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What to do with a 99% cacao bar?

post #1 of 15
12/7/09 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
I suppose it's safe to say that anyone who clicked the title of this post is a genuine Cacao Head!

Let me be one to say...I love good chocolate :) There is nothing wrong with a good milk chocolate, but what really gets me going is a nice dark bar. 60% on up to 85%...I love it!

But recently I bought a 99% cacao bar. I really had to do it, I couldn't just pass it up could I ? NO!

But after a couple of small samplings, I'm wondering what I could do with this strong cacao? Did I say strong? WOW! There's just got to be something constructive to come out of this...

methods, recipe, combinations???


thanks,
dan

Enjoy the Food!

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post #2 of 15
12/7/09 at 5:12pm
Dan,




You have my COMPLETE attention.


Do you know that the top 5 brain foods include chocolate ? I know, its crazy ....


Salmon
Cacoa beans
Matcha
Acai/blueberries
Coffee beans


And it just so happens that they are all my favorite as well.


Lindt came out with their 99% bar. I feel an urge to send them a thank you letter for all their great efforts.
In one of their articles it said:




Thomas Linemayr, CEO and President of Lindt & Sprüngli(USA) recommends this five-step sensory approach to tasting chocolate, and these simple skills can quickly turn anyone into a chocolate connoisseur. “The 99% Excellence Bar should appear very shiny, almost black, and with a uniform appearance. Its aroma should be very intense, with a predominantly smoky flavor. The chocolate should feel silky and slightly pliable to the touch, but on breaking apart, the sound should be an audible clean, crisp snap. These are all excellent indicators of a perfect bar of chocolate,” he explains.
There is a correct way to taste, smell and experience and even hear chocolate. A CD with the sounds of chocolate and no calories.


But like all good things in life its an acquired taste. I would not advise anyone to buy their first bite of heaven without trying milk chocolate first.


That being said, what to do with that bar...........ummm


Try a hot cup of chocolate with it. .....first then .....I have many ideas for it .


Do you know what strength is ?


The ability to break a bar of 99% chocolate in four pieces and only have one piece ! Now that is strength.


LOL , love your post......I could do a Thesis on this topic easily ....
Chocolate and fleur de sel.....oh my.

Petals
Réalisé avec un soupçon d'amour.

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post #3 of 15
12/7/09 at 6:50pm
Dan -- use it as you would unsweetened chocolate, because that's pretty much what it is. The percentage is of cacao (solids and cocoa butter) -- the higher the percentage, the less sugar, milk, extra fat. So 99% has almost nothing else, in effect making it unsweetened (the remaining 1% might be other fat, such as coconut or vegetable fat).

Petalsandcoco, you're a stronger woman than I! :lol:

My husband like the 86% bars I buy for him; for me they are :eek:! Too strong. I top out somewhere in the mid to high 70s.
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
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post #4 of 15
12/8/09 at 7:26am
Same there, I can't stand anything above 70
http://www.cheftalk.com/image/id/23592
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post #5 of 15
12/8/09 at 7:59am
You really have to be off your "bean" to really like that stuff......I am off my bean.

It is truly an acquired taste to love the dark chocolates. If I need a chocolate rush, I will eat it just as is, but there are days I eat with other things. I also shave it off for desserts toppings .

My fridge has just about every % of chocolate...THERE IS NO MILK CHOCOLATE in my fridge. Yes, many enjoy milk but after having "dark" for so long, and from Belgium and France, it is hard for me. I also have a section of flavored chocolates.

What is it about a piece of chocolate that just makes you smile and feel all happy ?
A little everyday is very good. I "refuse" to complain about that.
How did someone figure out that adding sugar to cacoa would make us feel so good, I would like to meet this genious ! He gets a few stars in my book.

my 2 nibs....

Petals
Réalisé avec un soupçon d'amour.

Baby Cake
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post #6 of 15
12/8/09 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 
I would like to try it in a homemade brownie recipe, but I hate to waste it in a recipe. Maybe I'll just continue consuming it one small square at a time :) Although shaving small amount on top of a dessert shouldn't be a problem.

2 nibs worth?

I've had the Sharffen Berger bar with cacao nibs...yum! I've been looking for other chocolates with nibs ever since, but haven't had any luck. Any ideas?

I'll have to sprinkle a little Fleur de Sel on top :)

thanks,
dan

Enjoy the Food!

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post #7 of 15
12/8/09 at 11:16am
Dan,

Let me get some thoughts together on the Nibs, I will be in touch again on this matter ......
Let me find you a recipe.....give me some time....I am just getting ready to leave soon.

A bientot.

Petals
Réalisé avec un soupçon d'amour.

Baby Cake
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Victorian cupcakes
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post #8 of 15
12/8/09 at 11:50am
Thread Starter 
I found some roasted cacao nibs from The Spice House. Next time I place an order I'll have to get a small batch. I could already taste them in a good brownie recipe.

thanks petals,
dan

Enjoy the Food!

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post #9 of 15
12/8/09 at 5:45pm
I must know where you got that chocolate. I can't find chocolate strong enough around here, with Lindt's 85% being the top of the heap here.

As for a recipe, butter, chocolate, and crushed red pepper makes a good sauce for roasted chicken.
Dammi un coltello affilato e vi mostrerò l'arte più belle del mondo.
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post #10 of 15
12/8/09 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
99% Cacao bar

Hi ChefRay,

I bought it at a Lindt store (somewhat) near my house. You can purchase their chocolates online, including the 99%.

thanks for the recipe :)

dan

Enjoy the Food!

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post #11 of 15
12/8/09 at 6:48pm
Found and ordered. I love internet shopping.

Make sure you mix that in a double boiler or the chocolate will scorch and be horridly bitter.
Dammi un coltello affilato e vi mostrerò l'arte più belle del mondo.
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post #12 of 15
12/8/09 at 7:20pm
Dan,




There are so many Chocolate Brownie recipes on the net , unless they are actually made and eaten, you cannot really tell which one has that “Big flavor”, or which one , when you taste it , makes you say “this is it”. Well the following Brownie is one I found on the net and I have made it six times and it has not failed me yet. It has now become my “Therapy” . It is called “Interlude” and I thank the mother who post this recipe in my heart everytime I make them . Prepare your heart for something very decadent and wonderful.


“Interlude”


1 cup of unsalted butter
2 ½ cup sugar
1 ¼ cup Valrhona cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
4 eggs (room temperature)
1 ½ cup of AP flour
2 cups dark chocolate chips (dark)
½ cup cacao nibs (Scharffen Berger)


Preheat oven 350 F

  1. Line 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper on the bottom and the sides
  2. Melt butter over low heat.
  3. Add sugar and heat until its just about to boil. WHY ? This will give brownies a crispy top crust.
  4. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
  5. With a wooden spoon stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, vanilla.
  6. Add eggs one by one, beating until smooth and shiny.
  7. Add the flour and mix gently until it is almost completely incorporated.
  8. Add the chocolate chips and cacao nibs.
  9. Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes

Brownies are done when the top is firm and slightly puffed and set on the edges.


Now since we are still talking about the thought of using cacao nibs , have you ever thought about making a rub for a roast ? Yes , it is called Scharffen Berger cacao nib rub on a Tri Tip Roast.
This is the site, I will add it on .....it is amazing what flavors this can take on.....


http://www.scharffenberger.com/re0901.asp


I hope you get to try this recipe , which ever you decide. I really love your thread. I hope to add more as I think of things. If I have missed something let me know....:)

Petals
Réalisé avec un soupçon d'amour.

Baby Cake
(4 photos)
Fruitcake - decorated
(5 photos)
Victorian cupcakes
(10 photos)
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post #13 of 15
12/9/09 at 12:47pm
It's unsweetened chocolate, therefore baking chocolate. It was never available here till recently - i don;t know anyone who would eat it, but it's what i buy when i want to make my american recipes that call for unsweetened baking chocolate. Otherwise i have to do substitutions with cocoa and butter.
"Siduri said, 'Gilgamesh, where are you roaming? You will never find the eternal life that you seek...Savour your food, make each of your days a delight, ... let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.'"
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post #14 of 15
12/14/09 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 
I still have to order the nibs, soon. I recently got a Lindt dark w/fleur de sel...I wish I could fill the pool with that stuff and just dive in. It's nice :D

dan

Enjoy the Food!

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post #15 of 15
12/14/09 at 1:05pm
Dan,


Now you are talking ....what a wonderful pleasure to experience.
Ahhh if only....

Dark Chocolate (small amounts) "can" lower:

1- blood pressure
2- lower cholesterol LDL's

2 more reasons to eat it......

Petals
Réalisé avec un soupçon d'amour.

Baby Cake
(4 photos)
Fruitcake - decorated
(5 photos)
Victorian cupcakes
(10 photos)
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