We came upon Chocolaterian Cafe when we were in search for a thick parisian style hot chocolate for wintry days. Chocolaterian Cafe’s Leanne made their name making various confectioneries and sure enough the cafe store has candy, chocolates, cookies and pastries on sale. However i ended up there wanting to try their hot chocolate and discovered some really good warm food served throughout the day i believe but really great for breakfasts and brunches.
As you enter the cafe you can spot envy invoking copper pots and pans. The space is big and you run into some very energetic and pleasant personalities behind the counter taking your orders. The coffee here is really good but we recommend the hot chocolate which is divinely sinful. Its thick and dark and really warming as you take little sips. It is not cloyingly sweet allowing you to really taste the chocolate and has a velvety mouth feel. We almost always order one whenever we are here. While you are sipping your hot chocolate you can sit and admire the various pastry, chocolate and madeleine molds adorning the wall and invoke some jealousy for the possessions.
While going here for hot chocolate once i decided to try some of the food. They have daily selection of quiches and galettes. I ordered both on separate occasions and i believe stuck gold in the crust for both. Quiches are by now quite fashionable to be on many menus. However many times they suffer from having an under cooked crust or heavy crust or wet crust or all of those above as well at some restaurants. The eggs are many times overcooked or too dense.
The quiches here are characterized by very light and airy custard of eggs, and they are always perfectly cooked. They are light on the spoon and seasoned perfectly. The base of the quiche itself is golden, crusty, buttery and crumbly. Together its magic, the crust crumbles, the butter melts on the tongue and the eggs are light and creamy but the taste is rich and balanced by some savory cheese.
I also tried the Galettes. These are like crusty flat pies but then with crust pulled in three quarters way in, pulling in some of the filling but never all the way. Again the buttery crust makes these great. The Galettes i have had before were never as artistically folded in either. The first time i had these they had a curried cauliflower and cream cheese filling. I was pleasantly surprised how well the cream cheese worked and was very well balanced with judicious use of the curry. It reminded me of a rich korma but as this needed to be baked it couldn’t have used yogurt that is used in kormas and the cream cheese worked like a charm.
Leanne has been kind enough to offer me her secret for the crust. Keep the butter cold and do not overwork the dough she says. As most secrets it sounds simple but does need the finesse of someone like Leanne to produce the excellence.
