When we began to research this article on chocolate, we first visited our own recipe archives for chocolate recipes compiled over the last six years, and were overwhelmed with the volume of recipes in our archives that include chocolate, literally hundreds! The one thing that nearly all these recipes have in common is the quality of chocolate. In most of our chocolate based recipes, we use Sharffen Berger's semi or bittersweet chocolate, but any other fine gluten-free chocolate can be used. When chocolate is the star of a recipe, always make sure that the chocolate you use is of 'star' quality.

First, a little about chocolate:

Finer chocolate makers produce the most pure form of chocolate – void of any possible gluten contaminates potentially found on large commercial production lines. Scharffen Berger, makes their chocolate virtually the same way it was made back in the late 1800’s. They produce their chocolate directly from the beans and only use the purest ingredients throughout the process. The process of turning cacao into chocolate begins with the beans. This particular chocolate maker starts by carefully selecting a variety of cacao beans found from all over the world. The beans are then sorted by hand and roasted. After roasting, the beans are loaded into a machine known as the winnower, which removes the outer hulls and separates the "nibs’, or the center of the beans. The nibs are the basic product used for chocolate production. The nibs along with sugar and vanilla are then mashed into a thick paste. The result is a "chocolate liquor" which is then transferred to a "conche-refiner". At this point heat is introduced to the chocolate to allow the chocolate to thoroughly blend. After conching, the liquid chocolate is then tempered for several hours. This involves several stages of heating and cooling the liquid chocolate to stabilize the cocoa butter crystals so they are more uniform in size. It also gives the chocolate a bright luster and a sharp snap when you break it. The final step in this amazing process is molding and packaging.

Choosing the Right Kind of Chocolate

There are many different kinds of chocolate to choose from and all serve there purpose in baking and general snacking enjoyment. Couverture chocolate is the highest quality chocolate. It is very pure and contains a high percentage of coca butter giving it a superb flavor. It is usually used for handmade chocolates and normally is tempered before use. Plain chocolate is best used in desserts and baked goods, but you need to check the percentage of cocoa solids. The higher the percentage, the better the flavor. Milk chocolate is quite low in cocoa solids, only containing about 20% and is much sweeter than plain chocolate. Generally speaking, it should not be used for cooking. White chocolate gets it’s flavor from cocoa butter and contains no cocoa solids. As with all manufactured chocolates, but particularly white chocolate, make sure that you check the ingredients for additives that may contain gluten. When using white chocolate, make sure that you melt it very carefully since it burns quite easily. Cocoa is an easy and inexpensive way to add chocolate flavor to your cooking. It is made from cocoa mass after the cocoa butter has been removed.

Tempering Chocolate

Tempering chocolate gives the chocolate a glossy finish and a nice, hard and crisp consistency. To temper chocolate, break your couverture chocolate into small pieces and place it into a bowl. Stand the bowl over simmering water (not boiling) and stir the chocolate until it melts. Remove the bowl from the heat and place the bowl in cold water and continue to stir. Return the bowl to the pan of simmering water and heat until it reaches 88°F then remove the bowl from the pan. Test the chocolate by taking a spoonful and spreading it on a cool surface covered with parchment paper or preferably on a marble slab. It should set within 5 minutes. If it doesn’t, repeat the process of setting it over cool water then returning it to the heat until it reaches 88°F.

Melting Chocolate

The most important thing about melting chocolate is not to rush the process. The traditional way is to place the chocolate in a bowl (as in the tempering process above) and place the bowl over simmering water. Stir the chocolate until it melts. Another way to melt chocolate is to place the chocolate in a bowl and microwave it. To melt 4 oz. of chocolate microwave it on full power for about a minute. Remove it from the microwave and stir. If it is not completely melted, return it to the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Stir until completely melted.

Storing Chocolate

Chocolate should be stored in a cool, dry place (68°F) and should not come in contact with water at any time (unless a recipe specifically requires it) It should not be stored in the refrigerator.

As one can imagine, selecting the pinnacle of chocolate recipes from our collection of hundreds of delectable desserts, baked goods and entrees is no easy task, but of course, we have! The criteria for our selection was the richest, most sinful, chocolatey desserts imaginable. May I have the envelope, please......the winners are:

Meringue Topped Hot Chocolate w/Caramelized Bananas

Chestnut Torte with Rich Chocolate Frosting

Triple Chocolate Towers

Chocolate Coffee Mousse

Chocolate Cups

Chocolate Decadence

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Bourbon Espresso Truffles

Champagne Ice Cream in Chocolate Cups

Chocolate Raspberry Layered Mousse

Chocolate Almond Cherry Cream Cake

Chocolate Cherry Glazed Muffins

Decadent Brownies

Chocolate Raspberry Squares

Chocolate Cabernet Sauce

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte w/Custard Sauce

- Glutenfreeda