Lauren Amsterdams Chocolate Leaves Recipes

TY AMSTERDAM'S MUD PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add almonds, 7 tablespoons sugar, flour, salt, and orange zest. Pulse until well combined. Add butter and pulse until dough comes together and there are no lumps.
• Press dough into an 11-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom to create a crust about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer pie crust to oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Place 10 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate and 3 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate in a large bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/4 cups heavy cream to a boil over medium heat. Strain hot cream through a fine mesh sieve over chocolate. Stir ganache until melted and smooth. Add vanilla and stir until well combined.
• Strain chocolate mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the center of the cooled pie shell. Evenly spread chocolate with a spatula. Transfer to a refrigerator until chocolate has set.
• In a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, melt remaining 3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate and 7 ounces semisweet chocolate. In a small saucepan set over low heat, beat egg yolk mixture and 1 1/2 teaspoons of water together until thickened. Transfer melted chocolate to a large bowl, fold in egg yolks and coffee until well combined; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture.
• In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff. Gently fold into chocolate mixture.
• Spoon mixture on top of chilled ganache and spread evenly with a spatula. Transfer to refrigerator and chill overnight. Remove from tart pan and transfer to serving platter. Garnish platter with leaves and shovel, if desired. Serve pie at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE LEAVES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with waxed paper or parchment paper..
• Place the candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it until melted, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating.
• Dip the paintbrush in the melted candy coating and brush a thick layer of chocolate on the underside of the leaf. The underside typically has more pronounced veins, and will give you a better pattern on your leaves. Make sure that you're generous with the layer of candy coating-if it's too thin, the chocolate leaf will crack when you to remove it.
• Set the leaf, chocolate side up, on the waxed paper, and repeat with the remaining leaves. You can use different colors of candy coating to make a variety of leaves, if you'd like.
• Once all of the leaves are covered with chocolate, refrigerate the tray to set the coating, for about 20 minutes.
• When the chocolate is fully set, remove the tray from the refrigerator. Carefully peel the leaves back from the chocolate, trying not to handle the leaves too much to prevent your body heat from melting the chocolate.
• If you'd like to give your leaves a metallic shine, use luster dust to decorate them when they're finished. Dip a clean, dry paintbrush in luster dust, and brush a thin layer of dust along the edges. For a more dramatic look, brush a layer of dust over the entire leaf.

CHOCOLATE LEAVES

Steps:

• Place the metal leaf template onto parchment paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread bittersweet chocolate over the template. Remove the stencil and allow to harden. If you don't have a stencil, use a paintbrush to spread bittersweet chocolate over a real leaf on the shiny side, keeping the thickness to about 1/8-inch. Allow the chocolate to set completely then gently peel back the leaf from the chocolate.
• How to Temper Chocolate(From Dessert Circus, Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home by Jacques Torres):
• Chocolate is tempered so that after it has been melted, it retains its gloss and hardens again without becoming chalky and white (that happens when the molecules of fat separate and form on top of the chocolate). There are a variety of ways to temper.
• One of the easiest ways to temper chocolate is to chop it into small pieces and then place it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high power until most of the chocolate is melted. Be very careful not to overheat it. (The temperature of dark chocolate should be between 88 and 90 degrees F, slightly warmer than your bottom lip. It will retain its shape even when mostly melted. White and milk chocolates melt at a temperature approximately 2 degrees F less because of the amount of lactose they contain.) Any remaining lumps will melt in the chocolate's residual heat. Use an immersion blender or whisk to break up the lumps. Usually, chocolate begins to set, or crystallize, along the side of the bowl. As it sets, mix those crystals into the melted chocolate to temper it. A glass bowl retains heat well and keeps the chocolate tempered longer.
• Another way to temper chocolate is called seeding. In this method, add small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate, but is usually 1/4 of the total amount. It is easiest to use an immersion blender for this, or a whisk.
• The classic way to temper chocolate is called tabliering. Two thirds of the melted chocolate is poured onto a marble or another cold work surface. The chocolate is spread out and worked with a spatula until its temperature is approximately 81 degrees F. At this stage, it is thick and begins to set. This tempered chocolate is then added to the remaining non-tempered chocolate and mixed thoroughly until the mass has a completely uniform temperature. If the temperature is still too high, part of the chocolate is worked further on the cold surface until the correct temperature is reached. This is a lot of work, requires a lot of room, and makes a big mess.
• A simple method of checking tempering, is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been correctly tempered, it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within a few minutes.

CHOCOLATE LEAVES

Steps:

• 1. For chocolate leaves, brush melted chocolate on undersides of holly or lemon leaves (I have also used plastic leaves of different sizes). Place on wax paper lined baking sheet.
• 2. Refrigerate until firm, it only takes a few minutes.
• 3. Carefully peel off leaves (they will look like real leaves and will add a special garnish to your desserts. I make them up and keep on hand, You can add to a simple scoop of ice cream with some berries and whipped cream... very easy and beautiful presentation!
• 4. I don't waste a drop of the melted chocolate! I make little squiggly lines, circles of different sizes, dots... and save them for garnishes too!

GOLD-BRUSHED CHOCOLATE LEAVES

Steps:

• Line small baking sheet with foil. Stir chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Using pastry brush, carefully coat heavily veined sides of camellia leaves with melted chocolate. Using fingertips, wipe away any chocolate overflow from edges. Place leaves on prepared baking sheet. Freeze leaves just until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Carefully peel camellia leaves from chocolate leaves. Return chocolate leaves to baking sheet; freeze at least 10 minutes. Dip artist's brush into gold dust; brush generously over some leaves. Cover and freeze. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead.) Arrange leaves decoratively on cake and serve.

CHOCOLATE-MINT LEAVES

Steps:

• Using paintbrush, coat underside of 1 leaf with a thick layer of chocolate. Drape leaf, chocolate side up, over a skewer set on a parchment-lined baking sheet, top. Repeat. Refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes.
• Gently grasp each leaf with tweezers, and peel from chocolate. Use chocolate leaves to decorate as desired, or store, refrigerated, in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

CHOCOLATE LEAVES

Steps:

• Line large baking sheet with foil. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring until smooth and instant-read thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115°F. Brush chocolate over veined side (underside) of 1 leaf, coating thickly and completely. Arrange chocolate side up on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining leaves and chocolate, rewarming chocolate if necessary to maintain 115°F temperature. Chill leaves until firm, about 45 minutes. Starting at stem end, carefully pull back green leaf, releasing chocolate leaf; return leaves to same baking sheet. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.) Using small artist brush, carefully brush some leaves with gold dust, if desired.
• *Available at cake and candy supply stores, or by mail from Jane's Cakes and Chocolates at 800-262-7630.