Fresh Bing Cherries Stuffed with White Chocolate, Dipped in Dark Chocolate
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.
Chocolate Fondue: Sweetened Traditionally, Sugarfree or with Blue Agave Nectar
Chocolate is one of the world’s most widespread passions. The typical Swiss eats more than 21 pounds of this candy each year. Even the average Belgian or Brit downs some 16 pounds annually, and here in the United States, consumption weighs in at roughly 11.5 pounds per year.”
Food for thought, Science News Online
OK, as you can see by the statistics above, one thing the Swiss are not neutral on is Chocolate! Since apparently, some of us haven’t been doing our share, I thought I’d provide a recipe for you that will provide a simple dazzling nutritious dessert year round, a spectacular pot luck dessert or a great topping for ice cream.
The Swiss invented the delectable tradition of fondue. Dunking bread and crudités into cheeses melted until creamy, spiked with wine and a splash of liqueur. And since they placed first in their dedication to chocolate – A chocolate fondue is only appropriate.
There are three versions of the recipe: One is the traditional easy version with whatever sugar is already added to the chocolate by the manufacturer. The other two recipes use unsweetened chocolate and then add a natural low glycemic sweetener - xylitol for a sugar-free fondue, and blue agave nectar for a low glycemic fondue.
Served with fresh fruit, such as berries, nectarines, fresh pineapple, banana, tangerine, orange segments, pears, fresh coconut, even dried fruit or other nuts, if eaten in moderation, makes a healthy dessert that also happens to be gluten-free if you stick with the fruit and nuts.
While serving in a fondue pot isn’t mandatory, it adds elegance and using a fondue pot, with a little flame underneath it serves to keep the chocolate in a fluid state for dipping. If you don’t have a fondue pot, heat the cream and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl that fits tightly over a saucepan with approximately an inch of simmering water. Another option, handy for pot lucks is a small crock pot. I’ve got one called the Rival “Little Dipper.” You have to set it on low and watch the temperatures, because crock pots weren’t really designed for the extra low temps required for chocolate.
This recipe is flexible enough for children or adults, depending on the liquid added.
Easy Chocolate Fondue
1½ cups heavy cream
¼ cup cherry wine or brandy (You can replace with cream for a children appropriate fondue or increase the amount of wine by ½ cup and reduce the cream by ½ cup for an “over 21″, low fat fondue. The alcohol will eventually evaporate. )
12 ounces your favorite dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract (optional)
Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a simmer. Set the top pan over the simmering water. The bottom of the top pan should not touch the water. Do not cover.
Place the cream in the top section of the double boiler until warmed, 115°- 120° F (46° – 49° C). Turn off the heat. Remove the top of the double boiler to the counter and add the chopped chocolate and the vanilla extract to the cream and whisk until smooth and fully incorporated. Stir in the wine or brandy.
Immediately transfer mixture to a fondue pot heated at low or with a low flame, Crockpot heated to low, or serve straight from the top of the double boiler, after returning the top pan over the water to keep it warm, i.e. less than 115° F (46° C).
Arrange the fruit and other dipping tidbits on a platter or plates around the chocolate pot. Use fondue forks, bamboo skewers, seafood forks, or toothpicks or fingers to dip the fruit or other dippers into the hot melted chocolate fondue. Serve immediately.
If the fondue begins to feel a little stiff, add a tablespoon of heavy cream, allow to heat and stir. This will help it be used to the last drop. Try not to over cook the fondue if serving over a long period. Don’t expect to have a lot of it left.
Healthy Dippers:
Fresh fruits, Dried fruits – Apricots are particularly delicious,Candied Ginger Slices
Slices of fresh coconut,Fresh Shelled Nuts
For the sugar-free chocolate fondue and the blue agave nectar fondue recipes, see below:
Sugar-Free Chocolate Fondue (Gluten-Free)
1 ½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup xylitol
2 teaspoons vegetable glycerin
¼ cup cherry wine or brandy (You can replace with cream for a children appropriate fondue or increase the amount of wine by ½ cup and reduce the cream by ½ cup for an “over 21″, low fat fondue. The alcohol will eventually evaporate. )
12 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate, coarsely chopped, such as Sharffen Berger 99% or Ghirardelli’s 100% cacao (I mix half of each)
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract (optional)
Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a simmer. Set the top pan over the simmering water. The bottom of the top pan should not touch the water. Do not cover.
Place the cream, xylitol and vegetable glycerin in the top section of the double boiler and heat, stirring occasionally until xylitol is fully dissolved and the cream is warmed, 115°- 120° F (46° – 49° C). Turn off the heat. Remove the top of the double boiler to the counter and add the chopped chocolate and the vanilla extract to the cream and whisk until smooth and fully incorporated. Stir in the wine or brandy.
Immediately transfer mixture to a fondue pot heated at low or with a low flame, Crockpot heated to low, or serve straight from the top of the double boiler, after returning the top pan over the water to keep it warm, i.e. less than 115° F (46° C).
Arrange the fruit and other dipping tidbits on a platter or plates around the chocolate pot. Use fondue forks, bamboo skewers, seafood forks, or toothpicks or fingers to dip the fruit or other dippers into the hot melted chocolate fondue. Serve immediately.
If the fondue begins to feel a little stiff, add a tablespoon of cream , allow to heat and stir. This will help it be used to the last drop. Try not to over cook the fondue if serving over a long period. Don’t expect to have a lot of it left.
Healthy Dippers:
Fresh fruits, Dried fruits – Apricots are particularly delicious, Candied Ginger Slices, Slices of fresh coconut, Fresh Shelled Nuts
Xylitol sources:
Your local health food store, or
http://www.xlear.com/xylosweet/articles/sweetener.aspx
Blue Agave Nectar Chocolate Fondue (Gluten-Free)
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
¾ cup blue agave nectar
¼ cup cherry wine or brandy (You can replace with cream for a children appropriate fondue or increase the amount of wine by ½ cup and reduce the cream by ½ cup for an “over 21″, low fat fondue. The alcohol will eventually evaporate. )
12 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate, coarsely chopped, such as Sharffen Berger 99% or Ghirardelli’s 100% cacao (I mix half of each)
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract (optional)
Put about an inch of water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a simmer. Set the top pan over the simmering water. The bottom of the top pan should not touch the water. Do not cover.
Place the cream and blue agave nectar in the top section of the double boiler and heat, stirring occasionally until mixture is warmed, 115°- 120° F (46° – 49° C). Turn off the heat. Remove the top of the double boiler to the counter and add the chopped chocolate and the vanilla extract to the cream and agave and whisk until smooth and fully incorporated. Stir in the wine or brandy.
Immediately transfer mixture to a fondue pot heated at low or with a low flame, Crockpot heated to low, or serve straight from the top of the double boiler, after returning the top pan over the water to keep it warm, i.e. less than 115° F (46° C).
Arrange the fruit and other dipping tidbits on a platter or plates around the chocolate pot. Use fondue forks, bamboo skewers, seafood forks, or toothpicks or fingers to dip the fruit or other dippers into the hot melted chocolate fondue. Serve immediately.
If the fondue begins to feel a little stiff, add a tablespoon of cream , allow to heat and stir. This will help it be used to the last drop. Try not to over cook the fondue if serving over a long period. Don’t expect to have a lot of it left.
Dippers:
Fresh fruits, Dried fruits – Apricots are particularly delicious, Candied Ginger Slices,Slices of fresh coconut, Fresh Shelled Nuts
Sources of Blue Agave Nectar
Your local health food store
http://oilgold.younglivingworld.com Product Catalog, Product Search: type in blue agave nectar
