"Ruffles & Truffles"

February 04, 2010 - Vol 1, Issue 03

In This Issue:

Collage's Chocolate Challenge

"Make Room" SALE - 50-75% OFF Selections - Feb 4-6

Happenings at the Collage

Know Your Chocolate

Temper, Temper

Making Ganache

Smart Chocolate Truffles Tips

Q & A

Cookbook Review

Three Terrific Truffles!

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Next Issue: Feb 18, 2010

"Stir-Fry Sensations"

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Chocolate Passions

Chocolate devotees remember their first truffle with the same detail and fondness that they remember their first kiss! Unlike their mother's box of chocolates with cloying nougats, the first bite of a true chocolate truffle declared new territory! With chocolate truffles, the soft ganache hidden inside the petite gems dissolves perfectly at mouth temperature, eliciting no words, only sighs. A splendid truffle is as wonderful as a great glass of wine, a bite of perfectly seared steak, an al dente tortellini - in other words, Three Truffles

a permanent resident in the pantheon of food fantasies. Chocolate truffles are traditionally rough, cocoa-dusted balls of ganache named so because of their similarity to the rare and greatly prized mushroom truffles. In this issue, we equip you with the knowledge and skills for devising your own signature truffles. We'll demystify the magic behind tempering chocolate and making ganache, while offering tons of tips for successfully working with chocolate in your own kitchen. We finish with three recipes for truffles - each a great example of different truffle-making methods. You'll be amazed at the ease of fashioning your own truffles, and delighted at the response of the lucky people you share them with - if you share, that is!

The Collage's Chocolate Challenge!

KC's Semi-Annual "Make Room" SALE!

Happenings at Kitchen Collage

It's a new year with new opportunities! Join our culinary explorations here at the Collage! Here are two upcoming classes that are always favorites!

Call to reserve your place for these events - (515) 270-8202!

Saturday, February 13th - 9am - 11am - The Indian Vegan Kitchen with Madu Gadia. She will select recipes from her new book of the same name. Learn the secrets of blending spices, vegetables and grains into this great cuisine. $50.

Chopping Knife

Wednesday, Feb 24th - 6pm - 8pm - Knife Skills Class
Thursday, Feb 25th - 12pm - 2pm - Knife Skills Class
Thursday, Feb 25th - 6pm - 8pm - Knife Skills Class

Learn the most helpful set of skills you'll ever use in the kitchen! Join Wusthof-Trident representative, Clark Stone, as he teaches us the proper techniques for chopping, dicing, mincing, and many other knife skills! $45.

Call us at 515-270-8202 for details and to register! Seating limited; call early!

Know Your Chocolate

Long revered as an aphrodisiac, we now know that chocolate is also medicinal! The high antioxidant content of chocolate qualifies it - at least in our minds - as a health food! (1.5-ounces of bittersweet chocolate has the antioxidant value of a 5-ounce glass of red wine). We've been chocophiles long enough to become acutely aware of the differences between chocolates and their nuances. Like other favorite indulgences, (wine, coffee, etc.), chocolate reflects the land on which it's been grown, how it's fermented and processed, and how it's combined with other ingredients.

Great Beans - Chocolate is derived from seeds harvested from the tropical cacao tree. The seeds are encased in pulpy cacao pods. After the cacao pods are harvested, the seeds and pulp are left to ferment for 3-7 days. The seeds are then extracted, roasted, and ground. The ground seeds create a bean paste comprised of cocoa butter (40-50%), and cocoa powder (50-60%). The bean paste is melted to form chocolate liquor, a smooth, liquid slurry of the cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Most chocolate manufacturers form their confections from commoditized chocolate liquor. In the U.S.,

there are only twelve chocolate makers that control their product "from bean to bar."

Types of Chocolate - Different chocolate preparations are often defined by percentages. The percentages define the amount of cacao bean in the product - that is, the proportion of the chocolate that is cocoa butter and cocoa powder.

Milk chocolate - 30-40% cacao
Semi-sweet chocolate - 55-60% cacao
Bittersweet chocolate - 65-80% cacao
Unsweetened chocolate - 99% cacao

Substituting Chocolate - Chef Shotts, in the featured book below, recommends not substituting a chocolate that varies more than 5% from what the recipe specifies. Chef Alice Medrich notes that it is possible to substitute bittersweet chocolate for semi-sweet chocolate by decreasing the amount of chocolate by 10% and adding 1 teaspoon of sugar for each ounce of chocolate used.

Use High Quality Chocolate - The greater the role of chocolate in the final product, the more important it is to use high quality chocolate. Beware of "wannabe" products sporting names like "chocolate-flavored," or "chocolate-like."

Temper, Temper

One of our customers recently announced "I don't understand tempering chocolate, so I just skip that step." She went on to lament, "Why do my chocolates turn out dull and sticky?" Hmm.... Turns out, there's a direct correlation between great results and tempering the chocolate!

Tempering chocolate is worth mastering and easier than you think. Tempering chocolate involves heating chocolate and cooling it in such a way that the crystalline structure of the chocolate is optimized. Invisible to the eye, wonderful things are happening to the chocolate as it is heated and cooled. Tempered chocolate results in shiny, even surfaces that hardens well and stays hardened at room temperature. In other words, tempered chocolate behaves appropriately and performs nicely in the kitchen. It's a step that you really can't skip!

How to Temper Dark Chocolate:

Tempering chocolate is about heating chocolate and controlling how it cools. The tight temperature management involved with tempering requires the instant information available with today's digital thermometers. Instant-read, digital thermometers take all of the mystery out of tempering, and provide the essential magic for realizing chocolate success every time.

Microwave Method:
Step 1: Melt - Place three-fourths of the dark chocolate to be tempered in a heavy, microwavable bowl. (We like to use our thick-walled chili bowls). Heat the chocolate 45-60 seconds at a time on a 50% power setting. Stir the chocolate after each minute until melted and smooth.
Step 2: Heat - Heat the chocolate to a temperature of 115-120�F. This melting point dissolves the chocolate's crystalline structures and sets the scene for proper re-crystallizing.
Temperature of Chocolate

Step 3: Cool - Allow the chocolate to cool to 95�F with occasional stirring. It won't take long for this cooling to occur.
Step 4: Seed - At 95�F, the chocolate is beginning to reform its crystalline structure. Add some solid chocolate bits from the remaining fourth of chocolate to the melted chocolate. The solid chocolate will melt and provide "seed crystals" for the cooling chocolate to form around. Continue to add the solid chocolate bits until the chocolate reaches a temperature of 86�F.
Step 5: Reheat & Hold - Reheat the cooled, tempered chocolate ever so slightly to 89�F and hold at that temperature while dipping or molding.

Double-Boiler Method:
The same heating and cooling process can be accomplished in a double boiler where the indirect heat from the steam melts and heats the chocolate. Chocolate burns easily -- at around 200�F -- so placing the chocolate in a saucepan directly on the stovetop is not an option.

Tempering Semi-Dark, Milk or White Chocolates: Similar to dark chocolate, other types of chocolate benefit greatly from the tempering process. Follow the same process, but key in on the different temperature points that characterize these other chocolate forms.

Making Ganache

A chocolate ganache is deceptively easy to make for something that is so incredible to eat! At it's basic form, ganache (French origin, pronounced "GUH-nash"), is a mixture of chocolate and cream. The cream integrates with the chocolate's structure giving it a lighter, whipped-like texture. The result is a bite of chocolate that rapidly dissolves in the mouth giving new meaning to the common phrase, "melt in your mouth."

Steps for Making Ganache:

Heating Cream

Step 1: Chop or shave chocolate into small pieces. Small nuggets, the size of traditional chocolate chips, are a good size. Place in a small, deep bowl. Choose a bowl that will retain heat and that can be micro-waved if necessary. (We like to use our chili soup bowls for this step).

Step 2: Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it just begins to boil. Watch carefully as cream can burn easily after this point. Use a high quality pan that transfers heat efficiently to prevent burning on the bottom. A common ganache ratio is twice as much chocolate to cream by weight.

Step 3: Pour the heated cream over the chopped chocolate waiting in the bowl. Let set for 5 minutes without stirring or disturbing. (Do not put the chocolate Cream Melting Chocolate

in the saucepan with the cream; the pan will retain too much residual heat for the mixture).

Step 4: Stir the chocolate and cream mixture gently until the two become incorporated into a shiny, uniform mixture. The ganache will thicken as it cools. Allow it to cool gradually to room temperature; avoid the temptation to rush things by putting the ganache in the refrigerator. Once at room temperature, the ganache is ready for use or may be refrigerated until needed.

Flavor Variations: Add flavor to ganache through flavoring the cream, (as with the raspberry puree in the Red Rose Truffles below), or add flavors, (especially liqueurs and fragrant oils as in the Grand Marnier Truffles below), when the ganache temperature cools to 95�F.

Working with Ganache: Ganache is built to melt quickly in your mouth and has a very low melting point compared to plain chocolate. While delightful to eat, working with ganache can be tricky. To form the ganache centers of truffles, try one of these methods:

By Hand - Scoop a small spoonful of thoroughly cooled, refrigerated ganache. Roll in the palm of your hands quickly forming a small round ball. Sheeting Ganache

A very small ice cream scoop, or melon baller may be quite useful in forming a ball that can be finished off quickly by hand.
Piping - Alternatively, placed cooled, (not refrigerated), ganache in a piping or plastic bag. Squeeze out equal mounds of ganache on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. When cooled further, balls of ganache can be easily rolled and completed.
Sheeted - Ganache can be poured in a shallow pan, cooled, (even frozen), until firm, then cut into squares or use small cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes.

Smart Chocolate Truffles Tips

Tip #1: Add just a slight amount of cayenne pepper to the ganache mixture. In the right quantity, the hot spice will be imperceptible as a distinct taste, but will heighten the mouth's response to the chocolate with a delightful "afterburn."

Dipping Chocolate

Tip #2: Use a variety of coatings for rolled balls of ganache. Try chopped pistachios, confectioner's sugar, toasted coconut, granulated sugar with a splash of luster dust, a combination of dark cocoa powder mixed with granulated sugar, sipping chocolate powders - including the "hot," spicy sipping chocolates, or finely crushed cacao nibs.

Tip #3: To make chocolate ruffles for decorating and garnishing, pour tempered chocolate in a thin layer on top of an over-turned jelly roll pan. Allow the chocolate to set slightly. With an offset spatula, or other straight edge held at an angle, scrape the chocolate off the jelly roll pan with an arc motion. Temperature and practice will yield great chocolate ruffles and a great frill to any dessert.

Tip #4: To keep tempered chocolate at proper working temperature, use a thick-walled bowl for your tempered chocolate. To further maintain the temperature, form an insulating nest from folded dishtowels to hold the bowl. Tempering machines are often available for holding the chocolate at a constant low temperature for large batches.

Tip #5: Take special care once chocolate cools to its tempering point to reheat it only slightly to its working temperature. If the reheated chocolate becomes too hot, it loses its temper and its optimal crystalline structure. If the chocolate becomes too hot, repeat the cooling and seeding process to bring the chocolate back into temper. Taking Temperature of Chocolate

Tip #6: Serve truffles at room temperature; this will allow the delicate flavors to bloom in the mouth and for the best texture and mouth feel. Many truffles are perishable and should be kept refrigerated, but wait 30 minutes before serving to allow them to come to room temperature.

Tip #7: Pair dark chocolate desserts with robust, red wines. Avoid dessert wines that may add too much sweetness to the occasion.

Q & A's

Q and A Logo Purple Q: What are the whitish-gray spots on my chocolate?
A: These surface spots are known as "chocolate bloom" and appear when chocolate has been improperly stored at some point in its life. Bloomed Chocolate Chocolate bloom can arise from two situations: fat bloom or sugar bloom. Fat bloom results from slight melting and separation of the chocolate components on the surface. The white spots are re-crystallized cocoa butter. Sugar bloom occurs in conditions of heavy humidity. The water dissolves some of the sugar in the chocolate and as the chocolate re-dries, the sugar re-crystallizes on the surface. Chocolate with "bloom" may not look great, but it will not affect its taste, use, or performance. The chocolate bloom will disappear when the chocolate is re-tempered.

Q: What is white chocolate?
A: The ground, roasted cacao beans have two components: cocoa powder and cocoa butter. Most chocolate uses both items, where white chocolate uses only the cocoa butter portion of the bean. Like other chocolate, sugar, milk, and vanilla are added to the cocoa butter to make the white chocolate we purchase.

Seized Chocolate Q: My smooth, melted chocolate just turned grainy and hard. What happened?
A: Your chocolate just "seized." The melted chocolate contacted a drop of water. It may be a random drop, or steam condensate from your double boiler (which is why a microwave is so nice to use). As discussed above, chocolate has an intricate crystalline structure. The introduction of water "inspires" the mixture to form crystals around the water instead of the seed chocolate. Aberrant crystals form immediately creating a grainy, stiff mess. There's no recourse for chocolate that's seized - start over!