Chefie’s World

 One of the reasons I was in Davao is because of the chocolate class that only I can teach. You know your chefie is only one of the three recognized Callebaut chocolate instructors here in the Philippines…proud…bow….. have to teach this course almost every three months….and just in the span of two weeks, I have taught it for four times….I am dreaming and sleeping with, on and holding chocolates….But I am still amazed on how a simple cacao bean can have such a distinct, unique and should I say, exquisite flavor that is not synonymous with anything else in the world. It goes through so many processes before it reaches our tongue. Did you know that it must be the couverture type which is a must try, it’s the one with the cocoa butter as fat that melts in the mouth and appears on the hips and thighs. Sorry about that.The class is a basic on chocolate where I do a lecture on the processes that happens from cacao bean to chocolate. Tempering which is the most important stage is then explained well. Chocolate moulding or should I say praline making no nuts involved, goes through a lot of temperature changes. You always get a tempered chocolate then you melt it so it will give you the following; shine or gloss, snap and retraction which is the ability to be removed from it molds. It must then be caught at good and favorable temperatures (depending on the kind of chocolate) where cocoa butter crystals are more stable to have those characteristics then it must be cooled down and reheated again to a certain temperature which is termed “ working temperature “ at this point chocolate can be placed in any moulds or it can be used and will always have the good outcome and physical characteristics. This is the simplest way I can describe it to you my readers. See the pictures. But if you don’t like this part, you can always make truffles which is one of the easiest yet looks expensive chocolate treats I love to make.Just thought of writing about chocolate now and I never thought that Valentine’s Day is next week, and they are related in some way. …..hope to see you somewhere you are not suppose to be in… Enjoy the truffles…

J J Truffles

Use good quality chocolate, if you can find couverture, the better.
Ingredients:
250 gms dark or milk chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream, not all purpose
30- 50 gms unsalted butter
3 – 5 tbsps liquer – framboise, frangelico, Grand Marnier
cocoa powder
finely chopped nuts, no peanuts please

Procedure:Boil heavy cream in sauce pan. Pour over chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add butter and liquer of choice. Mix well, don’t incorporate too much air. Chill until set. Pipe or spoon into rounds or mounds. Chill again. Toss in cocoa powder or chopped nuts and put in mini muffin liners. Chill since they will melt.

Note:Since white chocolate is all cocoa butter, you have to mix in less heavy cream around 1/3 cup will be enough. Use more butter to stabilize the mixture, around 80 gms. Don’t worry the added fat is nothing since you are eating chocolates already….har! har!

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 6:38 pm and is filed under Food, personal, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.