Paul A.Young is Britain's most lauded chocolatier because of his daring and dazzling flavor combinations. This is the man who invented the port and stilton truffle, and then went on to create the marmite truffle as well as the caramelized onion and rosemary truffle. Recipes for all three are in his new book, Adventures with Chocolate, which is a collection of 80 "sensational" – and the word here is used in the very best sense – recipes for bonbons as well as other unique ways with chocolate. And in case you're wondering, the port and stilton truffle – initially created for his male customers, says Young – continues to be one of the best-sellers in his shop.
By Paul A. Young
Paul A. Young | Adventures with Chocolate: 80 Sensational Recipes | Kyle Books, 2011
"The first time I combined real ale with chocolate was my first Christmas at my chocolaterie, when I needed something traditional and ended up using rich, malty London Ale. I experimented with many different chocolates, and concluded that the winning variety was Valrhona's Jivara Lait 40% milk chocolate (from Java); its malt extract and intensely creamy finish pairs perfectly with the bittersweet ale. You can choose any ale you like, but do taste it first for bitterness; you may then need to increase or decrease the sugar level in the recipe." - Paul A. Young
Yield: About 40
Ingredients
1 cup ale
1/2 cup packed light muscovado sugar
1 lb. Javanese 40% milk chocolate, chopped
14 oz. 70% dark chocolate, tempered (see instructions)
Method
Put 1/4 cup of the ale and the sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the remaining ale and warm until you can see the alcohol's vapors being released from the surface. The ale needs only to be warm enough to melt the chocolate – overheating it will cook off the alcohol which is the natural preservative in this ganache.
Pour the ale into a blender and add the chocolate gradually on medium speed until smooth. Cool for 30 minutes and pipe into prepared shells, or leave to set in the fridge, then hand roll into truffles. Use the tempered chocolate for coating.
A simple decoration of piped milk chocolate looks good on these truffles, but is optional.
Adventures with Chocolate © 2011 Paul A. Young. Photo © Kyle Books. All rights reserved.