Dense, Moist, Deep, Dark, Chocolate Cake Covered with Cream and Roses

Though the Love Goddess Cake debuted just a few months ago with our line of luxury baking mixes, it is one of my oldest Vosges Haut-Chocolat recipes. The sweetened whipped cream, rose touched beauty debuted in one of my very first print catalogs. Back in the day, over a decade ago, I was still rolling truffles in my Chicago apartment and Vosges Haut-Chocolat had just moved from being merely the sparkle in my eye to a chocolate Bucktown reality. I insisted that we travel to New York for a photo shoot in the streets of the West Village as an anchor for our first multi-page mail order catalog.  So, we went to the big apple and shot a chocolate lifestyle catalog to introduce the brand to the chocolate lovers of the world.  We even bought a white leather Ralph Lauren dress for styling!  Shortly after the catalog launched my partnership fizzled and I was not on the winning side of my accountant. She thought I was a creative type that didn’t know a thing about running a business. SO I decided NOT to tell her of my plans to open a boutique in SoHo that rented for $18,ooo a month! I just knew in my gut that having a boutique in New York would bring an incredible awareness for this brand of experiential chocolate. It was my fourth year in business and we were yet to have a profit, but nonetheless I felt I was on a precipice and so I convinced the landlord I was going to be a success.  The boutique opened and in 2002 with a failed partnership and a crazy expensive NYC rent we had our first profit ever! Sorry for the digression but reminiscing about this cake takes me back to this story. I get asked often what was one of the biggest successes you’ve had and I always say whenever I follow my instincts.

The catalog featured our core exotic truffle collection along with a few other early products. Tucked near the back was a double page spread debuting the original Love Goddess Cake. It was my recipe for dense, chocolate cake along with a chili-spiced red fire ganache to spread between the layers. To finish it off, I suggested a layering of whipped cream and a crown of organic rose petals.

From that first catalog, the cake has made many appearances at parties and was featured in Art Smith’s cookbook, Back to the Table. Now, I think it has come to its final evolution – a baking mix that allows even the most novice bakers to enjoy the rich cake and impress friends with ease!

I have been making the Love Goddess Cake mix with whipped cream as filling and frosting. It is best if you can make the cake the day before serving it and put it in the refrigerator.  hen take it out of the fridge for 1-2 hours before you serve. This allows the cream to soak into the cake making it even more moist. If you don’t have time to do that, I suggest rubbing some of the whipping cream right into the layers of cake before you whip it up and fill and cover the cake.

Whipped cream is quite forgiving so you don’t have to be an expert at layer cakes to make this one look good. Last time I made it, the whipped cream was slightly over whipped, but not having time to get to the store, I forged ahead, sprinkled the cake heavily with rose petals and set it out for my guests near my favorite champagne on a dessert table.

The Love Goddess Cake mix includes tips and tricks along with serving suggestions. Experiment with your own fillings and frostings. Please do share your suggestions. I always love creative input from my fellow chocolate lovers!

Never too Much of a Good Thing

Even the most dreamy tasks can be daunting at times. When I occasionally have to leave the Vosges kitchen on a spice hunt or a visit to our New York or Las Vegas boutiques, my awesome team must execute my recipes in my absence. Upon my return, I am faced with a sea of truffles to taste. I ensure that each and every batch meets our strict standards before chocolates are placed in purple boxes or go into your lovely mouths.

Because we use all natural products and because much of our process is done by hand, there will always be natural variance. I taste to be sure the chipotle is smoky enough, the Maldon salt crystals are big enough and the Hungarian paprika is ground fine enough.

After my most recent excursion, I came home to find about 35 truffles awaiting inspection. I like to taste them first thing in the morning when my palate is most fresh, working my way from white to milk to dark chocolate. I start by cutting each truffle in half and looking for smooth texture and a maximum shell thickness of 2 millimeters. Consistency in chocolate deposit temperature is crucial to a nice, thin shell.

Although I don’t look forward to problem batches and errors, they do not anger me. Each misstep is an opportunity for improvement or a honing of our process. After all some of the best inventions are born out of mistakes, tarte tartin for example.

One of the most frequent comments I hear from people is, “If you need someone to help taste chocolate, I would be happy to volunteer.” Well, there is no denying that there is a lot of it to be done in my line of work. Although facing dozens of truffles at a time can be daunting, I  prescribe to the saying there is no such thing as too much of a good thing.

Bacon Bar and Chorizo Stuffed Dates with Spicy Oaxaca Red Sauce

This recipe is inspired by a signature dish of likely my favorite restaurant in Chicago, avec. Chef Koren Grieveson is epic and this is the spot I bring all out of town and in town guests to not only experience the food but the creative, easy going vibe. The air pulses with energy, the communal seating promises a chance encounter and the room buzzes with great tunes. It is an absolute must-try. They don’t take reservations and thank God they are open late. I think this is the only late night spot in Chicago where you can eat something other than a burrito. Can anyone tell me why Chicago closes shop so early? avec is open until midnight on weekdays and 1 am on weekends.

The taleggio foccaccia and bacon wrapped chorizo stuffed dates are two of my passions on the menu. I have created my own version of Koren’s dates, by of course, adding chocolate to the dates and in the sauce. The magic of that salty and spicy meat, a touch of sweet chocolate and some acidic tomato is heightened by a roasting process that brings it all together. Spread the flavor and try it out.

Bacon Bar and Chorizo Stuffed Dates with Spicy Oaxaca Red Sauce

yields: 15 stuffed dates & sauce

For bacon bar stuffed dates:
15 medium-sized Medjool dates
2 chorizo sausages, casings removed, raw and spicy
1, 3 oz. Vosges Mo’s Bacon Bar (or 3 segments Couverture Bar, cut into 4 pieces per square)
8 slices Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon
1 batch of Spicy Oaxacan Red Sauce (recipe follows)
cilantro for serving

For Spicy Oaxacan Red Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium sweet Spanish onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine or sherry to deglaze
1 lb skinned, heirloom tomatoes or canned San Marzano tomatoes
2 oz. Vosges Haut-Chocolat Oaxaca Bar
1/2 dried chipotle chili, reconstituted in water, seeded
1 tbsp olive oil to finish
salt to taste
3 splashes liquid smoke
1 tsp cumin

Cut the dates on one side lengthwise and remove the pits. Break each 3 oz. bacon bar square into 4 pieces. Cut bacon strips in half. Stuff each date with 1 tbsp of chorizo and place a piece of bacon bar in the center of the chorizo. Fold chorizo around chocolate and close date. Wrap each date in half a piece of bacon. Sear bacon-wrapped dates over high heat in an ungreased pan until crispy. Set aside.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in large stock pan. Add onion and garlic with salt and sugar, cooking over medium heat until translucent. Add tomato paste and deglaze pan with sherry; cook until the majority of alcohol is boiled off, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, Oaxaca bar and chipotle chili. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Purée with an immersion blender until smooth. Add cumin, liquid smoke and season to taste with olive oil and salt.

In a deep baking sheet (about 1″ side walls) pour Oaxaca red sauce about half-way up the sheet. Transfer the seared dates to the baking sheet, spacing each about 1 inch apart. Bake the dates in sauce for 25 minutes. Serve in sauce, garnish with cilantro and bacon bar shavings.