Chocolate Masterclass Level 2 - Recipe

Chocolate Bark yield, one 1/2 baking tray or 25 pieces 

Variations

For this recipe, you’ll need about 3/4 cup toppings. Choose from any of the following, and chop or crush them if they’re large:

• Nuts: almonds, pecans, walnuts hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamias, cashews or peanuts
• Seeds, such as pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
• Dried fruit: dried cranberries, cherries, apricots, candied ginger
• Candied citrus
• Coconut: dried unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut
• Candy canes
• Pretzels

Ingredients

• 350g Couverture Chocolate (245g for melting; 105g for seeding- 30% of total weight)
• ¾ cup roasted nuts or seeds (choose from almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios and/or pepitas)
• ¼ cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit (dried cherries, apricots and/or candied ginger—chopped if large)
• About ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt 

Instructions

1. Roughly chop nuts and larger pieces of dried fruit into smaller pieces 
2. Temper the chocolate as demonstrated in class. Remember to refer to your chocolate packaging for recommended melting and working temperatures 
3. Cover a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Once chocolate has been tempered, wipe the bottom of the bowl to ensure Use a silicone or rubber spatula to spread chocolate evenly over the center area of the baking sheet—aim for about ¼″ thickness (it won’t reach the edges).
4. Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the chocolate, followed by the dried fruit. If you’re adding flaky salt, crush it between your fingers as you sprinkle it over the chocolate. Lightly use your palms to press the toppings into the chocolate.
5. If you’re in a hurry, place the pan on a flat surface in the refrigerator to harden for about 15 minutes. If you’re not, let the chocolate cool at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, until completely hardened.
6. Once the chocolate is completely hardened, use your hands to break it into about 25 pieces. Cover and store at room temperature until you're ready to eat it.

Dark chocolate Bon Bon yields 21-36 bonbon depending on the mold you use 

INGREDIENTS

Ganache Filling:

• 200g dark chocolate
• 200g heavy cream hot
• ¼ cup of raspberry jam 

Additional filling option- Orange Filling:

• 200g icing sugar
• 5-6 tsp water
• Orange flavor taste, a few drops 
• 1-2 drops of orange coloring
• Mix together with a whisk until smooth, use in place of ganache and jam in the recipe below. 

For the Bon Bons:

•  225 grams dark chocolate
•  ¼ cup cocoa butter
•  3 colors of food coloring oil based
•  3 colors of luster dust

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Ganache:

1. Roughly chop the dark chocolate.
2. Heat cream in the microwave. Transfer chocolate to a heat proof bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes. Cover with a lid.
3. Give it a whisk to help it melt. Cover and transfer to the fridge to chill.
4. Roughly chop the entire 225 grams of chocolate. 
5. Place 150 grams of chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Transfer to a bain-marie with simmering water. Melt the chocolate to 114-118°F.
6. Take it off of the bain-marie and cool to about 95-100F. Add in the 75 grams of chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. Your chocolate is now tempered and ready to use. 
7. Transfer back to the bain-marie to a low simmer or use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm to bring it back to a workable consistency if needed. Workable temp is about 88F.

For the Paint:

1. Heat cocoa butter in 15 second intervals in the microwave until melted. Pour into 3 small bowls. Add a few drops of oil based food coloring and/or luster dust to each bowl until you reach a desired color.
2. Paint the colors into the bon bon molds using a small brush. You can add layers of paint for more color, or you can splatter, just allow the first coat to harden before adding the next.

For the Assembly:

1. Pour tempered chocolate into each mold. Tap the mold until all the air bubbles are out. Give the mold a wipe. Invert over the bowl, let the chocolate drizzle out.
2. Let the chocolate sit in the mold for a minute, then invert the mold onto a wire rack so that the chocolate coats the upper edge of the mold. Move to the fridge.
3. Transfer ganaches and raspberry jam into piping bags.
4. Pipe a small amount of jam, and then ganache  into each well. Don’t overfill or get ganache on the edges of the mold. You need to seal the bob bon with more dark chocolate so the filling can't poke out.
5. Fill the molds with another layer of chocolate. Tap to get any air bubbles out. Transfer to the fridge.
6. The chocolate will pull away from the mold once it has set. Tap it onto the counter and you're done!

Chocolate is produced from cocoa beans, which are the seeds from the cacao tree that grows in tropical regions near earth’s equator.

After cocoa beans are harvested, they are fermented, dried, and then roasted to develop their flavour. Following roasting, the beans
are cracked and the shells removed. The bits of cocoa that remain are called nibs, which contain more than 50% fat in the form of
cocoa butter.

The cocoa nibs are ground into a paste known as chocolate liquor or cocoa mass, which releases the cocoa butter from the nibs.
Then the cocoa solids (cocoa powder) are separated from the cocoa butter using a powerful hydraulic press.
To produce chocolate, cocoa powder is blended with sugar and, in the case of milk chocolate, milk solids. This mixture is further
ground for hours, or even days, to develop a fine, smooth texture. The resulting liquid chocolate is then tempered and molded into
blocks or callets (chips) for sale.
Couverture is the name given to chocolate of the highest quality. This type of chocolate contains no fat other than pure cocoa butter.
Couverture chocolate must go through a process called tempering before it can be used to make confections.
Chocolate Tempering
When melted cocoa butter cools and solidifies, it is able to form six different kinds of crystals. Some of these crystals melt at a lower
temperature, some at a higher temperature. The two crystal forms with the highest melting points (V and VI) are considered stable,
while the other four (I through IV) are unstable because they melt too easily.
The goal of tempering chocolate is to have
many stable crystals (mostly V). When
chocolate is tempered, stable crystals begin to
form first. Stirring the chocolate mixes these
crystals through the mass of chocolate, causing
more stable crystals to form. In melted
chocolate that has been tempered properly,
many high-melt-point, stable crystals are well
distributed through the chocolate, therefore
the chocolate will solidify quickly when cooled
and have good crystal structure.
The high melt-point crystals (stable) give high-quality chocolate its shine and “snap.” If the chocolate contains too many unstable
crystals, it will have a dull surface showing streaks of cocoa butter (bloom), and have a poor, crumbly texture.
3 Steps:
Melting: Place chocolate in a bowl over hot water (bain marie/water bath), never over direct heat because chocolate is easily
damaged by heat, which destroys both flavour and texture. Stir constantly while melting to ensure heat is distributed evenly; the
chocolate must be brought to a temperature high enough to completely melt all fat crystals, including the high-melt-point ones.

Cooling or Precrystallizing: Remove chocolate from heat; continue stirring while chocolate cools. Stable fat crystals will begin to
form first; stirring ensures these stable crystals are well distributed through the chocolate. Seeding is the term used to describe the
process of adding properly tempered chocolate, which contains mostly stable crystals, to the melted chocolate, to introduce the
most stable fat crystals and distribute them through the melted chocolate as it cools (30% of total weight is ideal for seeding).
Rewarming: Once the chocolate has been properly tempered, it sets very quickly and may become too thick to work with, therefore
it must be warmed slightly to continue with dipping or molding. Correct rewarming raises the temperature above the melting point
of form IV crystals; at this point, all unstable crystals have melted and the chocolate contains only stable crystals. Rewarming must
be done carefully to ensure the temperature of the chocolate does not exceed the melting point of stable crystals, if this happens
the chocolate will come out of temper and the process will need to be started over again.

The maximum temperature for melting, as well as the optimal working temperature for tempered chocolate is usually listed on the
chocolate packaging. Always refer to this temperature guide as the temperatures vary slightly by brand and type of chocolate.
Group Task Breakdown
Stage 1:
1 Person tempering dark chocolate
1 Person tempering milk chocolate
1-2 People filling pre-made chocolate shells with ganache
Stage 2, Once Chocolate is Tempered:
Fill a piping bag with each type of chocolate
2 People cap the filled chocolate shells with the tempered chocolate *Do this as soon as possible so that the
caps can set before truffles need to be dipped
Remainder of Class:
Take turns piping and garnishing your own mendiants with chocolate and toppings of your choice
Take turns dipping your own strawberries in chocolate of choice
Dip capped truffles once they have set and garnish according to the demo
***Keep in mind that your tempered chocolate will set very quickly and should never be left unattended.
Work together as a group to keep the chocolate warm enough to work with, but remember not to warm it too
much!
You Go Home With:
6 x Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
20 x Mendiants
6 x Frangelico Truffles
6 x Milk Chocolate Caramel Truffles