Peach Melba Chocolates

Method

Earlier in the year, we partnered with Stewart & Arnold to host a 'Great British Chocolate-Off,' in honour of the Platinum Jubilee.  We asked you for your most weird and wonderful chocolate recipes, and you certainly delivered!

Our winning recipe was a Pimm's & Lemonade chocolate, created by Deborah Symon, a self-taught home chocolatier from East Hampshire.

Alongside her winning concept, Deborah submitted a collection of other imaginative recipes that were so enticing, we couldn't resist sharing another!

This sweet, fruity Peach Melba-inspired chocolate was a big hit at the Keylink office!  With a smooth, satisfyingly snappable chocolate shell, filled with raspberry jelly and a Peach Melba ganache, it's quite obvious what all the fuss was about.

In addition to this recipe, Deborah also gave us some background on the Peach Melba:

"Peach Melba was invented by the Savoy Hotel in London, in the 1890s, to honour an Australian soprano singer called Nellie Melba, who had just sung at Covent Garden.  It was called Pêche au Signe.  After the chef was fired for embezzlement and fraud, he was appointed as a chef at The Ritz, where he added raspberry and renamed it Peach Melba.  I like the fact that Chef Escoffier was a bit of a rogue, yet became a successful chef in the best London hotels: The Ritz, Savoy and Carlton.  My friend Kyle got very excited about peach when we were discussing what flavour to put in the box, so it's down to him that this one made the cut."

We can definitely relate to Kyle!  Thank you, Deborah, for sharing this charming chocolate with us.

How to Make Peach Melba Chocolates:

Ingredients

For the Shells

• 500g Callebaut 811 (SCC501) - Deborah's recipe suggested using milk chocolate, but we found that dark worked well with our peach puree, so feel free to use whichever best suits your palette!

• Gold Creative Powder (SCR461)

For the Ganache

• 500g Callebaut W2 (SCC520F)
• 50g KerryMaid Whipping Cream (SCM280)
• 200g Ravifruit Peach (White) Puree (SCF0862) - if you're looking for your chocolates to pack a little more punch, Deborah suggests using Peach Schnapps!
• 1g Vanilla Flavouring Paste (SCF0412)

For the Jelly

• 100ml Water
• 100ml Ravifruit Peach (White) Puree (SCF0862)
• 50g Belgosuc Firm Glucose Syrup (SCA118)
• 1ml Raspberry Jam Flavour Drops (SCF0673)
• 8g Ultratex (SCA136A)
• 5ml Red Food Colouring

Method

Step 1 - Shells

1. Coat a chocolate mould with an even layer of gold power
2. Temper the dark chocolate, then pipe it into the mould to make your shell
3. Once the mould is coated, tip it upside-down and shake out any excess chocolate
4. Leave the shells to set

Step 2 - Ganache

1. Boil the whipping cream, peach puree and vanilla paste
2. Once boiled, remove from the heat and add to the white chocolate, blending with a stick blender until smooth
3. Leave to cool

Step 3 - Jelly

1. In a pan, bring to boil the water, peach puree, glucose, raspberry jam drops and food colouring
2. Once boiled, remove from the heat and add the ultralex, whisking until smooth and lump-free
3. Leave to cool

Combine

1. Once the shells have set, pipe each chocolate with the jelly, filling about 1/3 of the shell
2. Fill in the remainder of each shell with the ganache, leaving a 2mm gap for capping
3. Finally, cap the chocolates and leave to set
4. Once set, turn out your chocolates and enjoy!