Pierre Herme's Sichuan Pepper Chocolate Truffles

We are down to the last 2 months of the year. Isn't it boggling how each year seems to slip away faster than the last? In theory, with all the tools that we have now to make life easier and make us more efficient, shouldn't time be stretched to linger just a bit longer? Perhaps, just like the way nature abhors vacuum, we feel compelled to rush in and fill up every available time slot with extraneous activities.... many of which ,as we shall eventually discover,  will distract us from our real priorities...

For those who count holiday gifting as a serious annual priority, it's probably time to ponder over the possible options. I baked something for my colleagues last Christmas but I honestly cannot recall what I had baked for them.... I will need to remember to check with them when I get into the office next week...  goes to show how much I value the tradition of gifting.
This is the first time I am working with chocolates and am hoping to churn out something decent enough to be given out as Christmas treats.

Chocolate truffles do not require tempering so that really makes it the entry level chocolate assignment for anyone who is looking to create their own chocolate treats. I found this recipe in Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme. What intrigued me was the incorporation of Sichuan Pepper in the recipe. As the recipe accurately points out, Sichuan pepper has more flavour than burn, more sweetness than heat, so what you get from this truffle is a very mild exotic zing at the tip of the tongue. A taste more suited to one with a more adventurous palate but I do find myself enjoying it.

For those who are keen to try this recipe, take advantage of the 20% discount on all Valrhona chocolates at Shermay's Cooking School now until the end of this month.


Recipe :

260g         Bittersweet Chocolate, preferably Valrhona Caraibe.
250g         Heavy cream
2tbsp        Sichuan pepper, crushed.
50g          Unsalted butter, at room temperature. Cut into 4 pieces.
Dutch processed cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona for dusting.

Method :
1. Please chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set aside.
2. Place cream and crushed sichuan pepper in a heavy saucepan and heat to boil. Remove from heat and cover tightly with a plastic wrap and let the cream rest for 10 mins to infuse it with the pepper.
3. Pour the cream through a strainer. Return the strained cream to the saucepan. Add in 1/3 of the pepper in the strainer and throw out the rest. Heat up cream to boil again.
4. Strain the cream into the chocolate. Slowly stir the cream into the chocolate until well mixed.
5. Rest the hot mixture for 1 minute. Add in butter one piece at a time and stir until fully incorporated.
6. Cool (5) in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Cover chocolate with a plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours.
7. Shape the chocolate ganache into balls using a a spoon. (Shape does not need to be a perfect round)
8. Place (7) into a shallow tray with cocoa powder and coat each truffle with cocoa powder.

Pate de Fruits Cassis - Cassis Fruit Jelly Candy

My parents were strict with us when we were growing up. I don't recall ever vehemently demanding for anything when we were young. We would gladly take whatever my parents would give us, be it sweet treats, stationery, books or clothes. If anything we set our eyes on were deemed expensive by our parents, we learnt to let go and make do with cheaper alternatives. We did not whine or throw tantrums, we just learnt to enjoy and made the best out of what we had... When it came to candies and sweet treats, Cadbury chocolates were not heard of within our households. The best we would see were Van Houten almond chocolate ovals that came in oval shaped tin cans or long rectangular tin boxes.
For Candies, my mother would always get us Polo mints - possibly the most unpopular and the most boring candy for a kid. Second to the Polo mints, our other favourite would be the Rowntree Fruit Gums.
They were fruity and sweet and for a long time, these were my favourite. The only cons about this candy were possibly that they were hard (which made them last forever to chew) and had the tendency to stick on to the teeth. Following the Rowntree fruit gum came something which has remained my firm favourite till today - the Rowntree Blackcurrant / Tropical Fruits pastilles. These were soft, tangy and had a more natural fruity taste compared to the gums. These were a little more expensive compared to the fruit gums and the polo mints (polo mints were the cheapest) but whenever we went grocery shopping at the supermarket then, we would always look out for the typical special offers that would come as 3 tubes in a pack.

My love for fruit pastilles continues till today - I can at any time, finish up a whole tube of Rowntree (now owned by Nestle) Blackcurrant Fruit pastilles faster than you can finish sucking your Polo Mint!
Hence, it comes as no suprise that I have always been tempted to make Pate de Fruits - a little sweet treat often served as petit fours with other sweet treats.
This is not the first time I have attempted a Pate de Fruit. I recall trying to make these with Mango puree but for some reason, it just would not gel... it could have been the fact that I had tried to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe or it could have been due to the pectin I was using at the time....


The recipe I am using today is taken from Le Cordon Bleu "De la Cueillette, a la Recette"  - an illustrative Le Cordon Bleu French Pastry Training Manual  which I find rather useful. The recipe combines the mildness of pear puree with Casis to soften the tartness. The amount of sugar used in the recipe is still maddeningly huge but I refrained from tweaking the recipe for fear that it will not gel again. In addition to pectin, this recipe also calls for the addition of citric acid. ( the recipe I tried before used lemon juice) The citric acid was added at the end of the cooking process and was the critical component that ensured problem-free gelling of the cooked jam.

Verdict- the fruit jelly was bursting with rich fruity flavours - The tartness and sweetness were so intense that I could not really decide if it was more tart or more sweet. I definitely feel more encouraged this time and am looking forward to work with other fruits and ... yes, I am still adamant on tweaking the sugar level !


Recipe :

Cassis Puree                   200g
Pear Puree                      150g
Pectin                              8g
Castor sugar  A               38g (mix pectin and sugar A together)
Castor sugar  B               375g
Glucose                           75g
Citric Acid                       8g
Coarse Sugar                  For coating

Method :
1. In a copper pot, heat Casis Puree and Pear Puree until 40-45C. Add  Pectin and sugar A mixture slowly into the puree mixture.
2. Add glucose and continue to stir and heat until puree starts to bubble.
3. Add the rest of the castor sugar in 3 additions. Stirring well to dissolve after each addition.
4. Continue to stir and heat until temperature reaches 107C.
5. Remove from heat. Add in citric acid and stir well to dissolve.
6. Pour jam into an 18x18cm square ring. (place square ring on a tray lined with silpat mat/ baking sheet.
7. Leave to cool and set at room temperature for 12 hours. (note, once citric acid is added, puree will gel quite quickly, so work quickly to pour into mold)
8. Dust with coarse sugar and cut to size.

Raspberry Guimauves / Marshmallows

Guimauve, as those who are familiar with confectionaries and bon bon will know, is actually French marshmallow. They can be enjoyed on their own and are also often used as decoration to adorn other pastries. I am not a 'candy girl' and don't like overly sweet stuff. The only candy I take are Fruit Gums... sweets that are chewy and springy in texture. Marshmallows tend to be a tad too sweet for my liking but the texture is incomparable.

For those of you who diligently check the costing of every recipe - this is one candy that is cheaper to buy from the Supermarket than to make it by yourself. So why bother? Well, first of all, I get to work with the flavours I like, then I also get to make something with a softer and more tender texture and last but not least, I get the thrill of seeing sugar transform from a bubbling syrup into a spongy foam.... the molecular wonders of food unfolding in front of your eyes.

The recipe I have chosen to work with does not involve egg white. It is pure sugar foam with fruit puree. Hence, the fruitiness of the candy can be enjoyed at its most intense.

There are many ways to present this sweet. One can choose to set it in an oiled square pan and cut them into strips or cubes. I chose to pipe them with a plain round tip. My piping skill is still amateurish and I won't argue with anyone who thinks my Guimauves look like pink dog poop.

But still, they are deliciously fruity. I probably will try to make another batch with Lychee puree, spiked with a little Rose essence. Or I could try to coat my Raspberry Guimauves with dark chocolate... so many things to do but so little time...

Recipe

White Castor Sugar 200g

Raspberry Puree 200g

Corn Syrup 100g

Corn Syrup 125g

Gelatine Leaves 15g

Corn Starch 150g

Icing Sugar 150g

Method

1. In a heavy saucepan, place Raspberry Puree, Corn Syrup (100g) and Castor Sugar. Heat to cook mexiture to 109C. (Check with candy thermometer)

2. Soak geltaine leaves in cold water to soften. Squeeze dry gelatine leaves and mix with Corn Syrup (125g).

3. When Sugar syrup reaches 109C, remove from heat and add in (2).

4. Steadily, pour sugar syrup into a mixing bowl fitted with a whip mixer. Whip continuously while pouring in sugar syrup. Continue to whip until mixture cools, the sugar syrup will start to turn into a spongy foam as it cools during whipping.

5. Pipe the spongy foam using a plain piping tip onto parchment laid tray or silpat mat. Leave marshmallow to set at room temperature for 24hours.

Alternatively, marshmallow can be poured into an oiled square tin and leave to set for 24 hours. These can then be cut into strips and cubes.

6. Sift corn flour and icing sugar together. Sift the powder mixture over the set marshmallow to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Note: Plan your work carefully, make sure the timing managed in such a way that you are ready to pour the syrup into the mixer when temperature is reached. If Syrup cools down without adequate whipping, sugar whiskers will be formed instead of foam.