Theo Chocolate book full of delicious recipes for home cooks

  • By Erin Pride Special to The Herald
  • Friday, October 2, 2015 2:14pm
  • Life

From ages 8 to 14 if you’d asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d have answered, “A chocolate shop owner.”

My confectionery skills were given minimal practice, however, and at 12 I recall making obscenely large mounds of fudge as Christmas gifts, painstakingly molding them into various shapes. Sadly, aside from the courteous Christmas morning nibble and thanks, most of my confection remained uneaten.

Tired of having all that effort go to waste, my sister and I made good use of the fudge’s color, putting together a large pile of fudge “poop” on the doorstep for our father. He wasn’t impressed. Even less so when we said he could eat it.

My next confectionery attempt was again at Christmas a year or so after getting married. I ambitiously created truffles for everyone, only to seize up the couverture, turning several pounds of expensive chocolate into a lumpy bitter mess.

My failed qualifications as a natural chocolatier led me to purchase the book, “Chocolates &Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner,” by Peter Greweling, certified master baker. But a “D” in chemistry reared its ugly head, and I couldn’t get my brain wrapped around the concept of “chocolate tempering curves” and the “polymorphism of cocoa butter.”

Given the fumbling attempts at my childhood dream, I was elated at the news of a Theo Chocolate cookbook by chocolatiers Debra Music and Joe Whinney: “Theo Chocolate: Recipes &Sweet Secrets from Seattle’s Favorite Chocolate Maker.” After taking a factory tour soon after their start, Theo became my favorite chocolate maker.

Theo chocolate is organic, fair trade and the chocolate is made without any stabilizers such as soy lecithin. The company also supports environmentally sustainable cocoa farms. I highly recommend taking one of their daily tours (kids 6 and older are welcome). Theo is a friendly place and I was sure their cookbook would be too.

Separating company from cookbook is virtually impossible. The prologue to the cookbook’s chocolatey recipes are personal stories, an introduction to cacao and a thank you to those who’ve helped support Theo. This cookbook serves as both a prize for chocolate-lovers and a window into what motivates Theo from bean to bar.

Creating a steady need for quality cocoa and supporting cocoa farmers is top on Theo’s mission as a company. Several Theo bars support specific causes like World Bicycle Relief and the Eastern Congo Initiative.

“We’ve exceeded goals, being able to purchase more and create greater affect and change,” Music said. “Every bag of cocoa beans we can buy up is just one more farmer we can support.”

Music admits their product was rough at first. “In the early days,” said Music, “not every batch was great.” Through trial and care they’ve honed their chocolate to be some of the best in the world, winning awards and becoming the fastest growing chocolate company in the category of natural and organic chocolate. Each batch of Theo chocolate is tested before release, and this makes for a quality product that’s especially good to work with.

Along with their own favorites, Theo’s cookbook has recipes from local chef’s such as Tom Douglas, Thierry Rautureau (aka The Chef in the Hat), Naomi Pomeroy and the James Beard Award winning Maria Hines. These chefs have all contributed to this cookbook in support of Theo’s pursuit of improving the chocolate industry. Their recipes moved to the top of my to-cook list, starting with Rautureau’s childhood drinking chocolate served with buttered brioche and Maria Hines’ Lamb Sugo.

The cookbook isn’t just full of chocolaty sweets, chocolate is bitter and its subtle sweetness brings depth to savory recipes. But the last section of the cookbook is for the truest chocolate-lover and offers redemption for my past chocolate failures — confections. They even have a cheat for couverture that doesn’t require all that finicky tempering.

Gracing the cover of the cookbook, Theo’s popular Big Daddy Marshmallow Bites tempt me — a layer of graham cracker, caramel and marshmallow dipped in a rich chocolate coating. “The Big Daddy Bites are iconic,” said Music “a really special product that’s worth it.”

My sensibility got the better of me, and I opted to start first with Chris Cosentino’s Agrodolce Brittle — a layer of blonde brittle filled with pine nuts, currants and capers. I’m a sucker for funky combinations, and the marriage of briny capers with the sweet of currant and brittle coated in Theo chocolate was bizarrely wonderful.

Music and Whinney have made sure that each recipe has been rigorously tested for the home kitchen. The cookbook has several challenging recipes, but it is still a cookbook for home cooks, not just certified master bakers.

Many of the recipes in the cookbook require quite a bit of chocolate, but they are also “worth it,” and make for a special dish to share. Music said that I needn’t use Theo chocolate in the recipes, just get the best I can afford and have fun with the book. I do prefer to use Theo when I can, because of their quality and what they stand for, and I still have plans to make those Big Daddy Marshmallow Bars. Who knows, they may make it onto this year’s to-give Christmas list. Ah, redemption is sweet.

Who should buy this: Chocolate lovers. Great gift to give to a chocolate-loving friend or loved one. Those who enjoy Theo Chocolate and value their ambition as a company.

Dark chocolate stout bundt cake

  • 1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) plus
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, divided
  • 2 cups (9 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 cup stout, chocolate stout, or porter beer
  • 6 ounces Theo 85 percent dark chocolate, chopped
  • 2 cups packed (14 ounces) light brown sugar
  • 1 8-ounce container sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Glaze:

  • 5 ounces Theo 45-percent milk chocolate
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons stout, chocolate stout, or porter beer
  • Generous 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Beer’s generally low alcohol content makes it very flavor forward, and craft brewing tends to highlight the ingredients even more intensely. Stouts and porters are thick, dark beers with flavor notes tending toward sweet roasted coffee, chocolate, and cola, which make them tempting to incorporate into baking. And we’re pros at giving in to temptation at Theo, especially if we think it will taste good. Tender and moist, this cake is very, very chocolaty and not overly sweet. When you take a bite, the beer’s malty, roasted flavor comes through at the start, and then the chocolate takes over. Although you only need one cup of beer for the cake, before you drink the rest of the bottle, please note that you’ll need to save two tablespoons for the glaze.

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of the cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of the flour. Lightly coat the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, then dust with the cocoa mixture. Tap the pan upside down to remove the excess, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 1/4 cup cocoa powder, the beer, and chocolate, and whisk gently over medium heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat, then whisk in the brown sugar, sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla, one ingredient at a time.

Sift the remaining 2 cups flour, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and whisk well to blend. Make sure there are no lumps. Pour the batter (it will be very liquidy) into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto the wire rack and let it cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze, put the chocolate, cream, beer and honey in a double boiler. When the chocolate starts to melt, whisk the mixture until it’s perfectly smooth. Remove the glaze from the heat and whisk in the butter. Let the glaze cool slightly at room temperature until it begins to thicken, whisking it occasionally. When it’s thick enough to leave a trail when you lift the whisk, slowly pour it over the cake, letting it run down the sides in an aesthetically pleasing way. When the glaze has stopped dripping, transfer the cake to a serving plate.

Makes one 10-inch bundt cake.

Roasted baby carrots with balsamic-bitter chocolate syrup

  • 3 pounds baby carrots (about finger-width thick), green tops trimmed to about 1 inch
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 5 or 6 4-inch sprigs
  • fresh thyme

Syrup:

  • 1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar (5- or 10-year aged is fine)
  • 1/2 ounce Theo 85-percent dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • Generous pinch kosher salt

Real baby carrots, the kind with lacy green tops and delicate peel (as opposed to the factory shaped cylindrical ones that come in a bag), are tender and sweet and practically worth the trip to the farmers’ market just for them alone. They’re so delicious they don’t really need anything at all. But hey, sometimes we like to gild the lily, and as much as we honor the perfection that is the real baby carrot, this surprisingly simple syrup steals the show here, elevating an already perfect vegetable into an elegant, dramatic, delectable side dish.

The syrup goes equally well with roasted beets, and it’s also sublime drizzled over a well seasoned grilled steak. Let your imagination run wild with this sauce—it will enliven a wide range of dishes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the carrots on a sheet pan, drizzle them with the olive oil, and spread them in a single layer. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the carrots, and lay the thyme sprigs on top. Roast until the carrots are tender and brown in spots, shaking the pan and turning once or twice, about 35 minutes total.

While the carrots are cooking, make the syrup. Put the vinegar in the smallest saucepan you have and simmer over medium-low heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let the chocolate melt for 30 seconds, then use a small spatula to gently stir the syrup until the chocolate has melted completely and the syrup is smooth. Add the honey and salt and mix well. Cover the pan to keep the sauce warm until you’re ready to serve the carrots.

To serve, discard the thyme and arrange the carrots on a serving dish. Drizzle them generously with the syrup, and serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 side dish servings

Erin Pride is a home cook who loves cookbooks and writes about them on her blog, Edible Shelf. For more on the specific recipes Erin tested, visit her website, edibleshelf.com. Follow Erin on Twitter and Instagram @edibleshelf.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.