How to make the perfect chocolate themed afternoon tea

It’s hard to find a person who doesn’t love chocolate so when a themed chocolate afternoon tea popped up in London I had to learn more.

I spoke to Thibault Marchand Executive Pastry Chef to talk about his inspiration for his new creation. Thibault was the winner of Bake of the Professionals in 2019 so I have no doubt that the afternoon tea will be prize worthy!

Thibault, can you tell me the inspiration behind the afternoon tea and why you decided to opt for a chocolate theme?

I’m a chocolate lover since I began learning pastry so I decided to opt for a chocolate theme mainly as I wanted to share my passion for a full experience. I also wanted it to be different from other afternoon teas by pairing a cocktail with it!  The afternoon tea is part of the winter menu and it will be very fitting as it is going to be served in a warm and cosy room with a lovely fireplace.

I also found inspiration from ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures when chocolate was used as a decadent spice, or a form of currency. I created the ‘Do You Like Chocolate’ afternoon tea as a celebration of this precious ingredient, its complex flavours and global heritage. My vision was to showcase the versatility of chocolate in its many different forms

Everyone loves the traditional scone but you have added the extra chocolate scones to match the theme. Can you tell us any tips that makes a chocolate scone just perfect?

I love the scones too! When I designed the menu I wanted to make a chocolate scone but I didn’t really know how to make it happen perfectly so began a process to develop the perfect one.

 I made a few test scones and after seeing the results of all, I choose one to develop further. For this I removed a percentage of flour that I replaced with cocoa powder also to make this scone more interesting I add into the mix some dark chocolate pearls.  Whenever the scones are served warm to guests the chocolate pearls melting, which make me starving just by talking about it …

To make a perfect chocolate scones I think you should make sure the proportion of dry ingredients are not too high compared to the plain scone recipe as if you change that proportion the scone will be too dry after being baked. Also from my point of view you should choose the right quality of cocoa powder and any other ingredients too.

Thibault, I noticed you have left strawberry jam off the menu, is there any particular reason you have selected blueberry jam and passionfruit curd for this afternoon tea?

I wanted to change from the classical lemon curd and strawberry jam that you can have at most afternoon teas, so I decide to go for a blueberry jam and a passion fruit curd. In my opinion, if you put both on a scone or having them separately, they match perfectly with chocolate. Having both of these also gets you ready to taste the pastries, as one of them contains exotic fruits and another one contain red berries, to create the all experience more interesting too

Most themed afternoon teas forget to theme the tea. I see you have a Grenadian Cacao Nib on the menu. Can you tell me more about this and which course it is best with?

We do have a Grenadian Cacao Nib on the menu, found this tea made from the Rare Tea Company, to satisfy both your tea and chocolate craving, this new blend combines the bright, fruity notes of organic Grenadan cacao nibs with the rich maltiness of handcrafted Malawi black tea. Sourced directly from Grenada, the cacao beautifully complements the tea. No artificial flavourings, just pure indulgence!  Personally I would choose this tea to combine perfectly the whole experience

I noticed that the quality of the chocolate you use is very good, how does using a high percentage of chocolate impact the baking? How did you decide which brand to use?

As I mentioned, choosing the right quality of ingredient is essential for me as it will help you create the best pairing in flavor, as they all got a different taste.

Regarding the percentage of chocolate you have added into your creation, of course the results will be different. It is a bit like thinking like an alchemist - haha!

Deciding about the brand you want to work with isn’t easy as they all have good quality products. I work with a variety of different brands simply because I want to find the perfect taste match to each creation. It’s also really interesting to work with different brand as you always discover something new that can works for your items too.

Do you find with the Instagram focused world we live in that you are under pressure to create the best looking afternoon tea?

In the past few years, I think that Instagram is a huge social world where everyone want to showcase the most beautiful, most perfect and best looking pastries. It is also a great place show to the world the latest creation you have done and the new techniques you’ve used but as you said, yes everyone is under pressure regarding the work they are putting in.

I’m an Instagram lover (@marchandthibaultoff) too as you can see thing from everywhere in the world and get inspired with. It’s also a great place to share what you are proud of. That said, there is pressure as people can judge you so easily, but everyone is free to say what they wanted to.

A huge thanks to Thibault for sharing his thoughts on his new afternoon tea.  The Chocolate Afternoon Tea is running until end of February 2020. To read more behind the scenes interviews with pastry chefs, sign up to the newsletter here.