If it’s almost Valentine’s Day, it’s also close to time for loving overindulgence, and for me, that means chocolate. Nothin’ says lovin’ like chocolate.
History tells us that chocolate trees originated in South America and that the earliest recorded users of chocolate were the Maya, who used the precious beans as currency and who had fixed market rates on cocoa beans. One rabbit for
10 beans, a slave for a hundred and a “lady of the evening” could be had for eight to 10 beans. No mention of how many beans it took to get elected to a high political position.
We can thank Columbus for taking cocoa beans back to Spain, and the Spanish conquistadores for spreading them to Mexico. The Aztecs were convinced that cocoa beans were a gift from the great god Questzalcoatl, who brought cocoa to earth from Paradise. I tend to agree. They added chili spices to cocoa, among other things, and a spicy cocoa concoction is still one of the most popular drinks in Mexico.
As word of the wondrous beans spread to other parts of Europe from Spain, drinking chocolate became popular throughout European countries.
But it was a Dutchman named Coenraad Van Houten who invented a process to extract the fat from cocoa beans and neutralize the acids, making it possible to produce pure cocoa butter in the form of a cake. In other words, a chocolate bar, which meant people could eat chocolate as well as drink it. I am forever indebted to Mr. Van Houten.
Like so many American kids,
I grew up on Hershey’s chocolate. That’s all there was and I loved it, but that all changed sometime during my twenties when I had my first close-up and personal encounter with chocolate of another kind, a small bar of chocolate so dark and intense it created virtually instant addiction. Thus began my ongoing love affair with all things chocolate, but most passionately for dark chocolate, preferably anything over 70 percent cocoa butter.
Chocolate that intense is not for everyone, I know that; John, for example, prefers his chocolate around 70 to 72 percent. Much higher than that and he says the chocolate tastes too bitter.
I was content with 72 percent, as well, until I found chocolate at
78 percent. A small piece, allowed to melt on the tongue and slide, softly and like silk, down the throat, is as close to pure personal pleasure as any food experience can get. Now I’ve found a place where I can get a bar of dark, 80-percent chocolate and, when I’m in the throes of any kind of personal stress, I resort to the calming effect of 80-percent cocoa butter. It takes very little to have a huge effect on we who crave an intense chocolate experience on a regular basis.
Yes, I recognize that there are millions of chocoholics out there who are milk chocolate lovers, and to you I can only say, to each his own.
Actually, I say a lot more than that to friends who tell me milk chocolate is the only way to go, but I’d never let chocolate get in the way of friendship, as long as they don’t even try to convert me to their weak sister substitute for the real thing.
Keep in mind that chocolate has recently been declared a healthy food, full of antioxidants, and the darker the chocolate, the higher the antioxidant levels. Eating chocolate also triggers the release of pheromones, a hormonal-type substance which can create a euphoric feeling of well-being as well as an enhanced attraction for someone of the opposite sex.
Need I say more? Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you fellow chocoholics and to the rest of you, well, I hope you have a lovely day anyway.
RECIPES
The fattest of all my many recipe files is the one labeled “Chocolate,” and choosing only a few is always a problem. Let’s start, however, with a couple of very quick chocolate drinks you could whip up for your Valentine.
This first one, a Peppermint Penguin, is for a tap-dancing friend who loves all things penguin.
PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE PENGUIN
½ oz. creme de menthe
3 oz. light cream
3 Oreo chocolate cookies
1 oz. chocolate mint liqueur
1 cup ice
Put all ingredients in blender; blend until ice is crushed. Served in a chilled cocktail glass.
LOVE BY CHOCOLATE
1 oz. Irish Cream liqueur
½ oz. creme de cacao
½ oz. Vodka
1 small scoop chocolate ice cream
1 cup ice
Whipped cream and chocolate curls, for garnish
Place all ingredients except whipped cream and chocolate curls in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses, topped with a dollop of whipped cream and some chocolate curls.
To make chocolate curls: use a thick bar of chocolate, preferably at room temp. Use a sharp swivel-bladed peeler; scrape lightly along the chocolate to form fine curls, or press firmly to make thicker curls.
A dessert to accompany your cocktail, perhaps? This cake has a soft chocolate sponge layer topper with a rich chocolate truffle mixture, and one small slice is love at first bite, but definitely not for dieters. This is a special occasion cake.
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKE
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs, beaten lightly
2/3 cup self-rising flour
½ t. baking powder
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa (I use Dagoba organic dark, but Droste unsweetened is also good)
½ cup ground almonds
For the topping: 12 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, the best quality you can find
½ cup butter
1¼ cups heavy cream
1¼ cups cake crumbs (plain yellow or white cake crumbs; look in the baking section at the supermarket, or make your own.)
3 T. dark rum
Lightly grease an 8-inch round springform pan; line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition.
Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa together. Fold into the butter mixture along with the ground almonds. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20-25 min., or until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cake cool slightly in the pan, then remove side of pan and transfer cake to a rack to cool completely. Wash and dry the pan, then return the cooled cake to the pan.
Make the topping: Heat the chocolate, butter and cream in a heavy pan over low heat, stirring until very smooth. Cool, then chill for 30 min. Beat well with a wooden spoon and chill for 30 min. more. Beat mixture again, then add cake crumbs and rum, beating until well combined. Spoon over the sponge cake and chill for 3 hrs.
When ready to serve, transfer cake to a serving platter and decorate with a bit of melted dark chocolate drizzled over the top, or dip cherries or strawberries in a bit of melted chocolate and place on the top of the cake. Or place a small mint spring in the center and sprinkle top with a fine sprinkling of ground walnuts.
And to end the evening, something warm and chocolate.
HOT BRANDIED CHOCOLATE
4 cups milk
4 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 T. sugar
½ t. chili powder (optional)
5 T. brandy
6 T. whipped cream
4 t. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
In a saucepan, bring the milk just to a boil, then remove from heat. Put the chocolate in a small pan and add 2 T. of the hot milk. Stir over low heat until the chocolate has melted, then stir the chocolate mixture back into the hot milk, adding the sugar.
Stir in the brandy and pour into four heatproof glasses. Top each with a swirl of whipped cream and sprinkle with a bit of the sifted cocoa.
