Jacques Torres' Secret To The Perfect Chocolate Croissant - Exclusive

What's the secret to the perfect chocolate croissant? Jacques Torres has the answer for you. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, the "Nailed It!" host shared a plethora of chocolate tips as he delved into his knowledge as an esteemed chocolatier. Torres explained three vital elements to creating the perfect chocolate croissant: fermentation, butter, and caramelization.

The French pastry chef elaborated that fermentation and butter (from France, of course) garner the croissants' classic flavor that we all know and love. Cambridge Dictionary defines fermentation as "a process of chemical change in food or drink because of the action of yeast or bacteria." The third element, caramelization, occurs when you pop the croissant dough in the oven. Torres described that this is when the croissant turns that beautiful brown color that you see on bakery shelves due to the sugar caramelizing. In addition to these three pointers, the television personality explained that the key to a picture-perfect pastry comes down to one important virtue.

"The secret [to the perfect chocolate croissant] is time," Jacques Torres told Tasting Table. "I read lately that around 80% of the bakeries in France buy their croissants frozen from the factory." The television host explained that fast-acting yeast is a culinary no-no, as regular yeast allows "the dough to ferment slowly" for a better flavor. He continued, "Time is very important, because that's what is going to give the fermentation flavor."

Social media has turned pastries into works of art, and croissants are no exception. Although Torres sometimes feels that taking your time with pastries has become a lost art, he is completely behind the internet featuring young pastry chefs making specialty croissant dough. He said, "I like that, because that means they make the dough. They go all the way to making the product, and I do like that." Torres, aka Mr. Chocolate, described this social media trend as "a renaissance of pastry chefs."

The chocolate brand owner mentioned that he makes homemade croissants in his own factory because it is difficult to find good ones in other bakeries. That just means we are headed to Torres' pastry factory in the coming weeks to try out a chocolate croissant for ourselves.

Head to Jacques Torres' chocolate website to check out his latest offerings.