Okay, this entry is a little late, but super picture-laden. One of my very favorite Christmas traditions in the Pike household is making hand-dipped chocolates. I learned the basics from my fabulous mother-in-law, and I've kind of gone overboard with it over the last few years. But hey! No one has complained yet that I made too many kinds of chocolates.:) But Carrie Ryan wanted me to take pictures of the process, so if you find the following totally boring, blame her.:D
I'm going to start with my favorite, which is pinoche. (Pin-oh-chay.) (Lots of people say Pin-osh, and they are welcome to, but the recipe we finally found that we liked the best insisted that the pronunciation is pin-oh-chay, and who am I to argue with the most perfect recipe on earth?) Pinoche is a brown sugar fudge that we make really soft so I actually have to freeze it to get it out of the pan and then re-freeze it after I've cut it in order to keep it from dissolving when I dip it in chocolate. Frozen pinoche looks like this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnUqwz3TqycyadbwIMyKc6TBPUwVnS2vVLWGMOBArH1l5Xxs-sQz2gTY-lWJgPz6xdvO_VDODYWa7U4hDdkUCREeVGrZTN-SCsgeoTlSSuNrY5csf-_QrUNRFWD-huF3PyerJ8A/s400/@Pinoche+on+cutting+board.jpg)
Then I dip it in melted chocolate and the irregular pieces look quite ugly. But they are sooooo good.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GA_1VYpodfJLblAYikV6CQgK8AYF98YnnbtvXCmwqLlDulwzES5wuj44_10OrHVL5f_MKPIYD7T08L-eL5uobZADUiGsG368HEsI0vKkN6JhjFfn-dyUmalbPExJwaEBVte7Pw/s400/@pinoche+squared+cho-dipped.jpg)
And once they are dipped and thawed, they look like this, with the soft, brown sugar/mapley centers barely hard enough to not drip out. Mmmmmmmmm.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44-cRCZ8JSKcNFiG67Fujhy2JwFfybvQhP1bfbqQ1gI6uYZJfKeJIUkjE4gd_2VE3NbSF3L0pexas_UPl2nmq8aIaewOzREKHqeWxwR_cJnTOBaLKJcBC5U2zjd_ebwUN-v7WFw/s400/@pinoche+half-bitten.jpg)
The next easiest is truffles . . . actually, they are probably the easiest. But I like the pinoche the best, so it gets to be explained first.:D Truffles are actually super simple. I think they are best that way. The key for truffles for me, is to use European chocolate. They really melt in your mouth that way! So in my truffles, I use melted chocolate, scalded cream, and a touch of vanilla. That is it. Period.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwgsGwoQqMBtcSuYMRNpw4_5b1rn5zAuajfIAiOqSh25Y9wzw9i3Q5FBcbYPa55qcRvOgV_RtJhIgiJbD5pMcY3KATp36WFzuyM8C4ymuMIlGiVpVUKMP0KvoDz8mLmQkG_MPjA/s400/@truffle+ingredients.jpg)
Oh, and that bowl on top of a pan? That is me being too stubborn/cheap to buy a double boiler. Works like a charm!So I get those three ingredients mixed and I put it in the fridge until it hardens enough to scoop into balls. I have a teeny little scooper just for this purpose!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMc3gsk1zch_kguK6fq6h0AwxcaxMpwF3CXATePUOheO8RQnIerDK_FfQ-_TQOD-vK1upg2xyVefyFTRoVGC6w_qOhdxfYgD3EFB_bOYfjCkeVsDL4wb2MMFjTrWHlmoKGfsdCA/s400/A+truffle+centers+not+scooped.jpg)
Then, like the pinoche, I have to freeze them in order to dip them without them melting to pieces in the warm dipping chocolate.:) (I'll show you a pic of them dipped in a second.)
The really tricky part of making chocolates is making my flavored creams. I make them out of fondant from scratch so there is much boiling and stretching.:D Basically I boil the snot out of a mixture of sugar, cream, sugar, Karo syrup, and sugar. Then I lay out parchment paper in 9x13 pans and pour the boiling hot liquid into them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMU21ZvlHssbN6n7Cn08kvpBNbvFBmQzRFdGIOyVMrllVfhlwE_gIaVC0gAHVd4TAn3hwHor2PHtt_1VNuu14YjqzeCHX-YDD7G6xURaiCWFs1mIggczWIA1soAEhbcaS2wE3_A/s400/@fondant+cooling+in+pans.jpg)
Usually this works like a dream. This time one of my pans cracked under the pressure.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowqzkcAZlrQVCJXSiNppDESvSfRdbkURu1PvUrjQj7CCiE0z9Rxq234yDNLPSgkzUPOSUfneE7RvCatf5kaGK1bZU6m8keieB1CVxCCGZ4nRg_55icqAcRdhOaVA5RWH6FQyrEQ/s400/@my+pan+cracking.jpg)
Then I have to cool it to the perfect temperature. I can't let it get too cold or it will crack, but if I don't let it get cold enough, it won't set up. I'm finally getting a feel for it.
After it is cool, I plop it into my bosch. (You can do this by hand, but it is way, way hard.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pJ9ymDkI6RgCokSZD_jJ1c7m4w4ZMjj4QXpArCe4Rs3gbYmfENF1NbhyOHEh0PwKL0g6Ij3D1is8w68-ZTZhFkBrDRnZwgoBcdoQ1mlcxE8aYKHpgLV-mSlUbvT2AwqaMuxBqg/s400/@fondant+before+in+bosch.jpg)
Then I use my dough kneading attachment and stretch the fondant for about ten minutes, at which point it changes. Seriously, check out this before and after. It always excites me!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGcs4-N5TvSuWjADDOYogLvEliGHOsHIkI-Kmx5MfxgHvEK3KuSph6OGSf1oCoeBSUnFKWLco0sSV19RsGXtdHDkt4T_-eqGRGNunQSU4M_rUCSezVAMwsmV4_BGRBholPB6h0g/s400/@Fondant+before+and+after.jpg)
Cool huh! Then I flavour and color it and scoop it out into perfect little sherbet looking balls!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTuhXyRD3lDM4Ajvb1tSFxf7CAPiCzipZkTv90C8_t6IGZLvOmBMlQl1sctBesHcq_3gKsC6C-GAxLixgLh-rc0-h4-n4l3VS73Xf9WKq46pZIhHxuUEBA38gWsMxPHIrZD33s7g/s400/@white+chocolate+flavors+scooped.jpg)
Then freezing the centers again, so they can be soft inside the chocolate, but hard when I dip them.
And when they are done they look like this! With all kinds of interesting splatters to differentiate between the flavors!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kSqyu1ZXwYRqBBR7s6KcAgjyMCxIg0Qoq6bJBiAwb7aRnTbbUOeaxtKgeafqYAHS9UdJdpls6EBJGkId1JetUzdYJskGAWjwZOsD3NfJj7rM-hjCMh4DVdRMT0QEp73Z4cHW7Q/s400/@brown+chocolates+dipped.jpg)
I also dipped several kinds in white chocolate this year, but totally spaced getting pictures.
So there are my chocolates!!! Wish I could give a few to each of you, but pics will have to do.
Ciao!
32 comments:
Mmmmmm! Chocolate! I so want to make some now! I may have to try this sometime. Soon.
0_o
HOly madness woman! I dot think I have ever wanted chocoalte in my life as much i do RIGHT. NOW! SKILS! and they look delicious.. lucky Pike chocolate eaters!
unnnbelievable work. and sooooooo delicioussss :)
Lovely! I'm glad I can't eat them through the screen. My waist line would double.
Oh my, the chocolate looks delicious!
Now you are making me very sad because the only other person I ever knew who made her own chocolates was my beloved GRANDMA ROSS!!!! And she was famous for her turtles and her divinity which I only vaguely remember as white fluffy goop. I miss my Grammy!
Uh.....chocolate....
<----drooling now
Right now I really, really dislike you.
And next year UM, I'll send you my address!! :-)))
XO
Wow. Those look amazing. Yum!
I want to make these! Can you post actual recipes or are these secret family chocolates? Either way, they look delicious.
Mom made a batch of fondant truffles this year too, and I think I ate UM, lets just say a WHOLE LOT of them while we were at her house. And I ate at least half of the penuche recipe I got from you. No wonder I have to run again to get off a few pounds. :) So good! thanks, and thanks Mom!
Is there anything you can't do? You are amazing April!
I love making chocolates. I usually do it with my sister and this year I missed that tradition.
Yours look totally scrumptuous.
Oh wow. I think I might have started drooling reading that! You're pinoche recipe sounds so amazing I'm going to have to try it. Wow!
I wish you could give a few to me too! They look so good! Thanks for sharing. Now to go find the Christmas stockings, I suddenly NEED some chocolate!
What a project! I am so impressed. I never knew that it was even possible to make stuff like that in a home setting. Looks delicious!
I am so impressed. They look delicious. That looks like a lot of work, maybe more work than writing a book.
Oh my heavens! And I thought I baked a lot this year. I got hungry just looking at the pictures! I'm so glad we don't live next door to each or I wouldn't have lost the six pounds this Christmas that I did (while actually enjoying some holiday treats). :)
holy moly - you did all that? I just gained 10 lbs reading this.
MMMMMmmmmmm, very impressive. What don't you do girl? I love the double broiler. Looks just like mine. You made me salivate with that post!
Yummmy! I can't believe how many you made this year! They look beautiful..and I'm sure they tasted even better. Overcooked mine this year...still trying to figure out the altitude and weather adjustments! I forgot how to cook in a place that has real weather!
You have no officially made me crave chocolates :) Do your family eat them all by yourself or do you give them to relatives and friends?? WOW that a lot of chocolate, that must be a lot of work.
Maura,
When I was in law school, we made little bags and distributed them to my classmates. Sort of a little thank-you for putting up with me. d^_^b We gave a lot to family and friends this year.
I may have eaten half the pinoche.
All this talk of chocolate, I'm making a run to bluebird choclate's in the morning. 8mouth watering*
Wow! I am sooo craving chocolate right now. :) those look divine. Mmmmmm
Those look really good, Aprilynne. I need to learn how to do that. My thing is baking right now. I baked a Sweet Potato Cheesecake and an Oreo cheesecake for Christmas, along with some red velvet cupcakes. They were demolished rather quickly. :-D
I saw this post on another blog and was intrigued! I love chocolate. I was so impressed at how you made all these and the pictures to go with them. Did you eat it all? I might have. :)
That looks more like the results of a chocolate making factory than one woman in a kitchen. Bravo! I'm sure your family loves your chocolate making obsession.
Those look amazing! I wish I was that talented in the kitchen. My family is lucky if I don't burn dinner every night lol ;)
Oh. My.
I cannot afford to learn how to do that. But I'm suddenly seeing my Bosch in a whole new light...
um, so planning on blogging at all??
AMAZING is the word!!!! Too bad I can't just reach through the screen and grab one of those morsels of heaven.
Post a Comment