Scharffen Berger Chocolate: Elevate a classic dessert (recipes included)
Dear Food Diary:
As a true chocoholic, I was more than delighted to receive the invite from Scharffen Berger Chocolate makers a couple weeks ago. An evening with Elizabeth Falkner (Top Chef) and Johnny Luzzini (Former Executive Pastry Chef at Jean Georges and Daniel), showcasing their take on a classic dessert with a hands-on workshop and of course, tasting (my favorite part).
The cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were all chocolate inspired. The fries dusted with unsweetened cocoa powder was interesting. The peanut sauce made perfect sense in what was familiar yet different.
CHEF DEMO
WORKSHOP
We were divided into 2 groups. I was in the kitchen with Johnny, others were learning how to make Elizabeth’s sundae. Learning from the chefs hands-on was a fun experience.
Johnny shared a cute story about working under Francois Payard and how he would ask him for some of that “Scooby-Doo” with his heavy french accent Apparently his English wasn’t great and he would name things his way, hence the cartoon reference.
Johnny’s Scharffen Berger Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Chocolate Pudding didn’t sound too exciting at first, but once I read the full description and assembled it in the kitchen, I knew I was in for a treat. The playful textures and sophisticated flavor combos was a step above all other chocolate puddings this Chubby tasted. It’s just the amount of sweetness with a kiss of fruity tartness from the passion fruit gelee. The pudding is smooth and rich, with a soft devils food cake in between. Pops of passion fruit seeds appear between bites, while your mouth is busy with the generous sprinkles of chocolate crumbles with cocoa nibs. The fresh raspberries play very nicely in contrast to the freeze dried ones. To top it off, there’s chilled chocolate creme fraiche and a chocolate “scooby doo”. A perfectly balanced dessert. An unforgettable cup of sweet sexyness. Definitely worth trying it at home.
Not only did Elizabeth elevate the classic Chocolate Sundae with her homemade marshmallow cream, she also took us to the molecular side, using liquid nitrogen to freeze the chocolate gelato. Super cool! There’s the spoon licking chocolate sauce, a moist cake and that fluffy marshmallow to top it off. Simple yet satisfying.
P.S. If you love chocolate and baking, here’s your chance to win $10,000 (imagine all the chocolate that an buy!) Enter the Elevate a Classic Dessert Contest
This chocoholic was a happy camper. The chefs were such sweethearts. Seriously an awesomely sweet time. I ate so much chocolate (it continued after I got home) I got a little pimple the next day, LOL, totally worth it.
We left with more chocolate in our goodie bags!
“Hi, my name is Cindy and I’m addicted to their 70% BITTERSWEET bar”. The bar was big and thick, I couldn’t resist, so i bit into like a serious chocoholic would and hurt my teeth. LOL so good though. There’s a nice finish and a hint of fruitness, not too sweet at all, just the way I like it. The Milk Chocolate with Sea Salt and Almonds was also quite addicting even though I’m more of a dark chocolate person.
Get yours at www.scharffenberger.com
The presentation is just awesome :)bringing the old classic to a different level. Pretty amazing work.
Jen