Chocolate truffles with Clarks Maple Syrup.

Who told you that you must be a pro for a professional result? Just the right ingredients, follow my description and you will surprised yourself. Amazing Chocolate truffles with Clarks Maple Syrup, dry Cranberries and Pistachios. So let's start. The steps that you have to follow are simple. We will use just the microwave. Everyone have a microwave at home. So you need to buy 

150 ml. Double cream

170 gr. Dark Chocolate callets

40 gr. Dry Graberries

25 gr. Pistachios

20 ml. Clarks Maple Syrup

And Cocoa for rolling the truffles.

Place the Double cream with the Clarks Maple Syrup in a plastic jug and put in microwave for just one minute. Add the Chocolate, Graberries and the Pistachios, chopped

 and slowly stir until the Chocolate has melted. 

Let the mixture cool for about 2-3 hours. You can use a spoon to scoop balls of Chocolate. Place the balls on to a parchment lined baking pan. Take an other spoon to lift the ball off the first spoon. With cool hands, roll the scooped balls of Chocolate around to make a nicer ball shape.

Roll them in cocoa powder to create the truffle-like look.

Serve at room temperature, but store them in the fridge for up to a week. 

Tip. You can replace the Cranberries and Pistachios with dry Orange and Almonds. Or whatever you prefer.

Chocolate Macarons

For the macaron shells
300g icing sugar
300g ground almonds
120g 100% cocoa solids chocolate
220g egg whites at room temperature (about 6-7 egg whites)
4.5g carmine red food colouring (or cochineal)
5 tbsp mineral water
300g granulated sugar
Cocoa powder for dusting

For the bitter chocolate ganache

140g butter at room temperature
360g best-quality plain chocolate (such as Valrhona Guanaja couverture chocolate), chopped
400g whipping cream
40g 100% cocoa solids chocolate

To make the shells

Line 2-3 baking sheets with baking parchment. Mark the parchment with circles 3.8mm wide (I drew around a piping nozzle of the correct diameter), spacing them 2cm apart. Turn the paper over (the circles should show through).
Sift the icing sugar and ground almonds (you’ll need a fairly wide mesh sieve for this) into a large bowl.
Chop the 100% cocoa solids chocolate and put it in a bowl over a pan of just-simmering water, leaving it to melt and reach a temperature of 50C.
Divide the egg whites into two equal portions

 Mix the food colouring into one portion and add to the bowl with the icing sugar and almonds (no need to mix it).
Put the mineral water in a small pan and add the granulated sugar. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then boil the syrup using a thermometer to track its temperature.
Meanwhile, put the other half of the egg whites in a bowl and plug in the electric beaters. When the syrup reaches 115C, begin to beat the second quantity of egg whites to soft peaks.
Once the syrup reaches 118C, pour it slowly on to the whites, beating all the time. Keep beating until the mixture returns to a soft peak consistency and has cooled to 50C. (This egg white-syrup mousse is what chefs call an Italian meringue.)
Add the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the icing sugar and almonds.
Mix, then add the melted chocolate. Once it is incorporated, beat the mixture hard with a wooden spoon for a minute or so, without trying to incorporate more air.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 10mm plain tip. (Depending on the size of your piping bag, you’ll probably need to do this in three or four batches.)
Pipe the mixture onto baking sheets lined with the parchment paper marked with circles. Using a sifter, sprinkle lightly with powdered cocoa (you’re aiming for a few freckles, not an even dusting).
Tap the baking sheets on a work surface covered with kitchen towel.
Let the shells stand for half an hour, until a skin forms on the surface. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C.
Slide the baking sheets into the preheated oven. Bake for 12 minutes, quickly opening and shutting the oven door twice during the cooking time to let the steam escape.
Take the baking sheets out of the oven. Slide the sheets of parchment paper with shells onto a work surface and leave to cool.

To make the ganache

Cut the butter into pieces.

 Put the chocolate into a bowl. Boil the cream and pour about a third at a time onto the chopped chocolate, mixing each time. The mixture will separate and look grainy, but keep mixing and it will come together.
Allow the chocolate mixture to cool to 50C.
Add the chopped butter and beat until smooth.
Pour into a wide dish. Press clingfilm onto the surface of the ganache and refrigerate until thick enough to pipe.

To assemble the macarons

Spoon the ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a 10mm plain tip. Pipe a generous mound onto a shell, then top with another shell, twisting lightly so that the filling spreads and bulges enticingly.
Store covered in the fridge for at least 24 hours to allow the inside of the macaron shells to soften.

Chocolate Hearts with Matcha Green Tea ganache

Matcha Green Tea Ganache

8 oz white chocolate
1/2 cup  double cream
1-1.5 tbsp matcha powder (I didn’t actually measure how much I put in, but I think this is close)

Preparation:

1. First, prepare the ganache filling. Place the chopped white chocolate in a medium bowl, and set aside. Pour the double cream into a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring it to a simmer.

2. Once the cream is near boiling, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for one minute to soften the chocolate. Gently whisk the cream and chocolate together until they're a smooth, homogenous mixture. Add the matcha powder and stir to blend. Press a piece of cling wrap to the top of the ganache and let it sit at room temperature to cool. It is ready to use when it is no longer warm at all, but still fairly fluid.

3. While you wait for the ganache to cool, prepare the molds. If you have only one mold, you will have to repeat this process multiple times until all of your candies are formed. If you have multiple molds, you can do this all in one batch. Melt the candy coating, or take the tempered chocolate and spoon some into each cavity in the mold, so that the cavities are entirely filled.

4. Wait about a minute, then flip the mold upside down over a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper. The excess chocolate will drip down onto the paper. Swirl it slightly to encourage the chocolate to drip down. The chocolate on the paper can later be scraped off and re-melted to be used again.

5. Take a chef's knife, an offset spatula, or a bench scraper, and run it across the top of the mold, removing any excess chocolate from the top. This will make your finished truffles neater.

6. Let the chocolate mold harden at room temperature, or if your ganache is ready to use immediately, place the mold in the refrigerator to quickly set it for about 10 minutes. Once set, spoon or pipe the ganache into your molds, filling each cavity 3/4 full. Tap the molds on the counter to release any air bubbles. Refrigerate the molds to firm up the ganache, for about 30-45 minutes. It needs to be firm enough so that when you put warm melted chocolate on top of it, it will hold its shape and not melt into the chocolate.

7. Once the ganache is chilled and firm, re-melt the coating or re-temper the chocolate and spoon some melted chocolate on top of each cavity, spreading it to the edges so the ganache is completely sealed in. Scrape off the excess again with your knife or bench scraper.

8. Allow the chocolates to completely set at room temperature or in the refrigerator, then turn the mold upside-down and gently tap them out of the mold. If necessary, take a sharp paring knife to trim off any jagged edges or excess chocolate.

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