We are frequently asked whether our Dammenberg chocolate is suitable for cooking with: the quick answer is 'yes', but in the interest of backing up this claim, I am planning on working my way through a range of recipes to prove this for myself. With this in mind, I recently purchased a chocolate mould and had a go at creating my own chocolates. The results (shown here) are not quite up to a professional standard (hopefully something a little practise on my part can fix), but taste amazing.
Ingredients:
Organic Raisins
Method:
Melt the chocolate in a pyrex bowl in the microwave (approx. 60 seconds in a 800W oven, try 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each time).
Pour the melted chocolate into the moulds filling up to 2/3 of the mould.
Add 4-6 raisins to each chocolate and use a spoon to bury them into the mould.
Finish with a little more chocolate (if required) to fill the mould to the top.
Tap the filled tray quite sharply to remove any air bubbles (easier with a rigid tray).
Place in the fridge for 20-30min to set.
Results:
For such a fast, simple method, my husband and I were amazed at the results: these little chocolates, (reminiscent of Rolos, if only because of their shape and size), were incredibly addictive
. The milk chocolate and raisins worked really well together and the chocolate set quickly back to its former shiny finish. All I need to do now is perfect the art of removing the air bubbles!
Variations:
As a follow-up to this success, I also tried soaking some raisins overnight in rum, before adding these to the chocolates. Again this worked well, giving the chocolates a little grown-up festive twist, though I have to say, I personally preferred the 'virgin' versions of these raisin chocolates. Maybe I should try some other alcohols...
