It's finally here! The day has come again to fill the kitchen with sweet aromas! Since I can remember...Valentine's Day (St. Valentine's Day)Hi, I'm ayaco, and I've decided to make homemade chocolates! I learned a long time ago that it's actually cheaper to buy them (lol). While the custom of giving chocolates as gifts isn't as common overseas as it is in Japan, it's fun to make sweets filled with love once a year to express gratitude to your beloved partner and those who have helped you throughout the year. For this year, 2014, I'll introduce two recipes for homemade chocolates that can be made simultaneously: "raw chocolate tart" and "raw chocolate truffles"♪
Raw chocolate tart
material
■For ganache: 200g couverture bitter flakes, 100g couverture sweet flakes, 150cc heavy cream, a little liqueur (optional)
■For the tart dough: 120g flour, 65g butter, 40g sugar, 1 egg yolk, 20g almond flour, 15g cocoa powder
■For decorative chocolates: 70-80g coating chocolate, appropriate amount of cocoa powder, appropriate amount of gold leaf
Raw chocolate truffles
material
■ 200g couverture bitter flakes, 100g couverture sweet flakes, 150cc fresh cream, cocoa powder (to taste)
Once the butter has softened to room temperature (soft enough to easily lose its shape when pressed), put all the tart dough ingredients into a Ziploc bag and knead well to mix. Once thoroughly mixed, flatten the dough to an even thickness and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to allow the dough to set. Now, while the tart dough is resting, let's make the ganache!
Couverture bitter chocolate flakes 400g 940 yen, Couverture sweet chocolate flakes 200g 450 yen
The chocolate used this time is from a confectionery ingredients specialty store in Hamamatsu.Ant Betty ClubThis is from the Kamoe branch of "[Name of store]". It uses a 2:1 mix of two types of chocolate: bitter and slightly sweet. Using flake-type chocolate instead of bar chocolate saves time because you don't need to shave it. Ant Betty Club in Kamoe isFebruary 15, 2014 (Sat) - April 1, 2014 (Tue)Due to renovations, the first-floor store was under construction, and a temporary store was set up in the training space on the second floor.2/17 (Monday) - 3/20 (Thursday)They are scheduled to remain open until then.3/21 (Friday) - 4/1 (Tuesday)It will be closing down for renovation preparations.2014/4/2 (Wed)The store will be renamed "HIRAIDE Homemade Store" and will reopen with a newly renovated kitchen. There, you'll be able to see the actual confectionery making process, and enjoy tastings of new confectionery products and other items while watching the production and sale of homemade jams! Sounds exciting!
Remember that the amount of heavy cream needed for ganache is half the amount of chocolate. Since we're using 300g of chocolate for this recipe, we'll prepare 150cc of heavy cream for each.
Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan. (Note: Do not boil.)
Pour the warmed heavy cream over the chocolate that is being melted in a double boiler.
Remove from the double boiler and quickly mix the heavy cream and chocolate together. If you're adding liqueur at this point, add an appropriate amount to your liking. This time, I've added a little rum and red wine♪
To make truffles, transfer the ganache to a container and refrigerate until it hardens enough to be rolled into balls.
Coated chocolate 200g 470 yen (*Coated chocolate is chocolate that does not require tempering)
This is also coating chocolate purchased from Ant Betty Club. While the ganache for the truffles is hardening, let's use this to make decorative chocolates for the ganache tart. (※This time, I made about 15 pieces using about 70-80g of coating chocolate♪)
Melt the coating chocolate in a double boiler and put it into a piping bag with holes poked in it using a toothpick.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and then draw a pattern on top of it by drawing circles and slightly shifting the paper as you go. The great thing about these decorative chocolates is that they look pretty good even if you do it rather haphazardly! (lol) However, the coating chocolate hardens quickly, so it's a race against time. And the hardened decorative chocolates are delicate, so be careful with the amount of force you use! (I recommend making extra in case a few break. I'm one of those people who actually broke some: lol)
Take the tart dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out on top of plastic wrap with a rolling pin to a size larger than the tart pan and to an even thickness.
Place the dough along the edge of the tart pan (20cm tart pan) and pinch the edges tightly to fit the pan.
Use a fork to prick the dough (make air holes by piercing it).
Bake the tart crust in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, then let it cool completely.
While the tart dough is cooling, scoop the ganache, which has hardened to the right consistency in the refrigerator, with a spoon, roll it into bite-sized balls, and roll them in a generous amount of cocoa powder spread on a tray, coating them completely with cocoa powder.
Purchase size 3 paper cups, arrange them, and package them in a gift box to create delicious, slightly bitter, melt-in-your-mouth "raw chocolate truffles." (Note: This time, 300g of chocolate yielded about 32 bite-sized raw chocolate truffles.)
Just like with the truffles, melt the ganache for the ganache tart in a double boiler, add the warmed heavy cream, and if desired, pour in some liqueur and mix well. Pour the mixture, still warm, into the cooled tart shell. 300g of chocolate will fit nicely into a 20cm tart shell.
After pouring, chilling it in the refrigerator for about two hours will give it a soft, semi-raw texture, making it ready to eat. If you chill it overnight, it will harden (though it won't become rock hard since it's raw chocolate), so when cutting it, it's best to let it sit out of the refrigerator for a while to prevent it from breaking.
How about decorating your raw chocolate tart like this? Sprinkle gold leaf over the glossy chocolate!
Alternatively, sprinkling cocoa powder on top and standing the decorative chocolates upright would give it a slightly more sophisticated look, wouldn't it? Besides these, depending on the season, you could add strawberries and whipped cream, or crush pistachios for a vibrant contrast with the green. Adding walnuts would also add a nice nutty flavor and texture. Try experimenting with different decorations and variations!
Rich, not-too-sweet ganache definitely pairs well with coffee! Enjoy it with your loved ones!Happy Valentine's DayHave a great time!
