Chocolate and Chilli Recipes (with alleged benefits!)

I remember my first chocolate and chilli experience, many years ago; I was happily surprised when I ate a dark chocolate filled with chilli jelly. I can’t remember where it was but it must have been somewhere peculiar because it was before such interesting food was the norm.

Since then I have become enamoured of Lindt Excellence dark chilli chocky and there are lots of other good ones too. (I’d just like to say I’ve not been paid, even in chocolate to write this post!)

I then experimented with the chocolate and chilli flavour combo myself, even occasionally in our restaurants, because we had great foodie customers who were gagging for a change from the old Black Forest Gateau situation (this was also some years ago). Here are some of the things I have made, sold and eaten. I suggest you do the same with the possible exception of the selling bit!

Dark Chocolate and Chilli Ganache

A ganache is a lovely thing and so easy ~ you can, of course, use plain or other flavored chocolate too! 

The ratio of cream to chocolate varies according to what you want to do with your ganache – see individual ideas below recipe.

dark chilli chocolate
and
double (heavy) cream

~ Weigh both the chocolate and the cream (you need its weight not its volume).
~ Coarsely chop chocolate.
~ Heat the cream to hot but not necessarily simmering or boiling.
~ Off the heat stir in the chocolate.
~ Allow to sit for a few minutes the let the chocolate finish melting.
~ Stir till smooth and creamy.

Ideas for chocolate ganache

~  Ganache makes a lovely chocky sauce or drizzle for ice cream, pancakes etc., for best results use one part chocolate to two parts of double cream.
~  To make a thick pourable chocolate glaze for cakes then use equal amounts of chocolate and cream. If, instead of pouring you chill this mixture, it can be whipped to thick and used as a filling for cakes, éclairs or as a simple Chocolate Chilli Mousse.
~  If you use twice as much chocolate as cream and chill to very cold you can roll it into balls, coat in chopped chocolate, cocoa, chopped nuts and so on et voila – chcolate truffles.

Dark Chocolate and Chilli Quesadilla

Many, many is the time I have turned, in a professional sense, to quesadillas to use up leftovers. These lovely crisp Mexican (or Tex Mex?) versions of a sandwich are so versatile, so quick and easy and so, so delicious. Normally the filling consists of beans, or chicken, or chilli con carne, etc, with cheese and salsa; those sort of things. 

As I bought a pack of flour tortillas recenty I thought – why not a chocky quesadilla? And then the answer came to me; no reason at all.

3 squares of Lindt’s dark and lovely chilli chocolate
1 plain flour tortilla
knob of butter

~ Sprinkle the chopped chocolate onto half of the tortilla.
~ Fold over the unsprinkled half and press down firmly so that no chocky can escape.
~ Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the quesadilla till crisp and golden on the outside and lovely and gooey in the middle.

Chocolate and Cayenne Soufflé

Serves 4

90g dark chilli chocolate – coarsely chopped
60g sugar
3 tbsp lovely strong coffee
1 tbsp brandy
pinch of salt
3 egg yolks – lightly beaten together
4 egg whites
2 more tbsp sugar

~   Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.
~   Butter 4 ramekins and then dust with a little icing sugar.
~   In a small pan over low heat stir together the first 4 ingredients till melted and smooth.
~   Stir in the cayenne and salt.
~   Remove from the heat and allow to cool a couple of minutes then stir in the egg yolks.
~   Whisk the egg whites till they start forming peaks then add the sugar and continue whisking till stiff.
~   Fold the whites into the chocolate goo and divide between the ramekins
~   Bake for 10-12 minutes till risen and wobbly and serve immediately.

Hot Hot Chocolate

Chili spiked hot chocolate mixes are the norm now but until they were I used to add just a drop or two of non-garlicky hot sauce to the drink. Worked for me! Worked for Montezuma too, apparently, because he was known to fortify his pre-nookie hot chocolate with chillies and sometimes vanilla too. Chocolate, chilli and vanilla are all considered to have aphrodisiac quualities – see end of post for more on this.

Instead of using chilli flavoured chocolate you could use this …

Crystallised Chilli & its Syrup

150g medium hot bright red chillies
150g white sugar
300ml water

~   Split the chillies lengthwise, scrape outthe seeds and discard them. 
~ Cut the chillies crosswise into thin strips.

~   Bring the sugar and the water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
~   Add the chilli and cook on a low heat, topping up with a little water as necessary, for 30 minutes.
~   After 20 minutes preheat oven to 350˚C/180˚F/Gas 4.
~   Strain the chillies into a bowl, keeping both the chillies and the syrup – for me this makes about 300 ml of syrup but it does depends on how assiduously you top up the water when cooking.
~   Spread the chillies out on a baking tray lined with grease-proof or parchment or similar and do in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, stirring and separating as they dry and start to crisp – they will crisp up further as they cool.
~  When completely cold break up any that are clinging together and store in an airtight container. 

Label both the chillies and the syrup clearly, use sparingly and maybe (like all good things!) keep them out of the way of children.

And here’s something to do with it!

Dark Chocolate and Chilli Bark

100g dark chocolate – at least 70% cocoa, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp crystallised chilli

~   Put two thirds of the chocolate into a small bowl and stand the pan in a small pan of hot water over a low heat till the chocolate has melted and is smooth.
~   Off the heat stir in the rest of the chocolate till melted and smooth and then stir in the crystallised chilli.
~   Spread the mixture onto a greaseproof lined baking tray and bung in the fridge for 10 minutes.
~   Cut into pieces.

The reason for adding a third of the chocolate at the end is to temper it which keeps it shiny and snappy.

See here for The 9 Best Chocolate Recipes Ever IMHO, most of which will be be gogeous with a touch of chilli.

The Benefits of Chocolate and Chilli are (or might be!)

Chocolate and Chilli are both considered to be aphrodisiacs and I have written about them in my ebook …

Food for Love Eat  your Way to a Better Sex Life ~ Win/Win Situation

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