A sinful love affair

Come Valentine's Day, the store shelves are stacked with wallet-friendly-to-all-lovers chocolates of different makes, shapes, sizes and love messages. Along with red roses, chocolate has undoubtedly been one of the easiest ways to woo your partner.

Why so?

Legend has it that the world's greatest romancer, Casanova, often shunned other intoxicating beverages to glug a fair few cups of his favourite brew — chocolate — in the course of the day. Madame du Barry, a mistress of French king Louis XV, often requested her lovers to partake the drink before enticing them into her boudoir. However, the stories go as far back as the Aztecs and the Mayans. Evidence has been found that they were aware of its potency as a powerful love potion. Sweetened chocolate had not been discovered then, so they probably drank it as a dark, bitter concoction, much like coffee.

Of course, these historical patterns were studied, and science, too, has confirmed the aphrodisiacal qualities, albeit low, of chocolate.

"Chocolate is a complex material possessing chemical compounds that act on the brain producing a sense of delight," says Dr Lubna Surya, dietician, Aster Medical Centre in Dubai. "It enhances mood And the experience of love due to its caffeine and theobromine content. Chocolate gets right to the heart of sensual pleasure by increasing the brain's level of serotonin — the feel-good brain chemical — which plays a major role in good mood and emotional health."

A perfect partner

On Valentine's Day, there is a higher demand for decadent bakes, informs Dalia Dogmoch, chief baker and co-founder of Kitsch Cupcakes. "Chocolate and red velvet flavours are very popular on the day. People can also be quite passionate about chocolate [I know I am obsessed!], so I think that is why it fits in perfectly with Valentine's Day," Dogmoch says.

While some find cooking with chocolate "sensual", there are others who think it leads to peacefulness.

"Chocolate is really sensual," says Christophe Sapy, pastry chef at the new St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi. "It is part of a weakness we all share as humans. Chocolate tends to satisfy a lot of desires."

"We have had someone propose to his beloved with our Valentine's cupcakes," Dogmoch says. "I don't think it gets more special than that!"

"If I had a synonym for chocolate, I would say ‘tranquillity', because when you bite into a piece of chocolate, you think of nothing else," says Jeremy Runel, a chef with the international chocolate giant Valrhona, who was in town last month to introduce his book Cooking With Chocolate. "Besides, beyond the taste, chocolate is like magic, as it allows us to do so many things."

"Chocolate is like women," Sapy says. "You have blondes, you have brunettes and you have redheads. You have the dark chocolate for the brunettes and you have the white for the blondes. As long as you have the right balance of richness, creaminess and flavour, your dish will be a winner."

Don't overheat it

So when cooking at home with chocolate, what should one keep in mind?

For Sapy, it's the temperature control. "You must be careful with the temperature. There's a very thin line between perfectly cooked and burnt chocolate."

"Always use the best-quality chocolate you can find and one that you like," Dogmoch advises. "Your dish will only be as good as the taste of the chocolate you use."

Runel advises to check out the chocolate encyclopaedia available at Jones the Grocer. "Even the smallest of recipes can sometimes seem complicated without technique. But you will see that with tips from chefs, it is much easier."

What's the easiest chocolate dish to cook? Both Sapy and Dogmoch agree a simple chocolate mousse is the best. "Whip up some cream, add melted chocolate and icing sugar to taste and you have a yummy home-made chocolate mousse in just a few minutes," Dogmoch says.

"You don't always have to be a great chef to impress the ladies," Sapy says, laughing.

Well, if a lady is cooking for her man?

"That's going to be a little more difficult, because a lady normally has a few more skills than a man," Sapy laughs. "They can probably buy puff pastry from the supermarket, sprinkle chocolate powder — both white and dark to give it colour — and bake it. Then use the same chocolate mousse in between the layers to create a tastier dessert."