chocolate is raw (or at least it can be)

raw caramel & sea salt truffles

raw cayenne & cinnamon truffles

raw sesame orange truffles

raw ginger bonbon

Finally, clover&clutch's online shop is back up, and now we're shipping with ice packs to protect the chocolates. But, it's even better than ever because now we've got a more complete line of raw chocolates!

That's right, raw chocolates. Each of these delicious confections is made using only raw ingredients such as raw cacao, raw agave, raw nuts and nut butters and fresh raw juices. Of course, the ingredients are never heated above 110 F to preserve all their nutritious benefits. And, oh, are they delicious! In fact, I think I prefer the raw ones to the regular ones. Check out the full line here.

revelations & caramelizations

chocolate turtles

Caramelizations:
A couple weeks ago I asked my boyfriend what flavor truffles I could make his mom for Mother's Day. He thought about it for a minute and then asked if, instead, I could make chocolate turtles, which are one of his mom's favorite treats. "Absolutely," I said, feigning confidence. Later that day I searched for turtle recipes, but all I could find were ones that involved using store-bought caramel candies. I wanted a recipe that used a homemade caramel, since I'd be making my own and I was looking for guidance on getting the right consistency (recently I sampled a homemade vegan turtle with caramel so chewy that I thought I was about to pull out a tooth; I decided giving Bryan's mom a missing tooth might not be the best present).

The thing is, I've experimented some with making caramel and various confections using sugar, and the results have been varied. Maybe my candy thermometer is off, or maybe it's just a bit trickier than I realized. It just seems like such a fine line between something that is too hard or too chewy or not enough . . .

So for the next two weeks I periodically looked online, became bored after looking at a few unhelpful sites, and gave up. Finally, on about my fifth attempt, I found Do Life Right's recipe for vegan chocolate turtles and David Lebovitz's site, which were helpful, although they weren't exactly what I was looking for in terms of specific guidance for my specific purposes. So, what did I do? Well, I played around until I got something I liked. And I really liked it. And so did Bryan's mom.

Unfortunately, I still don't have enough information to give a really solid recipe, with lots of guidance and specific times or temperatures. But, I'll give what I have, at least, and hopefully someday I'll have the perfect, fool-proof formula for homemade vegan turtles. In the meantime, if you find anything helpful, send it my way.

Chocolate Turtles:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegan butter
1/4 cup vegan milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
about 75 pecans, or more if you prefer
good quality chocolate with high cocoa content
cocoa butter, if desired*

Lightly toast the pecans (Put on a lined baking sheet in the oven at 350 F for 5-10 minutes). Arrange pecans in clusters of 3 (or 4 or however-many-you-want) on nonstick sheets (I use something similar to silpat but if you don't have something like that, your best bet is probably wax paper. Parchment paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray may also work, although I haven't tried it. Once your pecans are ready, begin making the caramel. Have all your ingredients measured and ready to go.

In a large, heavy pot melt the sugar over medium/low heat. Once the sugar begins to melt, stir gently to keep it from burning.

[Here's where things got a bit fuzzy]

I took it off the heat whenever I felt like it should be about right (a little earlier, just incase. Most of my disasters have been from overheated sugar, so I wanted to be on the safe side). I added the butter and soymilk and vanilla extract and drizzled the resulting syrup over a couple clusters of pecans. It spread out a lot and, after waiting about 15 minutes (and then another 15 minutes), I realized it wasn't going to thicken up enough.

So, I put the pot back on the stove and brought the liquid to a simmer again for a few minutes. I removed it from the heat and dipped the bottom of the pan in cool water. I let the caramel sauce cool a bit in the pan to thicken up before spreading it ontop of the pecan clusters. The caramel, even when completely cooled, was still very gooey (but not too liquidy). Maybe that's "soft ball stage"? For me it was the perfect consistency to fill a chocolate turtle. The only trouble was figuring out how to coat it in chocolate. I finally succeeded by chilling the caramel pecans in the fridge until they were firm enough to be dipped in the tempered chocolate.

You don't have to temper your chocolate that you use for dipping, but it makes such a difference. Not only is the presentation much nicer, but your turtles will also have that lovely snap, and they'll keep longer.

*Using a little bit of additional cocoa butter when you are using temepered chocolate for dipping helps give the coating more of a luster and is a million, billion times better than using parafin or any of the other weird things some cheap chocolates use instead. Cocoa butter is natural, it tastes much better, and you can easily find fair trade cocoa butter online (look on amazon or at Chocolate Alchemy, which is where I buy mine pounds at a time).




Revelations:
Finally, I'm about to reveal that mystery food from my last post. There were some good guesses, but the photograph is actually of a clove of black garlic.


And now I'm afraid I'll have to finish this post some other time. More to come on black garlic!

Ginger and Rose Hand-Dipped Truffles

ginger & rose truffles

The recipe for my ginger and rose truffles is posted on the vegan etsy blog. Check it out here!

new kid on the street

fig and port dark chocolate truffle

Announcing the newest addition to the clover and clutch family: Fig & Port. These smooth chocolate truffles begin with a sweet fig center that is rolled in a port-infused chocolate ganache, and finally hand-dipped in dark chocolate and garnished with a sliver of dried fig. Fifteen of these delicious truffles come packaged in a clover & clutch truffle box, making the perfect gift for someone special, or a treat for yourself. Of course, they're available to purchase here.

introducing...clover & clutch

isn't she pretty?

The past couple of months have been pretty busy, and my lack of blog activity directly reflects my lack of kitchen activity. It's kind of sad that I was so excited about my nice, new kitchen, and I've barely spent time in it at all making "real food" (you know, not sweets...).

But, I have been at least a little productive. In the past couple months, I decided to "just go for it," if you will (and you will), and try to sell my food. The plan was to make all sorts of baked goods, but I started making truffles and I got really into it, so I just kept going. I had tons and tons of ideas for flavors, so I made as many as I could and I made my friends and family eat them. In the process (aside from eating way too many truffles), I learned a lot; I learned about how to ship truffles, what coatings work the best, the best techniques (at least for me) to make truffles, and I learned a lot about working with chocolate. Hundreds of truffles later, I'm proud to introduce you to clover & clutch. I've still got a bit to learn, and I'm still working on more flavors, but here is what I have so far.

pomegranate

coffee & walnut

coffee

cherry

cardamom & pistachio

caraway & cocoa

They're all available at my etsy, which is, of course, http://cloverandclutch.etsy.com

In the future (probably a couple of months from now) I may be doing more flavor testing of truffles and other sweets. If you're interested in getting some goods, maybe we could work something out (like you just pay for shipping and I'll pay the rest in exchange for your feedback), leave me a comment or email me and cloverandclutch@gmail.com

ICE: chocolate with a twist (vegan)

vegan chocolate almond poblano cupcakes

This month's Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge was "chocolate with a twist," so I'm taking this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, as they say. I'm finally posting my chocolate poblano almond cupcake recipe (although a new, and I think improved version), and I'm trying my luck again at ICE.

Poblano peppers naturally have a rich, earthy, and somewhat sweet flavor that is really brought out when they are roasted; I've heard some describe the flavor with hints of cherry, licorice, and tobacco. To roast the peppers, you can use the flame of your gas oven (if you're lucky enough to have one), or, if you're like me, you can use the broiler inside your electric oven. Roast each side of the peppers for several minutes until they are charred. Cover them with a lid (or put them in a plastic bag and seal) for a couple of minutes immediately after roasting to allow for easy removal of the skin.

roasted poblano peppers (with skins)

After roasting the peppers, I tasted one and decided that they would go perfectly with the flavors of chocolate and almond. I based my recipe off the VCTOTW chocolate cupcakes recipe, which can be found here. However, I added two roasted (and peeled) poblano peppers to the soy milk in my blender before combining it with the other ingredients. The cupcakes were amazing, the poblano taste was a little subtle and perfect with the almond, and there was just a bit of heat. (Whenever it becomes this cold outside, I welcome a bit of heat in everything!) For the frosting, I used 1 roasted (peeled, this time seeded) poblano pepper along with the other ingredients. I used a different icing recipe than the last time I made these; I wanted something fudgier (is that a word?), something rich. The final result was delicious--so good, that I think I may make adding poblano peppers to my chocolate a regular thing. I hope you enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Almond Poblano Cupcakes:
makes 12 cupcakes
2 poblano peppers, roasted and peeled (reserve seeds)
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
3/4 cups evaporated cane juice (granulated vegan sugar)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan.

Combine the soy milk, vinegar, and poblano peppers (and seeds) in your blender; blend until smooth and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and blend until foamy.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches the wet ingredients to the dry and beat until no large lumps remain.

Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Vegan Chocolate Poblano Fudgy Frosting:
enough frosting for 12 cupcakes
1 roasted, peeled, seeded poblano pepper
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice (granulated vegan sugar)
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup nondairy milk
3 tablespoon refined coconut oil (refined will not give a coconut flavor)
pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup of vegan powdered sugar*

In a blender, combine soymilk and poblano and blend until smooth. If you would like to make two colors of icing, as I did with the green and cocoa, work in two (half-sized) batches, first making the icing without the cocoa, then making the icing with only 1/8 cup cocoa.

Mix granulated sugar, cocoa, nondairy milk (with blended poblano), coconut oil, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from hear and allow to cool completely.

After mixture is cool, stir in almond extract. Beat in the powdered vegan sugar a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.


* Vegan powdered sugar can be quite expensive, so I make my own. Grind one cup of evaporated cane juice in a coffee grinder and add 2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or arrowroot starch or cornstarch). Easy, and much more economical.




Voting will begin no later than Monday, December 29 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, and will be open through Friday, January 2 at 12 noon.

Iron Cupcake Earth is a monthly challenge where bakers all over the world compete, creating cupcakes using the same special ingredient. It wouldn't be possible without a lot of people who donate items for prizes and the sponsors for the event. So, special thanks to:

BETTY TURBO, who is offering this original piece of art http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5002976

LOTS OF SPRINKLES, who made these cupcake earrings http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281

CAKESPY, who will be doing a piece each month for the winner
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382

As an added bonus for December there is a limited edition cupcake pincushions by Moda Home, complements of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Also, thank you to the corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; the CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com.

chocolate and chili: the good, the bad, and the ugly

the good, the bad and the ugly

For BAKE MY DAY this week, I decided to work with chili peppers (any member of the Capsicum genus). I guess I liked the idea so much, that I decided to get started a little early, and it seems like the past few days have been all about chilis. And what better to pair it with than chocolate? So, here they are: The Good, The Bad (well, at least the "not great"), and The Ugly.

chocolate chili truffle

THE GOOD
Chocolate Chili Truffles:
After making my Chocolate Matcha Truffles several weeks ago for the first time, and realizing how simple and wonderful it is to make truffles, I decided to try again, this time using cayenne, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt to flavor my truffles. The result was delicious! It takes a couple seconds for the spice of the cayenne to hit, but it provides a nice "after spice," as one of my friends called it. Just as you've realized the flavor of the chocolate, your brain is suddenly hit by the heat, providing quite a pleasant sensation. I used this basic recipe from RecipeZaar and added 1 teaspoon of cayenne, one teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of salt. I also rolled them in cocoa powder mixed with a little bit of cinnamon, and then, using a drop of melted chocolate, stuck on thinly sliced pieces of (mild) dried chili peppers.

sugar-free truffles, ready to be delivered

THE BAD
Sugar-free chocolate chili truffles:
Well, they actually weren't too bad, but they aren't nearly as good as truffles with a little sugar. My friend is on a sugar-restricted diet and she also has an allergy to soy, so she's definitely been wanting something a little sweet in her life. I used the same basic recipe for my truffles, but instead of using my regular bittersweet chocolate chips, which contain sugar and soy lecithin, I melted a bar of 100% cacao. I was hoping that the natural sweetness of the cashews would at least kind of help to counter the bitterness, but unfortunately, the cocoa was still too strong. My friend said that she can use small amounts of stevia on occasion, so I added a couple of teaspoons. I'd never used stevia before, and perhaps I used a little too much (a little of it goes a long way), because it seemed to have a slightly off flavor, something I'd usually associate with artificial sweetners. I also lightly toasted some coconut shavings to bring out their natural sweetness and rolled the truffles in the coconut to (hopefully) add a little sweetness. The stevia flavor wasn't too noticeable, and the taste was less bitter, so it did help a bit.

The result: not great. But not terrible.

I do think this recipe is worth experimenting with, especially if you have soy allergies of if you would like to use more natural sugars. If you aren't on such a sugar-restricted diet, I think it could still be worthwhile to make these with agave nectar; that way you are using a sugar that won't spike your blood sugar as much, and you can control the sweetness of the truffles to your liking.

THE UGLY
Chocolate Chili:
After putting some chili in my chocolate, I decided it was time to put a little chocolate in my chili. I remembered this post from The Urban Vegan and threw in a couple handfuls into my chili recipe. It may not look very pretty, but it sure was a delicious way to end the past few chilly nights.

vegan MoFo 02: chocolate matcha truffles

chocolate matcha truffles

I just found out about Vegan MoFo (Vegan Month of Food), an annual blogging event encouraging vegans to blog more often (preferably 20 times in the month of October) about vegan food. In an attempt to do my part, here is a recipe for some delicious chocolate matcha truffles I made. I based my recipe off of this one, but I changed it a little, so I'll rewrite here, with my additions.

I used matcha powder to flavor them appropriately for this week's BAKE MY DAY, for which the theme is: "i like coffee, i like tea." Since I am baking for people who aren't used to having matcha, I only used 2 teaspoons, although you may find you prefer the matcha flavor to be stronger. But I think 2 teaspoons is the perfect amount for a subtle flavor. Also, I added 1 T agave; it isn't a lot of sugar but it helps cut the bitterness of the matcha. And here's the recipe:

Chocolate Matcha Truffles
makes 30
3/4 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons matcha powder
1 T agave
1 lb bittersweet chocolate

1. Blend the cashews with the water, agave, and matcha for 1-2 minutes (yes, it is a long time, but you want the mixture to be VERY smooth and creamy). Make sure there are no clumps.

2. Melt the chocolate in a double broiler until very smooth. Keep stirring to help it melt evenly and to prevent it from burning.

3. Fold the cashew mixture into the chocolate and stir gently to prevent air bubbles from forming in the mixture.

4. Once the mixture is combined, allow it to rest in the fridge for 2 hours until set. Then, use a spoon to scoop out small balls and roll in your hands (it is a bit messy) and then roll through cocoa powder until coated. Top with a sprinkle of matcha powder. You can store these in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, but you should let them come to room temperature before eating, as that will allow for the best flavor.