Who’d have thought luxury chocolate could be so reasonably priced? If you need a luxury gift item that won’t break the bank, Rococo has chocolate gifts to suit every type of occasion – and budget.

via Gift Ideas For Less Than £10 – Gifts Under £10 Rococo Chocolates.

Book now

9am – 6pm Friday 8th October 2010

The Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London

Featuring leaders in the chocolate industry:

• Tony Lass MBE formerly head of research on cocoa for Cadbury’s
• Craig Sams of Green & Blacks
• Chantal Coady of Rococo
• Sara Jayne Stanes OBE, Author of Chocolate The Definitive Guide
• Angus Thirlwell of Hotel Chocolat
• Anne Weyns of Artisan du Chocolat
• William Curley
• Paul a Young
• Keith Hurdman of Thornton’s
• Chloe Doutre-Roussel
• Martin Christy of Seventypercent.com

The Academy of Chocolate conference is aimed at all levels of knowledge, whether you already have a chocolate business, are starting a chocolate company or are interested in learning more this one day event will appeal. With talks on sustainability, cacao genetics, cacao as a commodity, chocolate tastings, creating flavour combinations, the future of the chocolate industry, fairtrade, chocolate producers and much more. Places at the conference are limited. The cost is £100 per person which includes a full day of conferences, lunch and refreshments. If you wish to book please complete the booking form here. and return with a cheque to:

Kate Johns, Academy of Chocolate, 50 Gleneagle Road, London SW16 6AF For a full timetable of events please contact kate@nudgepr.co.uk

via Upcoming events.

On 10 June, the revised range Rh to rococoesque was added to the Dictionary, along with new entries across the alphabet.

via Oxford English Dictionary: The definitive record of the English language.

Possessing the characteristic of the rococo style, a style with asymmetrical forms and elaborate decoration. Although “rococo” itself is already an adjective, in order to emphasize the characteristics of the style, and perhaps to use a French adjective ending to enhance the artistic meaning, the -esque suffix is appended to the word. Since “rococo” itself came from the French language, the derivation is very natural.

Theobroma cacao is indigenous to Central America as it falls in the cocoa belt which is an area where the chocolate tree prefers to grow and flourish. The cocoa belt falls exactly twenty degrees both north and south of the equator. Theobroma cacao can grow in other areas, but it will not flower. No flowers mean no cocoa pods. It is believed that the cacao has been grown in the country of Belize for over 3,000 years. Actual farming began in the year 250 BCE. Today, cacao is still grown by the Mayan Indians (yes there are still Mayan Indians) in the Toledo area of Belize. Interestingly enough, Hershey’s, a United States company, is working with them along with the United States government for commercial export.

Green and Black’s, a company of the United Kingdom, was the first to export organic cocoa out of the Belize in 1992. It was the first Free Trade commodity in the United Kingdom. Green and Black’s sold the cocoa under the label of Mayan Black. Since then the growth of cacao has diminished due to lack of government subsidies for cacao, high-cost production, improvement of job opportunities in other sectors and the damage from Hurricane Iris in 2001 that virtually wiped out Theobroma cacao.

Another country producing substantial amounts of cacao was Costa Rica. Theobroma cacao was brought to Costa Rica in the 1800s by the Jamaicans who were working on the railroads and were already successfully growing cacao. Costa Rica already had large crops of banana trees which were perfect cover trees for the Theobroma cacao as the cacao likes to be shaded from direct sunlight. The cacao plantations thrived and cacao farmers prospered. In the 1960s, pod rot hit the entire country of Costa Rica resulting in the loss of 95% of the country’s cacao.

From the 16^th century through the end of World War I, the farming of Theobroma cacao was dominant in the Caribbean islands. During this time, the islands producing the most cacao were Jamaica, Trinidad and the Windward Islands which include Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines and Grenada. After that time, West Africa took over as the leaders in cocoa production.

Theobroma cacao was introduced to the Caribbean islands by the Spanish in the early 16^th century. The Spaniards brought the tree from Venezuela and records indicate that the first planting of Theobroma cacao was in Trinidad. There is a rumor that the British burned a ship to the ground in the late 16^th century thinking the cocoa beans were sheep’s droppings. Oops! At the turn of the 17^th century, Spanish physicians noted the medicinal qualities present in chocolate, many of which are still valid for dark chocolate today, and chocolate as medicine was brought into England. Cocoa demand increased.

Venezuela was the largest producer of cacao in the 18^th century. The Caribbean began to increase cacao in both the amount of trees they were growing as well as the amount of cocoa beans they were exporting. Spain tried to prohibit the export of the Venezuelan raw cocoa beans to create a monopoly. From 1728 through 1780, they succeeded. A group of Spanish noblemen controlled the entire Venezuelan crop of cocoa. Cocoa started coming from the Caribbean and other countries, mostly illegally, during this time. Privateers flourished in these years basically taking over control of the cocoa trade which some say lasted until the 18^th century. Pirate ships were seen all over the Caribbean waters making a lucrative living bringing cocoa to Europe. A lot of the ships carrying cocoa were often either seized or burned to gain control of the cocoa trafficking. People wanted their cocoa!

More next week on the various Caribbean islands and their contribution to the world of Theobroma cacao.  Signing off for this week…

Annmarie Kostyk, Chocolate Goddess

I’ve recently been running down my larder partly due to negligence but also in an attempt to increase the turnover of a few ingredients I bought in the wake of the Delia cheat craze. Today there was frozen spinach and beans, king prawns and lime leaves in the freezer. I added these to a litre of chicken stock and then some chilli sauce made earlier, tamarind for sharpness and dark chocolate to go with the extra dried chilli and “cooks cheats” shallots ginger & coriander, fish sauce and pressure cook for 3 minutes, add some noodles and coconut, bringing me terrifyingly close by accident to one “official” recipe:

• 1 litre/2 pints chicken stock
• 300ml/11fl oz water
• 6 sticks lemongrass, lightly crushed
• 4 fresh coriander roots, crushed
• 110g/4oz fresh galangal, peeled and sliced (available from Asian supermarkets)
• 8 tomatoes, cut into quarters, seeds removed
• 6 kaffir lime leaves
• 1-2 limes, juice only
• 75ml/3fl oz tamarind water (tamarind is available from Asian supermarkets. Soak the tamarind in hot water and push the pulp through a sieve to make tamarind water.)
• 3 red chillies, thinly sliced
• 75ml/3fl oz fish sauce (nam pla), or to taste
• 75g/3oz palm sugar (available from Asian supermarkets), use brown sugar if unavailable
• 12 raw tiger prawns, shelled, gutted and split in half
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Tasting notes:

1. It’s quite hard to get the right heat balance: adding just a small amount of coconut neutralised what started as a great heat from 3 dried chipotles.
2. I’ll put some dried shitake in the larder in case I try this again
3. I always forget how gloopy is creamed coconut – needs to be diluted in hot stock before tangling itself to noodles!

Usually I research and plan every second of a trip, but my over-preparedness annoys even me; there is no room for anything unexpected. So on my one free day I set out to shop, yoga, and browse, trying to be free-spirited, which I’m not. Marylebone High Street made it easy: Rococo chocolates which somehow didn’t make it home, Ortigia Bath Oil from Sicily is my new beauty obsession, Daunt Books, The Natural Kitchen for a juice, on to Zara Home, TriYoga, I was set. But I still had some time on my hands.

And then it happened. I was trying to get a peek inside the Royal Festival Hall and went around back. I saw the paparazzi waiting, they had to be there for someone, though Lindsay Lohan doesn’t live in London. Indeed, they were waiting for The Queen. Why not? I’ll wait too. Chocolate on the ground, I spoke to a cute couple from Australia. Snapped some shots of The Queen’s car. She walked out, so did Princess Anne, Prince Philip, and some other non-descript people with bad shoes.

via Martha McCully: Prince William & Me: My Run-In With Royalty.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 3 drops peppermint oil

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, combine the cream, milk,sugar and salt.
2. Heat over medium-low heat.
3. When mixture just begins to steam, add the chopped chocolate.
4. Stir until melted.
5. Stir in peppermint oil.
6. Divide the hot chocolate among mugs.

Optional: whipped cream, chocolate shavings and over the holidays a candy cane
Homemade Marshmallows

Makes 20

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 2/3 cup of water
• 2 packets of unflavored gelatin (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 egg white

Directions:

1. In a small saute pan, heat sugar, vanilla, corn syrup and 1/3 cup of water on high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then stop stirring. Heat the mixture until it reaches 240 degrees using a candy thermometer, about 8 minutes.
2. While the mixture is heating, dissolve the gelatin into the remaining 1/3 cup of water. Also, in a large mixing bowl, whip the egg white to soft peaks.
3. Once the mixture has reached 240 degrees, pour it into the gelatin and water (you can do this in a medium-sized, heat proof bowl) and stir to combine. Allow to cool for about 3-4 minutes, and then pour the gelatin/sugar mixture in a slow stream into the whipped egg white, whipping constantly to incorporate. (This is pretty much impossible to do by hand, you need a hand mixer or a stand mixer, because the gelatin will start to set and get really stiff and difficult to whip).
4. Whip the mixture until stiff peaks form. Pour into a prepared tray lined with parchment paper or powdered sugar, and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Remove from the fridge and cut the marshmallows into squares (or other shapes).

Roll them in powdered sugar, if desired, and serve! You can also dip them into chocolate for a wonderful treat or use them for chocolate fondue!

Annmarie Kostyk, Chocolate Goddess

Update: Apologies for anyone looking for marshmallows; they have been moved here

Most of the chocolate pots from the 20th century were manufactured in the years between 1900 and 1949.  During this short period, there are many changes in design in chocolate pots.  Floral designs were still popular, but more companies started using specific species of flowers on their chocolate pots.  Scenic designs also became popular depicting people, animals and geisha.  The color palate also became more diverse offering very bright and vivid colors as well as subdued colors.

Each country began to show their specific style in chocolate pots.  The Germans were bigger at the top and were more rounded towards the top.  The handles were more elaborate and were often gilded in gold.  Silver was used less and less as it became more expensive to use and own.  Porcelain was less expensive, so that was the material of choice.  The Germans still preferred the old-fashioned floral motif with roses being the prominent flower in their designs.

The French continued making chocolate pots that were big and round at the bottom.  They were mostly white, the color palate was subdued and the design consisted of small clusters of flowers scattered throughout the design or it would depict a scene on one or two side of the chocolate pot.  Gold was used, but mostly as an accent.

England manufactured a huge variety of chocolate pots during this time period.  They made chocolate pots out of copper, pewter, silver and porcelain.  English chocolate pots were shorter than those found in other countries, but they still manufacturer some tall designs.  The metal pots were all very simple and plain.  The porcelain chocolate pots found in England depicted a vast number of subjects including flowers, animals and landscapes.

The Japanese pots, once again, were not used all that much in Japan.  Instead, they were exported to North America and Europe.  They were wide at the top and the bottom and skinny in the middle – more of an hourglass shape.  The Japanese used the chocolate pots almost like a canvas and depicted flowers, animals (both real and mythological), landscapes and people (mostly geisha).

There are few chocolate pots remaining from this time period.  Mostly because there were not many manufacturer in this era.  It is thought that less chocolate pots were produced since it was more fashionable to drink tea and coffee.  Drinking chocolate was considered passé.  Since there has been a growing interest in chocolate, drinking chocolate (both hot and cold) have seen a resurgence.  Perhaps the idea of the chocolate pot will again became all the rage.

My friend shared a few chocolates from this lovely box. These are truly artisan chocolates. This one here is called Parfum d’Ete. It is filled with white chocolate ganache with crushed lemon puree, olive oil and sweet basil! Wild!

What a great way to photograph both the box and one its contents

via PROJECT 365 – A CALIFORNIA GIRL’S JOURNEY: 231/365 – ROCOCO CHOCOLATES.

The first step is to burn the skins: I put all under an electric grill for convenience of doing a large batch without much effort, but I sometimes place them directly on a hob flame or maybe a griddle, but best of all would be on a barbeque. Books usually recommend cooling them in a closed container to help loosed the skin but it’s not strictly necessary for this recipe to remove the unburned skin as it all gets blended in the end.

Next add the peeled charred peppers to a pot, preferably one with a pressure lid, a dried or fresh chilli pepper of your choice, (scotch bonnet are commonly used, and it makes sense to use something that’s too strong to be eaten raw). I used a mixture of pasilla for its licqorish undertones and compliment to dark chocolate and new mexico for heat. Then and add any or all of the following:

• dark chocolate
• capers
• garlic cloves
• sugar (preferably dark) or honey
• vinegar – I got away with malt!
• fresh ground cloves, cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, mustard seeds
• rapeseed and grapeseed oil
• cayenne pepper
• citric acid
• cloves
• salt
• peppar
• tomato puree/ketchup

Pressure cook for 10 minutes or 20-30 minutes without, blend and bottle.

The cost works out very approximately at about £1.30/bottle which is more than I’d expect considering the equivalent sauce costs about £2-3 in the shops, so I cynically conclude that the manufactures use less or very cheap peppers and add a lot of liquid which it can probably stand, but finding the commercial ones are always too sweet or vinegary, QED?

It’s only happened once, you see, rarely do (I) go cuckoo for cocoa at any time of day. I’m not one for scarfing down a Hershey’s bar for a 3 p.m. pick-me-up; I’d opt instead for an organic apple or soy crisps. Likewise, ordering a slice of devil’s food cake after dinner doesn’t tempt me either.

With that said, I still reveled in my early-morning tour of Rococo Chocolates while in London this summer. I opened the door and immediately fell into a trance of raspberry-covered this and nutty nougat that. I was surrounded and completely overwhelmed — in a very good way.

In the glass case below the cash register were hand-painted chocolates shaped like rainbow trout. To my right, silky milk chocolate with crunchy hazelnuts and, to my left, dark chocolate organic chili pepper bars.

See, every nook and cranny at Rococo is simply irresistible, even if you aren’t of the chocolate obsessed set. From the bright-colored packaging to the little garden behind the store full of geranium, jasmine and lavender plants, it is utter perfection. Owner, Chantal Coady, goes way out of her way to make sure everything is just so.

If you’re lucky enough to run into her, you’ll find out she has been obsessed with chocolate ever since she watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child, and that she started concocting deluxe varieties around 1983. Since then, she’s opened several stores, penned a book entitled Real Chocolate, launched The Chocolate Society and kickstarted the Campaign for Real Chocolate.

Best of all, she’s sharing her knowledge. At Rococo’s School of Chocolate you can attempt to make the perfect chocolate truffle, discover the exact science of whipping up chocolate mousse and even how to create tasty figurines. Rococo, simply put, rules. I have no doubt that next time I visit I will, for a brief period of time, become a chocoholic again.

via Life is Sweet at London’s Rococo Chocolates | London | NileGuide.

We came up with the bright idea of chocolate shot glasses when we realized that after dinner we wanted liqueurs and we wanted chocolate, preferably at the same time and without resorting to those ghastly pre-packed fake tasting liqueur chocolates. What better way to solve the dilemma than to make shot glasses out of exceptionally delicious chocolate?

It took a considerable amount of testing and great hardship to come up with the perfect sized Choc Shot, much chocolate was eaten and many liqueurs were tested – you can understand the personal sacrifice we underwent. Especially made for us by Rococo Chocolates in London (don’t be fooled by cheap ‘shooter’ imitations) and packed as a set of twelve in a lovely box, Choc Shots are the ultimate finish to any evening, and drinking almost any liqueur out of them is utterly dreamy.

via Choc Shots | IWOOT.

After admiring the architecture of the area and the grandeur of Harrods we were lead to our second destination, Rococo‘s beautiful shop on Motcomb Street; I would strongly advise feeling brave enough to go in search of Rococo’s decadent Marococo garden, preferably with a good book and mug of hot chocolate.  We were seated at our own table where Sally talked us through how chocolate is made from bean to bar, with beautiful images from Rococo’s Grococo book, which illustrates the bean to bar process used by the Grenada Chocolate Company.  Sally also lead a tasting session, guiding the group through tasting chocolate using our senses, before letting us loose on Rococo’s impressive range of flavoured bars including chill, cardamon, basil and jasmine.  If we hadn’t quite yet had our fill we were treated to samples of fresh chocolates created by Rococo’s in-house chocolatier, Laurent Couchaux, including a beautiful milk chocolate and apricot pate de fruit.

via Meandering the streets of London with Chocolate Ecstasy Tours | The Chocolate Consultant.

One or two servings of good-quality dark chocolate a week reduced the risk of middle-aged and elderly women developing the condition by almost a third, a study found.

Scientists looked at the association between chocolate and heart failure in almost 32,000 Swedish women aged 48 to 83.

A typical chocolate bar weighs around 100 grams, but the amount of healthy cocoa solids it contains varies greatly. Dark chocolate can contain as much as 75% cocoa while standard milk chocolate may have 20% or less.

Antioxidant plant compounds called flavonoids in cocoa are believed to protect against heart disease and high blood pressure. The study authors pointed out that chocolate eaten in Sweden tends to have a high cocoa content while around 90% of chocolate consumed in the UK is milk chocolate, it consists of around 30% cocoa solids.

The research was carried out by the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston, US.

via Chocolates ‘help reduce heart risk’ – AOL News.

Chocolat Extra Brut 85% cocoa

Extra Brut (85%) bar: This recipe consists of dark chocolate with 85% cocoa solids – the upper limit of what is palatable in the chocolate world for most ordinary mortals! Contains only 15% sugar, which gives an uncompromising cocoa hit.

Organic Milk (37%) bar: A creamy chocolate bar with 31% cocoa solids, simple and a favourite for milk chocolate fans.

Rococo chocolates opened their first shop 26 years ago on The Kings Road in Chelsea, London. The founder, Chantal Coady, is now the author of 3 books, runs 3 stores, the flagship of which is in Belgravia, London. She was awarded a special award for “Changing the way people think about chocolate” at the Academy of Chocolate Awards in 2008.

via More Rococo Organic Chocolates | Delicious Ingredients | Delicious Days.

Rococo Chocolates in London just goes out of their way to make sure that everything they make is beautiful! I am just afraid that if I visited, I would not be able to lift my own shopping bag! How could you resist anything they have to offer?

The chocolates above are their floral creams, topped with candied violets and rose petals. According to Kevin Gould writing in Waitrose Food Illustrated, “Rococo’s chocolates simply sing in the mouth.” and the floral creams are just a small example of the beautiful things they have!

Please let me know if any of you have tried any of these! Since I won’t be able to visit either Paris or London for a bit, I would love a review!

via The Gossamer Tearoom: Chocolates? Yes, Please!.

Blackberry Chocolate Cake

This recipe is nicely timed for the current (pun accidental) glut of locally sourced berries in the food markets, so feel free to substitute with the fruit (or nuts) of your choice. It’s converted from the Chocolate Goddess imperial measurements, so beware of any anomalies.
Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 340g flour
• 5g baking soda
• 2g sea salt
• 5g allspice
• 1g cinnamon
• 200ml buttermilk
• 30ml apple juice
• 15ml vanilla extract
• 45g teaspoons butter, room temperature
• 100g sugar
• 100g brown sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 35g cup blackberry jam
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, melted
• 225g cup raisins (I used dried, unsweetened mixed berries.)
• 110g cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts.)

Directions:

1. Mix flour, soda, salt and spices; set aside.
2. Mix milk and juice.
3. Cream butter, beat in sugars until fluffy.
4. Add egg yolks and beat well. Add vanilla.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture.
6. Beat after each addition.
7. Fold in jam, nuts and raisins; also fold in cooled dark chocolate.
8. Beat egg whites to peaks, then fold mixture into beaten egg whites.
9. Bake in greased and floured 10-inch bundt pan at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream and fresh blackberries or as shown in photo heat up blackberry jam and slowly add powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want and pour over the cooled cake.

In the world of chocolate, there are many ingredients that you may pair with it not only in truffles, ganaches and chocolate bars, but also in cooking, baking and dipping.  There are five primary classifications for food pairing with chocolate.  They are vanilla, nuts, fruits, spices, and spirits and wine.  The chocolate with these ingredients compliment each other.  The chocolate compliments the ingredients and the ingredients compliment the chocolate.

Vanilla Beans

When pairing vanilla with chocolate, you may use Bourbon or Tahitian vanilla.  Vanilla may be added to chocolate couverture or used in the centers of ganaches, in truffles or any baked goods.  (There  is a synthetic form of vanilla called vanillin which is not recommended.  It is made from the sap of a pine tree and has a terrible aftertaste.  It is frequently used in commercial, mass produced chocolate bars as it is significantly less expensive that pure vanilla.)  If vanilla is used as the primary flavor, only dark chocolate should be used.  If using vanilla as additional flavoring, it may be added to milk chocolate too.  Vanilla is wonderful in dark chocolate truffles, chocolate cake and added to hot chocolate.

Nuts

There are a wide variety of nuts including almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pistachios and walnuts to name a few.  They are used with chocolate in ganaches, marzipan, pralines, chocolate bars and baked goods. Nuts may be paired with milk or dark chocolate.  When using marzipan, it is best paired with very dark chocolate and pralines are best with milk chocolate.   The United State’s favorite nut is the peanut with chocolate and Europe’s number one flavor is hazelnut with chocolate.

Fruits

Almost all fruits can be paired with chocolate.  The most popular are mangoes, strawberries, oranges, raspberries, blackberries and cherries.  Fruit is fantastic in chocolate baked goods as well as being used as a garnish. Fruits are also amazing as a flavor added to chocolate bars, in centers of bon bons or to enhance truffles.  Fruit often accompanies chocolate fondue.

Spices

Some of the common spices used with chocolate are ginger, anise, chilies, cinnamon and pepper.  These spices may be used in chocolate bars, for bon bon fillings, in truffles, added to baked goods and as a garnish.  Crystallized ginger is often dipped in dark chocolate for a wonderful taste explosion.  Spices work best with dark chocolate, although more and more chocolatiers are started to find fabulous combinations that work with milk chocolate.  In baking, all spices work particularly well.  Anise, cinnamon and chilies have been used in a hot chocolate drink since the Aztecs and Mayans invented it.

Spirits and Wines

Spirits and wines are becoming more and more popular when making chocolate, conducting tastings and pairings, and in cooking.  Some of the more popular spirits used with chocolate are sherry, brandy, cognac and rum. More recently, red wine, dessert wine, white wine and champagnes are being added to chocolate.  Chocolate and beers/ales have become in fashion over the past year.  Spirits and wines are great for use in chocolate desserts, in bon bon centers and in truffles.  They work equally as well with both milk and dark chocolate.

Although these are the more common pairings of ingredients with both milk and dark chocolate, chocolatiers and pastry chefs are constantly testing our palates to bring us more unusual and unique flavor combinations.  It is always nice to think out of the box and try new things.  Who knows what you might be missing!

Annmarie Kostyk, Chocolate Goddess

Today me and my sister went into the amazing Cocoa on Ecclesall road.

It’s so beautiful inside with 3 different rooms that I saw.

1. The first room you step into is filled with the best chocolate in the world, shelves stacked high with goodies and walls lined with jars full of the magical stuff.
2. We entered the second room and it’s like a dining room of a dolls house with teapots, pastel coloured things and chairs and hot chocolate and other drinks so you can have a nice sit down.
3. The third room upstairs was heavenly. Stunning cushions atop wooden benches, curtains draped across the ceiling and a shelf with more lovely things to buy.

We went back downstairs and I treated myself to some of the gorgeous and rich rococo chocolate and another beautifully wrapped bar and my little sister chose a few cute little chocolates from another shelf.

via Girl who ate the world…: Cocoa – The Most Gorgeous Chocolate Shop Ever!.