Cacao Nib

Sometimes ingredients make strange bedfellows. Chocolate and cheese are not the most natural mates, but when the cheese is a heady, acidic, barnyard-fresh goat’s milk cheese and the chocolate is bits of roasted cocoa bean, unsweetened and compact as an espresso bean, unexpected things happen. You get something more. But you can’t quite tell what. The flavors square off, then shift, then subvert one another. Then they take a pause. The air is thick with tension, but nothing stirs. Suddenly, like a gunshot comes the massive crunch of Cyprus black flake sea salt and everything is movement. It all becomes clear in an instant: a dish that’s as comforting as grandma’s chicken potpie and yet uncivilly decadent. . . . A secret pleasure of serving this dish is watching even the most well-bred guest slyly supplement each bite with an added pinch of black salt crystals.

Inspiration can strike at the strangest times and in the most unlikely places. I was in the men’s room at Racines, a restaurant in Paris. While I was momentarily preoccupied with other things, my mind wandered and I scanned the wall facing me, which was plastered with poems and drawings from local artists. Much to my surprise, in the midst of it all was a recipe for chocolate cake. When I returned to my table, I noticed a chocolate cake with the same name on the menu, so I ordered it. It was so delicious that I excused myself again, this time taking a pad of paper and pen with me. At the restaurant, the cake is baked with a handful of cocoa nibs strewn over the top. Cocoa nibs are unsweetened roasted bits of cocoa beans; they’re pretty widely available nowadays. Their slightly bitter chocolate crunch makes a big difference in the flavor and texture of the cake, but you can leave them off if you can’t find them.

Cacao nibs give the flavor of chocolate without added sweetness, and they’re a great side texture to this airy soufflé.

This moist cake combines the fruits, nuts, and spices from the New World that the Spanish conquistadores discovered in 1508. Chocolate was part of this Mesoamerican tableau. Brown sugar and ginger arrived much later, but this cake pays homage to the riches of the original jungles and river valleys.

It was summer in New England the first time I read about the health benefits of blueberries. I rushed to the pick-your-own patch on a nearby hill. I put several perfect ones in my palm with all their little hats aligned—an army of antioxidant soldiers. I ate them. Sweet, with a tang. Yet, sadly, I felt nothing. My blood did not quicken; my heart did not swell with strength. I was my just my same old self, munching a handful of blueberries by the side of the road. In my chocolate research, this moment comes to mind often. The benefits of chocolate arrive quietly amid a myriad of other healthful living components. Health through chocolate is a practice. Chocolate and blueberries, both miracles of nature, join here for a berry breakfast or homey, warm dessert.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg. _ Contributed by Arnon Oren. Café Cacao, the restaurant in our factory, surprises some visitors. Many expect a coffee bar that serves nothing but chocolate cake and cookies. While we do serve many kinds of desserts, Berkeley residents come more for the savory foods made with cacao nibs. Arnon Oren, our first executive chef, created this fresh, memorable dish. Combining roasted squash with pancetta and crunch cacao nibs brings out the depth and sweetness of the squash, making it taste almost creamy. Prosciutto or any salty cured meat works well in this recipe. _

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Truffles : 50 Deliciously Decadent Homemade Chocolate Treats _by Dede Wilson. Cacao beans, from which we get all our wonderful chocolate, are now available in raw form. Called cacao (or cocoa) nibs, they look like tiny brown nuggets similar in shape to kasha or buckwheat groats. Cacao nibs are not sweet, but they have an intense chocolate flavor unlike any other product. In this recipe, they are steeped in cream to add flavor to the ganache and chopped for use as a topping._