Spring is here and I am in the mood to celebrate!

Inspired by my first cocktail of the season I spent the weekend concocting, trialling and tasting to create the delicious mojito truffle.

Mojito Truffles

400g Devonport Chocolates 55% cocoa solids callets
75g (1/3 cup) cream
2 sprigs of fresh mint (top 3 inches of the mint stalk)
1 tablespoon of dark rum (now I know a mojito has white rum in it but I discovered the rum taste doesn’t come through when you use white rum)
lime oil (can be found in most gourmet food stores/supermarkets)
100g desiccated coconut

Equipment Needed:

1 x small pot
1 x medium pot and a bowl that will fit over the top of it to create a bain-marie.
2 x cookie trays or oven trays (one of which can fit in your fridge)
1 x disposable piping bag (available in most supermarkets now, in the baking section)
2x medium high sided bowls
1 x microwave proof bowl
Assortment of spatulas, spoons and a fork.

Put cream and fresh mint in a small saucepan.

Bring to the boil over a medium heat and boil for 2 minutes, take off the heat and set aside to cool for approximately 30 minutes.

Discard the mint and warm the cream back up on a low heat.

Put 200g of the chocolate callets in a metal or ceramic bowl and place over a pot of simmering water.  This is the best way to melt chocolate without burning it.  You want to make sure the water isn’t touching the bottom of the bowl, you are just relying on the heat from the steam to melt the chocolate.  Stir your chocolate until it is completely melted, add your warm cream and rum.  Stir until well mixed and silky smooth. – 

IMPORTANT TIP – Don’t let any water get in your chocolate, water and chocolate are not friends and your chocolate may go grainy and seize up like over whipped cream. 

Fill your disposable piping bag with your ganache mix. 

The easiest way to do this is to place your piping bag in a tall cup or mug and roll the edges of the piping bag over the glass.   Place glass and piping bag in fridge and cool until chocolate mix is firm and can hold its shape but not so firm you can’t pipe it.

Place baking paper on one of your cookie trays.  Cut the end off your piping bag so that you can pipe a length approximately 8-10mm thick.  Pipe lengths of mix onto baking paper.  Cover and place back in the fridge until set.

Cut piped ganache into 1cm lengths, don’t worry if you think this is small, by the time you add more chocolate and coconut they are quite sizeable. 

Cover your second cookie tray in baking paper and place your coconut on it.  Put 6 small drops of lime oil on the coconut, mix it around well and put under grill to toast in until light golden brown.  Place your coconut in a high sided bowl.

Place the other 200g of your chocolate in a microwave proof bowl.  Microwave on medium power for two minutes and then give a really good stir.  Place back in the microwave at 30 second intervals on medium, stirring well between each burst until melted and smooth.  Please don’t whip the chocolate, you don’t want air in it.

Now here comes the fun bit, you can use forks, spoons or put disposable gloves on your hands if it makes this process easier.

Take three pieces of ganache and place in the melted chocolate.  Take pieces out and put in an empty bowl (you do this to remove the excess chocolate or your coconut ends up really messy)

Take pieces out of bowl and put in coconut and roll them around.  Leave the pieces in the coconut for now to set a little.

Take three new pieces of ganache and place in melted chocolate.
Take pieces out and put in the empty bowl.

Repeat this process with all your chocolate pieces and then place in the fridge for approximately 10-20 minutes, (about as long as it takes to clean up).

Take out of the fridge and bring up to room temperature to eat or put in a nice box of cellophane bag to give as a gift.  (Photo 6)

Check in next month when I cover how to temper chocolate at home.

Liven up Autumn with a Chocolate Tasting Party

Autumn is the perfect time to hold a chocolate tasting evening, what can be more enjoyable than good friends and great chocolate?  In this article we will tell you how to taste chocolate and give you some helpful tips to make your evening an enjoyable one.

What makes good chocolate?

Chocolate that has been stored properly and tempered well will have a lovely glossy finish to it and an even colour.  It isn't recommended to store chocolate in the refrigerator, not only will you lose the gorgeous glossy finish but the taste will be dulled down.

Good quality chocolate has a wonderful aroma.  The minute you open the packet your senses should be on full alert with chocolaty goodness.

Chocolate that has been tempered well should snap when you break it, not slowly tear apart.

Tasting evenings

If you are holding a tasting evening this is a fun way to do it.  Get everyone to bring a block of chocolate with them, try and get your guests to be adventurous; you don’t want to spend an evening eating the same chocolate. 

The host needs to remove the wrappers and break the blocks into small pieces and put them on numbered plates, the same type on the same plate.  Make sure as host you know what type of chocolate is on what plate.

Give your guests paper and pens to rank each type of chocolate.

Start with the lightest chocolate first and get your guests to rank the look, the aroma, the crack when they bite it and finally the taste, discuss the chocolates as you go through.  In-between each chocolate have plain crackers and water for your guests to cleanse their palates.

Descriptions for chocolate are similar to wine, for example when you are looking at colour is it even, rich or warm?  Does the taste linger or disappear quickly.  Is it full bodied, have fruit undertones, earthy, bitter or sweet.  Is its texture gritty or smooth?

After you have tried all the chocolate reveal what brand they are and what type of chocolate it is.  Your guests will probably find they liked something they had never tried before. 

And then....you get to eat the rest of the chocolate!

There is more detail in the book “for the love of chocolate” available in all of our stores.

Happy Tasting!

Chocolate Bunnies, Easter Eggs and Bizarre Easter Traditions

Easter Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies are part of the joy and celebration of Easter.  From Easter egg hunts to decorating hard boiled eggs, families and cultures all have their own traditions.

On the Christian calendar Easter Sunday is the day you celebrate the resurrection of Christ.  It is thought Easter Eggs celebrate new life and new beginnings and are a symbol of resurrection. 

The egg and bunny are linked to pagan spring festivals.  In Europe the spring equinox often falls the same time as Easter and the egg and hare are symbols of new life and fertility.

The Easter bunny is believed to be a German tradition.  The Easter bunny visits homes the night before Easter Sunday and delivers (or hides) Easter Eggs for children to find the next day. 
Easter eggs were originally a candy type paste.  Advances in chocolate made it possible to make the delicious chocolate eggs we are familiar with today.  German settlers in America spread the joy of the Easter bunny and it has now become a strong tradition in a number of cultures including our own.

New Zealand has developed its own Easter tradition – chocolate covered marshmallow eggs.  In my mother’s research for her chocolate book she discovered that one year Heards made and hand foiled over 3 million marshmallow eggs!

Some of the more interesting Easter traditions which you may like to make into your own include:

“Egg tapping” - each player is given a hardboiled egg and each player hits the other eggs with their own.  The winner is the person whose egg is left intact.

Egg dancing – place eggs on the floor and dance around them trying not to break them, my suggestion would be to use marshmallow eggs, they stand up to a bit of squashing if you miss.  The adult only version could be to add a few glasses of wine in the mix to make a real party.

A family friendly Easter activity and one I did as a child is dying hard boiled eggs with onion and strings, to make nice patterns, and you can eat the eggs afterwards.

Happy Easter from the team at Devonport Chocolates and whether you celebrate Easter or use it as an opportunity to catch up with family and friends, do it safely and enjoy a little chocolate along the way.

A Chocolate Year In Review

Hi Readers and chocolate lovers – it is good to be one and the same!

Christmas provides us with an ideal time to review our year and 2012 has been a year of milestones for the company.

We have successfully relaunched our iconic truffle slices with a new recipe and packaging and they have been received very well by our customers and acclaimed as an improved version of the old. This was a four year project for us involving new machinery that was eye wateringly expensive ( to us at least!). Recipe redesigns take time tasting and testing and can’t be rushed   All that tasting…….. believe me the staff have been known to groan when they are asked to taste several different versions of a truffle slice. However, they are the strictest critics and their highly honed tasting skills are indispensable to the business. Our focus groups were enormously valuable in keeping us on the right track with not only taste but presentation as well.

Our new assortment boxes were launched at the same time. Called “The Truffle Selection” and “The Chocolate Selection” they are a selection of our renown chocolates and truffles. When we put together a selection we aren't looking only at taste but a balance between milk , dark and white chocolate and different centres –smooth, crunchy and creamy. They need to sit together so they look appealing in the box as well as tasting great. We are delighted with what we have achieved and the customers are too – they have been racing off the shelves.

This year was also the year of the Devonport Chocolate shoe.

We have had enormous success  with our handmade shoes and it gives us all great pleasure not only making them but watching peoples faces when they see them. What I haven’t seen is someone eat one. If you have some photos of a chocolate shoe being consumed share them with us- be great to see where you start – the toe or the heel?

At the moment we are looking at some summer versions and also some ravishing Valentine’s shoes.

This year was also our 21^st birthday- A time for reflection on not only what we have achieved already but on where we would like to go and what we would like to develop. This chocolate business of ours is a family one with a great team of staff , loyal suppliers and great stockists.I do like the synergy of all these elements coming together to give our customers a great experience whether it is in one of our shops, sharing a lovely piece of chocolate or giving a gift the recipient will enjoy.

2013 will be another  interesting year and as change is the only thing we can count on watch this space for some new flavours and developments in the Devonport Chocolates story.

Have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and  enjoy our beautiful summer.

I have a new book to enjoy, a puppy to hide my shoes from and a garden to nestle in – life is sweet.

Stephanie

Festive Recipe Competition

I have been thinking about chocolate and Christmas and consequently my childhood experiences of chocolate.

Back in the 1950s and 60s gifts we lived on a farm outside Gisborne and collected our mail from the Patutahi Post office. Parcels came wrapped in brown paper and string. Inside the outer wrapping the gift would be wrapped in Christmas paper. A box of chocolate could be clearly identified before the Christmas paper was removed. Nothing else sounded like a box of chocolates when it was shaken and no other gift was going to be the shape of a box of chocolates. Once presents arrived at the farm they were put under the Christmas tree until Christmas morning. By this time we were really looking forward to seeing which variety of chocolate was in the box. The caramels and nuts were always eaten first and there were rules to be obeyed – the second layer could not be enjoyed before the whole of the first layer was eaten. Cadburys, Nestle, Aulsebrooks and Queen Anne were available at this time but there were no handmade chocolate companies that we knew of. In our household chocolate was eaten only at Christmas so we had about eleven months before the next chocolate treat could be savoured.

Apart from commercials chocolates that came in a box – and these were the highlight of Christmas, I recall our festive food consisting of a huge Christmas ham that my poor mother cooked in the old copper, trifle and homemade icecream. I am sure that vegetables and fruit were included somewhere in the menu but I can’t recall them.  However, I do know that they would have been fresh from the vegetable garden.

This lead me to considering the chocolate recipes that we would put  on our website for the festive season this year.  Instead of me posting chocolate recipes, I thought our readers may like to contribute their favourite festive recipes that include chocolate and/or cocoa. All recipes will be tested and the most popular amongst our staff will be posted on the website.

I am really looking forward to the variety that will be submitted, New Zealand is a much more multicultural society than it was in the 1950s and it will be interesting to see the origins of your recipes – please tell me when you use them and the origins of the recipe.

All recipes sent to us by the 25th of November 2012 will go in the draw to win a copy of my book "For the love of chocolate" and one of our Chocolatier's Assortments, we have 5 sets to give away.

Please send your recipes to severitt@devonportchocolates.co.nz, please include your physical delivery address ( no box numbers please), and phone number. 

A delicious afternoon celebrating 21 years

It is fairly unusual to experience two 21^st birthdays in one lifetime but I had the special joy of being able to do just that on Wednesday afternoon.

We held a media workshop to celebrate achieving 21 years in business.

Devonport Chocolates was born sometime in September 1991( the actual date has been lost in the mists of time)  and since we are still going strong  it is a milestone to celebrate.

Julie le Clerc,  Food Editor, Next magazine; Marnie Hallahan North Shore Times;  Heather Vermeer Channel Magazine; Rachael Barrett from Chelsy and Get Frank; Maire Veith, Flagstaff News; and Lisa Morton of Dish all helped us to celebrate.

Assisted by the Devonport Chocolates team they tempered chocolate, made ganache, rolled truffles, dipped truffles and made chocolate shoes.

A photo of the participants in the inaugural media workshop. We had such a great time we are going to repeat the occasion annually.

Julie carefully painting her chocolate shoe mould with tempered coloured cocoa butter – decisions, decisions -  stripes or spots!

Julie’s finished shoe

delicious stripes of yellow, teal and red

Rachael is guided by Rachel, our chocolatier, as she fills her painted shoe mould with chocolate 

Rachael’s finished shoe a symphony of spots and swirls. 

The danger of painting the shoe moulds is the addictive nature of it. As soon as I finish one I want to do another to experiment with different finishes and colours. I like to be quite outrageous with colour and texture happening on the surface of the shoe.

We have some chocolate shoes in our shops that are quite traditional and we also have another collection that are what we have called the Fantasy Collection. They are more experimental in finish and texture.

A bevy of experimental handmade shoes all packaged up ready to go home with their creators.  

Miok,our chocolatier, showing Lisa Morton the fine technique of using a hairdryer to warm the chocolate moulds. 

Some of our equipment is high tech with imported machinery from Italy  but the hairdryers  used are the standard version available from the hardware shop two doors up!

Rachael and Marnie, with Tammy’s help, have made a bowl of chocolate ganache and are ready to pour it into a tray to set.

The fine art of chocolate making  with tips and techniques from professional chocolatiers  gave us all a greater appreciation of how skilled our staff are and we appreciated the participants being such good sports and being prepared to try everything out!

Thanks to you all for such as great afternoon and making my second 21^st such a great event ( It was definitely more fun than my first 21^st. It is odd how with life experience I feel it would be great to be 21 again as long as I could still know what I know now.)

Watch this space for more 21^st events and competitions in our stores and online starting 2^nd of October 2012

Delicious Chocolate and Orange Steamed Pudding for cold winter nights.

My memories of steamed puddings from my childhood are delicious warm sticky pudding with hot custard on a cold night.

The recipe below is a little more fiddly since the oranges need to be glazed but it is well worth the effort and it looks and tastes stunning. It also has the advantage of keeping well if you want to serve it over two nights. It can also serve up to 12 people depending on how generously you cut the slices.

I have an old fashioned steamed pudding bowl that has a hole in the middle and a lid that screws on the top. Otherwise use a stainless steel or ceramic mixing dish that is about 1.2 litres

Serves 8 - 12

Chocolate and Orange Steamed Pudding

200g demerara sugar

2 seedless oranges

200g unsalted butter, softened

200g muscovado sugar

Finely grated zest of one orange

3 tablespoons orange marmalade

3 eggs

150g plain flour

50g Devonport Chocolates dark cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Make a sugar syrup

Pour 300 ml water into a saucepan and add the sugar, Cook over a gentle heat until dissolved.

Thinly slice each unpeeled orange into 6 – 8 slices Submerge in the sugar syrup. Place a circle of parchment paper on top of the oranges in the pot and cook gently for 30 – 40 minutes. Lift the oranges out gently and place on a rack to drain.

Boil the syrup until it reduces by half (watch carefully – it is easy to turn into sticky toffee.

Butter the pudding bowl and place a disc of parchment paper in the base of the bowl. Place the best orange slice on top. If you are using the traditional bowl with the hole in the centre omit this step.

Line the bowl with the slices of orange.

Cream the butter, muscovado sugar and orange zest until light and fluffy. Add in the orange marmalade and an egg at a time. Sift the flour, baking powder cinnamon and cocoa into the mixture and fold in gently.

Spoon into the orange lined pudding bowl. It should come about three quarters of the way up the sides. Smooth the surface and cover with a disc of parchment paper.

Screw on the lid of the steamed pudding bowl otherwise follow the following directions:

Take a large sheet of foil and fold in half, make a pleat in the centre and place over the basin (the pleat will allow the pudding to expand). Tie the foil around the basin with string and cut away the excess foil.

Stand the basin on a trivet in a deep pot, (if you don’t have a trivet place a tea towel in the bottom of the pot.). Fill with water so it comes about 6cm up the side of the bowl. If you have too much boiling water it will enter the pudding bowl . Put the pot lid on and gently simmer for 2 hours, topping up with water if required.

Remove the lid or foil and insert a skewer in the pudding. If it comes out clean it is cooked. If not recover and steam for a little longer.

Loosen the pudding around the bowl with a thin knife, put a plate on top of the bowl and turnover. It should come out clean.

Trickle a little of the reserved syrup over the pudding. You don’t want the syrup coating the plate so judge it carefully as the pudding soaks up the syrup.

Serve with hot custard, icecream or cream.