Nama chocolates (Royce) - looking for a good recipe

[porfyra]

Hi all ! Has anyone ever tried Nama chocolate made by Royce? It's a kind of Japanese chocolate truffle that is made into cubes instead of rounded, and dusted with cocoa. They are delicious, they do not have a very strong chocolate taste but they simply melt in your mouth and are divine! I tried replicating them but I am not close at all yet.

 

They also seem to have a relatively short half life since they are not enrobed, surprisingly they say they last up to 3 months, I would expect much less if I made these at home. You can check out their variations here: https://roycechocolate.com/collections/nama 

 

After going through their ingredient list they seem to add milk powder and cocoa butter. Maybe the addition of cocoa butter is what gives that melt in mouth texture, while milk powder keeps it a bit "drier" and helps extend its shelf life? 

I started trying out recipes to experiment till I get close ! Any ideas would help

 

 

 

[pastrygirl]

I suspect it's actually three ingredients: cream, milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, artificial flavor, soy lecithin), cocoa powder

[JeanneCake]

welcome!

 

To  my untrained eye, they look like slabbed ganache dusted in cocoa.  With other stuff added

 

To my taste though, a slabbed ganache would definitely have a strong chocolate taste (I should probably add that I am a huge fan of dark chocolate, not so much milk or semi-sweet).

[Duvel]

I cannot help with any recipes, but I’ve had my share (actually more than just my share) of Nama chocolates when living in Japan and I can not agree to your statement that

 

11 hours ago, porfyra said:

they do not have a very strong chocolate taste

All the varieties I’ve had (including the lovely Matcha one) have a quite intense flavor, and not only from the powdered coating but the core as well. I think @JeanneCake’s suggestion of a “simple” powder-coated ganache would be a good starting point. 

Edited October 2, 2022 by Duvel (log)

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

the lovely Matcha one

Now you got me searching as well … I think I’ll try this in the nearer future. They have a regular one as well and claim chocolate, cream and butter as the ingredients 🤗

[porfyra]

wow thank you all for such a fast response! maybe you are right @Duvel, it's been several years since I last tried one, though I felt they were a bit lighter than the classical ganache. I tried chocolate ganache on a 1:1 ratio of 65% chocolate to fresh cream, added some cocoa butter too but I think i still have a long way to go. they do have that light melt in mouth texture that i think is due to cocoa butter, but if i remember correctly, the authentic one seemed a bit lighter and drier to touch than the one i got.

 

For reference, i tried a small batch with these amounts:

120g fresh cream 35%

120g couverture 65%

30g cocoa butter (did i overdo it?) ☺️

 

 

I forgot to mention, after googling (for hours..days..weeks etc), i found out that they have a pretty similar truffle in Switzerland, known as Pavés de Genève, not sure how different it is taste or texturewise but it looks pretty similar. 

Edited October 2, 2022 by porfyra (log)

[Duvel]

Nama chocolate was the “go to” gift when visiting someone in Japan. It is sold in every department store and train station food court. When you buy it it is cooled and they’ll put it in a thermowrapper with a cooling pouch. Not sure whether thats for quality reasons or to pronounce that “melt in your mouth” feeling. They do have a short shelf life, but at least in my household they were gone in two days max …

[Duvel]

18 minutes ago, porfyra said:

I forgot to mention, after googling (for hours..days..weeks etc), i found out that they have a pretty similar truffle in Switzerland, known as Pavés de Genève, not sure how different it is taste or texturewise but it looks pretty similar. 

Yes, they mention that in the JOC link as well. Funny enough, the swiss version only has three ingredients …

[Kerry Beal]

On 10/2/2022 at 5:07 AM, porfyra said:

wow thank you all for such a fast response! maybe you are right @Duvel, it's been several years since I last tried one, though I felt they were a bit lighter than the classical ganache. I tried chocolate ganache on a 1:1 ratio of 65% chocolate to fresh cream, added some cocoa butter too but I think i still have a long way to go. they do have that light melt in mouth texture that i think is due to cocoa butter, but if i remember correctly, the authentic one seemed a bit lighter and drier to touch than the one i got.

 

For reference, i tried a small batch with these amounts:

120g fresh cream 35%

120g couverture 65%

30g cocoa butter (did i overdo it?) ☺️

 

 

I forgot to mention, after googling (for hours..days..weeks etc), i found out that they have a pretty similar truffle in Switzerland, known as Pavés de Genève, not sure how different it is taste or texturewise but it looks pretty similar. 

This is going to have a pretty high Aw so will go moldy if uncoated pretty quickly. Of course never reading anything to the end before I reply - missed the part where they seem to be refrigerated. 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

On 10/2/2022 at 5:26 AM, Duvel said:

Nama chocolate was the “go to” gift when visiting someone in Japan. It is sold in every department store and train station food court. When you buy it it is cooled and they’ll put it in a thermowrapper with a cooling pouch. Not sure whether thats for quality reasons or to pronounce that “melt in your mouth” feeling. They do have a short shelf life, but at least in my household they were gone in two days max …

Out of curiosity - how short a shelf life did they seem to have?

[Kerry Beal]

On 10/2/2022 at 5:07 AM, porfyra said:

wow thank you all for such a fast response! maybe you are right @Duvel, it's been several years since I last tried one, though I felt they were a bit lighter than the classical ganache. I tried chocolate ganache on a 1:1 ratio of 65% chocolate to fresh cream, added some cocoa butter too but I think i still have a long way to go. they do have that light melt in mouth texture that i think is due to cocoa butter, but if i remember correctly, the authentic one seemed a bit lighter and drier to touch than the one i got.

 

For reference, i tried a small batch with these amounts:

120g fresh cream 35%

120g couverture 65%

30g cocoa butter (did i overdo it?) ☺️

 

 

I forgot to mention, after googling (for hours..days..weeks etc), i found out that they have a pretty similar truffle in Switzerland, known as Pavés de Genève, not sure how different it is taste or texturewise but it looks pretty similar. 

Re the Paves - I'm not a home right now but if anyone has the Bernachon chocolate book around - I seem to recall a Pave recipes perhaps in there?

[Duvel]

6 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Out of curiosity - how short a shelf life did they seem to have?

A few days …

[Jim D.]

I think it's possible to get close to that smooth quality and increase shelf life (a little) by adding more chocolate and especially experimenting with sugars (sorbitol comes to mind) that provide bulk.  But it would seem some of the best things in life require refrigeration.

[Kerry Beal]

10 minutes ago, Duvel said:

A few days …

Ok - then that makes sense that you could use a lot of cream and not enrobe. 

[Kerry Beal]

When I look at the texture of these - I'm reminded of some truffles that I bought in Belgium that weren't coated - when I got home I made a similar thing using a recipe from Geerts. It uses butter, condensed milk and chocolate. 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Kerry Beal (log)

[porfyra]

5 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Re the Paves - I'm not a home right now but if anyone has the Bernachon chocolate book around - I seem to recall a Pave recipes perhaps in there?

I don't know this book, tried looking for it to chekc if there's a table of contents online but no luck yet. Is it "A passion for chocolate" ? Would be great to see if there's a sample recipe over there indeed

[Kerry Beal]

7 minutes ago, porfyra said:

I don't know this book, tried looking for it to chekc if there's a table of contents online but no luck yet. Is it "A passion for chocolate" ? Would be great to see if there's a sample recipe over there indeed

That’s the one 

[porfyra]

13 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

That’s the one 

i just found it online (it seems I can borrow it online for free for 1 hour on archive.org  ), but I didn't find a recipe about Paves, only about Palets which is chocolate coins, maybe u had that in mind? Thank you though , much appreciated!!!

[porfyra]

Just found a recipe online, it only uses melted chocolate and coconut oil. i 'll try it out once i manage, maybe i 'll try coconut oil vs cocoa butter to compare . i 'll  keep u posted about the results when I do it

https://sweettraveller.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/pave-de-geneve/ 

Edited October 3, 2022 by porfyra (log)

[Jim D.]

30 minutes ago, porfyra said:

Just found a recipe online, it only uses melted chocolate and coconut oil. i 'll try it out once i manage, maybe i 'll try coconut oil vs cocoa butter to compare . i 'll  keep u posted about the results when I do it

https://sweettraveller.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/pave-de-geneve/ 

 

Coconut oil might be successful in getting a soft texture.  A so-called meltaway has a texture like what you are describing:  Mix 500g dark chocolate and 150g (refined) coconut oil.  Flavoring, such as peppermint oil, can be added.  Stir mixture to temper it.  I think a meltaway sometimes has an oily mouth feel to it, and so generally prefer a butter ganache (see next paragraph).  Cocoa butter will not help achieve a softer texture as it makes a chocolate mixture firmer as it hardens.

 

An alternative approach, brought to mind from something Kerry wrote about the Geerts recipe, is a butter ganache:  Soften butter, beat it with glucose or fondant, add tempered chocolate, plus flavoring if you wish.  Depending on the flavoring you add, this will have a shelf life of many weeks.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Jim D.
To add statement on cocoa butter. (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Can't find the book - it's here somewhere. But I may have been thinking about the Palet d'or.

 

 

[porfyra]

9 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

Coconut oil might be successful in getting a soft texture.  A so-called meltaway has a texture like what you are describing:  Mix 500g dark chocolate and 150g (refined) coconut oil.  Flavoring, such as peppermint oil, can be added.  Stir mixture to temper it.  I think a meltaway sometimes has an oily mouth feel to it, and so generally prefer a butter ganache (see next paragraph).  Cocoa butter will not help achieve a softer texture as it makes a chocolate mixture firmer as it hardens.

 

An alternative approach, brought to mind from something Kerry wrote about the Geerts recipe, is a butter ganache:  Soften butter, beat it with glucose or fondant, add tempered chocolate, plus flavoring if you wish.  Depending on the flavoring you add, this will have a shelf life of many weeks.

Thanks for taking the time to help out I was thinking actually that one of the things bringing the melt-in-mouth texture may be cocoa butter because of its melting point at 32C, a bit below human temperature. I 'll try it with cocoa butter and coconut as well to compare and let u know! butter ganache would be a good idea, i m not sure how smooth the texture is i 've never tried it but i ll let u know how my experiments go ! thanks

[Altay.Oro]

Hi ...

I think it's a fat rich cream ganache ... seems to me as a standard 2,5 : 1 milk chocolate ganache with added cocoa butter ... with the ratios (water / sugar, fat / total, sugar / total etc.) taken from the nutrition label together with the ingredient list, my approximate guess is:

 

Milk Chocolate 250

Cream (% 40) 100

Cacao Butter 50

Glucose Syrup 50

 

It has a low water / sugar ratio, so without added sugar alcohols, 30 days shelf life below 10 C is ok I think.

[porfyra]

52 minutes ago, Altay.Oro said:

Hi ...

I think it's a fat rich cream ganache ... seems to me as a standard 2,5 : 1 milk chocolate ganache with added cocoa butter ... with the ratios (water / sugar, fat / total, sugar / total etc.) taken from the nutrition label together with the ingredient list, my approximate guess is:

 

Milk Chocolate 250

Cream (% 40) 100

Cacao Butter 50

Glucose Syrup 50

 

It has a low water / sugar ratio, so without added sugar alcohols, 30 days shelf life below 10 C is ok I think.

thank u ! i 'll try it out. would u suggest a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream if i use dark chocolate (65%) ? 

[Altay.Oro]

56 minutes ago, porfyra said:

thank u ! i 'll try it out. would u suggest a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream if i use dark chocolate (65%) ? 

 

You're welcome ... I think 1 : 1 with dark chocolate would be very watery to be slabbed even with added cocoa butter ... also its shelf life would be considerably reduced. You may try the standard recipe, 2 : 1 dark chocolate ganache with the other ingredients I mentioned ... but you will need a food processor as it is a fatty ganache you can easily lose emulsion after adding cocoa butter. With dark chocolates, especially with high cocoa content dark chocolates, most of the time, you will end up with a texture between cream and butter ganaches. 55% dark chocolates would be more suitable for the first attempts.

Edited October 4, 2022 by Altay.Oro (log)