To learn new ideas for terrific chocolate glazes, Bake magazine reached out to Wouter Stomph, senior manager of product development & innovation for Olam Cocoa, to share useful tips and techniques.

What are some creative ways to make chocolate glazes?

Stomph: For bakers looking to make attractive glazes more easily and cost effectively, compound coatings are becoming increasingly popular. These replace the cocoa butter and mass in a chocolate formulation with vegetable fat and cocoa powder, and they are perfect for coating products. The benefit of such compound coatings for bakers is that they can come in a larger range of functional properties due to the freedom of fat choice, and they do not need to be tempered like real chocolate, saving time and resource. Using cocoa powder instead of real chocolate in a glaze is more affordable for bakers working at a competitive price point. deZaan, Olam Cocoa’s premium brand, would like to highlight N11N and D11DQ. N11N is a natural powder made without alkalisation, giving it a mild chocolate flavor that is not too bitter. D11DQ is slightly darker and has a stronger chocolate flavor, making for a richer glaze.

What is the applicable range of deZaan cocoa powders and cocoa butters?

Stomph: Though compound coatings are gaining in popularity, using cocoa butter and/or chocolate is still the most indulgent method for making glazes. To give your deserts or pastries a more premium look we developed deZaan’s White Cocoa Butter, to achieve a bright white, smooth, mirror-like finish. Though its color is quite different from standard cocoa butter, it requires the same handling, making it easy for bakers to substitute the two. deZaan’s D11R cocoa powder is also great for chocolate glazes because it has a balanced flavor and beautiful red powder. It’s ideal for use with White Cocoa Butter or a non-cocoa butter vegetable fat. D11R’s strong color can really shine through the fat to create unique red cakes or glazes with delicious chocolate flavor.

What about flavor profiles?

Stomph: The great thing about White Cocoa Butter is that it provides the texture and flow required for a good glaze while still being very neutral in taste. This allows bakers to create unique flavor combinations using whatever ingredients they wish, assured that they will come through in the final product with that added indulgent mouthfeel of chocolate.

What are a few notable consumer trends?

Stomph: Permissible indulgence has definitely become a big trend among consumers, putting pressure on bakers to find creative ways to cut down on sugar and salt in baked goods while still making them enjoyable to eat. deZaan created D00ZR, a reduced-fat cocoa powder has just 0.5% fat content to fulfill this need. D00ZR works well in delicate desserts like macarons and sponge cakes, because the low-fat content allows them to hold their structure without collapsing.

What about clean label options?

Stomph: As consumers search for more recognizable ingredients in their products, cocoa powder is a great way to add flavor and colors to desserts without having to use artificial colors and flavors. That’s why deZaan created TrueDark N11D, the first-ever natural dark cocoa powder. TrueDark is made without alkalisation, which means it can be listed simply as ‘cocoa powder’ on an ingredient label.