bowl. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them. Leave to cool. Preheat the oven to 180C. Sieve to flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Break the eggs into a large bowl and tip in the sugar. With an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar for 3-8 mins, until they look thick and creamy. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a spoon. Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour. Gently fold in. Finally, stir in the white and milk chocolate chunks until they’re dotted throughout. Line the base and sides of 20x20 cm baking tin. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Put in the oven and bake for 35 mins. Leave the brownie in the tin until completely cold. Lift out the brownie from the tin and cut into quarters. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.
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180 g dark chocolate, chopped 180 g butter, cubed 80 g flour 40 g cocoa powder 3 large eggs 240 g brown sugar 50 g white chocolate, chopped 50 g milk chocolate, chopped
choc in previ
oolate cladas
oous ious issues
ch
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ur r o s
te
o c l o a h c &
Sweaters. Scarves. Jeans. Moccasins. Crisp air. Hoodies. Late nights. Leaves. Autumn. Thick hot chocolate, flavoured with red wine and spices, and crispy churros for dipping. Stop for a while. Enjoy the beauty of autumn.
Photos and recipe: Jurgita Vaskel - 101 -
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hot +thick
chocolate
2 servings 60 g milk chocolate 120 g dark chocolate 2 tsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp corn flour 400 ml milk 50 ml red wine a pinch of cardamom and chili powder
Grind the pieces of chocolate. And the ground chocolate into a small pot along with the sugar, corn flour and spices. Pour the milk and wine into the pot and cook over medium heat until barely simmering and starting thickening, stirring occasionally. Pour the hot chocolate into a thermos flask. Shake well before serving.
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250 ml water 75 g butter 140 g flour 1/2 tsp salt 3 eggs sunflower oil, for frying For the dusting: 3 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp vanilla sugar
Mix the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla sugar on the plate. Set aside. Heat the water with the butter in a pan until it reaches a rolling boil. Take the pan off the heat. Pour in the salt and flour, mix well. Return the pan to the heat. Mix until all the ingredients come together to form a ball, for about 3 mins. Remove from the heat and leave the pan to cool for a few minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Keep mixing for about 5 mins, until the mixture comes together again and forms a smooth batter. Fit a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and fill with the batter. Heat the oil in a large pan. Pipe 10 cm lengths of batter into the oil and using a knife, cut it off the nozzle. Allow to fry for 1-2 mins. on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Roll the churros in the cinnamon sugar while still warm.
r r u o h s c
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e. mail us: redakcija@duonosirzaidimu.lt