V-Day Chocolate: Past/Present
More than 20 years ago I found a recipe for chocolate truffles. I was pregnant and had just moved to a new neighborhood where I hardly knew anyone. I liked chocolate and I had lots of time. I figured why not add Chocolatier to my list of new identities?
I tinkered with the recipe and crafted a whole line of dessert-themed truffles in the early aughts, when that kind of thing was a novelty. It was an eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-head situation, which I found thrilling.
I operated under the nom-de-plume Roxy Chocsmith. It was kinda fun, but really it was a lot of late nights alone bent over the counter, praying the chocolate would hold its temper. It was troubleshooting ganache and holding my breath that the new flavor addition would not result in unsightly mottling. It was numbingly dull assembly line packaging, despite being a one-woman show.
It was being a moody, grumpy, sleepless bitch the entire week before Valentine’s Day.
Long story short: The Chocolatier did not hold her temper, and before V-Day 2016 called the whole thing off.
It’s taken me this long to contemplate making chocolate on February 14, and only because I could incorporate it into a Lesson Plan (Past Simple).
As committed as I am to my students learning there was no way I was going to go full truffle mode, what with the ganache and the tempered chocolate and carefully curated toppings. No thanks. I decided it was great opportunity to also teach the concept of a “hack” as in: shortcut,
Say hello to Brownie Bliss Bombs. Brownies crumbled down and mixed with chocolate frosting to a soft smooth consistency, rolled into truffle-like balls, and then dunked in a melted mix of chocolate chips (courtesy of the microwave). OK sure, it’s not as fine or precious as those temperamental truffle fucks, but still an enjoyable chocolate experience. My chocolate past is not simple, but the present is.
1 batch of brownies
1/2 cup chocolate frosting (more or less depending on your preferred consistency)
2 cups of chocolate chips (I usually go for an uneven mix of milk and bittersweet), melted*
Crumble brownies down, mix in frosting so that the brownie crumbs will hold together after an hour or so in fridge.
Roll into bite-sized balls
Dunk in melted chocolate until covered. Using a fork or spoon lift brownie balls and scrape excess chocolate off the side of the bowl. Let chocolate on the brownie bombs harden on a parchment-lined sheet pan or tray.
