There is a cafe dedicated to chocolate in the city and we have to thank Radhika Satish, an entrepreneur who recently opened it and named it The Chocolate Theory. Located at the Waltair Uplands, there is no escaping the aroma of freshly baked waffles wafting that envelopes you as you enter.

Radhika’s menu lists over 70 dishes. And even the lasagne, pani puri, tacos, pizza and roshogulla she serves has a chocolaty twist. For example if you order the chocolate panipuri you will encounter semicircular chocolate balls stuffed with crumbles of brownie that you then dip into a chocolate shake. Oh yes. Radhika suggests: “When you order a Sundae at the cafe ensure that after you eat your ice cream, eat the bowl too!” We learn that the bowls are made of chocolate too.

Radhika has been experimenting with chocolate for over 15 years now. She is not afraid of experimenting with flavours and one of the oddball combos that is very popular here is the Munjalu dessert, a shake made from munjalu (Palmyra fruit) and white chocolate.

“Every type of chocolate has a distinct taste. One needs to understand that in order to team choclate with other ingredients. Every dish on the menu is the result of many experiments with chocolates. I know exactly which chocolate complements what ingredient,” she says. Dark , milk and white are the three main chocolates she works with. Radhika posts about her goodies through her instagram page @radisacafe.

Spice it up!

Bhavika Nahata, a pastry chef who runs that brand Dark Love, says it is a no brainer that chocolate is always a crowd pleaser. Most customers love it in their brownies, cupcakes, pastries or cakes. What Bhavika is doing is to marry chocolate to various spices and herbs to make them stand out.

“One of the flavours that I am currently experimenting with is chilli chocolate. It is a combination of two extreme flavours - sweet and spicy. Yet it works wonderfully well in the cakes,” she says. Chilli oil is added to the cake batter to give it a spicy twist. She also offers cakes and brownies in salted caramel flavour with a base of chocolate. Bhavika makes her chocolate goodies out of her workshop in Dwarkanagar and runs the instagram handle @thedarklove.

Chocolate treats can also be healthy says Usha Goyal who runs Munch-a-Treat. The home baker has been conducting workshops for children and adults this summer.So whether it is shots, dips or spreads, Usha’s focus is on good health.

Healthy munching

Siripuram-based baker uses healthier alternatives. like wheat flour brownies, soya cookies and onion jaowar crackers.Usha infuses many of her dishes with chocolate “I experiment with flavours mostly for truffle. On the shelf I have mint chocolate truffle that is made by adding polo mints to the chocolate,” she says. Usha who runs the Facebook page Munch-a-treat, also makes Kahwah tea flavoured truffle where the cream for the truffle is infused with Kahwah tea

“Most of the customers prefer dark chocolate as it is very good for health. It also has anti-oxidant and anti-ageing properties,” she says. She spreads this message to her students who attend her healthy baking classes. ‘Almost all age groups love chocolate,”she smiles. “While children love its sweetness, the health benefits of dark chocolate are not lost amongst the adults.”

The odd combinations

Spending hours in the kitchen, trying various odd combinations of chocolate and other ingredients is what 21-year-old Vineesha Hemarajani loves the most. Gearing up for her first chocolate workshop on May 31, the home baker will pass on the recipes of some quirky combinations like pistachio petals which will have a combination of pistachio, rose petals and chocolate. Caramel bean is another highlight of the workshop where the chocolate will be flavoured with caramel and coffee beans. “It has been a trial and error method of baking for me, where I have spent months experimenting with these ingredients,” says Vineesha who runs the instagram handle @theconfectionconnexion.