Gianduja: The Topic

[Mette]

I had a very nice coffee flavoured gianduja in a selection of chocolates I was given.

My attempt to reproduce it was a disaster - basically I create a pound of horrible, lumpy, broken mess by adding coffee infused cream to prefab gianduja.

I have a load of the prefab gianduja sitting in the cellar, but how to flavour it?

Thanks

[divina]

did you make it like a ganache?

[Mette]

did you make it like a ganache?

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I tried to, but the result was stright in the bin

[HQAntithesis]

Try adding good quality instant coffee. There's a very small amount of moisture in gianduja though (next to nothing) so it may be worth grinding as finely as possible so that it's more mixed in. Alternatively, a coffee extract that isn't water-based?

[Mette]

Try adding good quality instant coffee. There's a very small amount of moisture in gianduja though (next to nothing) so it may be worth grinding as finely as possible so that it's more mixed in.  Alternatively, a coffee extract that isn't water-based?

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Thanks - I'll try the instant and report back

[John DePaula]

Mette, If you're making a gianduja ganache, then you should be able to do one/any of the following:

• 1. cream + instant coffee (or real coffee, finely ground), filter hot cream over chopped gianduja, proceed normally
  
• 2. ~160ml brewed coffee added spoonful by spoonful over 200g melted gianduja (similar to a water ganache). The chocolate will block up at first, but keep adding the coffee and stir. Eventually, it will free up. A stick blender will help to finish and make it completely smooth. The only bad thing about water ganache is the very very short shelf-life (~4-5 days).
  

[schneich]

hi,

i heard of a new way to aromatize chocolate and gianduja. its from one of the "mad scientists" in barcelona. take some chocolate, melt it (untempered) and ad a lot of very coarsly roasted coffeebeans, throw em in the chocolate let crystallize, vacuumpack and let stand for 2 weeks. after that remelt sieve the coffeebeans and VOILA! coffe chocolate/giandija ;-)

cheers

t.

[Tri2Cook]

The technique schneich mentioned works very well if you want a coffee aroma without an assertive coffee taste. I've been using that method for quite a while to aromatize chocolate (got the idea from The Art of the Plated Dessert, there's a recipe for white coffee ice cream that uses aromatized white chocolate). It doesn't add the strength of flavor that a ganache with coffee gives, it's more in the nose, but it does have the benefit of not altering the structure or shelf life of the chocolate. The technique works with any fat (kinda like the fridge flavored butter you get if it's not wrapped well, fats latch on to aromas). My favorite use of it is for my white caps. I aerate coffee aromatized white chocolate, break it into pieces, then cover them in tempered coffee aromatized white chocolate. They're irregular shapes and sizes and very unstructured, which is the way I want them, but they could be cut for a more consistent appearance.

[alanamoana]

is aromatize really a word? ...don't we mean 'infuse'?

but aside from that,

you can also make a gianduja that is piping consistency by just paddling in a mixer and applying heat with a torch or heat gun. you can then add butter and i'm thinking any other flavor that you'd like.

edited to add: i'd probably take instant coffee and add just a little bit of water and make it into a paste to add to the above mixture

Edited February 23, 2008 by alanamoana (log)

[Tri2Cook]

is aromatize really a word?  ...don't we mean 'infuse'?

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Well, according to...

[alanamoana]

is aromatize really a word?  ...don't we mean 'infuse'?

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Well, according to...

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sounds good to me! learn something new every day...

[Kerry Beal]

hi,

i heard of a new way to aromatize chocolate and gianduja. its from one of the "mad scientists" in barcelona. take some chocolate, melt it (untempered) and ad a lot of very coarsly roasted coffeebeans, throw em in the chocolate let crystallize, vacuumpack and let stand for 2 weeks. after that remelt sieve the coffeebeans and VOILA! coffe chocolate/giandija ;-)

cheers

t.

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Another thought would be to do the same, but put vacuum packed chocolate and coffeebeans in water and heat them at a low temperature sous vide for a day or so. Bet you'd get a whole lot more flavour out of the coffee.

[Darienne]

My self-appointed task while in Moab is to try to make all the basic confections that I have never made before, including Gianduja which is to be next.

- any one made it? I did look it up in eGullet and couldn't find much that spoke to my concerns. I am not good at looking up things in eGullet yet.

- with almonds or hazelnuts?

- is there a better /easier/ different recipe than in Greweling? There is very little in my other books or even on the web. There is one recipe in eGullet and it is not what I am looking for, although it does look tasty.

- do you have to get all the skins off the hazelnuts?

- could you start with a commercial almond/nut butter if you wanted to? If you could find one without salt or sugar?

- can you temper it in a tempering machine after it is made?

So far I have decided to make it with almonds, ground in my Champion grinder/juicer and mixed with only 2/3rds the amount of sugar called for and 63% dark Guittard chocolate couverture.

Please feel free to answer any or all of my questions and comment on my tentative plan.

Thanks.

[Desiderio]

Definatelly hazelnut ( I am purist since Gianduja is hazelnut in Italy )

Anyway, you could use commercial ready hazelnut ( nut ) paste, I have used the italian one 100% hazelnut paste, its very good quality and the results are great. I dont have a commercial grade food processor or the like so make it myself is out of the question, because you will never reach the smoothness of the commercial one.

When you mix the melted chocolate with the nut paste you have to temper the mass, you dont need to use tempering machine, but can be slabbed on a marble slab, I dont have one so I just put the mass on a ice bath and I mix untill nice smooth and start to thicken.

The % for chocolate and nut paste can vary, I also use some clarified butter in it.

If you skin the hazelnuts you can toast them into the oven then put them in a kitchen towel or towel and rub them untill the skin come off.

Edited November 5, 2008 by Desiderio (log)

[Darienne]

Definatelly hazelnut ( I am purist since Gianduja is hazelnut in Italy )

Anyway, you could use commercial ready hazelnut ( nut ) paste, I have used the italian one 100% hazelnut paste, its very good quality and the results are great. I dont have a commercial grade food processor or the like so make it myself is out of the question, because you will never reach the smoothness of the commercial one.

When you mix the melted chocolate with the nut paste you have to temper the  mass, you dont need to use  tempering machine, but can be slabbed on a marble slab, I dont have one so I just put the mass on a ice bath and I mix untill nice smooth and start to thicken.

The % for chocolate and nut paste can vary, I also use some clarified butter in it.

If you skin the hazelnuts you can toast them into the oven then put them in a kitchen towel or towel and rub them untill the skin come off.

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Thanks for the information Desiderio. I still think I will give it a try. Stubborn and I just want to.

[Darienne]

Thanks for the information Desiderio.  I still think I will give it a try.  Stubborn and I just want to.

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Not all that stubborn in the end.

Finally gave in and bought some Cacao Barry Gianduja and it just arrived today. Delicious. Omigod and I don't even like milk chocolate. I will have to hide it from myself or I'll never make anything from it...I'll simply eat it all!

Now that I have fallen in love all over again...what should I make with it?

Edited December 2, 2008 by Darienne (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks for the information Desiderio.  I still think I will give it a try.  Stubborn and I just want to.

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Not all that stubborn in the end.

Finally gave in and bought some Cacao Barry Gianduja and it just arrived today. Delicious. Omigod and I don't even like milk chocolate. I will have to hide it from myself or I'll never make anything from it...I'll simply eat it all!

Now that I have fallen in love all over again...what should I make with it?

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Isn't it lovely stuff. I find myself nibbling on it every time I take it out to work with.

You can heat it slightly with your heat gun while beating it in the mixer, lighten it up to a fluffy texture and pipe it in little swirls on top of a chocolate disc then dip part way up. Or immerse the swirls in a sugar solution for a crystalline finish. It's in one of JP Wybauw's books.

Nice also mixed with rice crisps.

[Darienne]

Isn't it lovely stuff.  I find myself nibbling on it every time I take it out to work with. 

You can heat it slightly with your heat gun while beating it in the mixer, lighten it up to a fluffy texture and pipe it in little swirls on top of a chocolate disc then dip part way up.  Or immerse the swirls in a sugar solution for a crystalline finish.  It's in one of JP Wybauw's books.

Nice also mixed with rice crisps.

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thanks, Kerry.

[Desiderio]

Maybe I missed completely what you were asking, but I thought you wanted to make gianduja right? WHy didnt you order some pure hazelnut paste instead then you can make the gianduja the way you want, If I had a commercial grade food processor or a "raffinatrice" to grind the hazelnuts to a paste I wou;d make my own but for now I get the hazelnut paste then you can make gianduja with different chocolates etc.

[Darienne]

Maybe I missed completely what you were asking, but I thought you wanted to make gianduja right? WHy didnt you order some pure hazelnut paste instead then you can make the gianduja the way you want, If I had a commercial grade food processor or a "raffinatrice" to grind the hazelnuts to a paste I wou;d make my own but for  now I get the hazelnut paste then you can make gianduja with different chocolates etc.

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Dear Desiderio,

You did not miss the point at all. I did intend to make it from scratch. But then time passed and other difficulties intervened ...as difficulties in life will...and the project was derailed. And then someone suggested that I simply order it. And I did.

I will follow your advice next time and order the hazelnut paste. And then mix it with 70% dark, my favorite.

Thanks again for your advice. As you can see, you were totally on track. I simply switched tracks.

Edited to correct typos. 'detrailed' might even be a useful word....

Edited December 2, 2008 by Darienne (log)

[Desiderio]

Oh noo, I wanted just make sure I got the point , you know sometimes I totally miss it ,I did buy some of the Barry gianduja as well when I fist started , its good stuff indeed and you can still make some good chocolates or confection with it. I wish you luck for the Holidays experiments and confections

[Darienne]

I thought maybe I could just tack this question onto this thread. I did buy some Gianduja and used it in a ganache. Fine.

Question is: can you use Gianduja as a couverture to enrobe other bits or to dip things into? It seems so very soft to begin with and I just thought I'd ask before trying it perhaps in vain.

Searched eGullet without finding any references to using Gianduja to enrobe anything and also looked at Google and found nothing. That usually would signify that there is nothing to fine and that Gianduja is not suitable for coating other things.

Thanks.

Edited December 26, 2008 by Darienne (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I thought maybe I could just tack this question onto this thread.  I did buy some Gianduja and used it in a ganache.  Fine.

Question is:  can you use Gianduja as a couverture to enrobe other bits or to dip things into?  It seems so very soft to begin with and I just thought I'd ask before trying it perhaps in vain.

Searched eGullet without finding any references to using Gianduja to enrobe anything and also looked at Google and found nothing.  That usually would signify that there is nothing to fine and that Gianduja is not suitable for coating other things.

Thanks. 

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You can use gianduja like a soft chocolate ie it will mold, it can be tempered (2ºC less than white chocolate at each step) - but I'm not sure how well it will behave for enrobing. Technically I'm sure it can be done, but I'm not sure if the product will melt too easily when touched with your fingers and whether it will flavour other things in the box.

Why don't you give it a try and see?

[Darienne]

You can use gianduja like a soft chocolate ie it will mold, it can be tempered (2ºC less than white chocolate at each step) - but I'm not sure how well it will behave for enrobing.  Technically I'm sure it can be done, but I'm not sure if the product will melt too easily when touched with your fingers and whether it will flavour other things in the box. 

Why don't you give it a try and see?

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Thanks for the information re tempering Gianduja. I had no idea.

And no, I don't think I'll give it a try at enrobing. If you don't do it...then I'm not doing it either, seeing as you know a lot and I know very little yet.

Besides, we are heading home in a very few days and I am going to use up all the rest of my 63% Guittard making nut and chocolate tiny muffin shapes to snack on on the way home.

Thanks for all the information you have given me!

[Tri2Cook]

And no, I don't think I'll give it a try at enrobing.  If you don't do it...then I'm not doing it either, seeing as you know a lot and I know very little yet.

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Don't think of it like that. Imagine all of the things that wouldn't exist if nobody tried it because nobody else was doing it! Experiment. If it works, awesome. If not, at least you'll know for sure. I've done a few things I'm proud of that I've never seen/heard of before. If I hadn't given them a shot because those who know more than me hadn't done it (that I'm aware of), I'd never have known. I very rarely post my day-to-day stuff here, in most cases the things I post are the results of experiments and ideas. Some good, some not so good... but still fun.