Bonbon Challenge: Tobacco-Scented Truffles, Francisco Migoya’s Curious Idea

After a decade as head chef at Modernist Cuisine, where he led the production of such impressive dishes as Modernist Bread and Modernist Pizza, Francisco Migoya left Seattle a few months ago to move to Copenhagen and lead research and development for everything related to the world of pastries and desserts at the prestigious restaurant, Noma.

In so good.. magazine #33, we invited him to participate in our bonbon challenge. What did it consist of? Present innovative, or even futuristic bonbons that would revolutionize both flavor and appearance, and that invite the reader to reflect on this product.

Migoya accepted the challenge and presented us with two perplexing proposals that demonstrate that he possesses the three virtues necessary to be a super chef: creative talent, scientific and academic training, and the ability to execute his creation with precision.

Discover so good.. magazine #33

Objective: Incorporate the aroma of pipe tobacco into chocolate

One of his proposals is these tobacco truffles. Migoya intended to transfer the peculiar aroma of pipe tobacco to a pastry bite, or in this case, chocolate. After some unsatisfactory tests, for example when trying to infuse the tobacco into the cream, “it was such a high amount of nicotine, I could feel my heart racing after just one truffle”; or when smoking the cream “with burning tobacco, which resulted in a heavy cream that tasted what I would imagine an ashtray would taste like,” the chef found the way, as he explains below.

“After speaking with some tobacco colleagues about this conundrum, we concluded that the tobacco was more about its aroma than its flavor and decided that this would be the smarter path forward. I searched for the most aromatic pipe tobacco I could find and black cavendish came out on top by far.

Main characteristics of the Black Cavendish pipe tobacco

“Black Cavendish is a type of pipe tobacco recognized for its dark appearance, smooth texture, and sweet, mild flavor. It isn’t a specific tobacco variety but rather the result of a particular process applied to other types of tobaccos, most commonly Burley or Virginia. The creation of Black Cavendish involves steaming or heat-treating the tobacco, sometimes with the addition of sweeteners like sugar, honey, or licorice, which enhances its sweetness and mellowness.”

“The process begins by selecting a base tobacco—typically Burley or Virginia—and subjecting it to heat and pressure. This steaming causes the natural sugars in the leaf to caramelize, giving the tobacco its characteristic dark black or brownish-black color. Additional flavoring agents, such as sugar, molasses, honey, or sometimes even fruit or vanilla, may be added during this process to amplify the sweetness. In some cases, Black Cavendish undergoes a double fermentation, which softens the taste further and contributes to “its smooth, mellow profile”.

“In terms of flavor and aroma, Black Cavendish is renowned for its sweetness. The fermentation and curing processes, along with the added flavorings, result in a mellow, sometimes vanilla- or chocolate-tinged taste. Black Cavendish’s ability to hold onto flavors and produce a pleasing aroma made it the best choice for this truffle.”

Francisco Migoya’s proposal: Tobacco truffles

“For this recipe we make a simple brandy caramel filling inside a dark chocolate truffle shell which is coated in powdered sugar. The black cavendish tobacco is carefully wrapped around the truffle using cheese cloth, and then the truffle is wrapped in wax paper and tied tightly shut, where the aromatic infusion will take place over a few days. The longer the better, of course.”

Check out the full recipe for Tobacco truffles in so good.. magazine 33

He also reveals in so good.. magazine 33 the idea and recipe for his second proposal: Soft Chocolate and crème fraîche bonbon, where strips a bonbon, deconstructs it and shows us its most elemental essence.