Salted Caramel Pralines

It is a while since I made pralines, so I thought to do some to use up my leftover caramel from the banoffee cupcakes. I have a numerous chocolate moulds but I have to say I prefer the hard plastic ones over the silicone, but I gave it a go. You can use any filling you like this time I choose the new hit: salted caramel. At the first time I made this salted caramel chocolate the filling was too salty, so be careful not to overdone the saltiness. Also it was the quickest ever and would make a nice Christmas present for family. For a detailed guide how to temper milk or white chocolate(to have a nice, shiny cover) I used this website.

Salted Caramel Pralines

Ingredients 

150 g dark chocolate (I used 70,4% cocoa solid one from Callebaut)

1.5 g cocoa butter(1% of your total chocolate amount)

120 g caramel (I used Nestle Carnation)

pinch of sea salt

You will need a chocolate mould (either a silicone or hard plastic) a digital thermometer a paint brush and a pyrex bowl over simmering water in a pan. 

Place 2\3 of the chocolate in the pyrex bowl over simmering water in a pan. In order to get accurate reading from the digital thermometer watch out that the end of the probe should be in the chocolate mass but without touching the bottom of the bowl. So you checking the temperature of the chocolate and not the bowl. Keep stirring with a silicone spatula until it reaches 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46C).

When it reached the right temperature take off from the heat and immediately place the pyrex bowl in a bigger bowl filled with cold water. Add the remaining of the chocolate and stir gently to incorporate. When it is mixed add the cocoa butter and keep stirring until the mix temperature drops to 84 Fahrenheit (29C).

Return the chocolate above the warm mater and until the temperature reaches 88 Fahrenheit (31C), now the chocolate is ready to pour into the mould. The mould should be clean and dry, preferably cleaned with a muslin cloth.

I used the paint brush technique because I don't like wasting expensive chocolate. 

Basically there are two techniques when it comes to moulding: melt enough chocolate to fill all cavities to the top(double the amount of chocolate I described), leave it to create a shell around the mould and pour off the excess(therefore creating a lot of leftover chocolate/and unless you going to use it for something else it is too expensive just to use it for hot chocolate etc. In the chocolate factories it doesn't matter as they going to use it anyway, but at home....

So I used the paint brush technique: melt only the necessary amount and pour it to the mould. Using a simple brush start spreading the chocolate to the top of each mould cavity. Keep repeating the process until you think the shell around the mould is thick enough. 

This is the part where you have to experiment. The time required depends on your chocolate, your mould and the temperature in your kitchen. If you pour out the chocolate too soon the shell won't hold the filling and will break, but if you leave it for too long the chocolate shell will be too thick and the ratio of the filling to the chocolate will be unbalanced. I did both at the beginning, but it is all about learning. Now I generally have a feeling when it is right, usually it only needs 2-3 minutes.

When it is ready turn the mould up side down (place the chocolate bowl beneath it) and tap to the side of the bowl a couple of times. Scrape off the excess chocolate and place the mould into the fridge to harden.

In the meantime you can prepare the filling. This time it was easy: I took the ready caramel heated a little in the microwave and added a pinch of two sea salt. Don't be tempted to add more as the salty flavour will intensify with time. I did this mistake as well at the first time, I made a caramel sauce that was just deliciously salty...by the time I take it off from the mould it was more than pleasantly salty.

Pour the filling into a plastic piping bag and place it to the fridge to cool down.

When the chocolate is ready pour the caramel filling to 2/3 of the cavities, leaving enough space to close the chocolates. Put the mould back to the fridge.

When the caramel filling hardened the only job left is to close the chocolates. Somebody repeats the whole tempering process........well I just reheat the chocolate if needed to the right temperature(31C) and spread on top, scraping off the excess -nobody going to watch the bottom of the chocolate but if you quick enough you should manage the whole process with the tempered chocolate still at the right temperature so it will be shiny.

Hint and tips:
If you don't like salted caramel you have numerous other options>
My old favourite filling is the rum-soaked raisins and sweet chestnut puree. In Hungary we have a sweetened chestnut puree, what we defrost and pass it through a potato mash, eating with whipped cream on top (truly delicious). 
Just add 100g sweet chestnut puree to about 80ml whipped double cream and rum soaked raisins................hmmmm.

Some of the other fillings I used to make: Amaretto soaked apricots with marzipan, chocolate cream with pistachio, lemon curd, peanut butter and raspberry jam. Below is a picture of my very first try featuring the flavours I mentioned above made by my plastic moulds:

Dobos Torte/ Dobos Torta

This cake is my mother's favourite, so on her last day I made this torte for her to take home in the suitcase. By the way the cake survived the journey without any defect. I will give you a short description of this cake, as this is one of best know Hungarian cake.

Dobos Torte/ Dobos Torta

So first some history on the cake itself:

"Dobos torte  (pronounced [ˈdoboʃ], Hungarian: Dobos torta) is a Hungarian cake named after its inventor, a well-known Hungarian confectioner, József C. Dobos (1847–1924) in 1884. It is a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel slices. The sides of the cake are sometimes coated with ground hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts or almonds but the original cake is uncoated, since it was a slice of a big cake. Dobos' aim was to make a cake that would last longer than other pastries, in an age when cooling techniques were limited. The caramel topping helps keep the cake from drying out. The cake is also often called 'Dobos-torta' or 'Dobostorta'.

Dobosh or Dobos Torte (type of cake) was first introduced at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885; Franz Joseph I and his Empress Elisabeth were among the first to taste it. The cake soon became popular throughout Europe as it was different from all others. It was simple but elegant, as opposed to the multi-layer, flaming cakes of the age. Its other secret was its use of fine butter cream, which was very little known at the time; cake fillings and frostings were usually made with cooked pastry cream or whipped cream. The chocolate butter cream and the batter of the cake were both invented by Jozsef C. Dobos.

Dobos Torte is known everywhere in the world and there are more than one hundred recipe variations. It is a commonly made torte in the upscale hotels, restaurants and pastry shops of the world."

So according to the description on Wikipedia it is a 5 layer sponge cake(+the top), but my recipe states 6+1..so I will go with that one...but the end of the day it doesn't really matter if it tastes nice.

For the sponge
8 eggs
170g granulated sugar
150g plain flour
50g butter, melted cooled down to room temperature

For the cream
3 egg yolks
200g sugar
25g plain flour
250ml milk
100g dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solid)
350g butter at room temperature

For the top
100g sugar

Before you start the sponge you have to prepare the chocolate cream as it needs to cool down completely.

In a pan heat up the milk. In a bowl mix together the 3 egg yolks and the sugar with an electric mixer then add in the flour. Slowly (to avoid lumps) add the warm milk to loosen the mix, then transfer the mix to the pan that you heated the milk earlier. Add the chopped dark chocolate and under low heat melt the chocolate and thicken the mixture. When it is rich and creamy set it aside and leave it to cool completely.

Separate the yolks from the whites. In a big mixing bowl whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks than add the sugar and mix it again. Add the egg yolks and the butter and mix it again.  Fold in the shifted flour(in 3 lots to avoid lumps). 

Preheat the oven to 170C. 
Now you have two options. Either you draw 20cm circles on to baking paper and spread the 1/7 of the sponge mix on it....this is what I did for years. But this year I invested into two 20cm baking ring, so all I have to do is line a flat baking sheet with baking paper, place the ring on it and pour 1/7 of the sponge mixture on it.
Bake each sponge for 10 minutes or until pale gold in colour.

I guess this is the hardest part for me: to divide the mixture to get exactly 7sponges...and all sponges to be the same thickness. Usually I use lots of baking paper when I do this cake as I leave to rest all 7sponge on its lining.

In the meantime you can prepare your filling. Cut the butter to squares and mix in the cooled, room temperature chocolate cream until well incorporated. 

Now you can start layering the sponges with the cream but leave one sponge out for the top caramel layer.

For the caramel layer heat the sugar in a pan over medium heat. The most important part is just shake the pan as the sugar melts, but never stir. If you stir the sugar you break up the sugar crystals and you will get a rock hard caramel which will be inedible...unless you have metal teeth.

Pour the caramel over the 7th sponge(you should place your sponge on a chopping board, so if the caramel run off the sponge you don't have to replace your worktop) and spread it with a spatula knife. With a big oily or buttery knife cut the top to the desired number of triangles...try not to burn yourself. This is the hardest part, as working with the caramel is tricky and the caramel layer will the centrepiece of the cake...so if you ruin it...well anyway the taste is the most important.

When it is ready you can place the triangles on top of the cake. Keep it in the fridge.