Chocolates with Praline Filling

Before starting this Chocolates with Praline Filling recipe, organise the necessary ingredients for the tempering process.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, working in periods of 1 minute. Make sure you don't melt the chocolate for too long so it doesn't burn. Stir the chocolate during every interval until melted completely.

Stir the melted chocolate with a rubber spatula. At this stage, the temperature should be between 40 and 45°C maximum. The use of a laser thermometer is recommended for this operation.

Wait until the temperature goes down to 35°C. To speed things up, transfer the chocolate from one bowl to the other.

The temperature is gradually cooling down (38.2°C in the picture).

Combine well with a rubber spatula until cooled down to the desired temperature. Try to combine constantly.

The temperature is now at 35.4°C.

Add Mycryo cocoa butter (1% of the total weight of chocolate). We need 5 grams for this recipe. Sift the powder through a fine sieve.

Combine the Mycryo cocoa butter carefully with a rubber spatula and incorporate to the warm chocolate.

Continue stirring while monitoring the temperature. Milk chocolate needs to cool down to 28°C.

You will notice the temperature is slowly cooling down...

... 30.6°C...

... 29.4°C...

... 28,9°C...

... and eventually the desired 28°C.
The process and temperatures are exactly the same for white chocolate. The difference with dark chocolate is the final temperature (31°C instead of 28°C).

Fill the cavities of the mould of your choice. For this recipe I used a chocolate mould with swirled round shapes. No matter what mould you use, make sure the cavities are deep.

Fill the cavities up to the top, even overflowing a little. From now on, the chocolate should be maintained at a temperature of 28°C.

Using the handle of a chocolate spatula, tap on the sides of the mould to remove air bubbles. This will prevent the formation of air bubbles on the surface of the chocolates.

Flip the mould over the chocolate bowl to empty the cavities. Let the chocolate to drip off.

Tap the side of the mould with the spatula to get rid of the excess.

Place the mould on your workbench and scrape the surface with the spatula to remove any chocolate excess.

Leave to crystallize for now.

Flip the mould onto a sheet of greaseproof paper...

... and leave to cool at room temperature.

For the praline filling: Organise all the ingredients.

In a bowl, place the Mycryo cocoa butter or cocoa butter mass. Both types can be used for this recipe. Add the dark and milk chocolate. Melt in the microwave.

Combine the melted cocoa butter and chocolate together carefully with a rubber spatula.

In a separate bowl, place the almond and hazelnut praline paste...

... add the artisanal hazelnut paste...

... and combine with the spatula.

Add the chocolate and cocoa butter preparation...

... and combine with the rubber spatula.

The preparation should be around 25°C.

Transfer the preparation in a piping bag...

... close the bag...

... and lay it flat on the worktop surface.

At this stage, the chocolate is partially crystallized. You might notice some chocolate shells are already detached from the mould, thanks to the see-through material. This means the tempering process has been done correctly.

Flip the mould on your workbench...

... with the cavities facing up.

Using the chocolate spatula, scrape the surface of the mould.

Cut the tip of the bag containing the praline filling in order to obtain a diameter of 0.5 cm. Fill all cavities and leave a 3mm gap on top. This gap is important to close the shell.

At this point, the chocolates should look like this. Place in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes.

Take the mould out of the fridge when the filling has set.

Cover all the cavities with a layer of tempered chocolate...

... using a piping bag for a more precise operation.

Tap with the spatula handle to get rid of air bubbles.

Scrape the surface again.

Leave to crystallize in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Take the mould out of the fridge and flip it on your workbench. Slightly twist the mould to release the chocolates. The chocolate should come away from the mould very easily.

Collect all the chocolates...

... and store them in the fridge.

Enjoy these delicious chocolates! They should have a glossy finish without any white marks.