Solid chocolates to please the palate from Tokyo’s Mary’s Chocolate.
By: Faith Bahadurian
While the rest of the world had its mind on Thanksgiving turkey, I and over 20,000 other folks were caught up in the pleasures of New York City’s sixth annual Chocolate Show.
From chocolate mousse, to solid chocolate mooses, it was all there, to ogle, to sample and to buy, from over 40 of the world’s finest chocolatiers. If it’s instruction you crave, there were also nonstop pastry demonstrations in the Valrhona and Viking Culinary theaters. With so much to enjoy, here’s what stood out that day, once I recovered from my sugar daze. Many of these can be ordered for gift giving to your favorite chocoholic.
Mary’s Chocolate, founded in Tokyo over 50 years ago, is a highly artistic synthesis of East and West. They offered samples of dark chocolate and green tea ganaches, artfully shaped solid chocolates, and seasonal flower chocolates in flavors such as rose, Japanese plum and violette. Eager onlookers watched pastry chefs pipe on delicate blossoms to match the flavors. Other, more traditional flavors included black sesame and purple sweet potato. (www.mary.co.jp, but not yet available in the United States.)
MarieBelle Fine Treats and Chocolate featured elegant flat squares (the current hot shape in upscale chocolates) screened with images of chic fashion accessories and ’60s "moderne" patterns. Their SoHo store was founded in 2000. (www.mariebelle.com)
The Chocolate Bar’s line of teas gently infused with chocolate is an intriguing reversal of the tea-flavored chocolate trend. I enjoyed the West Village Blend and White Lemon. (www.chocolatebarnyc.com)
Australian Homemade’s booth did a brisk business in chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and chocolate "dreamers," with motifs such as kangaroos and intricate patterns from Aboriginal tribes. The company, based in Amsterdam, started with ice cream shops, expanded into chocolate and is now busy opening stores in the United States, including one in Manhattan. (www.australianhomemade.com)
Ethel M Chocolate’s table always had a big crowd in attendance, with endless trays of samples to tempt us. Their Lemon Satin Cremes, dark chocolate bursting with a tart lemon filling, won me over. (www.ethelm.com)
Chocolate with herbal flavors is a big trend, and Koppers offered their classic chocolate morsels mixed with rosemary, sage, thyme, etc. (www.kopperschocolate.com) The chocolate-chili trend is also strong, with Fritz Knipschildt’s cone-shaped tangerine and chili chocolates. (www.knipschildt.com)
Attendees also enjoyed ogling the many mannequins wearing show stopping chocolate dresses from the opening night gala benefiting DIFFA (Design Industries Foundations Fighting Aids).
If you want a show-stopping dessert for a holiday dinner, try this chocolate soufflé, from Jacques Torres, author of "Dessert Circus" (1998, William Morrow & Company).
Mr. Torres’s recipe allows you to prepare the soufflé mixture up to an hour before baking, as he did when he was pastry chef at Le Cirque 2000, and then slide it into the oven as you finish dinner. If you are nervous about having the soufflé ready at just the right time, just take Mr. Torres’s advice and "eat dessert first." (www.mrchocolate.com)
CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE
adapted from "Dessert Circus"
Makes one 8-inch soufflé, 6 to 8 servings
Buy the very best quality chocolate and use a kitchen scale to weigh the solid chocolates, like the pros do.
For the soufflé base:
1/3 cup half-and-half
1.8-ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1.4-ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1.8-ounces unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder (1/3 cup + 1½ tablespoons)
Scant ½ cup water
To finish the soufflé:
8 large egg whites
½ cup granulated sugar
Powdered sugar for dusting
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the inside of a 1½ quart soufflé dish with softened butter. (Alternatively, use 6-8 individual ramekins.) Fill the dish with granulated sugar, then pour out the excess, leaving sugar sticking to the sides and bottom of the dish.
2. Pour the half-and-half into a 1-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat and make a ganache by adding both types of chopped chocolate. Stir until well combined and all of the chocolate has melted.
3. Place a 1-quart saucepan half-filled with water over high heat and bring to a boil. Make a double boiler by setting a large mixing bowl over the boiling water. Place the ganache in the mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder and water, and whisk until very hot. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. To finish the soufflé, place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip the whites to stiff but not dry peaks. Do not over whip.
5. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold about half of the meringue into the warm chocolate mixture. Then fold the chocolate mixture back into the remaining meringue, being careful not to deflate the batter. The soufflé mixture should be homogenous in color (a few streaks of meringue in the batter are OK).
6. Use a rubber spatula to gently turn the batter into the buttered and sugared soufflé dish, filling to about 1 inch above the rim. (You can let it sit for up to an hour before baking.) Place the dish in the oven, being sure there is plenty of clearance above the soufflé as it will rise. Do not place on lowest rack, as bottom could burn. Bake until soufflé has risen to about one and a half times its original height and starts to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and dust the top with powdered sugar. Serve immediately with a side of whipped cream or creme anglaise, if desired.
For more information on the Chocolate Show visit www.chocolateshow.com.