Raspberry Matcha Chocolates – Recipe
Since I'm jetting off to China this week and have been busy with preparing for a new job, I decided to keep this week's recipe simple. Sort of. It involves tempering white chocolate to get a good, shiny set, which can be a little tricky – especially since I no longer have use of a microwave for the traditional cheat method. But I'll share my trick with you...
I use a 'seeding' method when tempering chocolate: basically you're melting the chocolate on as low a heat as possible, and throwing in some more unmelted chocolate. The unmelted chocolate is already in temper and its perfectly-set crystals will encourage more crystals like them to form in the melted batch. The remaining heat melts the rest of the solid chocolate while cooling the mixture down – but the melted chocolate can't be too hot or it'll melt the good crystals in the solid chocolate too. So the key is working slowly and patiently.
So as well as a recipe, this is also a 'how to temper chocolate' guide. White chocolate is particularly tricky compared to dark as it's all cocoa butter and no cocoa solids, so it tempers at a lower temperature – so you need to be even more gentle with it. Be patient, go slowly and keep stirring: if you don't temper the chocolate correctly it won't set (or rather it will set in the fridge and then instantly start to melt at room temperature). A good temper will result in solid chocolate at room temperature with a glossy shine and a satisfying 'snap' when broken.
This method also works for tempering dark and milk chocolate – for those two stirring is even more important as you'll need to emulsify the cocoa butter back into the solids, or risk streaky-looking chocolate.
Ready? Let's go.
Ingredients:
150g white chocolate, chopped
4 tsp matcha powder
5g freeze dried raspberry bits
Extra raspberry bits (for sprinkling)
Method:
1. Add 100g of your white chocolate and the matcha to a heatproof bowl sitting over a pan of just-simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water). Stir gently with a spatula, and take off the heat when about halfway melted. Continue to stir until the rest of the chocolate has melted, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, and gradually add the rest of the chocolate bit by bit, each time stirring until completely melted.
2. When the chocolate begins to become stiff and won't melt any more, return the bowl to the heat for just 5–10 seconds to loosen it up for working with (not any longer or you'll bring it back out of temper). Mix in the raspberry bits, pour into a silicone chocolate mould, tap on the counter to get rid of air bubbles and level the tops with a spatula. Sprinkle with a few more raspberry bits.
3. Pop in the fridge for an hour or two before pushing the chocolates out of the mould. If you like, decorate with lustre powders and icing flowers.
Enjoy, and have fun.
I use a 'seeding' method when tempering chocolate: basically you're melting the chocolate on as low a heat as possible, and throwing in some more unmelted chocolate. The unmelted chocolate is already in temper and its perfectly-set crystals will encourage more crystals like them to form in the melted batch. The remaining heat melts the rest of the solid chocolate while cooling the mixture down – but the melted chocolate can't be too hot or it'll melt the good crystals in the solid chocolate too. So the key is working slowly and patiently.
So as well as a recipe, this is also a 'how to temper chocolate' guide. White chocolate is particularly tricky compared to dark as it's all cocoa butter and no cocoa solids, so it tempers at a lower temperature – so you need to be even more gentle with it. Be patient, go slowly and keep stirring: if you don't temper the chocolate correctly it won't set (or rather it will set in the fridge and then instantly start to melt at room temperature). A good temper will result in solid chocolate at room temperature with a glossy shine and a satisfying 'snap' when broken.
This method also works for tempering dark and milk chocolate – for those two stirring is even more important as you'll need to emulsify the cocoa butter back into the solids, or risk streaky-looking chocolate.
Ready? Let's go.
Ingredients:
150g white chocolate, chopped
4 tsp matcha powder
5g freeze dried raspberry bits
Extra raspberry bits (for sprinkling)
Method:
1. Add 100g of your white chocolate and the matcha to a heatproof bowl sitting over a pan of just-simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water). Stir gently with a spatula, and take off the heat when about halfway melted. Continue to stir until the rest of the chocolate has melted, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go, and gradually add the rest of the chocolate bit by bit, each time stirring until completely melted.
2. When the chocolate begins to become stiff and won't melt any more, return the bowl to the heat for just 5–10 seconds to loosen it up for working with (not any longer or you'll bring it back out of temper). Mix in the raspberry bits, pour into a silicone chocolate mould, tap on the counter to get rid of air bubbles and level the tops with a spatula. Sprinkle with a few more raspberry bits.
3. Pop in the fridge for an hour or two before pushing the chocolates out of the mould. If you like, decorate with lustre powders and icing flowers.
Enjoy, and have fun.
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