Molded 72% Cacao Chocolates Filled With Rosewater Almond Praline
I've had a great 36 hours in San Francisco and am now at the airport waiting for a flight back to the East Coast. After a work-full Saturday south of SF, I took a train up to SF Saturday night to hang with friends and had an amazing day of food yesterday. I'll be blogging about it in the coming days, as I get my photos sorted out and processed. But, for now, you'll have to settle for a post about a cooking adventure last week.
I began my experimentation making molded chocolates a few weeks ago. Molded chocolates are the next step after truffles in chocolatiering difficulty progression. My first attempt making molded chocolates was a complete disaster . . . nothing went as planned . . . the chocolate was too think, so it didn't fill the mold correctly . . . and it didn't release from the mold . . . a complete failure. So I did some research and found proper chocolate for molding at Biagio, a great little chocolate shop in DC—Michel Cluizel 72% cacao les mini grammes de chocolat.
My second attempt went better than the first, but the chocolates (pictured above) still fell far short of "great." My plan was to fill the Michel Cluizel chocolate with a rosewater almond praline, which I made by modifying a hazelnut praline recipe from Andrew Garrison Shotts' Making Artisan Chocolates. Unfortunately, the addition of rosewater completely ruined the texture of the praline filling. I've since learned why—from the chef who spent yesterday teaching me many things that I'll be writing about later in the week. Water is the enemy of chocolate and there was a bit of chocolate added to the praline to make the filling—so the addition of rosewater turned the filling grainy and nasty. Oh well. Live and learn. The upside is that the texture of the chocolate worked; it filled the mold properly and released properly. So I've made some progress. Stay tuned for the next chapter. I'll figure this molded chocolate thing out sooner or later.
at first glance i thought you were writing about "moldy" chocolates and i was a bit disgusted...im soo glad to know i read that wrong...and btw...id love it if you learned to make bonbons...
xoxo
Reply to this
Look at you! Already an amateur chocolatier
If you still want to incorporate a rosewater flavor into your filling, you might consider a praline rosewater ganache instead. In any case, those chocolates are looking pretty good. Good luck on your next attempt!
Reply to this
A chef and a chocolatier! My goodness. 72% is right up my alley. I'm with Manggy on this one, FRM. Making chocolate = scary. Knowing me, I'd make a grand mess of it all, and end up eating every last one.
Reply to this
Julie and Manggy . . . don't fear the chocolate! Start with truffles, though . . . they're a bit more foregiving than this molded business.
Reply to this
Pity the filling didn't quite work out. They look delicious despite it
I had the combination of dark chocolate and rose once (a Wittamer chocolate) and it was delicious. Hope your next experiment works out better!
Reply to this
My chef friend was speaking specifically of ganache to fill molded chocolates and didn't rule out all combinations of water and chocolate . . . and, apparently, water in chocolate also dramatically increases the potential for bacterial growth . . . so it reduces the shelf life of truffles, molded chocolates and other chocolate goodies you don't intend to eat immediately . . . which is why Andrew Garrison Shotts recommends in his book Making Artisan Chocolates that you temper chocolate with a microwave, rather than a double-boiler. In Shotts' opinion, there's too much risk of water contamination when using a double boiler. As far as the rose flavor goes, my chef friend has recommended using essential oils, rather than infused waters. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Reply to this
I am sorry that my weird requests are causing you such problems! But given how much you love cooking and experimenting, I am sure you are having fun at some level despite the outcome.
Reply to this
Don't be silly . . . there's absolutely nothing to be sorry about! You're entirely correct that I love cooking and experimenting and I have a lot of fun even in my failed experiments. Experimenting rockz, even when it doesn't go as planned. And how cool will it be when I deliver to you, my muse, a box of near-perfectly-made molded dark chocolates filled with almond-rose praline?
Reply to this
FRM,
You sound like the Dyson creator, when he talks about his excitement of failed prototypes.
Reply to this
Ouuu... the shape is exceptional! You must have a nice mold.
Reply to this
You know it! My family hooks me UP!
Reply to this