Chocolate, Brandy and Star Anise Ice Cream
Nikki Duffy
MORE RECIPES
Brazil nut, cacao and orange granola; Roasted chilli mole; Hare ragu; Linseed, banana and chocolate muffins; Rye chocolate cake; Double chocolate pecan praline cookies; Brandy and raisin truffles
SOURCING
chococo.co.uk; divinechocolate.com; seedandbean.co.uk
Rarely has a food been mythologised, desired and deplored in such mercurial measure as this one. What other ingredient stands for so much? Both luxury and cheapness, the sacred and the profane – even good health and bad, depending on how you buy your bar. Chocolate’s raw ingredient, cacao, is richly flavoured, devilishly dark, bracingly bitter and contains a stimulant, theobromine. When combined with sugar, it creates a unique foodstuff that many of us crave, covet and adore.
In its pure form, cacao is rich in fats and contains protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Theobromine is one of its more interesting components (from theobroma, the Latin name of the cacao tree, which means ‘food of the gods’). This bitter-tasting alkaloid is a stimulant, similar to but weaker than caffeine. It is also the reason why chocolate is toxic to dogs; if a human ate enough chocolate (several kilos), it would finish them off too. The darker the chocolate, the more theobromine it contains. Chocolate also contains phenylethylamine – a neurotransmitter associated with joyful feelings. Some say it’s the reason why chocolate makes you happy, but there doesn’t seem to be enough to make this plausible, nor is there scientific evidence to support the theory. It’s more likely the mouth-feel or taste of chocolate – possibly, just the idea of chocolate itself – that gives the sensation that one’s soul has, at least briefly, been satisfied.
Chocolate is a child of the American rainforests. Cacao beans were first made into a sustaining drink millennia ago by the Olmec civilisation in ancient Mexico (1500–500 BC), and dark, bitter cacao brews were hugely important to Mesoamerican people for many centuries afterwards. The Maya associated cacao with human blood, used it in their rituals and buried their noble dead with cups of it. They even daubed liquid cacao on their newborn children in an act of theobromic baptism. In fact evidence suggests that for hundreds of years, the inhabitants of this region were knocking back buckets of the stuff, their harsh cacao drinks spiked with chilli and vanilla, herbs and flowers, and often whipped up to a froth. It was the Aztecs, around 600 years ago, who first added honey to their cacao, creating the sweet chocolate flavour we so love today.
Via the brutality of conquest and the labour of slaves, cacao began to cast its spell across the world. The Spanish and Portuguese realised how lucrative a trade in this dark delicacy could be and as the centuries passed, chocolate insinuated its way into the culture of all of Europe. In seventeenth-century London, chocolate was quaffed as an alternative libation in the flourishing coffee houses. It wasn’t until the eighteenth century that the idea of eating solid chocolate gained currency but, thereafter, there was no stopping it. The first modern chocolate bar was manufactured by Fry’s in 1847.
West Africa is the main source of cacao today, though it is grown in many other places, including Mexico and South America as well as Indonesia. Most of the cacao beans produced are of the ‘Forastero’ variety – robust and reliable. Finer but more temperamental ‘Criollo’ cacao is grown in much smaller quantities and used, blended with other beans or sometimes just on its own, to make the very highest-end chocolate. ‘Trinitario’ is a hybrid of Forastero and Criollo.
Cacao is a commodity, often sold by farmers to manufacturers in other countries, and the price on the international market fluctuates, leaving small producers vulnerable. This is why chocolate is one of the foods most associated with the Fairtrade movement. However, there are other things to look for if you want to make an ethical chocolate choice. If chocolate is processed ‘bean to bar’ entirely in the country of origin, there are huge benefits to the local economy. There are some fabulous chocolates made sustainably in small quantities in the place where the cacao beans are grown. More expensive than your average bar they may be – but you are paying for quality, expertise, ethics and traceability. The price reflects what chocolate can be at its best – not a sugary, padded-out, quick-fix snack, but a rich and satisfying ingredient, revered since ancient times and imbued with a little bit of dark magic.
Chocolate production
The process begins when mature cacao pods are split open and the seeds and pulp inside scraped out and allowed to ferment in ‘sweat boxes’ for a few days. Properly managed fermentation is crucial in reducing tannins and beginning the development of all the gorgeous chocolatey flavours that will later be apparent; a brief period of germination occurs during the fermentation process too, so cacao beans are in a sense malted, another reason for their complex flavour.
The fermented beans are then dried, de-husked and broken into little bits; these are cacao or cocoa ‘nibs’. With a distinct bitterness as well as a chocolatey flavour, raw cacao nibs are now appreciated as a darkly delicious health food: unsweetened, dairy-free and full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. You can buy them as tiny, crunchy nuggets – fantastic in muesli, granola or flapjacks – or as a powder, which can be used in baking, smoothies, or to make virtuous treats such as raw brownies. Raw cacao is pricey but delivers an intense flavour punch.
Most cacao beans are destined for a more indulgent use: roasted before being de-husked, the nibs are then ground into a paste known as cocoa ‘mass’. If the natural fat in the mix – cocoa butter – is removed from this, what remains is cocoa powder (see Cocoa). If, instead, the cocoa mass has further ingredients added to it, such as extra fat, sugar and vanilla, it becomes chocolate as we know it.
Milk chocolate contains milk solids and usually a lot of sugar. Many brands include soya emulsifiers as well as vegetable fats such as palm oil. Dark chocolate does not usually have dairy products added (though it may contain traces of them), but it is generally still sweetened with sugar. White chocolate is not true chocolate as it contains only cocoa butter, milk and sugar. Ultra-sweet, it benefits from the twang of vanilla or other spices to make it appealing.
For most culinary uses, dark chocolate is the best choice: it packs rich chocolate flavour, without too much sweetness, and the higher cocoa solid content makes it more stable when heated. However, it’s not true to say that very high cocoa solids always equates to very high quality. That is determined by the beans themselves, the skill with which they are fermented and roasted, and the ingredients that go into the finished bar.
Chocolate with solids in the region of 70–80 per cent works well in most recipes – higher than that and the chocolate can be very bitter. ‘Cocoa solids’ is a blanket term that includes the dark, chocolatey element (essentially cocoa powder) and the cocoa butter. In the right measure, cocoa butter makes for a wonderful eating experience.
Chocolate contains a vast spectrum of flavour compounds – berry, nutty, woody, winey, floral, smoky, leathery, buttery, caramely – and the cocoa butter in the mix helps to release those magical tastes upon the tongue. Artisan chocolate producers often add a little extra cocoa butter to their blends, whereas in cheap chocolate, cocoa butter is taken out and replaced with bland vegetable fats.
The complex mix of sugars, liquids and fats within chocolate can sometimes lead to mishaps when it is heated. Melting chocolate should be done gently, with occasional stirring, so that it does not burn. Once this happens, it’s pretty much irretrievable. Another problem can occur if molten chocolate comes into contact with a small amount of water – the sugar particles within it stick together and the chocolate ‘seizes’ into a thick, grainy mass. (Larger quantities of liquid won’t have the same effect because the sugar is dissolved.) Seized chocolate can be rescued by reheating it gently while stirring in a little hot cream or a flavourless oil. Sometimes melting chocolate mixed with lots of cream, as for ganache or truffles, can ‘split’ into grainy cocoa and a pool of oily fat. Try gradually whisking in a little hot milk to rescue it. In both these cases, the consistency of the chocolate is loosened, however, which may affect your recipe.
CHOCOLATE, BRANDY AND STAR ANISE ICE CREAM
A gorgeously grown-up ice cream, this mingles the fruity, bittersweet flavour of chocolate with warming star anise, a hint of orange and a sup of brandy. Serves 6–8
3–5 star anise
200ml whole milk
300ml double cream
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
4 medium egg yolks
100g caster sugar
200g dark chocolate (70–75% cocoa solids), finely chopped
75ml cider brandy or Calvados
Using a pestle and mortar, bash the star anise to reduce to chunky bits. Tip into a pan with the milk, cream and orange zest. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the pan; add the pod too. Bring almost to a simmer, then set aside to infuse for 15 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well combined. Strain the hot cream through a fine sieve on to the eggs and sugar, whisking all the time. Pour into a clean pan and cook gently, stirring, for a few minutes, until thickened. Don’t let it boil or it will split.
Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir gently until it has melted. Stir in the cider brandy, then strain through a sieve into a clean bowl. Lay a piece of cling film or baking parchment on the surface to stop a skin forming, then set aside to cool.
Churn the custard in an ice-cream maker until soft-set, then transfer to the freezer to freeze solid. (Alternatively, pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze for about an hour, or until starting to solidify around the sides, then mash with a fork, mixing the frozen sides into the liquid centre. Put it back in the freezer for another hour, and repeat at hourly intervals until soft-set, then let the ice cream freeze solid.)
Transfer the ice cream to the fridge 30 minutes before serving, to soften a little.