Molten chocolate lava cake was the only dessert my wife ever ordered when we went out to eat. As such, I was determined to craft a lava cake she approved of wholeheartedly for my company, Galaxy Desserts, Richmond, CA. I was finally able to do so, but ironically, my wife said she loved my version of the cake because its flavor harkened back to the brownie dessert she remembered eating as a child, in frozen TV dinners. Although, as a classically trained French pastry chef, it was a bit offensive to compare my creation to a dessert in a frozen TV dinner, people often do adore flavors from childhood.
However, chocolate transcends narrow preferences and is one of the first things people look for to sweeten the end of a meal.
Chocolate preferences
Chocolate desserts dominate over other desserts on restaurant menus—no other flavors even come close. Anywhere from 40% to 60% of the selections will feature chocolate.
High-end restaurants, often the driving force for culinary innovation, tend to initiate chocolate-dessert trends, which eventually find their way to casual dining. Pastry chefs sometimes take classic desserts and replace low-quality chocolate with, for instance, Valrhona or Scharffen Berger chocolate to refine flavor and craft an outstanding final product. The masters source the best-possible natural ingredients and use innovative plating to give these old classics a new twist. Good examples of this are a classic chocolate donut or Ho Ho gone gourmet.
Marketers want the consumer to know about chocolate’s percentage of cocoa mass (also called chocolate liquor—cocoa solids plus cocoa butter), as well as any unique features of their brand, whether it is a single origin or blend of different beans from different countries. Many small chocolate manufacturers have a story to tell, such as the region the chocolate originated from, and the care taken to harvest it.
Consumers are finding out that the percentage indicated on chocolate labels refers to the amount of cocoa mass in the chocolate and are learning to differentiate the distinct characteristics between semisweet (more sugary) and bittersweet chocolate (a sharper taste). Most consumers are learning that a 70% to 80% chocolate is extra bitter, 55% to 62% is bittersweet, 45% to 50% is semisweet, and 32% to 41% characterizes milk chocolate.
From bean to fork
Many people believe that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the higher the quality of the chocolate. This is not necessarily true. First of all, the type of cocoa bean affects the quality and the flavor of the chocolate. The three most common types of beans are Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. The flavor differences between these beans are subtle, but chocolate made from Criollo is generally milder and more delicate, while the flavors in chocolate made with Forastero and Trinitario are more robust. Their flavor is influenced by weather, soil, and growing and harvesting conditions. Criollo beans are often considered the “luxury” beans; they comprise 10% of the cocoa beans available worldwide, and have a floral flavor. Nevertheless, all three types of beans can make high-quality chocolate—it’s simply a matter of personal taste preferences.