I feel no guilt whatsoever about diving straight into Chocolate and dragging you carelessly with me.
With origins dating as far back
as 1900BC the significance of chocolate worldwide is beyond question. Maya and Aztec cultures used cacao as gifts
and beverages for royalty and religious events and later some parts of the
world even used cacao beans as a form of money.
Today two thirds of the world’s beans are produced in Western Africa but
the chocolate we know (confectionary) was first created in 1849 by the Chemist John
Cadbury through development of an emulsification process to solidify cocoa into
a bar.
Dark chocolate is well documented
for both psychological and emotional benefits.
Chocolate contains flavonoids which are pigments found in plants that act
as antioxidants and it stimulates endorphin production – and these things make
you feel good! If all that were not
enough to convince you why you should eat chocolate the Latin name for the
cacao tree is Theobroma Cacao meaning
‘Food of the Gods’. Surely that can’t be
bad?
Chocolate Truffles
with Hazelnut Praline
100g
Hazelnuts (skinned and roasted)
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Water
200g Milk Chocolate
(high cocoa content)
1/2 cup Double
Cream
Place the hazelnuts on a greased tin or piece of silicon matting.
To make the praline place the sugar and water in a saucepan and melt
over a low heat until it turns golden amber.
Do not stir the caramel as this will make it crystallise, if you need to
move it around just swirl the caramel around the saucepan by tipping it
slightly.
Pour the caramel over the roasted hazelnuts and leave to set. When it has hardened break up the praline.
Place into a food processor and grind.
It will turn firstly to a powder and then to a paste as the oils are
released from the nuts. Place in an
airtight container until you need to use it.
It will keep for several weeks.
Place the double cream in a
saucepan and heat to boiling point.
Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate pieces. Leave for 30 seconds and then stir to
combine, the chocolate should melt into the cream and you should end up with a
thick glossy chocolate sauce.
Add half the praline paste (more
or less dependent on how nutty you want the truffles) and stir to combine. Place in the fridge and leave to set for a
couple of hours or overnight.
To make the truffles, take a
teaspoon of the mixture and roll into a ball (it gets messy from here). Place on a piece of greaseproof paper or
silicon matting and put back into the refrigerator.
You can either coat in cocoa or chocolate. To coat in chocolate, melt slowly in a bain-marie and dip the truffles into the chocolate coating thoroughly allowing the excess to drip back into the melted chocolate. Place on a greaseproof sheet and put them back in the refrigerator to set. Dust with cocoa just before they set.
Send any friends and family out and indulge... this is no time to share.
You can either coat in cocoa or chocolate. To coat in chocolate, melt slowly in a bain-marie and dip the truffles into the chocolate coating thoroughly allowing the excess to drip back into the melted chocolate. Place on a greaseproof sheet and put them back in the refrigerator to set. Dust with cocoa just before they set.
Send any friends and family out and indulge... this is no time to share.