Sunday, March 18, 2012

Peppermint Cups and Peanut Butter Cups


These are classic chocolate cups. They're a lot of work to fabricate, and best done with a partner. Sealed in an airtight container, they will keep for a few months.

Mint-infused Ganache:
This basic technique of infusing chocolate is versatile. Mint can be substituted with any imaginable flavour (eg: chai tea, matcha, fresh herbs, spices, etc).

300 g Whipping Cream (35%)
10 g Mint Leaves
1/2 tsp Mint Extract (Not necessary)
30 g Glucose

475 g White Chocolate
80 g Butter

In a pot, bring whipping cream, mint leaves, extract (if using), and glucose to a scald. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes.

Pour cream mix over white chocolate and butter, and let sit for 5 minutes. Mix until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh.

Peanut Butter Filling:

420 g Milk Chocolate
150 g Peanut Butter
45 ml Vegetable Oil

Melt the milk chocolate in a metal bowl over a double boiler. Add the vegetable oil and peanut butter, and stir until combined.

Making the cups:
Each of the above recipes will yield around 80 chocolates. You will need:

Bonbon cups (80+ pieces)
700 g Chocolate (Dark Chocolate for mint cups, Milk Chocolate for PB Cups)

Pre-crystallize the chocolate, and keep a pot of water just steaming on the burner to reheat the chocolate as necessary.

Assembling:
Prepare the cups for filling: Pipe pre-crystallized chocolate into 4 or 5 bonbon cups, until 3/4 full. Get your partner to gently flip the cups onto a wire rack, over your bowl of chocolate. Let them empty out, and give the rack a good few taps. Flip them right-side up to set.

Fill the cups: Pipe the filling (mint ganache, peanut butter, etc) into each cup, leaving at least 1/8" for covering/ sealing. Allow the filling to form a skin before proceeding (pop them into the fridge for a few minutes if necessary).

Sealing the cups: Pipe pre-crystallized chocolate over the filling. Work from the outer edges inward, in a spiral, so that the filling doesn't ooze up (this takes a bit of practice). Make sure not to leave any gaps, or the filling will ooze through. Tap the cup against the table a few times to smooth out the surface. Garnish, and let them set at room temperature.