Cherries…
200 pounds of red ripe cherries! What in the world would you do with that many cherries? The day after I pick, I wine in more ways than one, and eat cherries all day long as I rinse off the fruit and remove any stems. The first 160 or so pounds go into various buckets to make several varieties of cherry wine using different yeasts to bring out different qualities and subtleties in each wine. Cherry wine is one of my favorites.
So, I took a trip to Eastern Washington this past Thursday to pick around 200 pounds of the most delectable fresh Bing cherries. They are dark wine colored, rich, juicy and delectably ripe, right off the trees; unsprayed, pesticide free fruits. The cherries are even more of a treat this warm July day, as over 80% of the previous year’s crop was lost to an unseasonably cold spring and several inhospitable freezes.
So what has this got to do with chocolate?
After making hundreds (maybe thousands) of various truffles to perfect and retest recipes for my latest book The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles, I am continuing to experiment. The book will be available as soon as the photos are edited and the index is complete.
I’ve been toying with a different way to make truffles that is incredibly easier and quicker. Instead of filling the truffles, I am layering them. They are very attractive to look at and delicious to eat.
With fresh cherries to play with, I couldn’t resist a layered chocolate truffle with a layer of cherries. I should have a recipe to share with you by next week.
For now, phyto-nutrient rich cherries dipped in tempered chocolate or fondue sounds superb. They taste so good and are good for you. Its a fresh fruit, gluten-free, low glycemic, depending on the chocolate you use, and what you use to sweeten it with, if anything.
Fresh Bing Cherries Stuffed with White Chocolate, Dipped in Dark Chocolate
Select a pound of nice plump ripe Bing cherries with stems. Leave the stems on the cherries and carefully pit them. Stuff a good quality white chocolate chip into the pit-cavity and dip into tempered chocolate (below) or chocolate fondue ( blog from 06.07.2009) http://www.sichocolatetruffles.com/2009/06
Tempering Dark Chocolate
1 pound (16 ounces) of good quality dark, semisweet, or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped or shaved. I use Sharffen Berger 99%. For coatings, I don’t add any sweetener, but you could if you desire to. Blue agave is the easiest to add a tablespoon or two of and stir into the melted chocolate. Don’t use chocolate chips for the dipping chocolate. They contain other ingredients and will not temper properly
Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a double boiler ( 5/30/09 Blog: http://www.sichocolatetruffles.com/2009/05/ ) and bring to a simmer. Place chopped chocolate in the top of the double boiler. Set the top pan over the simmering water. The bottom of the top pan should not touch the water. Do not cover the top pan.
Melt 12 ounces of the chopped chocolate in the top of an uncovered double boiler, reserving 4 ounces.
Put a candy thermometer in the chocolate and do not allow the temperature to exceed 100° F (38° C). Keeping the temperature lower than 99° F (37° C) is best to ensure that the cocoa and cocoa butter won’t separate.
Heat the chocolate over the barely simmering water until it is melted or when the thermometer reads 95° – 100° F (35° – 38°C).
Immediately remove the pan from the burner and remove the top of the double boiler from over the water. Add 2 ounces (half) of the reserved chopped chocolate to help the molecular structuring. Stir until the chocolate is fully melted. Add the remaining chocolate and continue stirring until all the chocolate is melted.
Cool until the temperature of the chocolate reaches 83° F (28° C). Stirring will speed the cooling process.
To complete the tempering process, it is necessary to reheat the chocolate one last time. Return the top of the double boiler over the hot water and allow the temperature to rise to 90° F (32° C). The chocolate is now tempered and good for dipping. Make sure to keep the temperature between 85° and 90° F (29° – 32° C). (White and Milk chocolate should only be brought back to 84° – 86° F (29° – 30° C) for optimal results.)
To help maintain the optimal dipping temperatures, you can alternately remove and replace the top of the double boiler to try to keep the temperature around 86° – 88° F (30° – 31° C) or you’ll lose the temper. If that happens, you need to cool and then re-temper the chocolate. If you do you’ll need about 2 – 4 more ounces of chopped un-melted chocolate to assist the structuring process again.
To determine if the chocolate is tempered, drizzle a thin line of the chocolate from the spoon on to a glass plate or stainless steel surface. The chocolate should set up firm and dry with a matte finish within a few minutes. Un-tempered or improperly tempered chocolate will remain soft and won’t harden.
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