Chocolate mousse is a fairly well known dessert, and for most of us who have worked with chocolate, we have at least once tried to make this traditional dessert.  This however takes chocolate mousse to a different level, and challenges everything we have been previously taught about chocolate.  I highly recommend watching the video below and then going off to experiment!  A wonderful learning experience to be had with chocolate.

What does it mean to have a human experience?  Is that not what we are in the process of doing now, as we go through each of our days living on this planet?  Possibly.  But I believe it goes beyond that.

To me, the Human Experience is about being fully engaged with the people around us and the beautiful surroundings that this planet offers us.  It is about going through our day, using all of our senses, including the 6^th one, and experiencing life through a sensory lens.  This is living fully.

Somewhere along the way we have forgotten to pay attention.  We have forgotten how much beauty surrounds us each day:  what pleasures lie in the simple things such as the fragrance of a flower, the softness of a pillow or the beauty of a song or work of art.  Instead we spend most of our time rushing around trying to fit in as much as we can and be as busy as we can, spending hours on unfulfilling tasks because that is what society expects of us, losing ourselves in the worry of the past or the preoccupation of getting to the future.  But what of the journey in between?  When was the last time you actually tasted what you were eating?  Or stopped to admire the beauty of a flower or the smile on a child’s face?  When did you last hear a breathtaking piece of music that made your soul soar?

I don’t know about you, but this makes me depressed.  That is a picture of a very drab world indeed.  We have lost touch with some of the most wonderful gifts given to us as human beings and instead turned to the life of a robot.  We don’t feel, we don’t taste…we don’t live.  We just exist.

But what if we could change all of that?  What if we could wake up in the morning and all of a sudden the world around us was in technicolour?  Take ourselves off of fast forward and stop to fully feel the richness and decadence of a piece of chocolate or taste the fruits and velvety smoothness in our favourite wine?  Feel the freedom of the wind on our face as we race down the freeway with the radio blaring, see the beauty of the varying shades of the sunset and it’s light touching the horizon?  What if we opened ourselves up to every sense we have and ignited them, living each day fully awakened to the beauty around us?

That to me is the essence of The Human Experience.  Someone once quoted (and I can’t remember who now so forgive me for not giving credit where credit is due} “ we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”  I couldn’t agree more.  We live on one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy, surrounded by beauty at every turn, that is a gift.  And we take it for granted.  We are a combination of physical and spiritual, with the ability to sense things with the unique abilities of the human body while still remaining connected to the soul that is our essence.  This is a rare gift and we were given this time on this planet to enjoy it.  Yet most of us have forgotten.

But it is never too late.  Never too late to shed the robot layer and feel alive again.  To live fully as the human and spiritual beings that we truly are.  To enjoy the beautiful planet that we live on and the constant gifts it bestows upon us.  To stop existing and begin to fully live.  And every day we wake up, we have the choice as to which one we want to play out.  Which choice will you make today?

One of the funnest things for me is to go into the kitchen and play with new recipes, ingredients or concepts.  This is what keeps me fascinated with food, and particularly desserts.  Learning in the kitchen not only keeps me moving forward in my culinary skills, but also as person in general.  Without growth we whither away.

So I have created a list here of things that I would like to learn and in the process share with all of you.  As I move through each one you will see it crossed out with the link to the post where I have shared with you what I have learned as well as some great recipes that resulted from it.   I would also love to hear from you on any of the topics and your experiences with them!

• Flour:  its role in, and effect on, different desserts
• Cannoli
• Bread Making
• Butterscotch
• Original Italian Tiramisu
• Portuguese Sweet Bread and Malassadas
• Home made Ice Cream
• Home made soda
• Red Velvet Cake
• Croissants
• Macarons
• Candymaking
• Donuts

Within the culinary world, one of the most sensuous pleasures, at least in my opinion, is the tasting of chocolate.  Well first of all, it is chocolate.  You already can’t go wrong with that.  But secondly it is one of the richest and decadent food ingredients out there.  It emanates sensuality just sitting there. But once you learn to taste it…..you will be seduced for eternity.

I have had many people in my tastings tell me they don’t like chocolate.  (They are usually attending only because someone else brought them).  This of course always brings a twinkle to my eye, and my response is, “just try this out and then tell me afterwards if you still don’t like chocolate.”  My conversion rate so far?  100%.  This is mainly due to, I believe, the quality of chocolate out in the mass market. It isn’t chocolate, it is candy.  Why?  Too much sugar. That is usually the main complaint I get from people, they don’t like chocolate because it is too sweet.  But real chocolate only has just enough sugar to allow the bean to express itself.  And when tried it opens up doors to a whole new chocolate world.  And those that do like sweet chocolate?  They turn into even worse chocoholics when they taste a good quality milk chocolate. It is a win win for everyone.

Another aspect that falls into play regarding a taste for chocolate is how we eat chocolate.  As a society we rush ourselves.  We are always running around trying to fit a million things into our schedule so we never take the time to focus properly on the task in front of us.  And that includes eating.  When was the last time you really paid attention to the flavours in a meal that you were eating?  Probably awhile.  We shovel our food down rather than truly tasting it.  And the same goes for chocolate. However chocolate was not meant to be eaten that way.  Nor was any food for that matter, but most definitely not chocolate.  Chocolate is a deeply sensual experience and should be treated as such.  Not rushed, but savoured.  One of my goals is to bring back the art of tasting, one chocolate at a time.

So how do we taste chocolate properly?  Like wine, there is a full tasting process, and although I could probably write a novel on the topic, I have pulled together the basic steps below to help you begin living the real chocolate experience.  These are the ones that I personally feel work the best, however that isn’t to say that there aren’t other methods out there.  I am starting with dark and semi-sweet chocolates as I believe each type deserves its own post.  Later on I will go into more detail on milk and white chocolate.  So let’s begin, and I can guarantee you will never look upon chocolate in the same again…

Sight

Chocolate has a lovely nuance of shades that most of us don’t even realize are there.  They vary between dark violet to rustic red.  The violet or red hues depend on the varietal of bean used.  Texture also comes into play here.  Does the chocolate look smooth or grainy and brittle?  Although it is subtle, the visual aspect of chocolate has a great impact on it’s attraction.  If you had to choose between a smooth, rich looking piece of chocolate or a dry grainy one, which one would you choose?  Exactly.

1.  Take a few pieces of a dark, semi-sweet or milk chocolate (or a mix of all) and place them on a white plate or napkin.
2.  Observe the hues.  Pick each one up, closely look at how the colours within the chocolate change.  Are they reddish brown or violet brown?  Dark or light?  Is there any white film like substance on the top of the chocolate?  (This is called bloom or crystallization).
3.  Now look at the texture.  Is it smooth?  Is it grainy?  Is it brittle?  Does the piece snap when you break it?  Or does it just break apart softly?  Are there small holes in it?  Which one is the most attractive to you?

Aroma

The aromas that are found in a piece of chocolate are almost identical to those found in wine.   Therefore why haven’t we noticed them before?  We are too busy shoveling the chocolate down or the chocolate has been overrun by sugar.  Or possibly the beans that were used were low quality, and were either over roasted or under/over fermented.  Whatever the reason, it is actually difficult to find a good piece of chocolate that emanates its original aromas.  However, the good news is that there is a new generation of chocolatiers that are not skimping on the quality and creating beautiful aromatic bars fully expressing the lovely beans that were used.  (See resources at the end of the post for examples).

1.  Take a piece of chocolate and gently rub it between your two fingers.  The heat off of your fingers will help the aromas release from the bar.
2.  Slowly smell the chocolate.  Take in all of the aromas.  Once you move past the chocolate what aromas do you find?  Fruity?  Nutty? Earthy? Floral?  Even if you don’t find any of these, just take your time to enjoy the aroma.  Feel it, let it permeate.  It truly is a pleasure that we don’t often indulge in and worth every minute.

Taste

Finally.  Taste.  Yes, after all of that we actually now get to taste the chocolate.  However not in the same way we normally would.  Chocolate has different layers of aromas that only come out when we take the time to actually let it melt in our mouth before swallowing it in its entirety.  There are 4 phases of the taste phase:

1.  Initial Taste:  This is the first moment that you pop the chocolate into your mouth.  The first 10-15 seconds more or less.  What flavours do you taste?   What is your first impression of it?
2.  Middle Taste:  This is when you begin to slowly chew the chocolate and let it melt completely in your mouth.  No swallowing!  And yes this takes discipline.  The chewing and melting process release hidden flavours in the chocolate, and this is one of the most surprising steps.  Here the fruity or nutty flavours begin to come out like a quick burst, pleasantly surprising the chocolate taster.  Also note the texture in your mouth, does it melt easily, is it smooth, etc.
3.  The Short Finish:  This is the moment you actually swallow the chocolate and what you sense immediately only your throat.  Oftentimes the chocolate, tannins, smokiness, earthiness come out here.  The texture also plays an important part.  It should be a nice and smooth finish.  And there should be flavour still in your throat.  If you have a chocolate without a finish there is definitely a problem with it.
4.  The Long Finish:  This takes place 60 seconds after you have swallowed.  You should still feel lingering aromas and flavours.  And the texture as well.  What do you sense?  What flavours remain in your throat?  What texture lingers?

Once you have tried this method of tasting chocolate, you will begin experiencing chocolate in a completely different way.  It will elevate your chocolate eating experience to a completely new level and you will begin to taste what chocolate is really about.  Enjoy!

Resources

Chocolatiers bringing in the new chocolate regime:

Mast Brothers Chocolate
Claudio Corallo
Patric Chocolate
Amedei
Tcho
Soma Chocolate
Patrick Roger

Port Wine and Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

•    75 g (2.7 ounces)  bittersweet chocolate, chopped (preferably an 80%)
•    3/4 cup sunflower oil
•    3/4 cup cane sugar
•    1 large egg
•    2 cups all-purpose flour
•    1/2 cup cocoa powder
•    1 tablespoon baking soda
•    3/4 teaspoon salt
•    1 cup ruby port wine
•    1 cup buttermilk

Chocolate Ganache Topping
•    3/4 cup cream (whipping cream if you don’t have a good quality fresh cream)
•    200 g chopped bittersweet chocolate (70% preferably)
•    28 g butter

Directions:

1.    Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter (or use a vegetable oil spray) a 12-cup Bundt pan.  In a small saucepan, melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler over low heat, stirring constantly.  Once fully melted, scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.
2.    In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the port wine and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Then add the remaining dry ingredients, port wine and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
3.    Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.
Ganache Topping
4.    Place the chopped 200g of chocolate in a metal bowl.  Set aside.
5.      In a small saucepan combine the cream and the butter.  Bring to almost a boil.  Then remove from heat.  Let sit for one minute.
6.  Then pour the cream mixture over the chopped chocolate, VERY SLOLWY.  At  a triickle.  Then let sit for about 30 seconds to allow the chocolate to melt.  Then stir until smooth and shiny.
Note:  if you find the chocolate is not melting place the bowl over the double boiler at low heat and stir constantly until fully melted.
5.    Pour the ganache over the cooled cake.Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving.

MAKE AHEAD: The glazed cake can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days or frozen for a couple of months.