Chocolatea – Delightful Tarts and Fluffy Roll Cakes

Here at BlockChef, our mission is to raise awareness of the many talented home cooks and bakers hidden right in our neighbourhoods. Today, we feature a creative home baker we think you should really know about – Chocolatea.

A portmanteau of two well-loved ingredients, the name “Chocolatea” was inspired by the founder Dawn’s personal appreciation for these two classic flavours, and her passion for infusing them into her baked desserts. 

The pandemic was a trying time, forcing the whole world into isolation with social distancing measures. However, like any resourceful entrepreneur, Dawn turned crisis into opportunity. With time on her hands to craft new recipes, she decided to launch her online bakery. With a philosophy of placing a central emphasis on developing intense flavours while maintaining a well-balanced and health-conscious profile for her sweet treats, her signature tea-flavoured dessert boxes were greeted with raving reviews from delighted customers. 

Believing in indulgence with less guilt, Chocolatea’s bakes are made with reduced sugar and without artificial flavouring, colouring, or gelatin in its products, making them vegetarian friendly as well. As an added bonus, most of its bakes are also halal-friendly. 

In today’s burgeoning home bakery scene, Chocolatea distinguishes itself from competitors with its focus on quality: baking elements and ingredients are made from scratch whenever possible, including lining all their tart crusts by hand. Paying homage to the delicate and exquisite notes of its tea flavours, Chocolatea uses tea powders imported straight from Japan. Most tea powders currently available in Singapore, especially Matcha, tend to be bitter and astringent. However, the premium matcha powder imported by Chocolatea is distinctively more umami and bittersweet.

During her baking journey, Dawn also discovered the complementary pairing of nuts and tea, and she started incorporating nuts into her tea flavours. Chocolatea’s nut butters and pralines are painstakingly made from scratch, from the roasting of the nuts, followed by caramelisation and then grinding into paste, it was all done without the addition of artificial flavouring or preservatives.

While mostly an online business, Chocolatea recently had the opportunity to operate a physical retail pop-up at Baker X in February of this year, which Dawn recounted as a wonderful experience where she was able to meet and interact with customers, and have more people try her bakes. 

Having heard so much about Chocolatea, I was delighted to be able to get my hands on their August 2023’s Ocha-themed dessert box, managing to order one just before they sold out. Each box ($45) contains four delicious treats:

• Earl Grey Chocolate Roll Cake (slice)
• Genmaicha Pistachio Tart
• Hojicha Pecan Tart
• Koicha Fat Mad

In crafting this anticipated Ocha (meaning tea in Japanese) box, Dawn decided to include a range of nut-infused and tea-centric flavours comprising of Matcha, Hojicha, Genmaicha, Earl Grey to create a multi-dimensional comprehensive tea box for all tea lovers.

Upon receiving the box, I was impressed by how well the treats held up after delivery – neatly aligned, and visually-perfect despite transportation – each treat came placed on a stunning gold flat disc that held each bake firm with the help of some sugar glaze, and double sided tape to safely (and inconspicuously) secure the lids to the base of the box.

Earl Grey Chocolate Roll Cake

A roll-cake flavour combination not commonly seen in Singapore, this Earl Grey chocolate roll cake was the lightest of the four bakes in the box, and the perfect refreshing start to this tea-infused dessert journey. A pillowy chiffon Earl Grey sponge enveloped a light Earl Grey chantilly cream, with sweet, delicate tea notes permeating each bite. The sweet, floral, slightly astringent, and malty Earl Grey flavours were complemented beautifully by a nutty Earl Grey chocolate ganache piped atop the cake, with the pleasant aftertaste of tea and chocolate notes reminiscent of idyllic, balmy afternoons and tea parties. 

Genmaicha Pistachio Tart

One of Chocolatea’s crowd-favourites, the Genmaicha Pistachio tart is a stunning sight to behold in person, with a glossy green sheen of Genmaicha ganache forming the top layer, adorned with perfectly piped swirls of Genmaicha chantilly and embellished with chopped pistachio bits for added texture. Personally, I enjoyed having this tart cold, taken straight from the fridge. It was extremely satisfying to cut through this tart with a knife, with the cross-section revealing the thick, milky rich ganache sitting seductively on top of the umami goodness of the roasted pistachio praline bottom layer. The two flavours complemented each other perfectly like an old couple who finishes each other’s sentences, with the nutty dimension elegantly tempering the sweetness from the ganache. Then, to bring it all together, the crisp and buttery golden pâte sucrée tart shell upon which the two lovers sit, masterfully converges all the flavours into perfect harmony like a beautiful first dance.

Hojicha Pecan Tart

Nestled within the same pâte sucrée, the Hojicha Pecan tart is the sultry sister of the Genmaicha Pistachio tart. Topped off artistically with dried flowers, golden flecks, pecans, and a rich sea salt Hojicha ganache that lays snugly on top of a pecan praline bed, the fragrantly nutty and crunchy elements dance flirtatiously with the salty and mildly sweet undertones of the decadent ganache. The sea salt helped to expose and brighten the nuanced depths of pecan and Hojicha flavours, and the complexities of the different layers played beautifully together to produce a melodious symphony on my tastebuds like a well-rehearsed orchestra.

Koicha Fat Mad

Hidden within this gorgeous seashell-shaped matcha madeleine is an indulgent secret: a rich, dark-jade green matcha ganache that flows out like a luscious lava once heated up in the microwave for 12-15 seconds. The aroma it emanates when heated is divine, an inviting prelude to the warm, rich and bittersweet matcha notes that hit my palate after. True to its name, the Fat Mad is stuffed with molten green goodness and is significantly thicker than typical madeleines in order to accommodate the filling. Juxtaposed with the crispy, almost caramelized exterior shell, this delicate Japanese-inspired traditional French tea cake is a perfect union of texture, flavour, and pure decadence. 

Chocolatea’s highly raved products can be found on their Instagram page @chocolatea_sg, where customers can choose between its themed dessert boxes, individual ala carte bakes and additional add-ons. Inspired by the founder’s overseas trips and local scene explorations, the bakery often features diverse flavours and textures. The dessert boxes feature an ever-changing theme, so customers will never get bored. Past themes include flavours like Matcha Midori, Kakkoii, Shiawase (Pistachio), and Kuro, and you can look forward to their Ocha theme for August.

Chocolatea’s boxes tend to sell out quickly, so we suggest you check out their Instagram for updates and submit your orders early!

To place an order, visit their store here.