Put your weekend to good use: Turn out a divine batch of Chef Sushant Parab's Chocolate Praline Easter Eggs.
This recipe can be utilised to make simply pralines too for any occasion.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Hotel Sahara Star
Chocolate Praline Easter Eggs
Servings: 30
Ingredients
- 100 gm heavy cream
- 300 gm white chocolate
- 50 gm coconut cream
- 30 gm desiccated coconut
- 50 gm gulkand paste or preserve of rose petals
- 50 gm dry rose petals
- 50 gm pistachio paste, available online
- 50 gm pistachio, finely chopped
- 30 small round chocolate shells, halved (please see the note below)
- Tempered chocolate
Method
- Place the white chocolate in a bowl and microwave it for 30-60 seconds to soften it.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, simmer the cream and pour it over the white chocolate.
Whisk until well combined.
Divide the ganache into three parts.
Add the coconut cream into one part, the gulkand paste into the second part, and the pistachio paste into the third part.
Mix each part well.
- Place the chocolate shells on a flat surface.
Add the coconut cream ganache filling into 10 of the half shells.
Add the gulkand ganache filling into 10 of the half shells.
Add the pistachio ganache into 10 of the half shells.
Don't take too much time between making the ganache and filling the chocolate shells.
If the ganache hardens, melt a little by microwaving for 30 seconds but don't overdo the re-heating or the ganache may get ruined.
- Place the empty half shells on a warm surface so that the edges melt a little and can stick easily to the other halves of each shell.
Cover the filled chocolate halves with the empty shells, whose edges you just melted a little.
- In 3 different bowls, add separately the desiccated coconut, the dry rose petals and the chopped pistachios.
- Coat the stuffed shells with the tempered or warmed chocolate.
Roll the 10 shells filled with the coconut cream in the desiccated coconut bowl and keep aside to set, if need be in the fridge.
Roll the 10 shells filled with pistachio ganache in the chopped pistachio bowl and keep aside to set, if need be in the fridge.
Roll the 10 shells filled with gulkand ganache into the dried rose petal bowl and keep aside to set, if need be in the fridge.
Let the finished chocolate shells rest for 20 to 30 minutes, if need be in the fridge.
Serve.
Note: For the chocolate shells, you will need to fill round or small egg-shaped moulds with tempered or warmed chocolate. Swirl around until the moulds are well-coated and leave the coated chocolate in the mould to set, perhaps in the fridge. Un-mould after 10-15 minutes.
The remaining chocolate can be tempered again later and used to coat the filled shells.
Use 70 per cent dark chocolate, mixed with stevia, instead of the white chocolate, and also for the tempered chocolate, for sugar-free eggs. Each brand of stevia has its own stevia for sugar substitution ratio provided on its packing. And instead of gulkand paste, make use of rose water flavouring.
For vegan eggs, use vegan dark chocolate, easily available, instead of white chocolate, and also for the tempered chocolate. Replace the 100 gm heavy cream with mildly warmed 75 ml soy milk combined with 25 ml extra virgin olive oil.
Chef Sushant Parab is the sous chef at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai.
