Chocolate and I

I love chocolate.

For some reason, not so much the food by itself (for instance, a chocolate bar), but as an ingredient or a flavouring substance (such as chocolate cake or ice cream).

And I like my chocolate pure. If I’m having a Hot Chocolate Fudge, I’d rather have chocolate ice cream in it (conventional is Vanilla). If chocolate ice cream can’t be had, I’d rather not have the HCF at all. That pure.

I maintain, a cake is not a cake if it’s not chocolate. A cake, by definition (mine, of course), has to be chocolate.

I don’t eat any other flavour or variety of cake.

Growing up, one of the many professions I wanted to take up (Astronaut at one point, Scientist at another) was this: To have my own TV show (on Fox Traveller for instance) where I’d travel the world exploring and talking about the different types and varieties of chocolates and their uses in preparing different kinds of dishes. And to follow this up with a coffee-table book on, well, Chocolates. Perhaps have a Chocolate cafe where each table would have a copy of this photo-book.

At this point it’d be prudent to let the reader know of a unique talent my nose buds have – they can smell chocolate at so much as this word being heard by my ears or read by my eyes. Yes, I smell chocolate as I type this.

I’ve, it goes without saying, sampled and tasted chocolate pastries of uncountable bakeries in myriad cities and towns by now. So, if not a book of global chocolate delicacies, here is a list of some of the most remarkable ones I’ve had.

• Piece of Chocolate cake, Cafe Illiterati, McLeodganj: The softest piece of cake I’ve ever had, and I’ve had quite a few. An absolute delight. And cheap at a mere 100 bucks.
• Death by chocolate, Dolphin Cakes N’ Bakes, Mysore: Probably the thing devouring which one day the idea of having a coffee table book on chocolates struck me. This is a beauty.
• Dark Passion, CCD, Mysore and Pune: They don’t make it like they used to in those days, any more. The Dark Passion I used to have at the CCD outlets in Mysore and Pune were real gems. With chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate syrup, and chocolate brownie, this one used to be a chocolate whopper.
• Cad B, CAD (M) CAD (B), Pune: I wonder why these little beauties (Cad B and Cad M, as well its variants) do not find place in any other city apart from Pune. These are unique things, I do not know whether to classify them as a solid or a liquid. These are semi-solids ‘somethings’ made of chocolate that are drunk with a thick straw and eaten with a spoon.
• Chocolate overload, Frozen treats, Brahmaputra market, Noida: Chocolate ice cream rolls. Pretty unique and neat. And delicious.
• Forbidden Forest, Keventers: Though I have to admit this isn’t pure chocolate (it has whipped cream and vanilla ice cream), it is heavenly good. Really, really gobsmackingly good.
• Chocolate spoon and molten chocolate drink, Cafe Zuka, Pondicherry: You take the chocolate spoon, dip it into the hot molten chocolate drink, scoop up the hot molten chocolate drink with the chocolate spoon, and place the chocolate spoon in your mouth. And let it melt. Yummmmm.
• Belgian chocolate ice cream, Haagen Dazs: I don’t remember much of this except that I remember thinking at that time: ‘Oh my God, this is good. Seriously good’. So, good it must have been. After all, it’s Haagen Dazs and it’s Belgian chocolate.

<I might have missed including some of the chocolate delicacies I’ve had over the years; I’ll keep updating this list as and when I remember any, or as I get my tongue on more delights>

What’s your favourite chocolate dish(es)? Anything I should know/try? Let me know in the comments below.