If you were planning to give the Mom in your life something special for Mother’s Day, here’s your chance to play it safe and wow her at the same time: buy her a bar of really good local chocolate, and wrap it up with a ticket to one or more of the upcoming events at the fifth annual Big Island Chocolate Festival. Because everyone loves chocolate, but not everyone gets to attend this amazing series of events celebrating one of our island’s favorite industries.
This year’s fine assortment of seminars, tours, culinary demos and tastings takes place May 13-14 at the beautiful Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Friday the 13th will be a lucky day that starts with a guided cacao plantation tour at the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory in Keauhou, to follow cacao from tree to bar, with sampling, of course. At $25, the tour is a bargain. Back at the hotel, a seminar hosted by Madre Chocolate will explore how fermentation determines flavor in the chocolate-making process. For those who might like to grow cacao, a seminar on grafting, selection, and orchard management follows.
If you have ever dreamed of being in the company of some of the best chocolatiers in the world, the Chocolate Festival will make your dreams come true. Saturday the 14th features tutorials by world class pastry chefs from heavy-hitter chocolate companies Barry Callebaut, Valrhona, and Michel Cluizel. First up is a demonstration on making chocolate flowers, followed by the creation and tasting of an elegant dessert, then an exploration of how to taste chocolate with all five senses for maximum enjoyment.
The festival culminates with a grand tasting of sweet and savory chocolate decadence on Saturday from 5:30 to 9 p.m. This year’s theme, “Lavalicious – A Chocolate Salute to the 100th Birthday of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park” features a culinary booth decorating competition and one of the largest volcanoes ever created using fine chocolate. In addition to one amazing culinary station after another, fine wines and ales, cocktails, chocolate body painting, live entertainment, dancing and a silent auction round out the gala.
Tickets for all events can be purchased separately at www.bigislandchocolatefestival.com including special room and ticket packages at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. The Big Island Chocolate Festival is sponsored by the Kona Cacao Association to promote the cacao industry. All proceeds from these events benefit the ACF Kona Kohala Chefs Association’s endowment fund for the culinary program at Hawaii Community College-Palamanui, as well as programs at Kona Pacific Public Charter School in Kealakekua.
If you prefer to present Mom’s event tickets with maximum flair, make a batch of these truly decadent cookies. Recipe from the “Guittard Chocolate Cookbook” contributed by chef Donald Wressell of Guittard Chocolate Company. Chef Wressell will be creating the fine chocolate volcano sculpture at the festival gala on Saturday.
Makes about 40, 3-inch cookies.
Triple Chocolate Cookies
1-1/2 cups Guittard semisweet chocolate baking wafers
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup chocolate liqueur*
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1-1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Guittard semisweet chocolate baking chips
Using a hot water bath or a microwave oven, melt the chocolate wafers, butter and chocolate liqueur together. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Pour into a large bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Using a hand or stand mixer with a bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light ribbons form when the whisk is lifted out. Add vanilla; stir to combine. Fold egg mixture into melted chocolate just until combined. Fold in the flour mixture until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap, placing wrap directly on dough to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate dough at least an hour, or overnight. (When dough is chilled, you can roll it into logs at this point, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 2 months.)
When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 325 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Drop teaspoonsful of dough onto cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked and centers are soft. Remove from oven but leave cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container up to a week.