Curry Coconut Truffles: A Chocolatier’s Pride and Joy

Curry Coconut Truffles: A Chocolatier’s Pride and Joy

by Angela Borda

I can admit that when I see a candy wrapped in gold foil, my inner child gets excited and I remember Christmas treats given as gifts, that delight of unwrapping something unknown, but hoping most of all to find chocolate inside. And Jean-Michel’s curry coconut truffle, wrapped in gold foil, will not disappoint you on that count. Inside is a chocolate ganache made with coconut milk, rolled in toast coconut, and flavored with a mystery ingredient. Well, not so mysterious, just very unexpected. He has taken a preparation of curry and infused the chocolate with just enough of that warming, smoky undertone of spice. 

“This is my pride,” he says, smiling as he tastes it. “Because the mix of the curry is really delicate. You need enough to taste it but not so much that it is overpowering. It was to be well-balanced between the curry and the coconut.” And it’s true, when you open the foil, right away you catch the scent of sweet coconut. But waiting just beneath is a substantial, rich dark chocolate ganache, and as you let it melt and swirl in your mouth, there is something else. Something you may not be able to put your finger on, but it richens the flavor of the chocolate. What is it? This is the trick of the chocolatier. He has taken something you might expect in a savory dish, and turned it into the base note of a well-balanced, beautiful chocolate.

“You shouldn’t eat this quickly, you have to enjoy it,” he says. I agree. And if holiday elves should leave a bounty of these gold-foil baubles in my stocking, I’ll consider myself lucky. 

Angela Borda is a Santa Barbara food writer who has been enjoying Chocolats du CaliBressan for years and is delighted to be sharing her chocolate experience with you.