Caramel Filled Chocolates
Ingredients
Metric - US Cups/Ounces
* 200 g milk chocolate - you won’t actually need this much but it’s much easier if you have more than enough chocolate
* 25 ml caramel sauce - if you’re making this yourself then make sure it’s cooled before filling the chocolates otherwise you’ll melt the chocolate shells.
Instructions
Temper the chocolate
1.Place about half of your chocolate into a small pan over a very low heat (or bain marie if you prefer) and heat the chocolate until it reaches a temperature of 45ºC – Don’t worry if not all of the chocolate has melted, it will continue to melt after it’s removed from the heat.
2.Decant the melted chocolate into a bowl and add a piece of the unmelted chocolate you set aside before. Stir the chocolate in until it has melted.
3.Keep adding pieces of the unmelted chocolate until the temperature of the chocolate has been reduced to 32ºC. At this point it’s ready to use.
4.Remove any lumps of chocolate and set aside to use later – I like to put in onto greaseproof paper as then it’s easy to peel off and use again (it can be difficult to remove hardened chocolate from a bowl).
Fill the mould
1.Pour the melted chocolate into the mould (or pipe if you prefer). Fill each of the squares you’re using to the top. Once filled, tip the mould upside down over the bowl you stirred the chocolate in and tip out any excess – you’re trying to create a hollow shell.
2.Once the excess has tipped out have a quick check for any holes in the shells (the moulds are clear so these should be easy to spot if you hold it up to the light). If there are any holes then add in a little extra chocolate and tip again to remove any excess.
3.Once you’re happy with the shells, use a sharp knife to scrape any excess chocolate from the top of the mould.
4.Put the mould into the fridge for at least half an hour to set.
5.Scrape any leftover chocolate from the bowl back into the pan you used to melt the chocolate originally (this can then be used to make the base of the chocolates).
Fill the shells
1.Put your caramel sauce into a piping bag and make a small hole (about 2mm) in the bottom.
2.Remove your mould from the fridge.
3.Carefully pipe about ½ tsp of caramel sauce into each chocolate. You want to leave a gap of about 2mm at the top of each one for adding the chocolate base.
4.Put to one side while you temper the chocolate for the base.
Make the chocolate base
1.Add about half of any unused chocolate you have in the packet to the chocolate you put back into the pan earlier and repeat steps 1-4 (above) to temper the chocolate. You can use the same bowl you used earlier even if it has some hardened chocolate in the bottom as it will melt in and help the tempering process.
2.Once the chocolate has tempered, spoon or pipe it carefully over the top of the caramel – you want the chocolate to come above the top edge of the mould.
3.Once all of the chocolates are covered, use a sharp knife to scrape off any excess chocolate.
4.Put the chocolates into the fridge for at least half an hour to set.
5.Once the chocolate has completely set, turn the mould over on a work surface and give it a pretty sharp bang against the edge of the surface (make sure your work surface is not too delicate you don’t want to damage it!) the chocolates should drop out. You might need to repeat this a few times to encourage them all out. If any are being stubborn then pop the mould back into the fridge for a while longer to give them a bit more time to set.
Notes
Makes approximately 10 chocolates but this is easily increased to make as many as you like.
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Metric – US Cups/Ounces
100 g granulated sugar
30 g butter
60 ml single cream - or 30ml double cream and 30ml full fat milk
Instructions
1.Measure out all of your ingredients into separate bowls (100g granulated sugar, 30g butter, 60ml single cream). Cut the butter into small cubes (this’ll help you to incorporate it into the sauce quickly).
2.Put the sugar into a large saucepan spread even across the bottom and place onto a medium heat.
3.Once the sugar has clearly started to melt, gently move the sugar about the pan with the spatula until it has all melted.
4.Once the sugar has melted continue to stir gently with the spatula until it has turned a light brown colour.
5.As soon as the caramel is light brown, carefully add the butter and whisk rapid until the butter has melted and is combined.
6.Turn off the heat and add the cream, again whisking rapidly until combined.
7.If there are any small sugar crystals, pass the sauce through a metal sieve to remove them.
8.Put into a bowl or jug and refrigerate to cool.
Notes
This recipe makes approximately 100ml/150g of caramel sauce.
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