"Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 2)

[fodgycakes]

There are two caramel ganache recipes in the book, one for truffles and one for the Pave. The ganache for the Pave is not pourable, if you make it according to the recipe in the book. The truffle ganache is like a typical ganache.

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This is what was posted in the chocolate cake thread:

Chocolate caramel ganache

6 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

4 ½ ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped

combine chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set aside

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 ½ tbsp salted butter

1 cup plus 2 tbsp whipping cream

1 ½ cups unsalted butter(3 sticks)

Put one third of sugar in the bottom of heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When it starts to melt, stir with wooden spoon. Once completely melted, add another third of the sugar. Once that is melted, add the last third of sugar. Cook till amber color reached(be careful it does not burn). Add butter-careful it will foam up. Once butter is combined, add the cream. Bring the cream to a boil. Pour half of this over the chocolate and stir until smooth(the small the chocolate is chopped, the faster it will combine). Once smooth, add the rest of the cream and stir until smooth.

While the chocolate mixture cools, take the room temperature butter and with either the mixer on low speed(paddle) or with a rubber spoon, soften until it looks like mayonnaise. Do this slowly-you do not want a lot of air in the butter. It should take about 10 minutes.

Gently stir the butter into the chocolate with a rubber spatula-you don’t want a lot of air bubbles. Stir until the mixture is smooth-this can take a little while.

Let sit for an hour or so, stirring occasionally until spreadable consistency. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets. I was able to pipe borders with it once it had cooled enough.

[Patrick S]

Last week I made this gorgeous thing for my wife's baby shower at her work.

Sorry I did not take more pics since it was not "carved" at home.

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Last night I made the Warm Chocolate Croquettes in Cold Coconut-Milk Tapioca Soup.  The soup didn't do much for me, but the croquettes will find their way into many future desserts...

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Looks great, Elie!

Gfron, I definitely have to try that recipe. Sounds really interesting.

[Patrick S]

There are two caramel ganache recipes in the book, one for truffles and one for the Pave. The ganache for the Pave is not pourable, if you make it according to the recipe in the book. The truffle ganache is like a typical ganache.

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This is what was posted in the chocolate cake thread:

Chocolate caramel ganache

6 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

4 ½ ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped

combine chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set aside

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 ½ tbsp salted butter

1 cup plus 2 tbsp whipping cream

1 ½ cups unsalted butter(3 sticks)

Put one third of sugar in the bottom of heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When it starts to melt, stir with wooden spoon. Once completely melted, add another third of the sugar. Once that is melted, add the last third of sugar. Cook till amber color reached(be careful it does not burn). Add butter-careful it will foam up. Once butter is combined, add the cream. Bring the cream to a boil. Pour half of this over the chocolate and stir until smooth(the small the chocolate is chopped, the faster it will combine). Once smooth, add the rest of the cream and stir until smooth.

While the chocolate mixture cools, take the room temperature butter and with either the mixer on low speed(paddle) or with a rubber spoon, soften until it looks like mayonnaise. Do this slowly-you do not want a lot of air in the butter. It should take about 10 minutes.

Gently stir the butter into the chocolate with a rubber spatula-you don’t want a lot of air bubbles. Stir until the mixture is smooth-this can take a little while.

Let sit for an hour or so, stirring occasionally until spreadable consistency. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets. I was able to pipe borders with it once it had cooled enough.

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Yes, that's the Pave ganache. The recipe for the caramel truffles is as follows:

1C, 250g heavy cream

10oz, 285g bittersweet chocolate, chopped

6oz, 170g milk chocolate, chopped

1C, 200g sugar

2.5T, 40g unsalted butter, room temp

cocoa, for dusting

Put the chocolate in a bowl large enough to hold everything

Bring the cream to a boil in saucepan, or the microwave

Caramelize the sugar. NOTE: the recipe calls for you to dry caramelize the sugar a little at a time. That's the quickest way, but I always mix the sugar with a little water and caramelize it that way.

Add the butter. Add the cream, in a stream, as you stir. Be very careful to avoid a steam burn! Wear an oven mit or something. Keep stirring over low heat until the caramel is smooth with no lumps.

Pour 1/3 of the caramel onto the chocolate. Stir "in ever-widening concentric circles" (p.164) until smooth.

Add 1/2 remaining caramel. Stir until smooth.

Add last bit of caramel. Stir until smooth.

This recipe make my favorite truffles. They are quite sweet by most people's standards, but I think its perfect. If you want it less sweet though, you can change the ratio of bitter to milk chocolate.

Edited August 7, 2006 by Patrick S (log)

[gfron1]

Patrick, I'll look forward to seeing what you create - actually photograph. I think it gets avoided because it isn't chocolate brown but I will make it again using cream. I also am looking forward to seeing how you photograph it. I wasn't motivated to play around too much since I already had blown the recipe. And not to be a broken record but those croquettes...Wow!

[Nina C.]

Since you all inspired me with this thread to actually buy this book, rather than just lusting over it at the bookstore, I had to post the results of my first humble effort - The Tarte Grenobloise. All I have to say was, DAMN this was good. very rich, but definitely worth making again. I'm thinking this is the perfect new addition to Christmas dinner.

Please excuse my poor photography!

[fodgycakes]

Thanks for your help Patrick!

[cookman]

While leafing through this book again recently, I re-read PH's technique for candied citrus peel (p.257). He does the traditional 3 blanches in boiling water, but I noticed that he uses the same water for each of the blanching steps. I thought it was important to use fresh water for each blanch, as the bitterness of the pith is leached into the boiling water. It would certainly be faster to use the same pot of boiling water for each of the 3 blanches. Any thoughts on this?

[Desiderio]

Ok since i have got my book as well , I didnt actually try anything yet (time time ).

I want to try something new for this weekend , a nice treat and something to challenge my mind , .

I want to try my hand at the Plaisir Sucre', I have been reading the recipe so I can make sure I have all the passages clear.One thing though I wanted to ask you guys ,when it talks about thewhipped cream ,it says to make a ganache bla bla and then to refrigerate even overnight then whipped it in a cool bath etc.the question is with this kind of treatment wont the whipped ganache become too stiff even if lightly whipped?And then hard to work and I am sure it wont look as good as the one on the pics in the book.

I dont know if I make sense, in any case if you have any experience ( wich I know you do ) please let me know and if is the case I just follow the recipe and I will be enjoying mt Plaisire Sucre this weekend ,cant wait!!!

Thank you

Edited August 16, 2006 by Desiderio (log)

[Patrick S]

One thing though I wanted to ask you guys ,when it talks about thewhipped cream ,it says to make a ganache bla bla and then to refrigerate even overnight then whipped it in a cool bath etc.the question is with this kind of treatment wont the whipped ganache become too stiff even if lightly whipped?

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The chilled chocolate cream does firm up very quickly, so you should whip it by hand and pay close attention if you want it to be soft.

[Desiderio]

One thing though I wanted to ask you guys ,when it talks about thewhipped cream ,it says to make a ganache bla bla and then to refrigerate even overnight then whipped it in a cool bath etc.the question is with this kind of treatment wont the whipped ganache become too stiff even if lightly whipped?

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The chilled chocolate cream does firm up very quickly, so you should whip it by hand and pay close attention if you want it to be soft.

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Thank you Patrick ( I knew I could count on you ) I will do that then , and let you guys know how it went with add pic .

[Dorie Greenspan]

Desidero -- Patrick is right -- as always. You need to be very careful whipping the chilled cream. Actually, it only takes a couple of turns of the whisk to get the right texture.

Cookman -- now that I look at your question I wonder why we did the zest that way! These days, I boil the zest three times, each time for about 2 minutes, and I rinse the zest and change the water between boils.

[Desiderio]

Desidero -- Patrick is right -- as always.  You need to be very careful whipping the chilled cream.  Actually, it only takes a couple of turns of the whisk to get the right texture.

Thank you Dorie , its quite a treat to have you answering our questions.

Will post results

Cookman -- now that I look at your question I wonder why we did the zest that way! These days, I boil the zest three times, each time for about 2 minutes, and I rinse the zest and change the water between boils.

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[Patrick S]

The milk chocolate passion fruit truffles are really good.

Honestly, I didnt' like the passion fruit ganache tartlets I tried a while back very much. The combination of bitter chocolate and acidic fruit didn't work for me. But these truffles, which are much sweeter, are great. The finely-diced apricots also work great here. I normally don't care much for apricots, but here they add a nice chew to the truffles.

[avid]

The milk chocolate passion fruit truffles are really good.

Honestly, I didnt' like the passion fruit ganache tartlets I tried a while back very much. The combination of bitter chocolate and acidic fruit didn't work for me. But these truffles, which are much sweeter, are great. The finely-diced apricots also work great here. I normally don't care much for apricots, but here they add a nice chew to the truffles.

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Those look great!

i've made this recipe twice before and it didn't work for me very well - ganache was to loose to roll. first time used fresh pfruit. second time frozen puree. same problem to varying degrees. can't remember what brand of chocolate i used the first time (2 1/2 yrs ago) but i know the last time i used shokinag (milk ofcourse). don't know the vital %'s of the top of my head, but i wouldn't think it would be enough variance from valrhona to cause the ganache to be as slack as it was. my second batch eventually worked out with the addition of more choc, but the flavor obviously suffered a bit - xtra choc kinda muddied up the the bright notes of the pfruit.

well, any thoughts or tips with this recipe?

would like to get this recipe worked out a little better. i guess i could always use it in a molded chocolate - it is very yummy.

Edited August 24, 2006 by avid (log)

[Patrick S]

The milk chocolate passion fruit truffles are really good.

Honestly, I didnt' like the passion fruit ganache tartlets I tried a while back very much. The combination of bitter chocolate and acidic fruit didn't work for me. But these truffles, which are much sweeter, are great. The finely-diced apricots also work great here. I normally don't care much for apricots, but here they add a nice chew to the truffles.

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Those look great!

i've made this recipe twice before and it didn't work for me very well - ganache was to loose to roll. first time used fresh pfruit. second time frozen puree. same problem to varying degrees. can't remember what brand of chocolate i used the first time (2 1/2 yrs ago) but i know the last time i used shokinag (milk ofcourse). don't know the vital %'s of the top of my head, but i wouldn't think it would be enough variance from valrhona to cause the ganache to be as slack as it was. my second batch eventually worked out with the addition of more choc, but the flavor obviously suffered a bit - xtra choc kinda muddied up the the bright notes of the pfruit.

well, any thoughts or tips with this recipe?

would like to get this recipe worked out a little better. i guess i could always use it in a molded chocolate - it is very yummy.

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Like yours, mine turned out very soft, and I think they are best right out of the refrigerator. I used a lightly sweetened puree, and I reduced it a little so that it got a little syrupy and didn't have so much water. I did increase the chocolate, but only by a few grams -- not because I knew the truffles were going to be soft, but because I accidentically added too much to the bowl and didn't bother to take it out. I also used about 2T more butter than the recipe called for.

To shape the truffles, I cut the chilled ganache bar into tablespoonish chunks, which I rolled in sugar just briefly, stopping when it starts to get squishy, even if the truffle isn't really formed. After all the chunks have been coated once, I chilled them again, and then rolled them again, and then chilled again before serving.

[avid]

Thanks patrick - that's reassuring. part of my problem was that i was dipping them in tempered milk choc (shelf life and service issues) so the heat from the choc just kept more or less melting the truffles. so from now on will use this in molded choc's i think.

[ATram]

Anyone could be so gentle to pm me the recipe of the Tarte Grenobloise?

It looks wonderfull and i would love to give it a try.

I also have like 10 pounds of peeled frozen pecans from last harvest..

Thanks in advanced

Edited August 28, 2006 by ATram (log)

[ATram]

Im still dying to try the tarte grenobloise recipe, anyone could post it please?

[viva]

I'm thinking of making the Concorde in advance for Turkey Day...

I was thinking of the Pave (which is clearly more popular in this thread), but I've already got a set of mini-chocolate cakes, with layers soaked liqueur syrups, filled with various types of buttercream and a chocolate glaze, so I'm afraid the Pave might be a bit repetitive - whereas the Concorde would offer a different texture.

Anyway, I saw upthread that Patrick added a thin layer of ganache onto the Concorde's meringue disks, which I think is a great idea - just curious as to what ganache you used Patrick? One of the ones in CDBPH, or just a standard chocolate/cream ganache?

Also thinking of doubling the amount of meringue, so I can just make a boatload of the little tubes.

Maybe I'll do the Pave for one of the ancillary T-Day dinners, if I have time. I love that both of these cakes can be made and frozen.

Edited October 11, 2006 by viva (log)

[Lauren Adler]

Whole Foods should carry Valhrona in NYC Seth.

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Whole foods has it for something like $13/lb. I buy Valrhona wholesale for $6-8/lb. If you get into chocolate making you go through one of those 3kg tubs of feves in no time.

So I still need ginger and cocoa - Hershey's just won't do I suppose??

I really like the Valrhona cocoa.

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If you have access to Trader Joe's they also carry a few varieties of Valrhona (at least on the West Coast), and while I'm not sure what their price is, I can safely say it's cheaper than Whole Foods.

[Patrick S]

I'm thinking of making the Concorde in advance for Turkey Day...

I was thinking of the Pave (which is clearly more popular in this thread), but I've already got a set of mini-chocolate cakes, with layers soaked liqueur syrups, filled with various types of buttercream and a chocolate glaze, so I'm afraid the Pave might be a bit repetitive - whereas the Concorde would offer a different texture.

Anyway, I saw upthread that Patrick added a thin layer of ganache onto the Concorde's meringue disks, which I think is a great idea - just curious as to what ganache you used Patrick?  One of the ones in CDBPH, or just a standard chocolate/cream ganache?

Also thinking of doubling the amount of meringue, so I can just make a boatload of the little tubes.

Maybe I'll do the Pave for one of the ancillary T-Day dinners, if I have time.  I love that both of these cakes can be made and frozen.

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viva, I think I used the bittersweet ganache recipe from the book -- but any ganache will work.

[fanny_the_fairy]

Well i know this subject has been beautifully covered before, but i thought i could share my experience with you.

Last week end i made Pierre Hermé's Nutella Tart for my sister's birthday.

The pastry and filling are straightforward and turned out perfectly.

I made a 20cm tart, so there definitely was some ganache (can you really call a mix of butter/chocolate a ganache?) left.

I also used less hazelnuts and didn't toast them before baking as i reckon 11 minutes in the oven would allow them to developp the nice nutty flavour you look after when roasting them first.

And as it was for my little sister - who doesn't like the bitterness of high cocoa percentage chocolate - i used a 60% cocoa solide chocolate for the ganache.

Here are the results (sorry for the number of pictures, i couldn't resolve to post just one!)

The finished tart

Nice detail

And the last one!

The tart was delicious - but then hazelnut and chocolate is my favourite combo.

I love the way the subbtle 'almondiness' of the tart crust highlighted the nuttiness of the nutella.

[NYC Mike]

GORGEOUS Tart Fanny and welcome to EG!

The more pics the better.

-mike

[fanny_the_fairy]

GORGEOUS Tart Fanny and welcome to EG!

The more pics the better.

-mike

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Thank you Mark, i really appreciate it!

[gfron1]

I agree - great job Tart Fanny - it will be fun to see your pics!