What should I do with over 1lb of chocolate shavings?
January 9, 2010 8:43 AM Subscribe
What should I do with over 1lb of chocolate shavings?
I have an enormous slab of Belgian chocolate brought back from Belgium that was terribly difficult to hew bits off to eat, what with the slab being about 2 inches thick. Yesterday I sat down and spent a long time chipping bits off it to make it edible, the result of which means I now have over 1lb of what is effectively chocolate shavings.
The chocolate is heavenly, and to be honest I could just sit there with a spoon and eat my way through it, but I feel there must be some better use to which I could put this wonderful-tasting chocolate conveniently chopped into small, meltable pieces.
Thoughts? Give me recipes!
I have an enormous slab of Belgian chocolate brought back from Belgium that was terribly difficult to hew bits off to eat, what with the slab being about 2 inches thick. Yesterday I sat down and spent a long time chipping bits off it to make it edible, the result of which means I now have over 1lb of what is effectively chocolate shavings.
The chocolate is heavenly, and to be honest I could just sit there with a spoon and eat my way through it, but I feel there must be some better use to which I could put this wonderful-tasting chocolate conveniently chopped into small, meltable pieces.
Thoughts? Give me recipes!
Mix it into vanilla ice cream.
posted by Jaltcoh at 8:48 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Jaltcoh at 8:48 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: OK this is the best truffle recipe on Earth:
Recipe for 4 dozen truffles, probably 3 dozen of mine bc i make 'em big:
-1 Tb instant coffee, disolved in 1/4 c water
-9 oz semisweet chocolate
-3 egg yolks
-1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces
-1/4 c myers rum or grand marnier
- unsweetened cocoa
- powdered sugar
- Chop chocolate into pieces, put in in a double broiler with the coffee,
and melt, while stirring.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks. add 1/2 c chocolate mixture to
them, beat well, and add back to the chocolate in the pan. Beat well for
2 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes, and then gradually beat in butter, one
or two pieces at a time. Make sure no butter is visible, and add the
rum/grand marnier.
- Refrigerate one and a half hours (or longer if you're making multiple
recipes), until firm enough to do the next step.
- Scoop up truffles with a teaspoon and drop them onto a cookie sheet.
they will be sticky blobs with no particular shape.
- Refrigerate for at least half an hour, but probably not more than an hour
and a half.
- Combine two parts cocoa and one part powered sugar in a lidded container
(i like a glass jar). Probably 1/4 c cocoa and 1/8 c powered sugar will
be enough. Drop truffles into mix, put on lid, shake to coat, and the
pluck them out and quickly roll them into a ball with the palms of your
hands. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. I also sometimes keep
a jar of cocoa/sugar around to freshen them up when needed.
posted by ORthey at 8:49 AM on January 9, 2010 [6 favorites]
Recipe for 4 dozen truffles, probably 3 dozen of mine bc i make 'em big:
-1 Tb instant coffee, disolved in 1/4 c water
-9 oz semisweet chocolate
-3 egg yolks
-1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces
-1/4 c myers rum or grand marnier
- unsweetened cocoa
- powdered sugar
- Chop chocolate into pieces, put in in a double broiler with the coffee,
and melt, while stirring.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks. add 1/2 c chocolate mixture to
them, beat well, and add back to the chocolate in the pan. Beat well for
2 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes, and then gradually beat in butter, one
or two pieces at a time. Make sure no butter is visible, and add the
rum/grand marnier.
- Refrigerate one and a half hours (or longer if you're making multiple
recipes), until firm enough to do the next step.
- Scoop up truffles with a teaspoon and drop them onto a cookie sheet.
they will be sticky blobs with no particular shape.
- Refrigerate for at least half an hour, but probably not more than an hour
and a half.
- Combine two parts cocoa and one part powered sugar in a lidded container
(i like a glass jar). Probably 1/4 c cocoa and 1/8 c powered sugar will
be enough. Drop truffles into mix, put on lid, shake to coat, and the
pluck them out and quickly roll them into a ball with the palms of your
hands. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. I also sometimes keep
a jar of cocoa/sugar around to freshen them up when needed.
posted by ORthey at 8:49 AM on January 9, 2010 [6 favorites]
Melt gently in the microwave, spread into bar shape, enjoy. Chocolate is tricky to melt, so use low power and short times.
posted by theora55 at 8:52 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by theora55 at 8:52 AM on January 9, 2010
Oh and this is the best chocolate mousse I've ever made.
posted by ORthey at 8:56 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ORthey at 8:56 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Chocolate is tricky to melt is an understatement. The process of melting real chocolate is called tempering, and best described as putzy. The process keeps the fats happy to let it harden again, maintain a good lustre, and prevent blooming (the ugly, but non-damaging, whitening of old chocolate in hot stores).
If you want to fake it, I recommend faking a double boiler on the stove-top (pot, water, glass bowl, chocolate) instead of the microwave. Failure will lead to either burning (too much power or time) or never setting up (not tempering properly). Microwaves are more challenging because you can't keep stirring, and it's easy to lose the chocolate on the edges. theora55, if you have gotten good at this, more power to you.
Back to the point, to me, the hot chocolate idea is best. Truffles would be second, because you can make them from blocks easily. If the above recipe looks like work, "melt chocolate and add heavy cream" is sufficient. About 1:1 is good for a runny mixture (used to fill something with a hard outside), maybe 3:1 for something more like chocolate clay (roll in your hands, then drop in powdered sugar, cocoa, or nuts).
posted by whatzit at 9:01 AM on January 9, 2010
If you want to fake it, I recommend faking a double boiler on the stove-top (pot, water, glass bowl, chocolate) instead of the microwave. Failure will lead to either burning (too much power or time) or never setting up (not tempering properly). Microwaves are more challenging because you can't keep stirring, and it's easy to lose the chocolate on the edges. theora55, if you have gotten good at this, more power to you.
Back to the point, to me, the hot chocolate idea is best. Truffles would be second, because you can make them from blocks easily. If the above recipe looks like work, "melt chocolate and add heavy cream" is sufficient. About 1:1 is good for a runny mixture (used to fill something with a hard outside), maybe 3:1 for something more like chocolate clay (roll in your hands, then drop in powdered sugar, cocoa, or nuts).
posted by whatzit at 9:01 AM on January 9, 2010
Flourless (or near flourless) chocolate cakes. (They should be baked the day before, or, at a minimum, the morning before.)
Hazelnut fudge torte (my favourite)
2/3 cup hazelnuts, skinned, toasted and ground
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 T ground coffee beans
1 cup butter
7 oz (200 g) semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 T coffee liqueur
4 eggs
Combine hazelnuts, flour and coffee beans and set aside. Melt butter and chocolate, let cool to warm room temperature, then add sugar. Mix liqueur and eggs well, add to chocolate mixture. Add dry ingredients. Bake in prepared round 9" pan at 350 for 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Can be glazed with a nice ganache or left plain.
Flourless chocolate cake
Melt 200g of butter with 200g of good quality dark chocolate. Add 250g of sugar, and let cool. Then add 5 eggs one by one, mixing well with a spoon after each. Add a rounded tablespoon of ground nuts.
Bake for 25 minutes at 400 in an 8" pan.
posted by jeather at 9:03 AM on January 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
Hazelnut fudge torte (my favourite)
2/3 cup hazelnuts, skinned, toasted and ground
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 T ground coffee beans
1 cup butter
7 oz (200 g) semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 T coffee liqueur
4 eggs
Combine hazelnuts, flour and coffee beans and set aside. Melt butter and chocolate, let cool to warm room temperature, then add sugar. Mix liqueur and eggs well, add to chocolate mixture. Add dry ingredients. Bake in prepared round 9" pan at 350 for 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Can be glazed with a nice ganache or left plain.
Flourless chocolate cake
Melt 200g of butter with 200g of good quality dark chocolate. Add 250g of sugar, and let cool. Then add 5 eggs one by one, mixing well with a spoon after each. Add a rounded tablespoon of ground nuts.
Bake for 25 minutes at 400 in an 8" pan.
posted by jeather at 9:03 AM on January 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
For any of the above cake ideas, cover in a thin layer of frosting then pat on a thick layer of shavings on all sides. Sprinkle with food glitter, available at Michael's or similar stores, for a spectacular, impressive look. Then hold a dinner party so all your friends can ooh and ahh at your skill.
posted by Night_owl at 9:09 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by Night_owl at 9:09 AM on January 9, 2010
Best answer: I think the hot cocoa idea is spot on: put the shavings in a big tin or jar, and then when you want hot cocoa, just heat up the milk and add 3 tablespoons per cup. Since it's shavings, it should melt in pretty quickly.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:13 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:13 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Chocolat Chaud! It's a little more involved than a simple hot chocolate, but it is well worth it - the step with the stick blender is key; it makes an unbelievably thick & creamy drink. Not something you'd want to have terribly often, but it's a real treat on a cold or drizzly day.
posted by usonian at 9:19 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by usonian at 9:19 AM on January 9, 2010
Response by poster: Gosh. Now I'm regretting I only have 1lb to use in these recipes! Hot chocolate and truffles look like definite winners for the moment. Yum!
posted by bent back tulips at 9:45 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by bent back tulips at 9:45 AM on January 9, 2010
You could use it to make chocolate cheesecake.
This recipe was easy and successful but I'm sure there are endless possible variations.
posted by Erberus at 9:59 AM on January 9, 2010
This recipe was easy and successful but I'm sure there are endless possible variations.
posted by Erberus at 9:59 AM on January 9, 2010
This Christmas I made chocolate-covered potato chips. Everyone loved them. I used Lays salted potato chips and good quality Swiss milk chocolate bars.
I melted the chocolate on top of the stove and then carried the double boiler over to the table where the chips were already placed on a cooling rack with a layer of wax paper underneath to catch the drips. I used my spatula to gently brush the chips with chocolate on both sides before laying them back down on the rack. The chocolate stayed liquid for a surprisingly long time. When I ran out of rack space and good-sized chips, I used up the rest of the chocolate by tossing in about a cup of broken chips, stirring gently, and then pouring out onto the wax paper to make potato chip bark. I actually preferred the bark to the individual chips but it looks sort of....lumpy so I didn't give out any as a gift. Sadly, I just finished the last of it last night. As soon as I work off those extra Christmas pounds, I will have to make some more.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:42 AM on January 9, 2010
I melted the chocolate on top of the stove and then carried the double boiler over to the table where the chips were already placed on a cooling rack with a layer of wax paper underneath to catch the drips. I used my spatula to gently brush the chips with chocolate on both sides before laying them back down on the rack. The chocolate stayed liquid for a surprisingly long time. When I ran out of rack space and good-sized chips, I used up the rest of the chocolate by tossing in about a cup of broken chips, stirring gently, and then pouring out onto the wax paper to make potato chip bark. I actually preferred the bark to the individual chips but it looks sort of....lumpy so I didn't give out any as a gift. Sadly, I just finished the last of it last night. As soon as I work off those extra Christmas pounds, I will have to make some more.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:42 AM on January 9, 2010
I had hot chocolate made with this recipe last night. Far and away the best I've ever had.
6 oz heavy cream
2 oz milk
2.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2.5 tablespoons of shaved chocolate
posted by MsMolly at 11:11 AM on January 9, 2010
6 oz heavy cream
2 oz milk
2.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2.5 tablespoons of shaved chocolate
posted by MsMolly at 11:11 AM on January 9, 2010
We made chocolate-shaving cookies (with the Tollhouse recipe) and they were ever so nice.
posted by nicwolff at 11:19 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by nicwolff at 11:19 AM on January 9, 2010
if you want to get more chocolate in giant bars or other bulk forms, this is a great source with fairly typical prices.
posted by cubby at 11:55 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by cubby at 11:55 AM on January 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
You can use 3oz to frost cupcakes with this chocolate glaze and/or you can use 2oz to make these awesome brownies.
Or you could just melt a bunch of it in a double boiler and dip pretzels in it, setting them on wax paper to harden. Chocolate covered pretzels!
posted by geeky at 7:33 PM on January 9, 2010
Or you could just melt a bunch of it in a double boiler and dip pretzels in it, setting them on wax paper to harden. Chocolate covered pretzels!
posted by geeky at 7:33 PM on January 9, 2010
This chocolate pudding recipe is easy -- I have made it several times on the spur of the moment, at other people's houses -- and so delicious. It impresses people way more than it should, too, to make chocolate pudding from scratch.
posted by librarina at 6:28 AM on January 11, 2010
posted by librarina at 6:28 AM on January 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by availablelight at 8:46 AM on January 9, 2010