ROLL CUISINE CORNER with Pierre-Luc Moeys

Ah….Chocolate!

The word “chocolate” is derived from the Aztec word “Xocolatl,” meaning “bitter water.” Aztecs crushed cocoa beans into a paste, added water and spices (but no sugar!), and the resulting beverage, though bitter, was nourishing and very popular—so much so that the cocoa bean even became a currency for a time—and chocolate became exalted to the point where it was associated with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. No big surprise there!

Around the 16th century, European explorers brought the drink back home, and with added sugar and sweeteners, a new luxury (quite expensive at the time) was born. In the 1800’s Dutchman Conrad Von Houten perfected the extraction of cocoa butter from the beans, and the smooth and creamy solid form of chocolate began its domination of the confection world. The combination of bitter and sweet allow chocolate to go with just about anything, including spicy, salty, and tart flavors. With this recipe, we’ll explore a chocolate-citrus blend that nobody can pass up.

Lemon Crème Brulee with Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse (For 4 people)

(We recommend making this the day before serving)

1˛2 quart of heavy cream
1/3 lb. bitter chocolate
1˛4 cup strong coffee (room temperature)
1 shot Kahlua or Bailey’s Irish Creme
1 egg yolk

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler VERY slowly, and once melted, pull off and let it cool down to room temperature. While that’s cooling, whip up the heavy cream to a scooping stage, no harder. Once the chocolate is room temperature, mix it with the coffee, egg yolk and the Kahlua or Bailey’s. Whisk this fast, then add 1/3 of the whipped heavy cream to the chocolate mix (this technique is known as “making family”). Once that’s mixed together, add the rest of the whipped cream and fold together with spatula. (Gently folding the mixture will help keep the air bubbles inside, resulting in a fluffier mousse…very important!) Once it’s completely mixed, cover and let it set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Lemon Crème Brulee

(See if you can get hold of a small torch for caramelizing the topping!)

1˛2 quart of crème fraiche
3 lemons
1˛2 cup of sugar
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
Some sugar to make caramel crust

Preheat the oven to 200F. Zest and juice the lemons. Put lemon zest and juice in a saucepan with the 1˛2 cup of sugar and bring to a boil. When at the boiling point, pull off the stove and mix with the crème fraiche and egg yolks. Pour evenly into 4 small bowls or big ramekins. Place these bowls or ramekins into an oven roasting pan and pour water into the pan until the water level is at least halfway up the side of the bowls/ramekins (this is also known as “Bain­Marie”), and put in oven. Check the bowls periodically, and take out when the mixture has set.

Once it has set, sprinkle sugar over the tops of the bowls, and burn the tops with a torch until golden brown and caramelized. Then put a nice quenelle (a water drop-looking shape made with a spoon) of chocolate mousse on top. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Is Chocolate a Drug?

Not that this is a surprise to most chocolate lovers, but chocolate contains the natural “love drug” tryptophan: a chemical that the brain uses to make a neurotransmitter called serotonin, high levels of which can produce feelings of ecstasy. While tryptophan could be considered chocolate’s “ecstasy,” another chemical in chocolate, phenyl ethylamine, has earned the nickname “chocolate amphetamine.” High levels of this particular neurotransmitter apparently promote feelings of attraction and excitement. Phenyl ethylamine stimulates the brain's pleasure centers and, not surprisingly, reaches peak levels during orgasm. However, many scientists are skeptical that chocolate could produce mood-altering effects in this way. Chemicals like tryptophan and phenyl ethylamine (also found in many other foodstuffs) are, after all, present in chocolate only in very small quantities.

Chocolate also has amounts of anandamide, another neurotransmitter that targets the same brain structures as THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, also known as marijuana. But to make a substantial impact on the brain’s own natural anandamide levels, experts estimate you would need to eat several kilos of chocolate! We can’t recommend ingesting THAT much chocolate (not that that’s going to stop anyone from trying) but we generally agree; regardless of any “drug-like” properties of chocolate, it does seem to make life a little sweeter, a little smoother, and there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?