In honor of Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY opening in a month, we thought we’d give you a head start on some delectable chocolate recipes you can make at home. We asked our renowned pastry chef Jamie Paultre for his three favorites, and here they are.

We don’t mean to brag, but—well, we do; yes, we’re bragging—chocolate first arrived in the American colonies in Florida. That’s right. The mouth-watering, life-giving force introduced itself on our shores via a Spanish ship in 1641. By the time the Revolutionary War rolled around, cocoa beans were a major American import considered a utilitarian staple in pantries across the New World. Soldiers had chocolate in their rations.

The Aztecs and Mayans, early pioneers in assigning value to cacao beans, used the fruit as currency. They also served liquid chocolate to human sacrifices prior to said fate to cheer them up a bit. Civilizations in other parts of Latin America and Mesopotamia used the beans and fruit for eating and drinking. The Latin name for the cacao tree translates to “food of the gods” and today, in the United States alone, chocolate generates a 4-billion-dollar-plus economy. The average American eats about a half a pound of chocolate each month.

We’re going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Roald Dahl’s classic tale of a poor boy lucking his way to a Golden Ticket might not have seen the same popularity had Willy Wonka owned a broccoli factory. Chocolate makes life delicious.

So, when we wanted to share some deliciousness with you to celebrate the brand-new Broadway production of Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY opening Oct. 8, our first thought was to track down the Straz Center pastry chef, Jamie Paultre. We asked him to reveal his three favorite recipes using chocolate as a main ingredient. He delivered these three whoppers, each requiring simple ingredients you may already have in your pantry.

1.    Chocolate Flan Cake

Yield: 1 flan cake

Hard Caramel

Caramel	Weight – grams	Volume
Sugar, granulated	200g	1 cup
Water	40g	3 tbsp
Corn syrup	22g	1 tbsp

1. Bring sugar, water and corn syrup to a boil.
2. Brush sides of pot with a brush to remove any sugar on the sides.
3. Cook sugar mixture until amber color.
4. Pour caramel evenly around the bottom of a bundt pan. Set aside to cool.

 

Flan

Flan	Weight – grams	Volume
Condensed milk	800g	2ea – 14oz cans
Milk	560g	2 ¼ cup
Cream cheese	225g	8oz block
Eggs, whole	300g	6 eggs
Eggs, yolks	60g	4 yolks
Vanilla extract	14g	4 tsp

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Blend using an immersion blender until smooth, being careful not to incorporate any air. Set aside.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake	Weight – grams	Volume
Cake flour	80g	2/3 cup
Cocoa powder	30g	1/3 cup
Baking soda	3g	1/2 tsp
Salt	2.5g	1/4 tsp
Dark chocolate	115g	1/2 cup
Butter	115g	1 stick
Buttermilk	130g	1/2 cup
Sugar, granulated	100g	1/2 cup
Eggs, whole	100g	2 eggs
Vanilla extract	7g	2 tsp

1. Melt together butter and chocolate. Set aside.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. Whisk together buttermilk, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.
4. Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture.
5. Mix the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture.
6. Pour cake batter into the bundt pan.
7. Fill the mold the rest of the way with the flan mixture.
8. Bake in a water bath at 300 degrees F in a conventional oven. Cook until center reads 180 degrees F on thermometer, approximately 1.5 hours.
9. Refrigerate overnight.
10. Place plate or serving tray with a lip on the bundt pan and flip to unmold.

 

2.    Chocolate Passion Verrine

Yield: 12 2oz shot glasses

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Chocolate Panna Cotta	Weight – grams	Volume
Milk	38g	2 ½ tbsp
Heavy cream	200g	7/8 cup
Sugar	50g	1/4 cup
Gelatin	3g	1 tsp
Dark chocolate	75g	1/3 cup

1. Place milk in a bowl large enough to hold chocolate and heavy cream.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over milk, let bloom for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine sugar and cream in a separate pot and bring to a boil.
4. If using chocolate bar/squares, chop into small pieces, then put into the bowl with milk and gelatin.
5. Pour boiling hot cream mixture over the chocolate.
6. Whisk till combined. Let cool to around 100 degrees F.
7. Place 2oz shot glasses in a muffin pan at a 45 degree angle.
8. Pour into glasses until it almost reaches one edge of the glass. Let set in fridge.

Passion Fruit Curd

Passion Fruit Curd	Weight – grams	Volume
Passion fruit puree	170g	2/3 cup
Sugar, granulated A	50g	1/4 cup
Egg, yolks	95g	6 yolks
Eggs, whole	100g	2 large egg
Sugar, granulated B	50g	1/4 cup
Butter	100g	1/3 cup

1. Combine sugar A and passion fruit puree in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. When almost at a boil whisk together yolks, whole eggs and sugar B in a bowl large enough to hold eggs and puree.
3. Temper boiling puree into egg mixture.
4. Return to medium heat and cook until thickened, while continuously stirring curd and scraping sides and bottom of pot.
5. Once thick remove from heat and whisk in butter.
6. Let cool to room temperature.
7. Remove shot glasses from muffin pan and stand straight up.
8. Pipe curd into shot glasses on top of the panna cotta, filling the glass the rest of the way.
9. Let cool in fridge.

Decoration (optional)

1. Top with whipped cream
2. Place piped chocolate decoration or chocolate shavings on whipped cream

3.    Chocolate Caramel Tart

Yield: 1 9in tart

Hazelnut Pate Sable

Hazelnut Pate Sable	Weight – Grams	Volume
All-purpose flour	125g	1 cup
Sugar	40g	3 tbsp
Powdered sugar	20g	2 ½ tbsp
Butter, cold	120g	1/2 cup or 1 stick
Ground hazelnuts	50g	1/2 cup

1. Combine all ingredients until butter is incorporated.
2. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Roll out 3mm thick.
4. Place in greased tart pan.
5. Bake at 325 degrees F until golden brown.
6. Let cool set aside for later.

Caramel

Caramel	Weight – grams	Volume
Sugar	200g	1 cup
Corn syrup, light	40g	2 tbsp
Water	40g	1/4 cup
Butter	75g	1/3 cup
Heavy cream	75g	1/3 cup

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a pot.
2. Bring to a boil. Brush side of pot with a wet brush to remove any sugar crystals sticking to side.
3. Cook to 320 degrees F.
4. Remove from heat and carefully whisk in butter and heavy cream.
5. Return to heat and cook to 250 degrees F.
6. Pour into tart shell. Let cool.

 

Ganache

Ganache	Weight – Grams	Volume
Heavy cream	200g	7/8 cup
Dark chocolate	200g	1 cup
Sea salt	As needed	As needed
Hazelnuts	25g	1/4 cup

1. Bring heavy cream to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, if using a bar/square of chocolate cut it up into small pieces, then put into a bowl large enough to hold chocolate and heavy cream.
3. Pour over dark chocolate.
4. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Pour over caramel.
6. Let cool.
7. Finely chop hazelnuts and toast them.
8. Once chocolate is almost set sprinkle with sea salt. On the edge of the tart, sprinkle with the finely chopped, toasted hazelnuts.