California Prune Valentine Heart Chocolates
California Prunes, pecan and orange praline create a delicious combination of layers and long intense flavors in this recipe for Valentine Heart Chocolates. Recipe by award-winning chocolatier Paul A. Young.
Equipment
- Heart shaped mold
Ingredients
For the Ganache Filling
- 325 g Valrhona caramelia chocolate
- 125 ml milk
- 90 g Valrhona Pecan praline paste
- 35 g Light Muscovado sugar
- 15 drops Essential Oil of Orange
For the California Prune Purée
- 100 g of California Prunes pitted
- 4 TBSP of warm water
For the Heart Shell
- 400 g 66% Valrhona Caraibe couverture
For the Decoration
- Metallic scarlet edible pigment
Instructions
For the ganache filling:
- Bring the milk, sugar, pecan praline to a simmer and whisk well.
- Pour it onto the caramel chocolate and whisk until smooth.
- Add the orange oil and mix well.
- Allow the ganache to cool until it is fully cold. This will take about 2 hours.
For the California Prune purée:
- Blend together 100g (1/2 cup) of California Prunes (pitted) with 4 tablespoons of warm water.
Assembling the chocolates:
- Using an artist’s paintbrush, apply a small amount of the scarlet powder into the bottom of each of the heart molds.
- Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie to 130F (55°C) and allow to stay warm and melted for a couple of hours. This will ensure a shiny and smooth finish to your chocolates.
- Temper the chocolate and line each mold with tempered chocolate making sure you tap the mold to eliminate any air bubbles.
- Tip out all the excess chocolate to leave a chocolate-lined cavity.
- Place this in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Using a piping bag, squeeze a small amount of the puree into each lined heart.
- Then fill another piping bag with the cooled ganache and fill the heart just below the top and tap the mold to level. Leave the mold overnight to set.
- Now melt and temper the chocolate again and seal the bottoms of the chocolates by scraping along the mold to give a flat surface, sealing in all the ganache and California Prune puree.
- Allow to set for 30 minutes, then turn the mold carefully to release the chocolates out of their molds.
- They will only release if the chocolate has been correctly tempered.
- Keep in a cool dry place and enjoy within seven days.
Notes
Keep in a cool dry place and enjoy within seven days.
Nutrition
Calories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 7mgPotassium: 128mgFiber: 2gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 41IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg