Christmas "Crack"

How many of you make Christmas "Crack" at this time of year? 

Most commonly it's made with a layer of saltine crackers covered in caramel (or toffee) and topped with chocolate. A number of variations exist, employing Ritz crackers, pretzels, or graham crackers as the base. Some people add sprinkles or chopped nuts to the chocolate layer, while others drizzle with white chocolate to decorate. Regardless, the end result delights the senses: sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy. It's very more-ish. 

My sister and I have made this a few times now, after finding a recipe on Pinterest. We've had mixed results. The first year, the caramel was more firm, but the second year it was very soft, sticky, and gooey. Both years, the treat had to be kept in the fridge to ensure the chocolate was set. 

As a chocolatier, I find the recipe to be infuriating, since it isn't written to promote success. It doesn't give the temperature to which the sugar should be cooked, and the method of applying the chocolate ensures it will not be in temper (and therefore will not properly solidify without refrigeration). And if refrigeration is necessary to keep the chocolate firm, then the caramel layer will get stickier and stickier, as the sugar (which is hygroscopic) attracts and absorbs moisture from the fridge. 

Now, maybe that's ok. Maybe people want more of a soft caramel than a toffee atop the crackers. Maybe people like the stretchy, sticky "caramel" layer? (My mother said she prefers it this way.) Maybe chocolate melting on your fingers as you break it apart is ok? (It's certainly tasty.) But if that's not what you're looking for, then read on!

There are so many recipes floating around the internet that it can be difficult to know which ones are good and which ones won't turn out. When it comes to Christmas "Crack," if it doesn't require you to have a candy thermometre (or tell you how test which cooked sugar stage you've reached), then you have to accept that the result will be hit or miss. This is basic science. The temperature to which sugar is cooked will determine its crystal structure -- the higher the temperature, the more firm it becomes. Cook it to soft ball and you've got a soft caramel or fudge texture, firm ball and you've got something more like a firm caramel or nougat. To achieve a snappy toffee or brittle texture, the sugar has to be cooked to hard crack -- and that can't be reached by boiling the sugar for only 30 seconds as our recipe indicated, nay, warned us not to surpass. (I admit, I ignored this warning and let it boil a few minutes longer than recommended, though I resisted the urge to break out a thermometre.) All to say, before you make your crack, it's worth considering whether you'd prefer a chewy caramel or crunchy toffee texture, and look for a recipe that supports that goal. 

Regarding the chocolate, some recipes tell you to sprinkle the chocolate over the top of the hot pan when it comes out of oven, while others tell you to melt it in the microwave and then spread it over the top. In either scenario, if you're using real chocolate, it will come out of temper (even if you melted it the right way to maintain temper), because the temperature is just too high. It will require refrigeration to solidify and it will likely experience bloom. You could let the crackers and cooked sugar cool for a few minutes before adding the chocolate (which is what we did), and as long as the chocolate was melted in a way that maintained its temper, then it will solidify at room temperature within about 5 minutes. (The way to do this is to melt the chocolate in the microwave in short bursts at 50% power (20-30 seconds each, stirring each time), stopping while there are still pieces of chocolate remaining, and letting the residual heat melt out those remaining pieces while stirring.) You'll have chocolate that doesn't melt when touched, can be kept at room temperature, and has a sheen to it (if that's your goal). Thus, before making your crack, it's worth considering whether you'd rather store it at room temperature or if you have room in your fridge to keep it, and proceed accordingly. 

It's worth pointing out that putting tempered chocolate atop toffee isn't without its own challenges. Sometimes the chocolate will separate from the toffee layer (I've experienced this after making almond roca). As a result, some chocolatiers choose to top toffee with melted chocolate (not tempered) because it will adhere better, but then sprinkle nuts over the top to hide the inevitable bloom that appears. There's no right or wrong here -- it's a choice to be made. And no one will fault you for more sprinkles or nuts!

All this said, the most important decision, in my opinion, is whether to make it or not, because, despite this blog post, if you choose to make Christmas "Crack" you really can't go wrong. Whether the toffee is chewy or brittle, whether the chocolate is tempered or not, the end result is delicious -- nay, addictive.

Tell me, have you tried making Christmas "Crack"? How did it turn out? 

Happy holidays everyone!

Candy-Filled Witches' Hats

Last night we hosted a small Halloween gathering. In advance of the soiree, we scoured the internet looking for holiday inspiration and flipped through a few party-planning books that I had forgotten I owned until going through boxes as part of my annual new (academic) year clean-up. After much deliberation, we settled on candy-filled witches' hats. 

First we painted the sugar cones with chocolate, dipped them in some sprinkles, and let them set. Then one at a time, we painted the "brim" of the hat (we used digestive cookies) with chocolate, filled the cone with our chosen candy (Reese Pieces of course!), and inverted the cookie brim onto the open end of the cone, holding it there for just a moment before quickly flipping the whole thing back so that it was point up and the chocolate could set. 

Now, once we mastered this manoeuvre, none of the candy fell out and in about 15 minutes they were set and sealed. But our first few attempts required the intervention of a knife to push a few wayward candies back under the cone. 

Making 8 of these, including setting time for the chocolate and clean up, took about an hour. And we did use compound chocolate to make life easier and avoid the additional time required for tempering.

These are certainly a cute option either as a sweet treat on the table display or popped in cellophane bags as a take-away from the party. I also think it would be fun to stuff these with pieces of cake and some frosting. 

Hope everyone has a spooktacular Halloween!

A Different Kind of Truffle

As we begin month 5 of this chocolate resolution, it's time to revisit the truffle. Admittedly, I'm going off book with this post (that is, I'm not reading Ewald Notter's The Art of the Chocolatier this week), but I thought it only right to share this off-the-beaten-path chocolate adventure.

I was invited to a theme party this weekend -- Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby combined -- and thought I should bring something chocolate to share. I searched for Mexican desserts and in one of those annoying list-style posts that give you 25+ photos pertaining to your search, each on its own page (click, click, click), I saw brigadeiros.

Now, let's be clear: I know that brigadeiros are a Brazilian dessert. But the idea stuck with me, so I went with it. Close enough geographically, says I (when in reality, it's not that close at all if you look at a map). I digress...

Brigadeiros are similar to truffles in that they are rolled confections, but there's no cream and they are made with cocoa powder instead of chocolate (i.e. with cocoa butter). The primary ingredient is sweetened condensed milk, which develops a caramel (dulce de leche) flavour when cooked. Based on my reading, I understand that the texture of a brigadeiro is more chewy than a ganache truffle (which should be smooth and creamy). 

Now, this is one of those recipes that always scares me a little. You put the ingredients into a pot and cook them on medium to medium high heat until the mixture achieves a fudge-like consistency. When they say you must stir constantly, they mean it -- the risk of ingredients burning is high. So, exhaust fan on bust, lest I set off the smoke detectors and evacuate the building, I began the process of cooking. 

It came together much quicker than expected. The recipe said 10-15 minutes, but by 6 I had reached what I thought was the right consistency. I removed the pot from the heat and immediately scraped the mixture onto a buttered plate to cool. Then I set the mixture, well wrapped, in the fridge for a day, because I read that it is best to roll the brigadeiros in sprinkles on the same day you will eat them so that the sprinkles maintain their crunch. 

Of course, I rolled two small samples. Quality assurance processes are important! To my palate, they needed something. Chris suggested more salt. I agreed and thought about doubling the amount of salt in the recipe if I ever made them again.  

Then the following day, I rolled these truffle-like confections. They mixture was incredibly easy to work with. In no time, 22 of them were lined up like soldiers awaiting their sprinkle coating. Thinking back to the need for more salt, I cracked pink Himalayan salt over them and gave them another quick roll to ensure the salt wouldn't fall off, and then rolled them in sprinkles. While the traditional brigadeiro is rolled in chocolate sprinkles, I also rolled some in multicoloured sprinkles that I had on hand to make them more appropriate for Cinco de Mayo. And then I dropped them in into paper cups to transport to the party.

The result?

As the description stated, they have a chewy texture. It's somewhere between a soft caramel and fudge, but not as sticky. Actually, they remind me of a molasses caramel I made during my professional chocolatier program that gave me a great deal of trouble. It tasted delicious, but it was so soft that the cut caramels slumped into irregular mounds in the 12 hours I left them before enrobing them in chocolate. I had to reform them all before I could complete my assignment! I'm writing this post before going to the party, so here's hoping the briagdeiros don't suffer the same fate!

The caramel notes in these "truffles" come through and the sprinkles give a nice texture contrast. And I think that the flavour has developed since I first tested them. 

Delicious, festive, and fun!

Arriba!