If You’re Not Finishing Your Chocolate With Pyramid Salt, You’re Doing It Wrong.
Despite what you may think, not all salts are created equal. Many people, even experienced cooks tend to believe that salt is salt and that’s that. But that’s not true at all. Everything about this essential seasoning makes a difference in the final disposition of the dish you’re creating. The origin, size, shape, flavor, and texture all matter. This couldn’t be truer than when considering the world of finishing salts. These salts in particular really stand out because they don’t melt before someone eats them. They’re full intact and present in all their salty glory for the diner to savor all their attributes.
But what makes a salt really special? After all, it’s just salt right? That’s where the Pyramid Salt really shines. Our brilliant Pyramid Salt is truly a work of art in and of itself. A true Mediterranean delight, it hails from Cyprus Greece. Officially called the Republic of Cyprus, it is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean. The third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. Cyprus is a beautiful place, and the art of making salt there dates back centuries. Early Cypriots would use the newly formed sea salt to preserve various meats, fish, and even vegetables. One popular dish from the area involves cooking a whole fish — packed entirely in the famous local salt. The unique pyramid shape of the Pyramid Salt is created through the process of solar evaporation of sea water where the water is channeled into a chain of shallow ponds or lagoons and then into large pans where the water is gradually heated, forming the pyramid shapes of the salt. The process continues until the salt reaches 3% humidity, and can take up to two years to complete.
The Pyramid Salt makes an incredible accompaniment to rich chocolate desserts. Whether it’s gooey chocolate chip cookies, a rich chocolate ice cream, or a comforting bowl of chocolate pudding, the combination of the crunchy flaky salt and tantalizing chocolate is really a thing to behold. We recently used the Pyramid Salt to finish a dessert of dark chocolate cake, complete with fresh black berries and bittersweet chocolate sorbet. The cake recipe is simple, but made even more special with the addition of fresh ripe fruits and the exquisite salt.
Here’s how to make the cake…
¾ c. Vegetable Oil
1 1/3 c. AP Flour
1 ¼ c. Granulated Sugar
1 ¾ tsp. Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1 ½ tsp. Kosher Salt
½ c. Cocoa Powder
2 Eggs
1 c. Milk (warmed)
1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease cake pan and line with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
3. In another bowl, combine eggs, oil, and vanilla. Using a spatula, mix egg mixture into flour mixture.
4. Add the warm milk and mix to combine until the mixture is lump free.
5. Transfer the batter to the pan and bake for 40–50 minutes.
At this point, you can ice it with your favorite icing flavor — we chose more chocolate of course, but you could do anything from vanilla, to orange, to espresso. The sky’s the limit! Then garnish it all with a sprinkle of Pyramid Salt and dive in! If you’d like to dress it up a bit, try adding a scoop of ice cream and fresh fruit. Again, we chose chocolate ice cream, but vanilla, salted caramel, or even raspberry sorbet would all be delicious. The fruit choice is also up for grabs. Berries make an excellent choice, but you could also use stone fruit or even tropical fruits like pineapple or starfruit in the winter.
Where you take it is totally up to you! What you’re going to instantly fall in love with is the decadent combination of rich dark chocolate and flaky pyramid salt. It’s a match made in heaven, and now, your very own kitchen!
