Daring Bakers' Candylicious

Thanks to Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!, this month is passing by with lots of fun, call it candy fun!

I am sure many Daring Bakers have developed great chocolate and candy creations, and that is why I have been so excited about this challenge, and make sure that I will not skip it, no excuses whatsoever. This is a great challenge I have been looking forward to...



Personally I felt great that finally got to make a chocolate version of Ispahan, which is a blend of white chocolate, rose water, and lychees. It is in fact a compatible match with almonds, so I just can't wait to eat all these once the photo shoot is over. And they are in pink, who could resist?

At the same time, I also made Lychee Delight (a lychee version of Turkish Delight)and Coconut Lime Chocolate Truffles. So all in all, I have made two chocolate candies and one non chocolate candy. It has been a great time and I am on my way to fulfill my craving for chocolate right after this. I am sure you are too, aren't you?



The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies!

CANDYLICIOUS



1. Ispahan
Makes 10 balls

Ingredients:
- White chocolate > 125g
- Whipping cream > 40ml
- Rose water > 2 tsp
- Pink coloring > a few drops
- Lychee flesh – dice > 50g
- Almond sticks > 100g
- Grounded almond > 20 g
- Golden pearls > 10 pcs

Method:
- Finely chop white chocolate and place in a bowl.
- Place whipping cream in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to boil.
- Pour into chocolate and leave for 5 minutes for chocolate to melt. Stir until smooth stir and fold in rose essence and coloring. Stir well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until it is firm.
- Roll ganache with hands to form balls and fill with a lychee dice. If the balls are too soft due to heat generated from palms, refrigerate again for a short while. Remove from fridge and leave for a short moment before sticking almond around chocolate balls. Sprinkle top with grounded almond and garnish with golden pearl.



2. Lychee Delight
Adapted from “Turkish Delight” in Petits Fours: A Fine Selection of Sweet Treats (Murdoch Books)
Makes 32 pieces
Prepare: baking tin of size 10cm x 20cm

Ingredients:
- Lychee juice > 280ml
- Gelatine powder > 30g
- Granulated sugar > 340g
- Lime juice > ½ tsp
- Cream of tartar > ½ tsp
- Lychee flesh – cut into chunks > 50g
- Lychee essence > 2 tsp
- Pink coloring > a few drops
- Icing sugar > 100g
- Corn flour > 60g

Method:
- Brush baking tin with water and set aside.
- Place lychee juice in a saucepan and sprinkle with gelatine. Heat over low heat and stir until gelatine dissolves. Add sugar and lime juice and continue stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil and continue to boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Fold in cream of tartar and lychee essence into the mixture. Add a few drops of coloring until the desired pink color is achieved. Finally fold in lychee chunks.
- Pour mixture into tin and leave overnight in room temperature to set.
- Sift icing sugar and corn flour into a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- Dust table top with adequate icing sugar. Ease Lychee Delight away from the sides of tin with a knife, and holding the tin upside down push it out of the tin onto the work surface.
- Oil knife and cut Lychee Delight into a 2.5cm squares. Toss these squares into the bowl of icing sugar. Store them in air tight container, with baking paper between each layer.



3. Coconut Lime Chocolate Truffles
Makes 16 balls

Ingredients:
- Dark chocolate > 350g
- Coconut milk > 100ml
- Almond > 200g
- Grated lime zest > 1 tsp
- Coconut rum liqueur > 2tbsp

Method:
- Combine chocolate and coconut milk in saucepan and cook over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Pour into a plate and set aside to cool.
- Chop almonds into small chunks and place into a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- When chocolate mixture is cool, fold in lime zest and liqueur. Stir well and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Roll firm mixture with hands into balls and toss into almond chunks to coat.
- Refrigerate overnight until totally firm.