Craft of Cacao

With the holidays just around the corner, Gabriela Miu Kropaczek, owner of Avenue des Chocolats, is busy preparing for the season.

Kropaczek (above right) launched Avenue des Chocolats earlier this year after completing the professional chocolatier program of Ecole Chocolat. A former scientist, Kropaczek spent much of her early career conducting theoretical research and then working as a consultant for research and development firms in her native Europe.

When she first arrived in Wilmington three years ago she wasn’t sure where her qualifications and wish list for employment would land her. That’s when she read an article about a self-employed chocolatier, and inspiration became motivation.

Kropaczek says that working as an artisanal chocolatier and owning her own business incorporates everything she was seeking when she arrived in Wilmington.

“Working with chocolate is very technical, which appeals to my scientific side,” Kropaczek says. “And at the same time it allows for great creativity, which is something I had been longing for. That, plus the business side of things and the ability to work with the public, really feels like the right combo.”

Kropaczek specializes in handcrafted, European-style bonbons with silky smooth ganache centers enrobed in dark chocolate. The chocolate Kropaczek uses, however, is not imported from Europe. It’s made in the States, and she uses locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. The bonbons are preservative and additive free and do not contain any artificial extracts, colorings, or high-fructose corn syrup.

“I believe in using high-quality ingredients and just a few flavors at a time so you can taste each of them,” Kropaczek says.

Avenue des Chocolats bonbons can be found at The Vintage Marketplace in Wilmington as well as Uncorked by the Sea in Southport.

Kropaczek shares three chocolate recipes for WILMA readers to serve and enjoy this holiday season.

To Welcome Weary Holiday Travelers

“Hot chocolate can be tasted in most Parisian cafés and salons de thés. However, in my ten years in Paris, I only discovered two places that serve real hot chocolate, creamy and rich, as it is prepared with chocolate (not just cacao powder) and milk and/or cream (not just water),” Kropaczek says.

“First there is the famous Angelina, in the vicinity of the Louvre, where celebrities such as Marcel Proust and Coco Chanel used to go, and then there is my favorite hidden gem, La Jacobine, in the heart of Paris – the sixth arrondissement to be precise. Exquisite!”

Chocolat Chaud aux Epices (Hot Chocolate with Spices)
(Serves 2)
13.5 ounces whole milk
½ vanilla bean
½ cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons honey
3.5 ounces dark chocolate, 70% to 85% cacao, broken into pieces

DIRECTIONS: Place milk, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and honey in a saucepan; bring to a boil.

Remove from heat, cover and steep for 5 minutes and remove the spices. Return to burner at medium-low heat, add chopped chocolate and whisk vigorously until the chocolate is melted and well incorporated.

Cook the mixture over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn. Do not boil.

Serve immediately; can be topped with ground cinnamon.

To Serve at a Party

“This is a favorite French desert, and different variations exist, but it typically includes at least chocolate and eggs. The mousse can be prepared and refrigerated several hours before serving, but avoid refrigerating overnight as the top will dry out. Top with decorate ground coffee or cacao powder prior to serving,” Kropaczek says.

Mousse au Chocolat Pour Adultes (Chocolate Mousse for ADULTS)
(Serves 4)
150 grams (1⁄3 pound) dark chocolate of 60% to 70% cacao content, chopped in pieces
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
10 ounces heavy whipping cream
1.5 ounces Marsala wine, Bacardi Rum, or Grand Marnier

DIRECTIONS: Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt using the microwave, in short time intervals of 30 seconds at half-power, stirring between each interval. Once melted, allow to cool slightly.

Wisk in the egg yolks, one by one, and then stir in the sugar.

Whip cream to soft peaks. Gently fold half of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, add alcohol, then fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Pour into ramequins or espresso glasses and refrigerate at least one hour prior to serving.

To Give as a Gift

“A mendiant is a traditional French Christmas confection composed of a chocolate disk studded with nuts and dried fruits representing the four mendicant or monastic orders of the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites. Each of the nuts and dried fruits used to refer to the color of monastic robes with tradition dictating raisins for the Dominicans, hazelnut for the Augustins, dried fig for Franciscans, and almond for Carmelites. Today, mendiants are prepared with a variety of dried fruits and nuts as well as white and milk chocolate, Kropaczek says.

Mendiants
(Makes about 25 pieces)
125 grams (¼ pound) dark chocolate of 60% to 70% cacao content, chopped in pieces
Pumpkin seeds
Raisins, dried cranberries, or candied orange peel
Almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, or pistachios

DIRECTIONS: Cover large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt using the microwave, in short time intervals of 30 seconds, at half-power, stirring between each interval.

Using a spoon, ladle five small scoops of chocolate onto the parchment paper; then smooth out to obtain disc-shaped chocolate rounds.

Quickly decorate with nuts and dried fruit. Repeat with another five rounds until chocolate is gone.

Place the pan in a cool place so that the chocolate cools and hardens completely. This will take a few hours.

To view more of photographer Erik Maasch’s work, go to websta.me/n/emaasch