Surprise! Who doesn’t like surprises specially the one which includes chocolate in it. Do you have a sweet tooth? Then this one is for you! The other day, I had this amazing mind blowing dessert which was not only a pleasure to the taste buds but also a wonder to the eyes. When I ordered this dessert “Torta Caprese Con Creama Alla Vaniglia”, I was expecting a torta caprese, a classic Italian chocolate almond cake with vanilla ice cream as the name suggested. However, when the dessert was served it was a sphere of dark chocolate sprinkled with edible gold dust, sitting on bed of Nutella powder in a pure white bowl. On the side a small cup of hot melted chocolate was also served. I was wondering whether they served the right dish. After the hot chocolate was poured over the dark chocolate ball, the ball partially melted and I was surprised to see my torta caprese and the vanilla ice cream sneak peeking at me. I couldn’t wait to taste it. The frozen vanilla ice cream, the hot chocolate sauce, the crunchy pieces of the broken dark chocolate ball and the soft sweet delicious chocolate almond cake all in one spoon, made me feel I wasn’t there where I was. Well, I had to meet the chef, she told me even though it’s a modern presentation, they have tried to keep the classical Italian flavour alive in it. The torta caprese was perfectly made, soft and yet crunchy cause of the roasted almonds, I could taste the eggs just right with perfect sweetness induced in every bite. A small hint of Nutella powder in it and the vanilla so creamy made me feel like in heaven. The chocolate ball made from one of the finest dark chocolates, Valrhona chocolates. I was wondering how the chocolate ball was made, realised there was a lot of science involved in it. They used a method called tempering of chocolate. Tempering is the process of melting and cooling pure chocolate in a precise way to maintain the structure of the chocolate’s fat molecules. It is done by melting chocolate to a temperature as high as 110-120 degree Fahrenheit and cooling it to 80 degree Fahrenheit to get back the solid form which is glossy, firm and melts smoothly at around body temperature. I always thought making a dessert was the easiest to do, but now realised being a master chef requires a lot of experience and in this case understanding of science too. I recommend everyone to try this dessert as I loved it and believe it’s the best dessert I have had till date.
