Professor Butter Beard’s Easter in Bruges
“I’ve always felt that love is like Belgian chocolate, you know, the ones with brandy filling. You always say you’re going to take one more bite, one more chocolate, and then, the whole box is gone. Perhaps the morning after, you might even get indigestion or a headache, and still, that evening, you might stop by the supermarket and but buy another box because you simply can’t get enough.” – Scarlet Hyacinth, Romanian author
It was as if Vianne Rocher had smiled into my soul saying, “I know it is your favorite.”
But I jump ahead of the story. It was my first springtime exploration of Bruges, the “Golden Inlet” of Belgium. We had flown into Paris and after a weekend of delicious museums, foie gras, warm baguettes and perfect twilights, we took the three-hour train to the Belgian coast and travelled back in time to the 15th century. The forty-seven bells in the Belfry greeted our arrival and we walked wide-eyed with our luggage towards the town marketplace and our hotel, gleefully anticipating a mug of Belgian beer and a steaming pot of Moules-frites.
The concierge greeted us and pulled us aside out of the ear shot of other anxious tourists. “We have double-booked,” he began. “But fear not. I have personally upgraded your visit and the cab driver just signaled his arrival.” I felt like Cinderella as we were whisked into the cab, given two mysterious white boxes wrapped in silk ribbons, and whirled away towards our new lodgings. The driver pulled up to one of the most beautiful hotels I had seen in all my European travels. The lobby was bustling, and we were quickly checked in and shown to a suite overlooking a still canal waiting to be painted by an Impressionist master.
As my travelling partner showered, I sat on the edge of the settee by the window and slowly untied the silk ribbon on the first white box. The aroma of warm chocolate and spices swept over me, and I swear I collapsed in a sensory overload as I took my first bite of Belgian dark chocolate. I had finished the entire box by the time my partner emerged and considered hiding the second box deep between the cushions.
After I surfaced from my chocolate overdose, we stumbled back into the lobby to ask for recommendations for an outdoor lunch in the sun-drenched marketplace. As I spoke, my hand, as if under its own spell, reached into the huge glass bowl on the counter and fished out three small globes which I assumed were Hershey Easter eggs for the guests. I unwrapped them as we walked and was once again transported into Vianne’s Chocolat emporium. Needless to say, by the time we sadly travelled on from Bruges towards Brussels four days later, I had completely filled the guest laundry bag from our suite’s closet with the small eggs-of-heaven and thrown out half my packed clothes to securely nest the treasure inside my luggage.
When I crave a minute of pure memory bliss, I let my soul travel deep into John Francis Spenlove-Spenlove’s oil painting of Bruges’ Quai Vert canal and the historic walking bridge where I discovered a chocolate paradise masterfully sculpted into one bite. Spenlove was born in the Scottish town of Bridge of Allan, Sterlingshire, and is most noted as an artist for his fine atmospheric landscapes, working in both oil paint and watercolor. A voted-in member of the Royal Academy, he often painted in Suffolk and particularly on the continent in Holland, further developing his chosen dreamlike style. He travelled widely, often on his own dime, working in Italy, Spain and Tunisia in North Africa, as well as Switzerland, Picardy and Brittany in France. Unfortunately, many of his works were lost in the Blitz bombing campaign during the Second World War. Currently, there is an ongoing project by the Royal Academy to recover his works or at least to secure imagery in order to ensure his chapter in the history of art.
Every spring, my baking takes a turn towards chocolate. In an attempt to recreate the sensory surprise of the masterful chocolates in the white box wrapped in silk ribbons, I have twirled spiced dark chocolate within the layers of egg and butter-rich Easter babkas. Last evening, I re-visited “Chocolat” while the yeast performed its magic within the luxurious loaves. Both Vianne and I hope, with a twinkle in our eyes, that we have “found your favorite.”
Dark Chocolate Babkas
Makes three loaves
Loaves:
1 ½ cups warm buttermilk
4 tsps. of active dry yeast
1 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 Tbsp. to proof the yeast
3 whole eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
1½ tsp fine sea salt
Zest of one large orange
14 ounces of unsalted butter, room temperature (8 ounces for dough, 6 ounces for filling)
24 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
Streusel Topping:
1 2/3 cup confectionery sugar
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1) Pour the warm buttermilk into a medium glass bowl. Sprinkle four tsps. dry active yeast and a one Tbsp of sugar over the milk. Whisk together and then let stand until foamy, about five minutes.
2) In another bowl, whisk together ¼ cup sugar, two eggs, and the egg yolks. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and whisk to combine.
3) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, salt and orange zest. Change to the dough hook, add the egg/yeast mixture and mix on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add eight ounces butter, one Tbsp at a time, and mix until the flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated into a smooth, soft dough (slightly sticky), about 10 minutes.
4) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few turns until beautifully smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).
5) Place the chopped chocolate, remaining ¾ cup sugar, the cinnamon and the chili powder in a large bowl and stir to combine. Use your finger to mix in the remaining six ounces of butter until well combined; set filling aside.
6) In another small bowl, gather the ingredients for the streusel topping with your fingers, squeezing the streusel together until it forms small clumps and then set aside.
7) Generously butter three 9x5x3” loaf pans. Line them with parchment and butter the parchment. Create an egg wash with the remaining egg and two Tbsp water and then set aside.
8) Punch back the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest five minutes. Cut into three equal pieces. Keep two pieces covered with plastic wrap while working with the remaining piece. On a generously floured surface, roll the first dough into a 16” square; it should be 1/8” thick.
9) Brush edges with egg wash. Crumble a third of the chocolate filling evenly over dough, leaving a ¼” border. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Fold right half of the roll over onto the left half. Roll ends under and pinch to seal. Twist roll three turns and fit into prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough and remaining filling. Cover the loaves with a light cloth and let rise again for 20 to 30 minutes.
10) Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash. Crumble a third of the streusel topping over each loaf.
11) Bake loaves until golden, about 45 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees; bake until babkas are deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool in the pans.
Me, travelling by boat in Bruges, c. 2004.
