Hear from the chocolatier whose dessert won Wisconsin State Fair’s best of show

Cindy Karrels left her career as a flight attendant so she could make chocolate. Now she’s an award-winning chocolatier thanks to the Wisconsin State Fair. 

For more than a decade, Karrels and her husband, Mark, have owned a chocolate shop in Elm Grove called Fazio’s Chocolate. Last fall, she created a confection to commemorate their 10th year in business called “Decade of Decadence.” She submitted her creation for a suite of awards at the state fair for the first time.

“As a family, we would go to the state fair … and a must-see would always be the Grand Champion Hall with all of the homemade items,” Karrels told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” 

“It is an amazing building with a lot of wonderful items in it,” she continued. “I would say, ‘Geez, I should really enter something.’ So, I finally got on the email list last year. And when the email came, we took a look at it and said, ‘Hey, this is something that we can do.’”

Karrels said what stands out to her are the different flavor profiles in Decade of Decadence. It’s dark chocolate praline with a crunchy cookie base layered with berry marmalade and cheesecake, wrapped in a dark chocolate shell. 

The family-run chocolate boutique was awarded first place among sweet treats and then best of show at the fair. 

Karrels spoke to “Wisconsin Today” about the award-winning treat and the science — and artistry — of working with chocolate.

The following was edited for clarity and brevity.

Kate Archer Kent: How does chocolate challenge you?

Cindy Karrels: It’s very warm outside. Chocolate really loves it cold outside. The humidity is another challenge. 

You always have to have something new. People love new things. We switch it up for holidays and for different seasons. We have our summer line with key lime, wild berry cup, margarita. But with the fall entering now, we will have our autumn crunch, our pumpkin (flavor) and things like that.

KAK: What do home bakers often misunderstand about the chemistry of working with chocolate?

CK: A lot of people think chocolate is really easy to work with because they’re usually getting something from their local grocer or craft store, and that’s not a true couverture. We are working with the actual couverture, where the different crystals have to come together. That needs a cool room and low humidity.  

It’s an art, and it’s actually a trade. When you train somebody, they will see how the chocolate looks before it’s in temperance — thin and runny. And once it gets in temper, it’s that beautiful working temperature where you get that really nice thin shell and that really nice snap. But once it starts to get too thick, that’s again where it starts to bloom on you. There’s nothing wrong with it; it just doesn’t look as good.

Generally, if you’re getting it from a store or one of your local craft stores, you basically warm it up, pour it in a mold and it’s done. It just has different ingredients, so it acts differently. But this is a high-end chocolate that we’re working with.

KAK: You’re also experimenting and working with vegan and dairy-free chocolates. What trends have you noticed in chocolates over the years?

CK: That was one of the trends that was very big. Gluten-free also. Recently, there have been different chocolates that have more proteins in them, like with the pea protein. There’s a lot of Indian spices that are coming into the industry right now. 

It’s everchanging. You always want to take a class or collaborate with another chocolatier and just try to be on the top of those trends and see if it fits in your business. Is somebody going to want something with eastern Indian spices and a crunch, or are they going to want their sea salt caramel?

KAK: You have called your win at the Wisconsin State Fair an item on your bucket list. What would you like to achieve next?

CK: We have a very strong foothold in our retail business in Elm Grove where we’re located, so we were looking to wholesale. 

We’re partnering with Friends of the Domes to help secure their future. We were able to make a chocolate for each one of the domes. We came up with a lizard for the Desert Dome. We came up with a frog for the Tropical Dome and a little flower pot for their Show Dome. It’s something that is such an iconic part of Milwaukee and provides education for all ages and activities, and it’s just a wonderful place to escape in the cold Wisconsin winter.