#EdenCooks - Chocolate Truffles! - Mon. Feb 20 at 8pm EST

The New Intimacy

#EdenCooks - Chocolate Truffles! - Mon. Feb 20 at 8pm EST

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Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
Ugh I finally made it. Ran into a snag and delayed slightly. But I am here now hehe.
Hey CMM!
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

So! You're feeling like taking the classic route, and enrobing your truffles in tempered chocolate? Awesome.



Tempered Chocolate
12 oz chocolate, chopped
(maybe you can tell from this that the secret's not in the ingredients.)

Tempering is where the "Keep your chocolate dry!" commandment really comes into play. Dry all your utensils and ands really well before coming into contact with the chocolate.

I don't know how many of you are chemistry fanfolks, or metallurgy fanfolks, but I sure am, so you can either gloss this part over, or maybe it'll remind you of your high school chemistry classes.

Chocolate is one of those solids which, because of its pretty bulky molecular chains, can become a solid in many different crystal arrangements. You heat it up until it melts, and then, depending on the temperature at which it cools, the cooled chocolate will have different properties. The hotter the chocolate is as it cools, the more energy the molecules have to be as unruly as they please, so chocolate that cools at its own pace will be dull and will "bloom" with that off-white stuff. If you artificially cool the chocolate, it has less energy to spend spreading itself all over the place, and it will have to form a dense crystalline structure. The 'tempered' state we're going for is beautiful, stable, and long-lasting (you can keep enrobed truffles at room temperature for up to a month). You have to keep your eyes open, but it's worth it.

The old fashioned way of tempering chocolate is by melting all the chocolate, and then taking 3/4 of it and spreading it over and over on a marble slab to cool it to 82F, allowing a tightly-packed crystalline structure to form. and then recombining the cooled chocolate with the liquid chocolate. The crystals formed on the marble slab will serve as seed crystals for the remaining warm chocolate, and it will all cool at 88F (the temperature for the crystal structure we're trying for).

The new fashioned way is to use some already-tempered chocolate (like one of those higher-end candy bars) as a source of seed crystals. If you don't have a candy thermometer or a good sense of chemical changes in the kitchen, this is probably the safer bet.

Then, the very most new-fashioned way is to melt your chocolate very slowly, so that most of the chocolate will be melted, but some of the centers of the chips will be mashed by your spoon instead of with heat. This way, the chocolate already in your bowl becomes your seed crystal source. Microwave your chopped chocolate in 30-second bursts, stirring thoroughly between each burst. Eventually you'll see that you can smash the remaining chocolate bits. Mash them quickly and start enrobing!

Trivia: Cocoa production has nearly tripled between 1985 and 2005, but most of this increase in production is because of increase in land cultivated. There have been no significant yield per acre increases for cocoa in a long time.

02/20/2012
Contributor: Cookie Monster Mike Cookie Monster Mike
These are looking and sounding delicious! You are putting a lot of work into these!
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
These are looking and sounding delicious! You are putting a lot of work into these!
Work well worth it, though!


That was kind of a mouthful---I can kind of go overboard with chemistry if nobody checks me. Any questions here?

And, the most important question---"If I mess up, is this still gonna taste good?" Yes. Yes it is. Just eat them over the next day or two instead of expecting them to keep all month. The difference between tempered chocolate and untempered chocolate---well, a Hershey's Kiss straight out of the wrapper when you bought it in an air conditioned store, compared with a Hershey's Kiss that you carried in your hip pocket all afternoon. Still tasty, but a little messy.

Kind of like with baking bread---if you're worried you're going to mess it up, just make it so it comes out of the oven right as dinner's served. No matter what you messed up, if it's warm out of the oven, it's going to taste good. If you want to give your work a critical analysis, then let it sit overnight and cut into it cold.

Trivia: Cacao trees are a tropical plant---they are not hardy below 59F . They need 2000mL of water annually, as well.
02/20/2012
Contributor: candykiss34 candykiss34
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

Is there anyone here who doesn't consider themself to be a very good cook?

Do you think you can handle that anyway? Anything else that could be a source of questions later?

Trivia: The cacao tree's genome sequencing was ... more
I consider myself to be just okay at cooking. But I'm enthusiastic and always ready to learn new techniques and recipes
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by candykiss34
I consider myself to be just okay at cooking. But I'm enthusiastic and always ready to learn new techniques and recipes
Then you'll be totally able to handle tempering. It was much easier to actually do it than all the cookbooks and blogs said it would be.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

So now let's actually temper some chocolate.

If you have a double boiler, put your chopped chocolate into the upper section and bring the water in the lower section to a low boil. Make sure your upper section has a lip so no steam infiltrates your chocolate. As the chocolate warms, stir it continually. Once it's melted, turn the heat off. You can let the chocolate continue to sit over the water so it stays melted.

I don't have a proper double boiler---I usually just put a metal bowl over a pan---but because I want to avoid getting my chocolate wet, I just used the microwave. (The oven would work too.) By a series of crazy random happenstances, I have a marble slab. So I figured I'd do this the old fashioned way, even though I don't have a digital thermometer.

But I was totally surprised, because as I was stirring my chopped chocolate, I realized I had done the seed crystal method without even realizing it. Lickety-split, I was ready to enrobe!





Start rolling your ganache spheres through the tempered chocolate. Set them on waxed paper to cool.



Trivia: Immediately after harvest, the cocoa pods (both the seeds and the white pulp) are left to ferment at the hands of natural ambient yeasts for up to a week to develop flavor. After fermentation, they are dried, and then sent to manufacturing plants. .

02/20/2012
Contributor: Cookie Monster Mike Cookie Monster Mike
I've actually never made truffles before, I do have a food processor however it is rather small (3 cup). Would make it significantly easier to do this though.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Seharra Seharra
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Work well worth it, though!


That was kind of a mouthful---I can kind of go overboard with chemistry if nobody checks me. Any questions here?

And, the most important question---"If I mess up, is this still gonna taste ... more
I'm studying a lot of chemistry (mostly organic) at the moment, so I am really finding the details that you're using to be amazingly fun to read.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Cookie Monster Mike Cookie Monster Mike
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

So now let's actually temper some chocolate.

If you have a double boiler, put your chopped chocolate into the upper section and bring the water in the lower section to a low boil. Make sure your upper section has a lip so no steam ... more
Oh my god that is so dark looking but deliciously looking. lol I'm so craving these *reaches through screen*
02/20/2012
Contributor: wrmbreze wrmbreze
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
Oh my god that is so dark looking but deliciously looking. lol I'm so craving these *reaches through screen*
If only it were that easy.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
I've actually never made truffles before, I do have a food processor however it is rather small (3 cup). Would make it significantly easier to do this though.
Yeah, I spent a foolish number of hours chopping this stuff by hand. I have a food processor, but it wasn't strong enough, it just jammed. It almost would have been worth going to the store and buying a better one (but I didn't.) My choppin' arm is probably the stronger for it.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Seharra
I'm studying a lot of chemistry (mostly organic) at the moment, so I am really finding the details that you're using to be amazingly fun to read.
Everything is more fun when you understand it!
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

Now, I did leave you hanging a bit on some of my trimmings.

For butter brickle---I guess some people call it toffee? It's just the stuff you coat popcorn with when you're making caramel corn. I did this off the cuff, remembering my mom making caramel corn.



Antipova's Off-The-Cuff Butter Brickle
1/8 cup chopped pecan pieces
~2 tsp butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
----------
1/2 tsp baking soda

Toast the pecans in a small pan over dry heat. Once you smell them toasting, add the butter and swirl it around as it melts.



Put some waxed paper on your countertop. Add the sugar and water and stir. Keep stirring until the sugar begins to caramelize and turn that pretty caramel color.




Take the pan off the heat and add the baking soda---this will make the caramel puff up and cool off very quickly, becoming brittle. So give it a couple of good stirs and pour it right away onto the waxed paper, where it will cool. Mine is too dark (I lost the moment when I stopped to take a picture, so try not to go quite as far as I did.

correct color:


too dark:


cooling:


Once it's cooled, you can crack it with your hands into crumbles. I used about half of my batch of brickle in the ganache, and the other half I ran through a food processor to make the garnish.



And, because I know there are a lot of bacon fans in the crowd---try this with some crumbled bacon in the brickle where I use pecans, and bacon grease where I use butter.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Say Say
A +4m tree that consumes 2000mL of water *annually*? I call shenanigans.
02/20/2012
Contributor: wrmbreze wrmbreze
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Yeah, I spent a foolish number of hours chopping this stuff by hand. I have a food processor, but it wasn't strong enough, it just jammed. It almost would have been worth going to the store and buying a better one (but I didn't.) My ... more
I am looking for new stuff to try because I bought my very first stand mixer this past week.
02/20/2012
Contributor: NurseKitty NurseKitty
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Yeah, I spent a foolish number of hours chopping this stuff by hand. I have a food processor, but it wasn't strong enough, it just jammed. It almost would have been worth going to the store and buying a better one (but I didn't.) My ... more
Uhh is it bad that all I do is smash chocolate up in a ziploc baggie with my rolling pin LOL
02/20/2012
Contributor: Say Say
Okay, that crumbly caramel is several steps beyond delicious-looking.
02/20/2012
Contributor: wrmbreze wrmbreze
Quote:
Originally posted by NurseKitty
Uhh is it bad that all I do is smash chocolate up in a ziploc baggie with my rolling pin LOL
sounds like something to do when you're in a bad mood.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Say Say
Quote:
Originally posted by NurseKitty
Uhh is it bad that all I do is smash chocolate up in a ziploc baggie with my rolling pin LOL
Sounds like a great stress-reliever. Does it work?
02/20/2012
Contributor: Say Say
Quote:
Originally posted by wrmbreze
sounds like something to do when you're in a bad mood.
Ha! you beat me to it.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Cookie Monster Mike Cookie Monster Mike
Quote:
Originally posted by Say
Okay, that crumbly caramel is several steps beyond delicious-looking.
LOL I know it looks phenomenal !!!!!
02/20/2012
Contributor: wrmbreze wrmbreze
Quote:
Originally posted by Say
Ha! you beat me to it.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Say
A +4m tree that consumes 2000mL of water *annually*? I call shenanigans.
Per square (inch? cm?) of root area?

Hm.

I neglected to write down a source for that, so let's strike it from the record.

I usually think of water in terms of acre-feet (Vaccinium macrocaropon, for example, need an inch per week as a rule of thumb)... hrmmmm...

I stand called out.
02/20/2012
Contributor: Cookie Monster Mike Cookie Monster Mike
I think this is definitely going to be one of those special occasion recipes I will bust out
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by NurseKitty
Uhh is it bad that all I do is smash chocolate up in a ziploc baggie with my rolling pin LOL
That works too
02/20/2012
Contributor: Cookie Monster Mike Cookie Monster Mike
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
Per square (inch? cm?) of root area?

Hm.

I neglected to write down a source for that, so let's strike it from the record.

I usually think of water in terms of acre-feet (Vaccinium macrocaropon, for example, need an inch per ... more
*hugs* its okay
02/20/2012
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by wrmbreze
If only it were that easy.
Agreed!
02/20/2012
Contributor: candykiss34 candykiss34
Quote:
Originally posted by Cookie Monster Mike
I think this is definitely going to be one of those special occasion recipes I will bust out
Same here. Can't wait to try this
02/20/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

And for the lovely delicious maple creams.

Mmmmm... maple creams.

This is a very basic recipe, you can alter it to suit any flavor you like. If you love the cherry flavored ones, replace the maple syrup with maraschino cherry juice. If you're a mint fan, try some creme de menthe. Any flavor you like, make a simple syrup and use it in place of the maple syrup. Just typing this, I'm excited to make a star anise simple syrup and have some licorice creams.



Maple Creams
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup cream
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
(optional nuts, up to 1 cup)

Put the flavor syrup, cream, and sugar into a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Bring it past a boil, to 236F. Keep stirring the whole while, or your pan will try to boil over.




If you're working without a candy thermometer, take this to the "Soft Ball" stage (drop a bit of the boiling sugar mix into a cup of hot water occasionally, and see how far the molecules have changed by observing its reaction. Our ancestors developed a pretty nifty chart, but the one I dragged along from my childhood is printed on paper and copyrighted, so check the one on About.com. Most cookbooks probably have a copy as well.

Once your maple creams make it to the soft ball stage (aka 236F), pour it into a cool bowl and add the vanilla. Bring the candy thermometer along, and sit with your lover while it cools to 110 F.



This will take a good long while. Once it's cooled to 110F, stir it just a bit until it begins to lose its gloss. You're mixing in a bit of air now so the creams will be light and creamy, but don't mix too much or they will be grainy. So do just a bit of hand mixing, then pour it into a buttered 9x9 pan (or anything with sides, that you've buttered in advance). Let it continue to cool. Once it's cool, you can cut it into rectangles.




I was bad at this---straight lines are not my forte. On the bright side, I got to eat the scraps





02/20/2012