Valrhona Milk Caramelia 36% Beans

TASTING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

What sets this baking chocolate apart is its use of genuine dairy-based caramel, which comes from combining the sugar with skim milk and butter. And unlike other caramel-flavored milk chocolates, which use caramelized sugar only, Valrhona Milk Caramelia 36% Bean has a rich and milky flavor. It’s incredibly silky and smooth, with the salted butter caramel coming through nicely, and never overwhelmingly, helping the chocolate maintain its clear cocoa notes.

PREPARATION AND PAIRINGS

This chocolate is great for baking. And snacking, too! We wouldn’t blame you if you find yourself finishing part of the bag, and forgetting to put it into your dessert. It really is that good! You could also try leveling up your chocolate chip cookies with this baking chocolate. It will add a gorgeous salted butter caramel balance to your favorite snack.

• Cream butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a bowl with an electric/stand mixer until smooth. About 2 minutes.
• Add in vanilla extract and egg, and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated.
• In another bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.
• With your mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Place equal parts Valrhona Milk Caramelia 36% Bean and Valrhona Dark Manjari 64% Bean into the dough and mix until just combined.
• In a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, scoop out equal portions of dough and set them about 2 inches apart on the sheet. Top each cookie dough ball with a few more chocolates (this will make your cookies look extra nice when baked).
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 12-14 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned.
• Immediately after taking it out of the oven, sprinkle Maldon sea salt flakes on top.
• Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

SWEET AND SALTY

In 1977, French pastry chef Henri Le Roux in Brittany, changed the dessert landscape when he invented salted caramel. It was originally in the form of caramel au beurre salé, or a salted butter caramel with crushed nuts, and used demi-sel butter from Breton. It was received incredibly, and was named “Best confectionery in France” at the Paris Salon International de la Confiserie in 1980. Le Roux registered the trademark CBS, for caramel au beurre salé, a year later.

It boomed even more when Parisian pastry chef, Pierre Hermé, made salted butter and caramel macarons in the late 1990s. And by the year 2000, more professional chefs started salting their caramel and chocolate dishes. It entered the mass market in 2008, when Starbucks and Häagen-Dazs started selling the flavor.

Storage Instructions

Store your chocolate feves in a cool, dark place, ideally between 18 to 24°C. You can use the refrigerator, but place the chocolate in an airtight container to keep the moisture and humidity out—and retain its full range of flavors, of course!