COOKING
Cupcake cases from The Last Detail
Cooking with Chocolate
That naughty stuff has started filling the shelves again. Now that this sweet treat is back in our lives in the run up to Easter, what's the best way to cook with it?
When it comes to choosing chocolate, these days the options are infinite. Old favourites like Dairy Milk line up next to brand new products with fair-trade credentials, stunningly high levels of cocoa solids and increasingly eccentric packing. But if you're plan- ning to cook with the stuff, which are the best products to choose? According to Kate Adams, Galaxy Chocolate's Product Innovation Sci- entist, cooks should go for the taste, rather than the label. "On the shelves you'll see 'cooking chocolate' but you don't have to use that for cooking. That label just means it's lower qual- ity, perhaps contains less cocoa butter, and can have less taste, and it'll be cheaper as a result, so it can be more economical to use when cooking." "Different chocolates have all got different properties depending on whether they're milk, dark, white and depending on the brand. If you're making brownies then you want a good quality chocolate, so that those chunks are intense and delicious. If you're making a cake, people often like to use milk chocolate. Whereas for a recipe that's served in small
portions, dark chocolate can be good - as it offers more intense blasts of flavour."
The main thing to consider when cooking with chocolate is how to use it. There are three cardinal rules that Kate suggest chefs follow to the letter. Firstly, water and chocolate don't mix. "If you even get a tiny bit in it, the mixture will turn stiff and grainy. Melt your chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, and gently stir it. You can use a microwave but it's easy to burn it. I know, I've tried! Secondly, as chocolate is designed to melt at body temperature, this can also make it difficult to handle, she adds. So be aware that you'll need to make your recipes quickly and efficiently. Finally, once you've finished cooking, store your cake or confectionery at the correct temperature. "If it's too hot, then the cocoa butter will come to the surface and that causes the chocolate to get that white effect we sometimes see," says Kate. "That's known as bloom. It's fine to eat although it might affect the texture slightly."
Sweet
Treats for Easter
Cookie Crumble Cheesecake Around Town Rhondda Cynon Taff | Mar - May 2012 | 27
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