Chez Christophe's chocolatier makes easy chocolate truffles for Easter
At Chez Christophe, chocolatier Christophe Bonzon creates elaborate eggs for Easter, but chocolate truffles are easy to make at home.
MICHELLE DA SILVA
WHENEVER CHRISTOPHE BONZON misses his hometown in Switzerland, all he needs to do is take a walk around Burnaby Heights. The chocolatier, pastry chef, and owner of Chez Christophe Chocolaterie Patisserie (4712 Hastings Street, Burnaby) moved to B.C. with his wife in 2011 and says that the neighbourhood where he works and lives is similar to the one he grew up in outside Geneva.
“There are a lot of small merchants, and it’s a nice area where small businesses support each other,” he tells the Georgia Straight during an interview at his shop. “It’s more intimate and you develop a friendly relationship with customers. It reminds me of Switzerland in this way in that it’s very small. Everyone knows each other, and you say hi, and there’s a relationship.”
Bonzon discovered his love for baking and making confectionery at a young age—he recalls creating edible gifts, such as truffles and cookies, with his mother for Christmas. So when it was time to choose a profession, Bonzon decided to learn pastry and chocolate arts. After working in Switzerland, France, and Australia, he and his wife decided to move to Canada. Bonzon was the executive pastry chef at CinCin Restaurant for two years.
“When we arrived, the pastry-chocolate scene wasn’t very big yet—you had Thomas Haas, Thierry, and Chocolate Arts,” he says. “Since 2011, you have a lot more pastry shops opening, and you could say that we’re in the growing phase right now, where people are getting interested in these kinds of pastries.”
At Chez Christophe, Bonzon makes everything from scratch—chocolates, cakes, macarons, croissants, and desserts. He emphasizes that all his pastries are made with butter—not shortening—and that the chocolate is imported from Switzerland. (Bonzon notes that Swiss chocolate is distinct in its rich, milky flavour.)
For Easter, Bonzon has created more than a dozen different chocolate eggs (starting at $12 each), with designs that include a whimsical rooster and a delicate egg-within-an-egg sculpture.
Bonzon suggests those looking for something more rustic but nonetheless delicious make chocolate truffles at home. “It’s an easy thing for kids to do and quite fun, rolling the truffles in cocoa powder,” he says.
The most difficult step in Bonzon’s recipe is tempering—the process of melting and cooling the chocolate at specific temperatures in order to stabilize the beta 5 crystals. Tempering gives chocolate its smooth sheen and snappy texture.
“If you just melt chocolate and don’t temper it, it’s going to become grey,” Bonzon warns. “But because we’re rolling the truffles in cocoa powder, if your chocolate is not tempered, it’s not going to have a huge impact and you won’t see if you did a bad job. It will change the texture but not the taste.”
Christophe Bonzon's chocolate truffles
Ingredients
18 oz (520 g) dark chocolate
2⅓ cups (590 mL) whipping cream
2 Tbsp (30 mL) honey
1½ Tbsp (22 mL) glucose syrup (available at specialty food stores, such as the Gourmet Warehouse)
1 vanilla pod, halved lengthwiseand seeds scraped out
⅓ cup (90 mL) butter
1 cup (250 mL) tempered chocolate (see recipe below)
1 cup (250 mL) cocoa powder
2⅓ cups (590 mL) whipping cream
2 Tbsp (30 mL) honey
1½ Tbsp (22 mL) glucose syrup (available at specialty food stores, such as the Gourmet Warehouse)
1 vanilla pod, halved lengthwiseand seeds scraped out
⅓ cup (90 mL) butter
1 cup (250 mL) tempered chocolate (see recipe below)
1 cup (250 mL) cocoa powder
Method
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the dark chocolate until melted, stirring every 30 seconds.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, honey, syrup, and vanilla pod and seeds. Bring to a boil.
- Add about ⅓ of the mixture to the melted chocolate, stirring continuously with a spatula. Once combined, stir remaining mixture into chocolate. Add butter and mix well until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, pressing plastic down on the chocolate. Rest at room temperature for about 3 hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a piping bag with a large round nozzle with the chocolate mixture, and pipe truffles no larger than Ping-Pong balls. Place truffles in refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up.
- Remove baking sheet from refrigerator. Roll truffles by hand into smooth, round shapes; work quickly to avoid melting. Place baking sheet back in refrigerator for another 10 minutes.
- Temper chocolate (see below).
- Using hands, dip truffles one by one into tempered chocolate, placing each on baking sheet to set at room temperature. Once set, repeat with a second dip, but do not refrigerate.
- Pour cocoa powder into a small bowl, and roll each truffle in it. Shake off excess powder. Truffles can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Tempered chocolate
Ingredients
1 lb (454 g) dark or milk chocolate chips, divided
Method
- Place about ¾ lb (340 g) of the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate at the lowest microwave setting for about 2 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds, until chocolate is completely melted and between 113° F (45° C) and 131° F (55° C). (Test with a candy thermometer.) Transfer about 1/3 of the melted chocolate into a separate bowl for later use.
- Add the remaining ¼ lb (114 g) of chocolate to the larger bowl of melted chocolate, and stir constantly until temperature goes down to between 79° F (26° C) and 84° F (29° C).
- Now add the melted chocolate previously set aside back into the bowl. Stir constantly until temperature rises a few degrees to 84° F (29° C) to 90° F (32° C). Now the chocolate is tempered and ready to use.
Yield: Around 40 to 60 chocolate truffles, depending on size.
Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.
Chef Christophe Bonzon tempers chocolate
