Chocolate & Coffee: A Decadent Affair

Dec 19 2017, 1:41 pm

Wendy Boys of Cocolico, a local chocolatier and pastry chef, along with the Canadian Master Coffee Roaster representative, Marie-Claude Dessurealt of Van Houtte coffee hosted an amazing event at Edible Canada. We would learn our Coffee Profile as well as getting to savour a delectable assortment of great desserts and see a cooking demonstration too. Upon being seated, you are greeted with 6 different kinds of chocolate, to pair with 6 different types of coffee profiles. After doing a 6-question survey. I learnt that I am a Velvety and Woodsy.
Plated

Here is Marie-Claude of Van Houtte, teaching us about our palate and tastes in order to discover which of the six coffee profiles we were.

Marie Claudette

After the quick sampling, our group moved over to the kitchen where we got a first hand look at how Wendy Boys makes her scrumptious Classic Eclairs! First we make the Choux Paste, which gets baked and cooled. While waiting for the pastries to cook, the vanilla cream is made. With the pastries out of the oven, poke two holes in each and pipe in the vanilla cream. Gosh, seeing this again is making me want more eclairs! To match other coffee profiles, Wendy also prepared a whole host of other desserts.

All Done

One of my favourites, these lemon and white chocolate macaroons. I don’t mind telling you, I scored 4 of these “to-go”! This was meant for the Mellow and Fruity profile, with Costa Rica Light Roast.

Lemon White Chocolate Macaron

Wendy also made us some yummy Pot de Creme with milk chocolate. I do love how the pinch of Maldon Salt adds a new level of flavours to a dessert dish. This one was designed for the Mellow and Woodsy flavour profile and was served with a Mocha Java Light Roast.

Pot De Creme

Ah…anything tastes better on a stick, right? And this was no exception…a Raspberry Chocolate Lollipop…so rich and dense that a pop is all you need. For this very rich dessert, the best coffee to pair it with is the Sumatra Dark Roast, which matches a Bold and Woodsy profile.

Raspberry Brownie

One new thing for me was the Banofffee Pie. It’s a tasty concoction of Caramel cream with banana slices, and toffee bits. This was amazing and a treat that might just make me a banana lover again! And if you are have a Bold and Fruity profile, enjoy this with a nice Kenya Dark Roast.

Banoffee

The other dessert that Wendy created in front of us was the Cocoa Nib Pannacotta. She made the pannacotta ahead of time, but showed us how to make the topping. It’s a simple salad of clementines, mint and lime. She infused the mint into the simple syrup and used it to dress the clementines. Then she grated 99% cocoa on top of it all. Yes, 99%…that’s not a typo! This refereshing dessert pairs well with the Africana Fair Trade Organic Medium Roast, a match made in heaven for the Velvety and Fruity profile.

Cocoa Nib Pannacotta

Be sure to check out Van Houtte’s website to Discover Your Coffee Profile. We all have wines varietals that we like better than others, it’s time you find out your coffee preference too! Wendy Boys also does catering as well as dessert buffets. Check out her website for some of her recipes too. It was a great event and one that gives me a whole new respect for the delicateness of these dessert we so often take for granted. Thanks for the very detailed tutorial, and now, armed with the recipes, I just might take a stab at making one this weekend!

Photos courtesy of Hill + Knowlton Strategies.
Edible Canada at the Market on Urbanspoon

Written By: Grace Cheung (@gracecheung604www.gracecheung604.com

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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