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Cocoa Clouds
Chocolatier
Feb/Mar 1994
Cocoa almond crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup blanched whole almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon ice water
Milk chocolate almond filling:
Five 3.52-oz. bars Toblerone Swiss milk chocolate with
honey and
almond nougat
3 tablespoons unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Cocoa cream:
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened alkalized cocoa, sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cocoa, for garnish
Make the cocoa almond crust:
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to
350 degrees F.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade, place the
flour, sugar, almonds, cocoa powder and salt. Process the dry ingredients for 30 to 45
seconds, until the almonds are coarsely chopped. Add the butter pieces and the vanilla
extract to the bowl and pulse the mixture 5 or 6 times until incorporated but still
crumbly. Add the ice water and pulse a few more times to form a dough.
2. Divide the dough mixture (it will still be crumbly) among six
4 1/2-inch tartlette pans with removable bottoms. Using your fingertips, press the
dough
into the bottom and up the sides of each pan. Place the tartlette
pans
on a baking sheet;
place the sheet in the freezer for 45 minutes.
3. Remove the tartlette shells from the freezer. Cover the pans
with a sheet
of aluminum foil, pressing the foil against the bottom and sides of each pan.
Fill each pan, over the foil, with ceramic pie weights or dried beans. Bake the tartlette
shells for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. Return the shells
to the oven and bake
an additional 10 minutes. Cool the tartlette shells on a wire rack completely.
Make the milk chocolate almond filling:
4. Break the Toblerone bars up into pieces, following the bars'
indentations, and place the pieces into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal
chopping blade. Add the cocoa to the bowl and process the chocolate for 30 to 45 seconds,
until finely ground. Transfer the chocolate to a medium bowl.
5. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a gentle boil. Pour the
hot cream over the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate.
Gently whisk until smooth. Stir in the almond extract. Remove
1 1/2 cups of the filling to
another medium bowl. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap and allow them to stand at room
temperature for 3 hours.
Fill the cocoa clouds:
6. Using a hand-held electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the
reserved
1 1/2 cups of filling for 1 to 2 minutes, until light in color and fluffy. Scrape
the unwhipped filling onto the tartlette shells, dividing it evenly. Use a small metal
cake spatula to smooth the filling into an even layer in the bottom of each shell. Scrape
the whipped mixture over this filling, dividing it evenly
and smoothing
it into an even
layer on each shell.
Make the cocoa cream:
7. In a chilled, medium bowl, stir together the cream, sugar, cocoa
and
vanilla extract (the mixture will not be cohesive). Using a hand-held electric mixer
set at medium-high speed, beat the mixture until stiff peaks just start
to form. Cover and
refrigerate the cocoa cream until up to 2 hours before serving the cocoa clouds.
Garnish the cocoa clouds:
8. Remove the tartlettes from the pans. Fill a pastry bag fitted
with a medium star tip (such as Ateco #5) with the cocoa cream. Pipe the cream in a shell
pattern over the filling on each tartlette, covering it completely. Place each cocoa cloud
on a dessert plate. Dust lightly with cocoa. Serve immediately
or refrigerate for up to 2
hours before serving.
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