Gin & Lime Chocolates

“Feeling sleepy after dinner? This will wake you up.”

Gin & Lime Chocolates

“Feeling sleepy after dinner? This will wake you up.”

Ingredients

  • 1Kg 70% dark couverture chocolate (400g for ganache, 600g for dipping)
  • 110 dark chocolate shells
  • 120ml double cream
  • 200g unsalted organic butter (room temp, chopped)
  • 120ml quality gin
  • 2 limes
  • 30g raw unsweetened pure cocoa butter
  • White cocoa butter
  • Green dust colour powder

Makes approx. 110 chocolates.

Gin & Lime Chocolates

Inspiration

Sponsorship Bribery

A while ago I’d offered round a draw at work. The idea was that people pitched in with a donation to my favourite charity, and in return their name went into a draw for any chocolate they wanted. The winner was the very last person to enter the draw, just as I was about to run it. The winner wanted some Gin & Lime Chocolates.

This was a new one for me. The last time I’d tried gin, I must have been no more than 20. When I so, I’m pretty sure my face screwed up and I wondered why anyone would drink it for pleasure. Well, it seems time has change my taste, because I tried a proper G&T, and it’s far more quaffable than I remember.

Trying Truffles

I retried this recipe recently as truffles, and it proved to be popular. They were a very simple affair really, just the ganache described here, rolled in cocoa powder. You get pretty much just the ganache this way, as pure as it gets, but I’m sure they work better as actual chocolates. Originally, white chocolate was used, with the inner being dark. I thought it would pair better with dark.

Let’s Decorate

So dark it was – but I still wanted a green decoration. Green cocoa butter was used to this end, but after a coat or two, it became plain this wasn’t going to show on the dark chocolate shell. Remembering back to recent training, a white base with colour added can work well, so that’s what happened. A temper of white cocoa butter, adding a a little dust powder proven ideal. Admittedly, the green colour is a little more pastel than I’d like, and doesn’t really scream lime, but it certainly shows, and helped me to practice the whole airbrushing thing.

Instructions

You will need to prepare 110 shells for these (chocolates are approx 30g each). I used pre-made shells and dipped them (see below).

Ganache

  1. Warm a large pan of water on the stove until steam rises from it.
  2. Put 400g of the chocolate and the cream into a heatproof pan over the top of the hot water. Slowly stir occasionally to melt the chocolate.
  3. Add the butter. Stir until it is all melted and you have a dreamy smooth liquid.
  4. Remove from the heat and continue to stir. Allow to cool to approx. 30C.
  5. Add the gin and lime gradually. Stir slowly as you do so.
  6. The mixture will now be cooled to approx. 26C.
  7. Pour into a piping bag and pipe into the shells.
  8. Leave overnight somewhere cool and dark (ideally below 16C). Does not need to be the fridge. This allows the ganache to thicken and crust over in the shells.
  9. Temper the remaining 600g chocolate, including the cocoa butter (to thin it a little for dipping).
  10. Cap off the shells, and then dip them once set (should be just 10 minutes or so).

Decoration

  1. Prepare the coloured cocoa butter in a microwave by tempering it.
  2. Pour a little into a warmed ramekin (to approx. 36C). Add a little green dust colour to suit your colour choice.
  3. Airbrush onto one side of the chocolates. Allow to set fully.
  4. Temper a little more dark chocolate (thinned a little), and drizzle it across each.

Next Time

The use of straight green on the dark chocolate was not obvious enough. The white base was a good idea, but I need to pay more attention to the colour next time. The colour I arrived at was arguably more mint than lime.