In which two chocolatiers craft a bonbon in their heads in verse over email.
[Rich] Nibbling pineapple with oolong milk tea and the pairing pleases me. Slight tart, slight sweet, low acidity. It would make a nice bonbon but what chocolate should it be? (not that I have many choices; the flavors are just voices)
A little tart, a little sweet, a little milky, but crisp and neat. Not too bold, not too fruity. Puerto Rico milk, around 65%?
[Leaf] Fresh pineapple or dried? Since quite the difference it’ll make. I too have pineapple though I am sure not as ripe.
Something milk to enhance the milk that isn’t there would be nice, you’re right, but you could if you chose use dark. A little edge. Peru Ucayali would simple; a little fruit a little dark. Or perhaps add more… More flavors, more milk, more Almendra dark milk; a bit nutty (aren’t we all?) Tart pineapple, warm round tea sounds pretty good to me.
[Rich] Pineapple from Costa Rica (and so am I now, but today pineapple and I are hanging together in the Olympia gray) fresh, not tart; Costa Rica pineapples are different that way. The strong fruit and dark of Ucayali would clash with the tea, which is mellow and rich (and so have I been always, in a way). Nuttish Almendra’s a pleasant thought. Fresh turmeric will bring them together.
And still one final touch to make it true. I’ll leave that choice to you.
[Leaf] Ah I see, no flavors to taste. Adds a fun challenge to that game we’ve played many times before.
Alemendra it is then, Dark Milk it’ll be. A fruity pineapple; sweetness has been implied? Milky tea and turmeric bring out those earthy tones. And to finish? I’d say let’s go simple: A bite of salt (a little crunch for texture, too) round out those flavors, or rather brighten them up and let them all shine through. To the finished pieces as they’re enrobed.
[Rich] And a splash of Almond Extract at the end. But not quite finished yet. Molded or Truffles, Rochers or Something else?
[Leaf] I want them to be Truffles; Ganache forward, Pineapple pronounced (Then no one can forget it), Turmeric lingering, Tea–Milk oolong delicately placed with care, salt sat beside for crisp and crunch.
Then they will guide, take the eater (reader) on a flavor tour. As for the finish,n othing lavish. Let the tea speak its visuals–Airbrush low, dusting with gold. These ask for the obvious since the rest is less so.
[Rich] A kilo of ganache?
[Leaf] Recipe to yield 1kg of ganache
500 grams chocolate (Alemendra, as we so chose)
500 grams remain for the liquid portion (Much harder when typing rather than writing):
75% is liquid so 375g is what we need. The cream was stepped long with the milky tea, cold and then hot so it’s pleasantly strong. For a pineapple bonbon let’s use some math: 75% becomes 45 and 30 (still percents but poetry takes liberties), so 225 grams of pineapple (Pineapple in a pineapple bonbon? How novel you say) And 150 grams of happy cow cream (I say that is where the turmeric goes best).
15% glucose if I am not mistaken: 75 very sticky grams. 10% remain: 50g inverted sugar to catch and hold the water if it wishes to depart. Final touches here and there, and remember to steep the spice.
Fresh Pineapple Truffles
| 500g | Mexico Almendra Blanca dark milk chocolate 60-70% |
| 225g | Fresh pineapple (gently cooked 15-20 minutes and pureed) |
| 150g | Fresh cream steeped two days with minced fresh turmeric and milk oolong tea leaves |
| 75g | Glucose syrup |
| 50g | Invert sugar or honey |
| A splash of almond extract | |
| Chocolate for enrobing (something fruity, like Puerto Rico dark, though a white would also be nice. Best would be to enrobe first in Puerto Rico then second in white) | |
| Coarse sea salt to sprinkle on the truffles after the first enrobe |
This is a Masterclass, so we assume you know how to make the ganache. If not, you might consider our Recipe Development for Chocolatiers – Ganache class through Ecole Chocolat.