Coconut Christmas Chocolates

For the coconut crumble: Before starting this Coconut Christmas Chocolates, place the sugar syrup 30° baumé in a bowl.

Add the desiccated coconut...

... and combine with the rubber spatula.

When homogeneous, transfer the preparation on a Silichef® perforated baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat.

Using the rubber spatula, spread the coconut preparation over the silicone mat...

... and bake in a fan-assisted oven at 180°C (gas 4) for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature.

For the crunchy coconut biscuit: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 or 30 seconds to make sure the chocolate doesn't burn.

Add the almond praline paste...

... and combine together.

Add 45 grams of coconut crumble to the chocolate preparation (it should have cooled down first).

Combine again with the maryse spatula until the crunchy coconut biscuit is homogeneous.

Transfer the crunchy coconut preparation on a sheet of greaseproof paper...

... and cover the preparation with another sheet of greaseproof paper and spread to a thickness of 3mm, using a rolling pin. Roll the rolling pin over the baking parchment on top.

Slide the baking parchment onto a baking sheet and store in the freezer until set.

For the chocolate spheres: Pour 2 or 3cl of white liqueur (kirsch, pear moonshine...) in a small bowl and add bronze iridescent colouring powder. The amount of colouring varies according to the colour intensity you wish to obtain.

Combine the elements with a decorating brush.

Using a decorating brush, apply bronze colouring in the cavities of a half sphere chocolate mould.

The colouring will spread easily in the cavities...

... and will turn into small drops almost instantly. Set the mould aside until the alcohol has completely evaporated (this will take a few minutes). The mould can be prepared in advance and stored at room temperature.

Prepare the ingredients for tempering the dark chocolate. I used the easy tempering technique with Mycryo cocoa butter.

Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave, working in periods of 20 or 30 seconds...

... stirring every time...

... as shown in the photo. Melt in the microwave again.

Repeat until the chocolate reaches between 45 and 50°C (ideal temperature for dark chocolate).

Make sure the temperature doesn't exceed 50°C. A laser thermometer is recommended for this operation.

Transfer the melted chocolate into a stainless steel bowl. Stainless steel is a cold material, so the chocolate will cool down quickly.

Stir constantly while monitoring the temperature of the chocolate. The chocolate is 45.8°C at this stage (the temperature should go down to 35°C).

Continue stirring with the rubber spatula.

The chocolate is 42.5°C at this stage.

Stir again...

... and check the temperature...

... until the temperature goes down to 35°C.

Sprinkle Mycryo cocoa butter over the surface of the melted dark chocolate.

Combine the ingredients carefully until the Mycryo cocoa butter has fully incorporated.

Continue stirring until the chocolate temperature cools down...

... to a temperature of 31°C (ideal temperature for dark chocolate). The chocolate is now tempered and must be used immediately, unless you have a chocolate melting machine to keep it warm.

Transfer the tempered chocolate into a piping bag. The use of a nozzle is not necessary.

Place the chocolate mould with the bronze colouring in the cavities on your workbench.

Pipe the chocolate inside the cavities of the half sphere mould.

Tap the sides of the mould with a chocolate spatula to get rid of any air bubbles.

Flip the mould over the bowl.

Tap the sides of the mould to let the excess chocolate drip off.

Scrape the surface of the chocolate mould with the spatula...

... and place the mould upside down on a sheet of greaseproof paper. Leave to crystallize. Set aside in a cool room (18°C).

For the coconut ganache: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Place the invert sugar and sorbitol into a saucepan.

Add the coconut cream 90%.

Bring the preparation to a boil while stirring regularly.

In the meantime, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave and stir every 20 to 30 seconds.

When the cream starts boiling, pour it slowly over the melted dark chocolate while stirring with the spatula to create an emulsion.

Continue stirring until the coconut cream is totally incorporated.

Transfer the chocolate preparation into a measuring glass or a deep, narrow recipient. Mix with a Bamix hand blender until smooth.

Transfer the coconut ganache into a piping bag (no nozzle required). Set aside. The preparation is ready to use when the temperature is 25°C.

When the ganache is 25°C, flip the half-sphere mould. The chocolate should be crystallized at this stage.

Take the crunchy coconut biscuit out of the freezer and remove the baking parchment on top.

Cut the crunchy coconut biscuit into small discs using a round cutter or a stainless steel nozzle Ø 2cm. You should proceed quickly before the biscuits starts to soften. Return to the freezer if necessary.

Scrape the surface of the mould with the spatula to remove any chocolate excess.

This is what the result should look like at this stage.

Fill the chocolate shells with the coconut ganache up to 3/4.

Detach the crunchy coconut discs with a mini cranked spatula...

... and arrange them in the centre of each half sphere, over the coconut ganache.

Cover the coconut biscuit discs with the remaining tempered chocolate...

... and even the surface with the chocolate spatula.

The result should be as shown in the photo. Leave to crystallize in a cool room at 18°C. Ideally, leave to crystallize overnight for best results.

The next day, flip the mould over a sheet of greaseproof paper. If the tempering was done correctly, the chocolate shapes should come off easily.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Assemble the half spheres to create whole spheres.

Return half of the chocolates into the chocolate mould.

Heat a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 150°C (gas 2) for 5 minutes until warm. Place the half spheres one by one on the warm baking sheet to melt the flat side of the chocolate half spheres.

Place the melted side in contact with the flat side of one the half spheres inside the mould. Both half spheres are assembled to create a whole sphere.

Repeat the operation until all half spheres are assembled into whole spheres.

The Christmas coconut chocolates are now ready. Leave to crystallize for a few minutes until the chocolate has set. Release the chocolates from the mould. These chocolates will keep well at room temperature in a cool room (between 18 and 20°C). Enjoy!