DARK MAGIC
Bakers test their skills against demands of chocolate
Great Chocolate Showdown Tuesdays, Food Network Canada
How now, ground cacao? Chocolate, glorious chocolate, is the focus of a new TV competition series airing on Food Network Canada. Each episode sees home bakers make chocolate-based desserts aimed at impressing the judges and ultimately winning $50,000. Author Anna Olson speaks about her role as a judge and the beauty of the sweet stuff.
Q What sets chocolate apart as an ingredient?
A Chocolate stands apart because of its complexity, its multiple shapes, tastes, textures and forms but also because it has its own set of rules for handling it. It truly is something special.
Q What’s your favourite challenge on Great Chocolate Showdown?
A The mirror glaze challenge from episode 4 is one of my top picks. I’m a big fan of mirror glaze — it’s an old-school technique, it’s been around for ages and every pastry student learns it in school. But it has been revitalized because of the creative colours and patterns you can do, and the prices are as dynamic as the end result. I was surprised by the risks some competitors took, but also surprised by those who played it safe.
Q What’s the trickiest part of baking with chocolate?
A Using chocolate in baking takes an appreciation for flavour and texture balance, and our competitors learned early on how important that aspect was to the three of us, as judges. Inexperienced bakers may be tempted to use milk chocolate in baking cakes, fillings and frostings, but it’s so mild and sweet it can result in an underwhelming dessert. But in confections, milk chocolate is a popular option.
Q Do you have a favourite chocolate-related memory?
A I have early memories of Easter morning, the one day when “the bunny” clearly knew how much I loved chocolate. I loved getting the solid rabbit made of chocolate, and I would start with the ears and work my way down.
Q What’s your go-to flavour pairing with chocolate?
A For me, there is no more elegant pairing than orange with chocolate — fragrant, sophisticated and it can be subtle or intense. I did enjoy trying innovative flavour pairings from our competitors, especially in using freeze-dried fruits.
Q What’s the most unconventional chocolate food item you’ve ever eaten?
A I haven’t been subjected to chocolate-covered crickets or ants yet ... but I did try a roasted garlic white chocolate ice cream that I shouldn’t have.
Q Do you have a favourite chocolate bar?
A I’m more of a truffle-and-confections girl — a good box of mixed chocolates makes me happy. And if you’ve ever had the pleasure to visit Bruges, in Belgium, there is a chocolate shop practically on every corner. I indulged extensively in my confection habit.
Q White, milk or dark chocolate?
A Dark!
Q Best chocolate-related moment in pop culture: Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory on I Love Lucy; Forrest Gump saying “life is like a box of chocolates;” or Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory?
A I’d have to give a nod to Willy Wonka. I loved the book as a child, and the movie version — the Gene Wilder one — was thrilling to watch.