Cardamom chocolate is a type of dark chocolate that has been infused with cardamom, which is a spice noted for its strong, yet sweet, flavor that often has a hint of citrus as well. Many bakers find that the unique cardamom taste can enhance the flavor of quality dark chocolate, and commercial cardamom chocolate can be found in a wide variety of restaurant desserts as a result. Plenty of recipes for cakes, truffles, puddings, cupcakes, and cookies feature this type of flavored chocolate to add a new taste dimension. Green, rather than black cardamom, is a frequent choice for infusion with dark chocolate since it has been found to better complement the chocolate's existing sweetness.
Traditional Indian savory dishes often include cardamom to flavor rice and some types of curry. The original uses of cardamom in baked desserts can usually be traced to its inclusion in Scandinavian sweet breads. Mixing cardamom in dark chocolate is a relatively newer innovation and is likely the result of different culinary ideas meeting across varied cultures.
Recipe instructions for homemade cardamom chocolate typically require a small measure of ground cardamom since this particular spice is flavor-intense. A little can go a long way in most chocolate batches. The amount of needed ground cardamom is usually about two to three teaspoons for most recipes.
Ground green cardamom can often be found in the spice sections of many Asian or Middle Eastern grocery stores. Many experienced bakers report that freshly-ground green cardamom seed pods are needed to achieve the best taste results in any dessert recipe. These whole cardamom seeds have traditionally been ground by hand with a mortar and pestle. Some home bakers choose this method, while others prefer to instead grind the cardamom seeds in a blender or food processor.
Bakers who mix their own melted cardamom chocolate can have different preferences for the type of dark baking chocolate they believe yields the best result. Some recommend dark chocolate with no less than 99 percent cacao concentration, while others prefer lower cacao content for a somewhat milder flavor in their cardamom chocolate. Once the cardamom-infused chocolate is correctly melted and blended, it can then be made into a chocolate ganache for truffles with the addition of butter and cream. The melted dark chocolate can alternately be added to recipes for cake frosting, blended into cookie batter, or mixed with ingredients for chocolate pudding.
