Working with Fine Chocolates
This is our second lesson on making fine chocolates. We will concentrate on enrobing centers in chocolate. Before we begin, have at least one pound of chocolate melted over hot water in a double boiler ready for dipping. You can use either confectioners coating or real chocolate, but please remember that real chocolate must be tempered. You also need the centers of the chocolates to be prepared and either cut into shapes or rolled into balls. It is best to work with centers that are cold, so keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready to dip them. You can use truffles as centers or make cream centers from fondant (see recipe to follow). Both the truffle and fondant centers can be flavored to your taste.
When chocolate is at the perfect temperature (82-88ƒF or 28-31ƒC) for dipping and centers are cool, you are ready to start. Have sheets of wax or parchment paper ready, so you will have a place to put your chocolates to cool and firm. Drop a cream or truffle centre into the chocolate and using a fork (look for one with less tines spaced further apart) carefully lift the center out of the chocolate, tapping the handle on the side of the pan to dislodge any excess chocolate. The thinner the coating of chocolate on the centre, the more professional your final product will look. Immediately place the chocolate on the wax or parchment paper to cool, removing the fork out from under the center in a quick pulling motion.
You can decorate the top of the chocolate by lightly pressing the tines of the fork onto the chocolate and withdrawing quickly. You should have small ridges across the top. Another decorating hint is to dip the tines of the fork into the pan of chocolate and then fling the fork back and forth over the top of the chocolates. This should leave small ribbons of chocolate. Let your chocolates cool and harden, then store in an airtight container in a cool place or the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Too much moisture will effect the sheen of the chocolates, so a cool dry place is preferable to the refrigerator.
Fondant
The
following recipe makes the basic fondant that can then be colored (use one drop
of food coloring at a time, kneading well until the desired color is reached)
and flavoured with liquor or oils to taste (again make sure and add a small amount
of flavoring at a time, kneading well until the desired taste is achieved).
2 1/2 cups 500 g granulated sugar
1 cup 250 ml water
1/2 teaspoon 2 ml lemon juice
Bring the sugar, water and lemon juice to a boil in a sauce pan and boil rapidly until the syrup reaches the Soft Ball stage (234ƒF or 112ƒC). Carefully pour the syrup onto a clean, cool surface. A marble slab works perfectly for this purpose. Allow the syrup to cool for one minute.
Begin working the cooled syrup with a metal or wooden spatula in a back-and-forth or figure-eight motion. Scrape the edges toward the center from time to time. As the syrup cools, it will become paste like and harder to work. It is ready when the entire mass has become an opaque paste. At this point you can color or flavor all or part of the mass. Fondant can be stored indefinitely in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
To make centers for chocolate enrobing, either spread the mass into a smooth layer about 1/2 inch thick and cut in squares, rectangles or triangles; or roll small tablespoon size bits into balls.
Pam Williams is an educator and business strategist specializing in marketing and communications. Her culinary accomplishments include: founder Ecole Chocolat Professional Chocolatier School, founder of the specialty chocolatier, au Chocolat; author and publisher of three cookbooks including the Canadian best selling chocolate cookbook, Oh Truffles.