THE DIVINE DARK CHOCOLATE

The word chocolate brings a bright smile on the face of most of us and the very sight of chocolate in any form entices and excites the various senses and enlivens our mood and uplifts our thoughts too! Among all the varieties of chocolate, we have come across dark chocolate seems to have received the highest votes and numbers when it comes to being nutritive and good for us to consume once in a while though keeping in mind the balance factor in a good diet.

Dark chocolate has been around for over 3,000 years. It was developed around 1900 B.C in Central and South America as a drink. It was the only form of chocolate that was available at the time. Later, it was also made into a drink for the Aztecs and Mayans for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. It has been one of my favorite and exciting ingredients to work with ever since and innovating with dark chocolate be it shakes or puddings, set desserts, or flans is great.

The dark variety of chocolate is the one without any added milk solids. The basic ingredients are cacao beans, sugar, an emulsifier like soy lecithin to preserve texture, and flavorings such as vanilla. The more cocoa and less sugar dark chocolate have, the more bitter it will taste and a small amount is considered a healthful snack besides being able to adapt to various forms, textures, and recipes as a part of world cuisine. Early on, dark chocolate was the only form of chocolate available. It was developed around 1900 B.C. as a beverage in what is now Central and South America. Later the Mayans and the Aztecs made bitter dark chocolate beverages for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. Dark chocolate is the specialty of France, and guess what's more, the world's largest consumer chocolate show along with the World Chocolate Master Championships takes place here every second year with the world variety of concoctions and ideas to keep you asking for more!

Here are 10 health benefits of Dark Chocolate:

• Dark chocolate is considered to be a good source of nutrition for our body since it is a powerful source of anti-oxidants.

• Dark chocolate is good for our skin health as well, besides being good for brain functioning as well.

• Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure and lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

• Dark chocolate protects LDL against oxidation and raises HDL.

• Dark chocolate improves our gastro-intestinal flora, helps fight fatigue, and also helps reduce stress.

• Dark chocolate possesses considerable amounts of vitamins, minerals and magnesium which are beneficial for our body.

• Dark chocolate is also regarded to be a mood improver and also slows down the signs of aging.

• Dark chocolate also contains anti-depressant agents and lowers cholesterol levels in our body.

• Dark chocolate is beneficial for weight loss regimes, heightens the libido and also deepens our sleep.

• Dark chocolate can drive our metabolism to burn fats and calories and maintain our body weight as well.

10 ways to use Dark Chocolate in our Kitchen & Bakery:

• The most popular and classic dessert with dark chocolate is the mousse au Chocolat or chocolate mousse from french cuisine, a world-class preparation, delicate, subtle yet outstanding!

• Working with cakes, pastries of various types using dark chocolate is a great experience as well, though some like to use a combination of dark and compound varieties the earlier one comes out much intense.

• Devils food cupcakes, dark chocolate muffins, brownies, fudges and more are great confections as well to work on using dark chocolate in the bakery and patisserie.

• Vegan dark chocolate bars, health bars, and bites are also gaining popularity these days, chocolate fondues, rum balls, nutty choco healthy desserts are a delight too with dark chocolate.

• Dark chocolate mocha, hot dark chocolate in a tall glass to enjoy with some fried churros is a wonderful thing to do in this world on a relaxing note and enjoying a good time with friends or folks.

• Dark chocolate in the form of set desserts in bowls/ dessert cups etc in combination with crushed digestive biscuits/crackers and fruits, cream, nuts, and seeds are a great delight to offer on a brunch menu.

• Dark chocolate in pies, tarts, flans, pastries, in the form of fillings inside croissants, molding of chocolates for commercial sales, coating dark chocolate on nuts for example almonds, hazelnuts, etc is a good way to use for garnishing and plate presentation as well.

• In the form of healthy beverages, shakes in combination with bananas, avocado, kale and spinach, dates, berries of your choice with a dash of soy milk/oats milk blended with a choice of seeds like chia, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, etc is a good energy drink.

• Using dark chocolate with Indian desserts and sweets is also interesting for instance adding it with malpuas, doing a dark chocolate rabdi, adding a little dark chocolate to our favorite rice phirni, kheer, payassam, burfi, pedha, Sandesh, sweets like modak, coconut chocolate sev burfi, chocolate Mohanthal etc.

• Dark chocolate with waffles, pancakes supplemented with a variety of fresh fruits like green apples, dragon fruit, durians, mango, strawberries, etc go well in presenting some great ideas for breakfast and brunch live stations as well.

Here are a few recipes with Dark Chocolate for that perfect treat!

Recipe-1] CHOCOLATE CASANOVA DELIGHT

Ingredients

• Dark chocolate-1 cup melted

• Crushed digestive biscuits-1/2 cup

• Cake crumbs-1/2 cup

• Dates- 4-5 chopped

• Almonds/cashews- 2 tbsp. chopped

• Mango cubes-1 cup

• Kiwi/ cherries/ or any seasonal fruits- ½ cup cut

• Vanilla Custard or desi rabdi- 1 cup

• Choco-chips-2 tbsp. for garnish.

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the dessert.

2. Using dessert glasses we need to set this sweet dish and allow to chill for 1 hour.

3. To start with the layers we can have a base of the custard or rabdi and then sprinkle the crumbs and biscuits, pour a little melted dark chocolate and add in the layer of fresh fruits and nuts, dates and continue with the layers all the way up.

4. Finally place the garnishes as desired to complete the look and feel of the yummy dessert and allow to chill for at least 1 hour and then serve.

Recipe-2] CINNAMON CHOCO DATE RICE PUDDING

Ingredients

• Dark chocolate-1/2 cup

• Brown rice- 1 cup cooked and crushed.

• Soy milk- 2 cups

• Dates- 3-4 chopped

• Honey-2 tsp

• Almonds/cashews- 2 tbsp. chopped

• Cinnamon powder-1/4 tsp

• Assorted fresh fruits as desired-1 cup to be added in the layers.

• Mava pedha/ coconut burfi- 2-3 pieces crumbled can be used to add in between the layers of the pudding as well.

• Butter- 1 tsp

• Brown sugar-2 tsp

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the chocolate cinnamon rice pudding.

2. Warm the soy milk in a saucepan add in the chopped dates and honey and allow to simmer for 4-5 mins.

3. Now add in the butter, cooked crushed brown rice, nuts, cinnamon powder and cook for 12-15 mins, turn off the flame and blend in the dark chocolate last and mix it in well.

4. Using small individual dessert bowls create a layer of the rice pudding at the base followed by some fresh fruits as desired, and repeat the pudding layer and garnish with nuts and serve warm or chilled.

Recipe-3] CHOCOLATE FANTASY FILLER

Ingredients

• Dark chocolate-1 cup melted

• Sago/sabudana- ½ cup soaked in 2 cups water for 30 mins.

• Cinnamon stick-1-inch piece

• Green cardamom-2 no.

• Butter- 1 tsp

• Brown sugar-1 tbsp.

• Jaggery-2 tbsp. grated

• Coconut milk- ½ cup

• Milk/soy milk- 2 and a half cups

• Assorted nuts/ dates- 2 -3 tbsp. chopped

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the sweet dish.

2. In a saucepan combine together the soy milk/milk add in the cardamom and cinnamon powder, brown sugar, jaggery, and add in the drained sago pearls and allow to cook in the milk for 15-20 mins stir constantly to prevent settling at the base.

3. Add in the coconut milk, butter, nuts and dates and allow to simmer for another 10-12 mins, turn off the flame cool a little and then mix in the melted dark chocolate.

4. Dish out the sweet into individual serving bowls/ dessert glasses also try adding fruits like sliced bananas, chickoo, etc in the layers with the pudding for more flavor and garnish with nuts/dates and allow to chill for 30 mins or serve warm.

Recipe- 3] HIDDEN TREASURE CHOCO WONDER.

Ingredients

• Dark chocolate- 1 cup melted

• Fresh cream-1/4 cup

• Gulab jamuns- 2-3 sliced

• Chocolate cookies- 2-3 no crushed

• Custard- ½ cup

• Assorted nuts- 2 tbsp. chopped

• Chocolate brownies- 2-3 slices

Method:

1. Prepare the ingredients for the dessert and keep them ready.

2. Select dessert bowls for this sweet dish and start the layering with the custard, crumbled brownies, cookies, custard, and fruits of your choice, top with some melted chocolate blended into warm fresh cream and add in sliced Gulab jamuns.

3. Continue layering the ingredients and top it up with the chocolate and cream mixture and allow to set in the fridge for 1-2 hours and then garnish appropriately with cherries/nuts/ crushed praline etc. 

Recipe- 5] HEAVENLY CHOCOLATE DESSERT SHOTS

Ingredients

• Dark chocolate-1 cup melted

• Fresh cream-1/2 cup beaten

• Peanut butter- 2 tbsp. creamy texture.

• Chocolate cookies- 2 tbsp. crumbled/powdered.

• Rossogulla- 3-4 no sliced.

• Meetha paan-1 no chopped or 1 tsp paan essence.

• Shrikhand- ½ cup

• Assorted nuts- 2 tbsp. chopped

Method:

1. Divide the fresh cream into 2 parts and blend the melted dark chocolate into the first half and add the peanut butter to the second half for the 2 layers.

2. Using shot glasses prepare the first layer with dark chocolate, crushed or powdered chocolate cookies, nuts and little chopped meetha paan and set it well at the base.

3. For the next layer combine the shrikhand with peanut butter and cream, sliced rossogulla and blend it all well and set it on the base layer and chill for 2-3 hours and garnish with nuts and serve, decorate the shot glasses with some chocolate garnishes and serve.