Wasabi Chocolate Praline

Sushi has almost already become part of our daily food list when eating out or even shopping in the mall. Only 25 years ago they were nowhere to be seen and unheard of, except in Japan of course where they come from. Now we can find them everywhere at an affordable price as well. People have got used to the taste of the wonderful Japanese cuisine and its condiments.

This brings us to the subject of this article which is Wasabi, also known as the "Japanese horseradish". The Japanese love this condiment and use it extensively with their meal almost in the same way the French use their mustard, except that wasabi is about 10 time stronger than the strongest of the French mustard.

On another subject we also have, in the last few years, been getting used to accommodate chocolate with many kind of condiments or spices like cinnamon, chilly, pepper, nutmeg, ginger and so on. This is why I have tried to venture a little further and add some wasabi to my favourite chocolate ganache filling. The result was quite interesting, the wasabi having such strong taste I was not ready to oppose it with another strong taste like the bitter dark chocolate taste, this is why in my recipe I have chosen to use white chocolate to let wasabi flavour come on top nicely. No need to say that if you dislike wasabi, better stay away from it, this is the kind of praline we love or hate, there cannot be any compromise.

For this recipe we can use wasabi paste or if you cannot find it you also can use wasabi powder and make the paste yourself. In this case mix 14g of wasabi powder with 36g of drinking water at room temperature. Mix nicely until smooth with a spoon or a spatula and, here you have your fresh 50g of wasabi paste.

Next prepare some white chocolate shells; I normally use half sphere shape polycarbonate moulds that I finger spread with a little melted and tempered cacao butter, coloured with some green PCB colour powder, to give that kind of marble effect. Keep the shells in the moulds and in a cool place.

Next prepare the wasabi chocolate ganache filling with:

Fresh cream: 100g

Glucose: 33g

Wasabi paste: 50g

Butter: 50g

White chocolate mader-couverture: 233g

As for a normal ganache boil the fresh cream and the glucose together. Mix in the wasabi paste. Add the chopped butter and mix until melted with a spoon or spatula (not a whisk). Then pour onto the finely chopped white couverture and let rest 2 or 3 minutes before mixing very slowly, until completely smooth, still with a spatula in order to stop any air coming into the filling. Let the filling cool down to less than28ºC (82°F) before filling the moulds.

When the filling has cooled down, fill the chocolate shell (still in the moulds) individually with a piping bag, making sure each shell is full just to the top and not over the top. Then place the moulds in a tempered dry fridge or cooler, at around10°C (50°F) temperature to let the filling set.

When the filling has completely set, spread the top of the moulds with some tempered white chocolate couverture to close each praline nicely scraping away any excess of couverture with the scraper. Place again the moulds in the cooler for around 10 minutes. Then the wasabi praline should be ready to un-mould and....taste of course.

I really hope you enjoyed this recipe.