Truffled Chocolate Nougats

It's been over a month since my first Christmas recipe of the season (yep, I got into the festive spirit quite early this year) and I couldn't let this week pass without a super chocolaty recipe that is so perfect for the holidays! Actually you'll find two recipes below: one is a chocolate nougat with a truffle and almond butter heart, the other one is also a chocolate nougat with the same luscious truffled filling but has a lovely topping made with roasted and caramelized sesame seeds that creates a great contrast of textures. This chocolate nougat is super easy to make and can be customized in many different ways: try adding a few drops of some organic essential oil (like lemon, orange, mint, etc), combine two or more different crispy cereals (I used quinoa), top them with your favorite roasted nuts and even combine different chocolates. 

It's officially Christmas time and now we all have the perfect excuse to eat all the chocolate in the world; to me any day is a good day to stuff my face with dark chocolate but you know what they say, "all things in moderation". So I try to behave and keep my sweet tooth under control during the year (a lot of times I fail, to be honest) but perhaps it's time to let ourselves go a little bit...or a little too much, it's up to you! The world is so fucked up these days that I truly believe we need to enjoy as much as we can because we don't know what will happen tomorrow. Let's find some sweetness in these bitter and uncertain times, let's be good to each other, okay?

I truly wish you all a very merry Christmas!

xo

Receta en español en la web de El Granero Integral.

Truffled Chocolate Nougats
(Makes two 23x10cm/9 x 4-inch approx. nougats)

Ingredients
- For the chocolate sesame nougat:
75 g (2.6 oz) dark chocolate, 70-72 % cocoa.
40 g (1.4 oz) cacao butter.
35 g (1.2 oz) unsweetened pure cocoa powder.
1 tablespoon lucuma powder (optional).
80 g (2.8 oz) pure maple syrup.
1/2 cup crispy puffed quinoa.
4 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds.
3 tablespoons organic light brown sugar.
1 tablespoon water.
- For the chocolate and almond butter nougat:
75 g (2.6 oz) dark chocolate, 70-72% cocoa.
40 g (1.4 oz) cacao butter.
35 g (1.2 oz) unsweetened pure cocoa powder.
1 tablespoon lucuma powder (optional).
80 g 2.8 oz) pure maple syrup.
1/2 cup crispy puffed quinoa.
4 tablespoons natural almond butter.

Notes:

- The lucuma powder is optional, it won't affect the texture of your nougat if you don't use it but I highly recommend it because it adds a subtle malty flavour to the chocolate and makes it a tad bit more creamy. Plus you'll have an even healthier treat!

- I usually weigh my ingredients and also measure them in cups for those of you that aren't familiar to grams, but for this particular recipe I recommend to weigh them in order to get the exact quantity of cacao butter and chocolate. Cacao butter comes in different forms like one big block, discs or random-sized chunks (which is my case); that's why I think it's more accurate to tell you the grams/ounces needed for this recipe rather than giving you a poor approximation in cups. This way no matter the form your cacao butter comes in you'll use the right amount.

- About the almond butter: you can use salted almond butter as long as it is not super salty, so make sure you taste it before adding it to the nougat. Mine had a little amount of salt and it added a subtle salty contrast to the sweetness of the truffled chocolate.

Directions

- To make the chocolate and sesame seeds nougat:

Chop 50 g (1.7 oz approximately) of dark chocolate into small chunks and grate or finely chop the remaining 25 grams (0.8 oz). Melt the first quantity of chocolate in a double boiler, remove from heat and stir in the grated chocolate, whisking vigorously until all the chocolate is melted. Whisking quickly will make the chocolate's temperature drop and it's a quick way to 'temper' the chocolate.

Cover the base and sides of your nougat mold with a fine coat of melted chocolate and let it harden in the fridge. Reserve remaining melted chocolate for later use.

To make the filling melt the cacao butter in a double boiler, immediately remove from heat and add in the maple syrup, cocoa powder and lucuma, stirring well until a smooth shiny ganache forms. Finally add in the crispy quinoa balls and stir everything together so the quinoa is well covered in chocolate.

Pour the filling into the previously chocolate-coated mold and transfer back to the fridge.

While the filling is setting prepare the sesame seeds: in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat put sugar and water and stir with a wooden spoon until the caramel beggins to bubble. Immediately remove from the heat and add in the roasted sesame seeds, making sure the seeds are well coated. Cook until the seeds are caramelized being extra careful not to burn the sugar. Let the sesame seeds cool, well separeted so big clusters won't form, on a flat surface with parchment paper.

Take the nougat out of the refrigerator, cover with the remaining melted chocolate that we reserved at the beginning and sprinkle the caramelized sesame seeds on top. Let the nougat set in the fridge overnight before unmolding.

- To make the chocolate and almond butter nougat:

Repeat the same process of the beginning: melt the chocolate and coat the base and sides of your second nougat mold. Do not forget to reserve the remaining melted chocolate to cover the top later.

Once the chocolate coat has hardened, spread 4 tablespoons of almond butter over the base creating an even layer and transfer back to the fridge.

Repeat the same process to make the filling, stir in the crispy quinoa balls and pour this mixture over the almond butter layer. Let the filling set in the fridge.

Finally coat the filling with the remaining melted chocolate and let the nougat set in the fridge overnight before unmolding.

Store the nougats inside an airtight container to keep them away from strong odors, in the refrigerator.