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Chocolate:
some like it hot

by Julia Watson

Remember Death by Chocolate? Prepare to meet your maker with our recipes for molten chocolate

We are passionate about chocolate. It makes us feel passionate. We give names like Chocolate Nemesis to puddings and cakes. Maybe it’s the way it coats the tongue with a luscious smoothness. And the wicked luxury of indulging in something so seductive that, gone in a trice, will only sink to the thighs. But it’s just as likely we are captivated because of the presence in chocolate of phenylethylamine, the same chemical stimulated naturally in the brain by falling in love.

Melting chocolate
Melted chocolate is the best, a glossy rich ooze calling out for a scoop of ice cream to harden over, or a finger to be plunged into its tepid mass. With their gooey elasticity, chocolate mousses and petits pots de chocolat are the perfect puddings to demonstrate just how chocolatey melted chocolate can get.

But it can be temperamental. If you melt it over a direct flame, it can quickly overheat and turn into sand. So play it safe and always put it in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring often. If you are still having trouble, try it with the pan off the heat completely.

Or melt the chocolate in a low oven, 110C/225F/gas mark ¼, though this will take longer. You can also melt it in a microwave, but the length of time depends on the wattage of the oven. Start with 1 minute, then check and stir if it needs another blast.

Buy the best
To make the best chocolate dishes, you must buy the best to start with. Good cooking chocolate bars generally state the percentage of cocoa they contain. 70% is the minimum to strive for. (By the way, white chocolate is not really chocolate at all. Though it contains cocoa butter – and milk and sugar – it has no chocolate liquor, which is why it stays white.)

If you don’t have chocolate to hand, pure cocoa powder can be used instead with a mixture of 3 tbsp cocoa, 1-2 tbsp sugar and 15g butter for every 25g called for in the recipe.

Get saucy
For a pudding with a chocolate sauce, only specific sauces will do. For instance, what works with a Poire Belle Helene is not so good over ice cream, which needs a sauce that will crisp on contact like a thin helmet.

Next page: hot chocolate recipes

Chocolate: some like it hot

Chocolate:
some like it hot