70% Dark Intentions (Bean to Bar Mysteries) by Amber Royer | Character Guest Post: Chocolate Rosemary and Cayenne Conchas

Hola! I’m Carmen, Felicity Koerber’s pastry chef at her bean to bar craft chocolate shop Greetings and Felicitations. The shop has a full coffee bar and a mini-bookstore in addition to selling Felicity’s chocolate bars and truffles. She just added in-house-produced cocoa powder and nibs to our inventory – and I’ve gone from occasionally adding baked goods to the coffee selection when I was a barista and general shop assistant to now regularly showing off my skills in the kitchen.

I’ve even started working on a cookbook for the shop, which will give home bakers interesting ideas on what to DO with our chocolate, other than just eat it straight. And now that we’re doing cocoa powder, it’s opened up even more options for recipe building. I’m all about taking traditional recipes and elevating them by adding in herbs and spices, or mixing ingredients from different parts of the global kitchen.

I’ve got some conchas about to come out of the oven that I’ve added an interesting dynamic to by adding cayenne and rosemary to the chocolate topping. Did you ever have an Atomic Fireball candy when you were a kid? No se why, but the topping mixture I came up with reminds me a little of that flavor. Please, try one with un cafecito.

I’m formally trained as a pastry chef, so I’m sure Felicity wondered why I applied for a barista job in the first place. Truth is, I’ve had some trouble in the past, where things that went badly in a previous job got blamed on me – even though they weren’t my fault. I’ve tried extra hard at my job at Felicitations, because I want to prove that I was worth a second chance, although I’ve since learned that Felicity wasn’t even aware of what had gone wrong. She’s a trusting individual. Too trusting, in my opinion.

She’s also a bit too eager to get involved in righting wrongs and looking for justice in things that aren’t really her business. Because she’s gotten caught up investigating not one but two murders. This annoying blogger, Ash, called Felicity a, “Murder magnet,” because both deaths happened here at the shop. But just because people were unfortunately killed here, that doesn’t mean it was her responsibility to go do something about it.

And still – I can’t help but like her need to see people get justice, and to help the grieving families left behind. That probably comes from the fact that she’s lost somebody herself, so she knows what grief feels like.

I like having a boss with empathy. She’s the kind of person who will give me the morning off from my job on days when the waves are good – which is especially rare here in Galveston. She knows surfing is one of my true loves. I have thought occasionally about moving to where the waves are better, but I moved to Houston for culinary school and now it feels like Galveston is my beach. I’m not sure I’m ready to start over somewhere new.

I have family in Austin and in El Paso, and even though we aren’t on the best of terms, the thought of moving even farther away from them breaks my heart a little. And I have a boyfriend here now, and I think he really could be the one.

Besides, I’ve started to feel like I really belong at Greetings and Felicitations. Felicity listens to my ideas, and lets me try whatever I want in the kitchen. I do wind up taking up the slack when she and Logan – the guy Felicity protests far too much that she’s NOT in love with – drop everything to follow up some clue or interview a possible murderer. But honestly – I don’t mind. It is more of a chance to prove I’m responsible, and truly an asset to the company.

While you’re in town, make sure you check out the rest of the Strand. There are so many little cute shops. And take some time to visit Moody Gardens. I just found out Felicity used to work there, back when she was in college. I’d never been before – it seemed waaaay too touristy for my taste — but I was curious after she’d talked about it, and their aquarium is actually really cool. They also have river otters. Otters are my favorite animals. They’re like cats that swim. Water cats. I could just watch them swim all day.

You really enjoyed the concha? I’m so glad! Let me jot down the recipe.

Carmen’s Chocolate Rosemary and Cayenne Conchas

vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl
½ c. milk
3 ½ c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
½ c. sugar, plus 1 tsp. for proofing yeast
1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
½ tsp. salt
½ c. unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 batch chocolate herb topping

Heat the milk until it is warm, but do not allow to boil. Add the yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar. Set aside. Grease a large mixing bowl and set aside. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low, just until combined.

Add the butter and mix thoroughly on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each. Then add the vanilla extract and slowly pour in ¼ c. of the milk, slowly adding more and mixing between additions until you have a cohesive dough (you may not need all the milk).

Switch to the dough hook attachment and continue mixing about 7 minutes at medium speed, until the dough is soft and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the large greased bowl, rolling the ball to grease on all sides. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm spot and allow the dough to rest until it doubles in size (roughly 1-2 hours).

Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate herb topping and set aside.

Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface, and shape the dough into 16 equal-sized balls. Place them on the lined baking sheets. Use your fingers to generously grease the top and sides of each ball with shortening.

Place the topping balls one at a time onto a sheet of plastic and flatten them into discs. Peel each disc off the plastic and place it on one of the dough balls, pressing down firmly until the whole thing forms a dome shape. Use a knife or a concha cutter to mark the top with “swoop” shapes, to resemble a shell.

Place the baking sheets in a warm place, and allow the conchas to rise until almost double in size.

Preheated your oven to 325º degrees. Bake the conchas for 20 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely, and serve with a strong cup of coffee.

NOTE: You can freeze shaped, topped conchas on a sheet tray before baking and store in a plastic bag in the freezer until ready to bake.

Chocolate Herb Topping

½ c. vegetable shortening, plus extra for greasing dough

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. dried rosemary, finely ground
½ tsp. cumin, ground
½ tsp. cayenne pepper, ground
¼ tsp. cracked black pepper

Place the shortening in a medium bowl, and whip it with a spatula or spoon until it becomes very creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Divide into 16 balls, and use to top the conchas before baking.