Happy World Chocolate Day! Chocolate is one of the most beloved treats in the world, and for good reason. It’s rich, decadent, and indulgent, and can be enjoyed in so many different forms. From classic milk chocolate bars to dark chocolate truffles, there’s something for everyone. But on this special day, why not think outside the box and try some unique and creative ways to enjoy chocolate? In this blog post, we’ll explore some delicious ways to savor this beloved treat, and take your chocolate game to the next level.
Please enjoy these special recipes, developed by COLUMBIA signature’s Deputy Corporate Chef Yannick Peltier.
Choco Lava Cake – French Pastry World Competition Recipe
Ingredients:
- 120g dark chocolate 70% minimum
- 110g unsalted butter
- 180g whole eggs
- 40g flour
- 6g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 10g cold milk
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 200°C. Butter 4 moulds and place on a baking tray.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly for 15 mins.
- Using a whisk, mix in coconut sugar, then eggs, one at a time, add cocoa powder and salt and finally plain flour. Add the milk to smooth the batter. Divide the mixture among the moulds.
- You can now either put the mixture in the fridge, or freezer until you’re ready to bake them. Can be cooked straight from frozen for 16 mins, or bake now for 10-12 mins until the tops are firm to the touch but the middles still feel squidgy.
- Carefully run a knife around the edge of each pudding, then turn out onto serving
Cercle Chocolat Signature
Ingredients:
- 10 sugar dough tartlet crust
Ganache
- 13 cl cream
- 20 g honey
- 160 g dark chocolate
- 25 g butter
- 2 g salt
Caramel
- 120 g sugar
- 120 ml cream
- 1 g salt
Tonka chocolate mousse
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 160 ml cream
- Tonka bean grated
- 80 ml milk
- 2 gelatine leaf
- Chocolate pastille
- 20 g chocolate
- Gold powder
Chocolate coating
- 120 g cream
- 65 ml water
- 85 + 80 g of sugar
- 60 g cocoa powder
- 8 g gelatine leaf
- hazelnut
Instructions:
Caramel
Take sugar dry to caramel, deglaze with cream, reduce 1/3, add salt, keep aside cold.
Ganache
Boil cream and honey, pour on top of chocolate, add butter and using a hand blender, mix it well, keep aside room temperature.
Choco tonka mousse
- Melt chocolate.
- Whip the cream and tonka to chantilly.
- Boil the milk, add the soften gelatine, mix with chocolate.
- When the chocolate temperature is down to 40 degree, add the chantilly cream gently.
- Mold in half spheres and freeze it.
Pastille choco gold
Make a chocolate round leaf and dust with gold powder, keep aside.
Chocolate coating
- Boil cream with water and 85g sugar.
- Add cocoa powder and 80g sugar, boil and add soften gelatine.
- Using hand blender mix it well.
- When it reaches 45°C, dip the frozen half spheres.
White Chocolate and Passionfruit
Ingredients:
Mousse
- 3 Eggs
- 250g White chocolate
- 60 ml heavy cream
- 150ml Whipped cream
- 25g Butter
Gingerbread crumb
- 50 g Ground ginger
- 270 g Plain flour
- 200 g Brown sugar
- 200g Butter
- 1 Egg
Passionfruit gel
- 200ml frozen passion fruit puree
- 125g Sugar
- 125g Water
- 52 g powder Gelatin
Meringue
- 4 Egg whites
- 250g Sugar
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- For the meringue shard, separate 4 eggs and discard the yolks. With an electric whisk, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar while mixing until the meringue becomes glossy.
- On a silicone mat, use a parfait spoon to smooth the meringue onto the mat. The meringue needs to be really thin and even. Place the meringue into the oven at 60°C. Leave the meringue to dry in the oven for 2 -3 hours.
- For the mousse, separate the egg yolks from the whites into separate bowls. Add sugar the yolks and beat with an electric mixer for about 6 minutes or until the eggs are pale, glossy and have doubled in size.
- Place a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate, cream and butter. Fold the chocolate into the egg mixture. Whip the cream and fold into the chocolate mixture. Whip the egg whites and gently and gradually fold into the mixture. Place the mixture into glasses and place in the freezer for about an hour.
- For the passion fruit gel, add the passion fruit juice, water and sugar to a saucepan and bring to the boil whilst stirring. In a jug, add the gelatin with a small about of passion fruit juice and combine. Add the mixture to the hot juice mixture and combine. Cool in the fridge. Once cooled, whisk up to loosen it and pipe into a squeeze bottle. Reserve for plating.
- For the gingerbread crumb, combine all the ingredients in a food processor until it starts to combine. Tip out into a mixing bowl and use your fingers to rub the butter into the mix. You may need to add more butter. Sprinkle the mix on a lined baking tray. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Once cooked, break up the crumbs more. Leave to cool. The mixture will become crunchy as it dries.
- Remove the meringue from the oven. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Delicately break the meringue creating the shards.
- For plating, remove the mousse from the freezer. Sprinkle some crumb over the mousse and squeeze a few drops of the passion fruit gel over the crumb. Place a few of the meringue shards on top.
Milk Chocolate and Passionfruit Macaron
Ingredients:
Macaron shell
- 150g almond powder
- 150g icing sugar
- 55g egg whites
- 55g egg whites
- 40g water
- 150g sugar
- powder yellow coloring
Ganache
- 125 g passion fruit puree
- 275 g milk chocolate
- 50g soft butter not melted
Instructions:
Macaron shell
- Pour together almond powder and icing sugar to make tant pour tant, put in a robocoupe and blast the mix 5 or 6 times to make it as thin as possible, then pass it through a fine sieve.
- Put the sugar and water in a pan and take it to a boil at 118°C.
- In a mixing bowl put 55g egg whites and start the mixer to make italian meringue. When the sugar is at temperature slowly pour over the whites to obtain a perfect italian meringue.
- Pour the raw other 55g of egg whites with food coloring into the almond mix and combine.
- Gently combine meringue and almond mix – it is called Macaronnage.
- Put down the macaron using a piping bag with plain nozzle on a silpat, 8cm wide.
- Let the macaron dry out before baking them for 30 minutes. They must not be sticky when you cook them, sprinkle with cocoa powder.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes at 180°C, open the door after 10 minutes to let the humidity out.
- Cut the butter into pieces, set aside.
- Chop the chocolate and melt gently in a bain-marie.
- Once the chocolate is almost melted, put the fruit puree to heat until boiling.
- Remove the chocolate from the bain-marie, pour the hot puree over it in 3 times.
- It may be that the juice makes the chocolate slice, especially continue to mix well, the mixture will smooth.
- When the juice + chocolate mixture reaches about 60°C, gradually stir in the pieces of butter.
- Mix until the ganache is smooth and mix in a blender.
- Pour into a dish, film on contact, and refrigerate until the ganache is creamy.
Assemble the macaron.
