Category Archives: white chocolate

White Chocolate Lavender and Lemon Truffles

Posted on January 19, 2009 | Leave a comment

Lavender and lemon are classic French flavors. Moreover, the scent of lavender was found to be an aphrodisiac so it makes it super fitting for a baby shower. The addition of the sugared flowers to the tops of the truffles makes them look 100% professional. They add a nice crunch as well.

White Chocolate Lavender and Lemon Truffles

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers
peal of one lemon, only the yellow part
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 ½ pounds white chocolate
1/2 pound semi sweet chocolate
candied flowers, for garnish

In a small heavy bottom sauce pan, heat the cream, lavender an lemon peal. Bring the cream just to scalding. Turn off the heat and let the flavors steep for at least 30 minutes. Strain out the lemon and lavender.

Chop the white chocolate into small chunks. Place it into a large metal bowl. Add the cream, extract and salt. Place the chocolate bowl over a pot filled with water on medium heat. Let the chocolate steam over the water for at least 10 minutes. Using a whisk, once the chocolate is melted, start in the center of the bowl and slowly whisk to combine into a silky ganache. Remove the chocolate from the heat and let to cool to room temperature.

Using two teaspoons, spoon out balls of ganache onto baking trays lined with parchment paper. Roll the balls into globes with your hands. If your hands are super warm like mine are, or if your ganache is still too soft, place the trays in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the confections.

Chop the semi sweet chocolate and place it into a medium size metal bowl. Place it over a pot of water on medium high heat, stirring with a rubber spatula intermittently. Let the chocolate melt completely. Pick up some of the melted chocolate with the spatula; drop it back into the pool of chocolate. If the falling chocolate sinks into the rest of the melted chocolate the temper is broken. If it still piled up on top of the surface, continue to heat the chocolate. Once the chocolate is fully melted, move the medium size bowl into a larger metal bowl that is a quarter full of ice and cold water. Continue to mix the chocolate, paying special attention to mix in the hardening chocolate that is sticking to the sides of the bowl. Test the chocolate to see if the temper has returned, life some of the melted chocolate out of the bowl and drizzle it back into the pool of melted chocolate. Once the temper has returned, the chocolate will stack up on itself as opposed to sinking back into the bowl.

Drop the ganache balls into the melted chocolate. Roll them to coat and extract them using two small spoons. Place the coated truffles onto the parchment paper. Once you have finished dipping the truffles, break up the sugared flowers into nice size petals. Place a small bit of melted chocolate on top of each truffle and use it to affix one petal. Cool the finished truffles in the refrigerator. Store the truffles in an airtight container until ready to serve.

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Posted in chocolate, cream, lavender, lemon, truffles, white chocolate

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cupcakes

Posted on December 13, 2008 | 1 comment

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cupcakes

This year since the market is so bad, we have a “self funded” holiday party at work. The theme was a dessert potluck. I knew I needed to come up with something really amazing to prove to my work that I rein supreme. My cupcakes were the first item to go on a table of 30 desserts. And apparently, people are still talking about them later throughout the week.

Chocolate Cupcakes:
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup butter flavored shortening
2 eggs
½ cup milk
½ tablespoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add all ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix with a spoon to combine. Whip the mixture on high for 5 minutes until the batter is lighter in color, fully incorporated and fluffy.

Place cupcake liners into muffin tins and fill each liner to just under halfway full. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean.

Move to a wire rack to cool.

Peppermint Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon peppermint extract

Mix all of the ingredients in a sand mixer to form stiff peaks.

White Chocolate Butter Cream Icing:
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips

Place the egg whites and sugar in the metal bowl from a stand mixer. Place over a pan of water on medium heat. Beat the egg whites with a whisk over the water as it gets warmer. The egg whites will turn white and the sugar will dissolve. Keep beating over the heat until the mixture is warm and the sugar is fully dissolved.

Place the chocolate into a small metal bowl and place it over the warm pan of water. Mix with a rubber spatula until the chocolate if fully dissolved.

While the chocolate is melting, move the egg whites to the stand mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Add the soften butter and vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes.

Let the chocolate cool slightly. Add it to the icing base and beat on high for another minute or two, till its combined.

Assembly:
Chocolate Cupcakes
Peppermint Whipped Cream
White Chocolate Icing
Crushed Peppermint Candies

Cut a cone out of the top of each cupcake using a small pairing knife. Trim the pointy part of the cone off to leave just a thin cap. Scoop out more of the interior of the cupcake to make a pocket for the cream filling.

Using a small spoon, fill each cupcake with the peppermint whipped cream and place the cap back on top to seal in the filling.

Using a star tip and a Ziploc bag, pipe a tall swirl of icing onto each cupcake.

Sprinkle each cupcake with the crushed candies and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Posted in butter cream, chocolate cupcake, Christmas, peppermint, whipped cream, white chocolate

Summertime Refreshment

Posted on September 27, 2008 | Leave a comment

I think that lime is one of the best flavors. When you bite into these cookies they are both sweet rich and refreshing. I made them up for a work event. I think that some people where turned off by the combination of lime and white chocolate, but I can assure you that they are amazing.

White Chocolate Lime-wiches

Cookies:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 lime, juice and zest

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the lime juice and zest and beat to combine. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets. 

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Filling:
1/2 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup butter flavored vegetable shortening
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
juice and zest of 2 limes

Put the butter and shortening in a mixing bowl and, at low speed, gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and limes, until blended. Turn the mixer up to high and beat for 5 minutes more, until fluffy.

Coating:
1 pound white chocolate, chopped or morsels

Place the chocolate into a metal bowl and place over a pot filled with water on medium heat. Mix the chocolate with a rubber spatula every few minutes to help melt. Keep heating the chocolate until it is melted; be careful not to burn it.
Place the same bowl into a larger bowl that contains ice. Keep mixing the chocolate to fold in the cooling parts until the chocolate is well tempered.

Assembly:
Arrange all fo the cookies in pairs, so that each cookie pair is about the same size.

Place about 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of one of the cookies. Add another cookie on top and gently squeeze to evenly distribute the filling. Fill and assemble all of the cookie pairs.

Dip half of the sandwich cookie into the tempered white chocolate and either place on a wire rack, or a large piece of parchment paper to dry completely.

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Posted in butter, filling, lime, sandwich cookie, white chocolate

Cookies

Posted on October 3, 2007 | Leave a comment

Cookies

Yesterday I had to write a venture idea for my Social Entrepreneurship class. Of course I wrote about a bakery. And to cement that, I baked a batch of cookies, cherry chocolate chip. I discovered that if I slightly modified the base for Nestle Toll House Cookies, that it could be made into anything. The key is to use organic butter and a tiny but more salt and baking soda. So I’ve done this with white chocolate and macadamia nuts, or white chocolate and lemon… I think that the sky’s the limit. The cookies where really well received, the professor alone had 5. I love it when people enjoy the things I make.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. 

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

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Posted in chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chips, cookies, lemon, white chocolate