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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Chocolate Caramel Crackers

 

Saltine crackers or crackers of your choice
225 gr. unsalted butter, cut into a few large pieces
220 gr. brown sugar
A big pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
180 gr. semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips
120 gr. toasted chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts or a nut of your choice (optional)
Extra sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line an 28-by-40 cm. baking sheet completely with foil, and then line the base of the foil with parchment paper, cut to fit.

Line the bottom of the baking sheet with crackers, covering all parts.

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes, stirring it well. It will thicken a bit as it cooks. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and then quickly pour it over the matzo or crackers. You’ll want to spread it quickly, as it will begin to set as soon as it is poured.

Bake the caramel-covered crackers for 15 minutes, watching carefully as it will bubble and the corners might darken too quickly and/or burn. You can reduce the heat if you see this happening.

Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand five minutes, and then spread them evenly across the caramel. An offset spatula works great here. If you’re using them, sprinkle the chocolate with toasted chopped nuts and/or sea salt.

Once completely cool — I sometimes speed this process up in the fridge, impatient as should be expected in the face of caramel crack(ers) — break it into pieces and store it in a container. It should keep for a week but I’ve never seen it last that long.

             Strawberry Pistachio White Chocolate Bark

 Ingredients 1 bar White Chocolate (100 gr) 

Freeze-Dried Strawberries (20 gr) 

Pistachios (30 gr, weight in shell) 

  Chop pistachios and strawberries (if necessary). Break chocolate into small square or cut into chunks and melt in double-boiler or microwave. 

  Stir in pistachios and strawberries (reserving some) and pour mixture into a lined pan. Spread out and flatten with a spatula.

 Sprinkle remaining pistachios and strawberries on top. Keep in fridge until thoroughly chilled, then break or cut into pieces. 

  You can easily modify this recipe to taste or with whatever you have on hand. For example, replace the strawberries with dried cranberries, raisins or candied fruit. Or replace the pistachios with any type of other nuts. Salted kinds work just as well, as they help to cut the sweetness of the white chocolate.

Chocolate & Caramel Tart

Shortcrust pastry

240 gr. plain flour

60 gr. caster sugar

140 gr. unsalted butter, chilled, coarsely chopped

40 gr. almond powder

Caramel

225 gr. white sugar

80 ml. thickened cream

70 gr. butter, coarsely chopped

Chocolate filling

330 gr. dark chocolate coarsely chopped

180 ml. fresh cream 48%

80 gr. unsalted butter, softened

12 ml. cointreau


For shortcrust pastry, process flour, almond powder and sugar in a food processor to combine, add butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add 2 tbsp chilled water and process until mixture just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 190C. Roll out pastry to 5mm thick on a lightly floured surface, line a 26cm-diameter tart tin and refrigerate for 1 hour. Blind bake for 20 minutes (see note), then remove paper and weights and bake until golden (8-10 minutes). Cool in tin on a wire rack.

For caramel, combine sugar and 250ml water in a heavy-based saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook, brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush if sugar crystals form, until mixture is deep golden (10-15 minutes). Remove from heat, add cream and butter and stir to combine (be careful as mixture will spit). Pour into pastry base and refrigerate until firm (1-2 hours).

Combine chocolate and cream in a small saucepan, stir over low heat until chocolate melts, remove from heat, add butter,cointreau and stir to combine. Cool to room temperature, then spread over the caramel.

Refrigerate until set (30-40 minutes).



Tip: If you want, add 50 gr. of your choice nuts in caramel filling.

Chocolate Macarons with black balsam.

140 gm. finely ground almond

250 gm. icing sugar

25 gm. cocoa powder

100 gm. egg white - at room temperature


Blend ground almond, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a food processor till fine.

Whisk egg white till they are white and foamy. Turn the speed up to high adn whip them just until they are firm but still glossy and supple - when you lift the whisk, the whites should form a peak that droops just a little. Leave the whites in the mixer bowl or transfer them to a large bowl and working with a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients gently into the whites in three or four additions. It will seem like a lot of dry ingredients to go into a relatively small amount of whites, but keep folding and you'll get everything in. Don't worry if the whites deflate and the batter looks a little runny - that's just what's supposed to happen. When all the dry ingredients are incorporated, the mixture will look like a cake batter, if you lift with your finger, it should form a gentle, quickly falling peak.

Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Pipe into small rounds about 1" in diameter onto parchment paper, leaving about an inch between each round. Rest macaroons for about 20 mins.

Bake at 180C for 10 to 12 mins.

Remove macaroons from the parchment - they should be removed as soon as they come from the oven. You will need to create moisture under the cookies. Carefully loosen the parchment paper , lifting the paper, pour a little hot water under the paper. The water may bubble and steam.Allow the macaroons to remain on the parchment for about 20 seconds, then peel the macaroons off the paper and place them on a cooling rack.

For the ganache place 227 gr.of dark chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat 180 ml. of double cream and 28 gr. butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Add 20 ml. Black Balsam.Let it for houlf an hour and then sandwich the macarons with the chocolate ganache.



Tips :“Egg Whites are the key element in this recipe. Use egg whites aged several days and bring the whites to room temperature. This is very important to get the most volume out of the whites. Take care to beat them until they are only just firm and still shiny, and don’t be concerned when, as you add the dry ingredients, they deflate - they’re supposed to. Knocking some of the air out of the whites is what will give these macaroons their characteristic smooth top. Keep the whites too firm and you’ll end up with meringue.”