Valentine's Chocolates

This photo says it all. Addison thoroughly enjoyed making chocolates. She must have eaten half a dozen by the time we were done dipping. She emphatically asked for "Mo chocolate" as I tried to explain it was not for us to eat right now... it was for Valentine's day and to be shared. That logic was pretty much lost on a 20 month old. She continued to ask for "Mo chocolate!"

We made fillings during the week prior to Valentine's day, which fell on a Saturday this year. I made fleur de sel caramel and poured 1/3 over toasted mixed nuts, 1/3 over halved pecans and the remaining 1/3 was left plain. I found some 9 inch loaf pans lined with parchment and sprayed with oil to be the perfect size for this task and the parchment proved to make removal a cinch. The caramels were easy to work with and held together nicely while dipping in the chocolate coating. I brought them up to a temperature of 250 degrees, which kept them nice and chewy- just like I like them.

I also experimented with different flavors of dark chocolate ganache: earl grey, star anise, mint, and hazelnut. I started with a ratio of two to one for chocolate to heavy cream. This worked well for the hazelnut and the mint, which were both flavored by adding a liqueur or extract. The earl grey and the star anise, on the other hand, required a bit more cream as I needed to heat it twice- once for steeping and then a second time to ensure it was warm enough to melt the chocolate. Both ratios worked out just fine and there was no noticeable difference. I think heating the cream twice also reduced it a bit, so we probably ended up with a two to one ratio by weight afterall.

Fleur de Sel Caramels

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon fleur de sel

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

First, prepare the pans:

If making plain caramels, line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch square pan with a square of parchement, then spray lightly with oil.

If you'd like to make plain caramels and some with nuts, line two or three loaf pans with parchment and spray with oil. I did it three ways- one pan I filled about 1/2 inch deep with toasted mixed nuts. A second pan was filled with a layer of pecans, lined up side by side, so when the caramels set, I could cut them into individual rectangles, allowing for one piece of pecan inside each caramel. A third pan was lined and left empty for plain caramels.

To make the caramel, combine the sugar and corn syrup and bring to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil until the caramel is golden brown, stirring with a wooden spoon as it starts to brown.

While the sugars are boiling, bring the cream, butter and fleur de sel to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep warm.

When the sugars have browned to the desired color, slowly add the cream mixture. Be careful, it will boil up as you add the liquid filled cream mixture to the hot sugars. Stir in the vanilla and continue to stir while cooking over medium heat until the caramel reaches 250 degrees. Remove from heat immediately and carefully pour into prepared pan or pans. Allow to cool and set before removing from the pans.

I would suggest making the caramels a day or two before you want to coat them with chocolate. When the caramels have set, remove the parchment from the pan and cut into the desired shape and size. I cut the mixed nut caramel into a rectangle, resembling one of my favorite candies from See's, then I proceeded to coat the bottom and sides only, leaving the top peeking through, showing the nut mixture through the glossy brown caramel. For the turtle-esque pecan caramels, I turned the block of caramel over so I could see the layout of the nuts within and cut them so each caramel enrobed one pecan half taking care not to cut through any of the nut meats. Lastly, the plain caramels were cut into squares and after coating with chocolate, are sprinkled with fleur de sel. Make sure you sprinkle the fleur de sel on them before the chocolate dries.

Mint Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), chopped

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Chop the chocolate and place into a small bowl. Heat cream over medium heat until just boiling, pour over chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate has melted. Add the peppermint extract and pour into the prepared pan. Top with another sheet of plastic wrap and allow to set at room temperature.

Hazelnut Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao)

2 Tablespoons Frangelica liqueur

Toasted Whole Hazelnuts

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Chop the chocolate and place into a small bowl. Heat cream over medium heat until just boiling, pour over chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate has melted. Add the Frangelica liqueur and hazelnuts, then pour into the prepared pan. Top with another sheet of plastic wrap and allow to set at room temperature.

Earl Gray Ganache

3/4 cup heavy cream

8 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao)

2 teaspoons loose leaf Earl Grey Tea

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Chop the chocolate and place into a small bowl. Heat cream over medium heat until just boiling, add the tea and allow to steep for at least 5 minutes or until the cream smells fragrant. Reheat the cream, then strain through a fine mesh sieve while pouring over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Pour into the prepared pan. Top with another sheet of plastic wrap and allow to set at room temperature.

Star Anise Ganache

3/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao)
3 star anise, ground in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Chop the chocolate and place into a small bowl. Heat cream over medium heat until just boiling, add the ground star anise and allow to steep for at least 5 minutes or until the cream smells fragrant. Reheat the cream, then strain through a fine mesh sieve while pouring over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Pour into the prepared pan. Top with another sheet of plastic wrap and allow to set at room temperature.

When the flavored Ganaches have set, cut them with a very sharp knife and dip in dark chocolate for a decadent chocolate candy.

Tempering Chocolate

The dipping process was by far the most tedious and time consuming of all the candy making. For the above chocolates, I used 2 pounds of 60% cacao dark chcolate and I ran out. No worries, as ganache tastes just fine without a chocolate coating. Note that you'll need an accurate candy thermometer to temper chocolate.

To temper dark chocolate, use at least 1 pound of chocolate. Chop the chocolate into very small pieces and place 3/4 of it into a large stainless steal bowl. Reserve the remaining 1/4 of chocolate.

Place the large stainless steal bowl over a couple of inches of simmering water in a medium saucepan creating a double boiler. Melt the chocolate, bringing it to 115 degrees, no hotter.

Then, remove from the bowl from the saucepan and cool the chocolate by adding the reserved chopped chocolate, about 1 tablespoon at a time and stirring until the chocolate falls below 84 degrees.

Remove any chunks of chocolate keeping them for another use, then place the bowl back over simmering water a few seconds at a time, stirring, until it reaches 88 to 89 degrees. Do not allow it to exceed 91 degrees. Your chocolate is now tempered and should be shiny and smooth.

Keep the chocolate in the 85 to 88 degree range as you dip your candies. It is much easier to maintain the appropriate temperature if you are using a larger amount of chocolate. You'll need to place the bowl over the hot water once in a while to maintain the heat.

A trick I learned from a cooking class at Sur La Table, is to use a heating pad- the same type you use for achy muscles. Place the heating pad inside another large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, then place your bowl of chocolate over the pad and your chocolate should maintain your desired temperature. Start with the lowest heat setting and work your way up as needed if the temperature of the chocolate drops.