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Beautiful Homemade Chocolates

14 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by melandjoycook in Christmas, Desserts, Valentine's

≈ 2 Comments

Homemade chocolates

Homemade chocolates

Every Christmas I like to try and make something different for presents, last year it was chutney and jam, this year I thought I’d try making chocolates. They are fun and not too hard to make, though a little fiddly but are incredibly luxurious tasting presents.

Homemade chocolates

Homemade chocolates

I’ve been testing them on my colleagues at the British Lung Foundation (BLF) so I can make the perfect ones for Christmas. We had the first ever Great BLF Bake Off, the ideal opportunity to try and make some impressive chocolates.

There are two parts to making chocolates, you have the ganache and the melted chocolate.

Homemade chocolates

Homemade chocolates

What you need:

To make about 18 chocolates

250g of the best quality dark chocolate you can find (at least 70% cocoa content)

Ganache
80 ml double cream
100g good-quality 70% dark chocolate

Equipment
Silicon chocolate moulds
Heat resistant spatula
Saucepan
Heat resist and bowl

Making chocolate filling ganache
Ganache is a fantastic way to get different flavours into your chocolates – this is when you can let yourself be as creative as you want. I have made a few different flavours so far which include vanilla, rum, chilli, walnut and peanut butter.

Break up your chocolate in a bowl. Add your double cream to the saucepan and heat the cream – but you don’t want it to boil. Just before the cream comes to a boil add about half of it to the chocolate and stir – the cream’s role is to melt the chocolate. If the rest of your cream has cooled down reheat it and slowly add to the chocolate and continuously stir it to make sure it all melts.

If you want different flavours for your fillings separate the ganache into separate bowls and then add the different flavours. Add as little or as much as you like of each (though if you are adding a liquid be careful not to put too much or it will be too liquidy).

When you have added your flavours cover each bowl with cling film and put in the fridge – this will help it harden.

Your ganache will last for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Making your chocolates

The trick to tempering your chocolate

Tempering chocolate

Tempering chocolate

The most important thing when making chocolates is tempering (melting) your chocolate properly. If the chocolate over-heats your chocolates won’t have a glistening colour and snappy texture, and with gradually develop a white film over them – which is very disappointing after all the effort that goes into making chocolates.

I’ve never been very good at tempering chocolate and think it is a little down to my lack of patience but after a disappointing batch of chocolates I am prepared to wait as long as I need to ensure my chocolates shine!

Melt your chocolate in a bain-marie (water bath), a technique used to slowly melt the chocolate at a low temperature. In the past my bowl has touched the boiling water but I have found it’s better to have your bowl sitting in the pan and not touching the water, so that only the steam is heating the bowl and chocolate.

Some people use thermometers to ensure their chocolate doesn’t go past a certain temperature but my little trick is to boil water in a kettle add it to the saucepan and add my bowl of chocolate and not turn on the heat. I leave the chocolate to slowly melt and stir. Once the water temperature stops melting the chocolate, remove the bowl, turn on the heat and re-boil the water, then turn the heat off and put the bowl over the water again – continuously stir your chocolate with a spatula. The chocolate should be smooth and silky and not gluppy or lumby.

Filling the sides of the moulds
Now that your chocolate is melted you want to fill the bottom and sides of your moulds – the shell of the chocolates. I use a small spoon for the bottom of the moulds and then a tooth pick or wooden skewer for the sides – dipping it in the chocolate and then covering the sides. You don’t need the chocolate to be too thick.

Fill bottom of mould

Fill bottom of mould

As you fill the bottom of your moulds, gently hit them on your kitchen surface. This will remove any trapped air in the chocolate.

Chocolate on the sides of the moulds

Chocolate on the sides of the moulds

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Leave your moulds at room temperature (my kitchen is usually the best and coolest room) to cool.

At no point do you want to put your chocolate in the fridge – this will make them whiten.

Filling your moulds with ganache

Add the ganache

Add the ganache

Once your chocolate has set – this can take around 30minutes to an hour – you can add your ganache. Use a spoon or pipe (I use a small spoon) and fill them about 3/4 of the way.

Completing your chocolates
Re-melt your chocolate – this shouldn’t take long and a boiled kettle should be enough.

Fill the moulds

Fill the moulds

Using a spoon or pipe fill your moulds and continually hit on your kitchen surface to remove trapped air.

Remove all the air

Remove all the air

Once filled leave your filled moulds at room temperature to harden. They should easily pop out of the moulds when done.

Making a Christmas present
Cut a small square/ rectangle of cardboard, cover with some Christmassy material, I use cello tape on the bottom. Place chocolates on the cardboard. Cover with transparent plastic paper – using a little cello tape again at the bottom to hold. Then tie a pretty bow around it to give that finishing touch.

Enjoy!
Mel

Chocolate Eclair Pots

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by melandjoycook in Desserts, Valentine's

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

chocolate, cracker, cream, dessert, eclair, valentine, vanilla

Chocolate eclair pots
This is a dessert that my mom used to make that would be perfect for a Valentines’ Day treat.

I made the whip cream and chocolate ganache to step it up a notch.
This was a BIG hit with friends at the dinner we hosted last night.

What you will need:
1 box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
1.5  Cups of Whipping Cream
8oz Chocolate Bar
8 Graham Crackers
1/2 Cup of Scalded Heavy Cream

I made 6 pots out of this so change accordingly if you want to make more or less.

First make the instant pudding which just requires milk. SUPER EASY. It sits for 10 minutes in the fridge.

Whipped cream

Whipped cream

Then whip 1.5 cups of whipping cream.

Fold the instant pudding into the whipped cream. Put it back in the fridge to sit while you make the chocolate ganache.

Fold cream

Fold cream

First chop your chocolate into bits. Then pour the cream in a double boiler over medium heat. As soon as it starts to bubble, add your chocolate and stir until chocolate has melted.

Melt chocolate

Melt chocolate

Let the ganache sit off the heat for a few minutes to help it thicken.

You can either layer this with graham crackers in a small casserole dish or in individual pots.

The pots are cleaner and have a better presentation but either one works.

Lay crackers

Lay crackers

You just layer graham crackers and the spread the vanilla cream over it. Put the vanilla cream mixture in a baggie and piped it out for better control but you can just spoon it.

Pipe cream

Pipe cream

You should be able to do this about three or four times before topping it off with chocolate ganache.

Continue layering

Continue layering

Let it sit in your fridge for at least an hour before serving.

This is a quick and easy dessert that looks and tastes like you slaved over it!

Enjoy!
Joy

Chocolate and Hazelnut cake

28 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by melandjoycook in Desserts, Valentine's

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birthday, cake, chocolate, ganache, hazelnut, icing sugar

Chocolate and Hazelnut cake

It was my friend Emma’s birthday at work and so I decided to make a chocolate cake I have been making since I was a kid. You can never really fail, unless you over-cook it. It turned out pretty good and everyone gobbled it down, so here it is:

Prep time: 20mins
Cooking time: 25 – 30mins at 180C

For the cake you will need:
200g dark chocolate (mine was 76% cocoa)
100g of hazelnuts (whole)
150g granulated sugar
150g butter
100g raising flour
4 eggs
1 tsp baking soda

For the ganache you will need:
100g dark chocolate
50g icing sugar
50g butter

Before you do anything turn your oven onto 180C. You will need two big bowls. Take your eggs and separate into the two bowls the yolks and the whites. Add the sugar to the yolks and whisk until it takes on a creamy colour (this will only take a minute or two).

Now you need to melt your chocolate and butter together. You can do this in a bain-marie but I like to cheat and use the microwave. Break up the chocolate in a bowl and the cut up the butter and place on top of the chocolate, add a tablespoon of water. Put in the microwave at medium heat for a minute. Check the chocolate, if it isn’t fully melted put it a back in for a while longer. Be careful not to leave it to long as it can easily burn if it goes past its melted form.

Once the chocolate and butter are melted make sure the mixture isn’t hot when you add it to the yolks and sugar (otherwise it will cook the eggs).  With a whisk mix all ingredients together.

Put the flour in a small bowl and add to it the baking soda. Make sure they are well mixed together and then add them to your cake mixture. Use a wooden spoon to incorporate the flour and then use the whisk to properly mix. Add the hazelnuts, though they are not a must have.

Now come the egg whites, you need to whisk them until you can literally turn the bowl upside down over your head without them falling out. This should take about 5 minutes. Then you need to use a wooden spoon to fold the egg whites into your cake mixture. This is so you don’t lose the air you have created with the whites, this will ensure you cake rises and is light.

Put the cake mixture in a not stick proof cake tin and place in the oven for 25 minutes if you like it a little gooey in the middle or 35 minutes if not.

Remove the cake from the oven and de-mold. Once it has cooled you can turn to your ganache.

Ganache:
Melt the chocolate and butter as you did previously. Then add to it the icing sugar and make sure the three ingredients are well mixed together. Now you can cover your cake with the ganache.

Fell free to add anything else to the top of your cake for decoration, or just leave it simple.

This is a definite success.
Enjoy!

Mel

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