THE GREAT CHOCOLATE CANDY by Jordi Roca El Celler de Can Roca

Recipe for 8 persons

CACAO BARRY^® PRODUCTS USED IN THE RECIPE

/ Extra-bitter Guayaquil dark chocolate couverture 64% min cocoa
/ Praliné 55% Piemont Hazelnuts
/ Plein Arôme Cocoa Powder
/ Ocoa™ dark chocolate couverture 70% min cacao
/ Deodorized Cocoa Butter

CHOCOLATE SPONGE

/ 100 g butter
/ 240 g Extra-bitter Guayaquil dark chocolate couverture
/ 150 g pasteurized egg yolks
/ 225 g pasteurized egg whites
/ 50 g sugar

Heat the butter with the chocolate in the microwave to 45°C/113F. Let it rest for 5 min and then homogenize the mixture. Mix with the egg yolks and set aside. Whisks the egg whites with the sugar to form a smooth meringue. Fold through the chocolate mixture gently to avoid the meringue dropping. Place in a 25 x 20 cm mould and bake in the oven at 180°C/356F for 5 min. Then lower temperature to 160°C/320F

PRALINE SHOTS

/ 250 g cream
/ 50 g Praliné 55% Piemont Hazelnuts
/ 1 gelatin leaf
/ 5 g glycerine

Boil the cream with hazelnuts praliné. When the temperature drops to 40°C/104F, add the previously hydrated sheet of gelatin and glycerine. Leave to cool. Prepare a container with nitrogen. Place the mixture in a bottle and let some drops fall into the nitrogen. Collect the spheres that have been formed and keep in a polystyrene container in the freezer.

CHOCOLATE SHOTS

/ 250 g whipping cream
/ 5 g Plein Arôme Cocoa Powder
/ 10 g glycerine
/ 50 g Ocoa™ dark chocolate couverture
/ 1 gelatin leaf

Boil the chocolate, cocoa powder and cream together. Lower the temperature to 40°C/104F then add the hydrated gelatin and the glycerine. Leave to cool. Pour liquid nitrogen in a separate bowl. Put the praliné hazelnut cream in a bottle and squeeze drops into liquid nitrogen to create the chocolate pearls. Gather the pearls and put them in a polystyrene container in the freezer.

CHOCOLATE COULIS

/ 160 g whipping cream
/ 400 g sugar
/ 280 g water
/ 160 g Plein Arôme Cocoa Powder

Boil the whipping cream, water and sugar until it dissolves. Mix with cocoa and let it simmer until the mixture reaches 103°C/217,4F. Remove from heat, strain and reserve.

BLOWN SUGAR SPHERE

/ 500 g sugar
/ 250 g isomalt
/ 250 g glucose
 / 5 drops of citric acid solution at 50%

Boil the sugars to 150°C/302F, add the citric acid solution and raise the temperature to 160°C/320F. Pour onto a silicon mat and once the mixture is cool enough to handle fold it and stretch it 15 to 20 times to even out the heat. Repeat the folding and stretching process until it becomes smooth and glossy. Heat the tip of the air pump, place in the preheated ball and blow up to get the desired size, ensuring that the sugar layer is as thin as possible. Twist the sphere and melt the end shut with a culinary torch, propane torch or Bunsen burner. Cut away with scissors. Store away the spheres from any humidity or in an airtight container with silica gel.

CHOCOLATE BATH

/ 300 g of Deodorized Cocoa Butter
/ 300 g of Ocoa™ dark chocolate couverture

Melt together the butter and the dark chocolate and stir to mix. Cool to 30°C/86F and glaze the blown sugar sphere with it. Store away the spheres from any humidity or in an airtight container with silica gel.

BONBON FOAM

/ 300 g of whipping cream
/ 80 g of milk
/ 50 g of sugar
/ 0,5 g of xanthan gum

Bring the cream and milk to boil, add sugar, xanthan, egg yolks and mix well with a blender. Pour over the chocolate and praliné; let it rest for 5 min. When the mixture is at 4°C/39,2F. Add the egg whites and blend again with the blender to achieve a smooth cream. Place in a siphon and add 3 gas canisters. Set aside in the refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE SORBET

/ 700 g of water
/ 250 g of sugar
/ 40 g of inverted sugar
/ 60 g of glycerine
/ 150 g of Extrabitter Guayaquil dark chocolate couverture
/ 150 g of Plein Arôme Cocoa Powder

Boil water, sugar and inverted sugar. Pour it on chocolate and cocoa powder. Mix and when it drops to 4°C/104F add the glycerine, crush it and leave to mature. Put in the sorbet maker and store in the freezer.

FINISH AND ASSEMBLY

Place small sponge pieces on the base of the plate; the chocolate and praline shots on the sides. Within the blown sugar sphere, place a chocolate sorbet quenelle and very gently fill it with chocolate foam. Finish with the gold leaf and make different sizes drops with the chocolate coulis around the sphere.