Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Fudgy Nama Chocolates


When Nami posted the recipe for Nama Chocolates on her website Just One Cookbook, I read it and thought "Wow, making homemade Royce chocolates looks pretty easy. Just make chocolate truffles and cut them into squares instead of shaping them into balls." Now, why didn't I think of that? Royce chocolates hail from Japan and they have opened quite a number of stores around Asia. So far, I have only come across the Royce chocolate store at Takashimaya in Singapore, where I would usually walk past the display counter hoping that the salesperson standing behind would be offering free tasting samples (in miniscule 1 centimetre cubes). It was such a treat at the time (a long time ago!) when I considered them a luxury item, what more with a name like that.



Thanks to Nami for this recipe, I have made these chocolates twice already and shared them with friends and colleagues (otherwise the kids would definitely OD on chocolate with a few ensuing trips to the dentist and doctor!). The first time I made them with dark chocolate containing 45% cocoa butter, and they turned out fudgy and delicious, although not firm enough to be cleanly sliced into pieces, and had a tendency to stick to the knife. The second time, I used dark chocolate with 70% cooca butter, and the chocolate turned out much firmer and much easier to yield a clean cut. It's also great if you like your chocolates to be not so sweet. However, I found that with the higher percentage of cocoa butter, the chocolate tends to split quite easily, and that's where you'll see the oil start to separate. I might have heated up the cream too much, or perhaps the saucepan I was using retained too much heat even after I turned it off  the dropped the chocolates in. The next time I make these, I might mix both the 70% and 45% chocolate, and pour the heated cream into the chocolates in a separate bowl instead.

Nama Chocolates
Adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

400g dark chocolate (between 45% - 70%, up to your preference)
200ml thickened cream
Liquer of your choice (or use vanilla extract if you like)
Cocoa  powder to dust

Method

  1. Break up or chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place them in a medium heatproof bowl.
  2. Line a 8 inch square baking tin with baking paper.
  3. Heat up cream in a saucepan until it almost reaches a boil. Turn off the heat when bubbles start appearing around the edges of the saucepan.
  4. Pour the cream onto the chocolates, making sure the chocolates are covered in the cream. Let it sit for about 2-3 minutes so that the chocolate starts to melt. Stir until smooth and well combined.
  5. Pour the chocolate mixture into the lined baking tin and smooth out the surface. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours until firm.
  6. Use a warm knife (dipped into hot water and wiped dry) and slice the chocolates into 1 inch squares/rectangles. Dust the top (and sides if you like) with cocoa powder. Serve chilled. Refrigerate leftovers, if any. Enjoy with friends and family!

22 comments:

Reem | SImply Reem said...

This looks fabulous, I remember Nami post too..
God these are making me drool.. I am an absolute chocoholic!!

Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar said...

These look wonderfully delicious! Mmm mmm.

Mel said...

They look very well and beautifully made. Good as a gift too.

Yummy Bakes said...

Wow ... they really do fabulous! I wish I could reach for one of them.

Cuisine Paradise said...

Gosh! Those are gorgeous! It look fabulous for homemade!!!!

Anonymous said...

How did I not see these on Nami's site?! Can't wait to give 'em a try, thanks for sharing! They look absolutely delish! =]

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

I think dark chocolate is harder to deal with, but I do love dark chocolate more so I always use it. Another thing I learned is that if there is even a tiny bit of water goes inside the dark chocolate, it will split. One time I washed the spatula and quickly wiped but not completely and my chocolate split after I used the spatula... Your nama chocolate looks beautiful, Fern! Thank you so much for linking back to me. :-)

Sam Bear said...

Your Nama chocolates look so pretty! I made them before and I also had that problem of oil splitting - what I did that helped was to put the mixture into a fridge for half an hour, taking it out and stirring the oils back in again =] Try that next time if it splits for you!

Fern @ To Food With Love said...

@Nami: Thanks for the lovely recipe, again! :)

@Sam Bear: Thanks for the tip. I'll try that next time! I'd hate to throw out a whole lot of good chocolate :)

Sonia said...

looking amazing !

LoLy said...

WOW, It looks amazing, I wish I could have a bite :p

XXX
Loly
you are welcome to visit my blog :)
http://abudhabifood.blogspot.com

Juliana said...

Beautifully done Fren...very elegant looking these nama chocolates.
Have a great weekend :)

A Little Yumminess said...

So why didnt I think of this? We make truffles but always round ones...

myfudo said...

This looks really awesome. My husband (who is fond of chocolates, and travels around Asia alot) said there are new Royce stores in Shanghai and Taiwan. Great! There'd be another chocolatey treat in the making.

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Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I saw this in Nami blog too, and you have also done it so well, simply beautiful..

Sook said...

Fern, I would love a bite of this treat... Yum!

Anonymous said...

Hi Fern

Wow your nama chocolate looks real tempting! =) Can I know what brand of thickened cream do you use for this? Did you add alcohol to your nama choco?

Fern @ To Food With Love said...

@Anonymous: Any thickened cream will do, they are pretty much similar. I didn't add alcohol to the chocolate so that it's kid-friendly :-)

Anonymous said...

Does the bitterness of chocolate reduce after adding cream? My sister prefers milk chocolate..does is affect the texture and does it melt easily if I use milk choc?

Fern @ To Food With Love said...

If you use 49% cocoa dark chocolate it's not bitter. If you use all milk chocolate, it won't set firm.

ana said...

I tried this recipe, but the chocolate was too goey to work with, even after leaving it overnight in the freezer :(

Fern @ To Food With Love said...

hi Ana,
Did you use dark chocolate and follow the measurements in the recipe? It will harden after refrigeration overnight and should be firm enough to cut into pieces with a knife.