French-born and trained Chef Francois Payard founded Payard Patisserie and Bistro in New York. Since then he has opened Payrad Las Vergas in Ceasars Palace, and shops in Tokyo and Yokohama, ,Japan, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. His holiday chocolate specialties include the Payard Christmas Ball, an ornament billed with 18 of the Pistachio Almond Chardons. Visit www.payard.com.

 

 

Chocolate Pistachio-Almond Chardons
with Vanilla Ganache
By Chef Francois Payard, Chocolate Epiphany (Clarkson Potter Publishers 2008)
Makes about 70 pieces

Ingredients:

Vanilla Ganache
5½ ounces 50% chocolate, chopped
3½ ounces 64% chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ vanilla bean, split, or 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Pistachio-Almond Mixture
12 ounces almond paste
2   tablespoons Kirsch
1/3 cup pistachio paste

Chocolate Coating
Tempered 72% chocolate

Make the Ganache

1. Line a 10 X 15-inch rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Combine both chocolates and the corn syrup in a large bowl.
2. Pour the cream into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into it (reserve the pod for another use). Scald the cream, removing the pan from the heat when small bubbles form at the edges. Pour it over the chocolate and whisk until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is melted. If using vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean, stir it in now.
3. Pour the ganache into the prepared pan, and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate about 1 hour, just until the ganache reaches a pipeable consistency. Stirring the ganache will accelerate that process. It should be set, but not firm.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill the pastry bag or resealable plastic bag with the ganache, and cut a ½-inch opening in the tip or corner of the bag. Pipe the ganache into 8-inch-long logs on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

 Make the Pistachio-Almond Mixture

1. Put the almond paste in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until it is soft. Add the Kirsch and the pistachio paste, and continue beating until it is well combined.
2. Cut two large pieces of parchment paper, put the pistachio mixture on one, and cover it with the other. With a rolling pin, roll the paste into a 12 X 16-inch rectangle that is about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.

 Assemble the Chardons

1. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and cut the pistachio mixture in half widthwise, to create two 12 X 8-inch rectangles. Place 1 ganache log along the width of a rectangle of pistachio mixture, and roll the pistachio mixture over it until it completely wraps the ganache. Cut the pistachio mixture where its two ends meet around the ganache. Proceed with the remaining ganache and pistachio mixture until all the logs are enrobed.
2. Cut each ganache-pistachio roll into ½-inch pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
3. Line a baking sheet with the wax paper. Pour the tempered chocolate in a shallow container, and roll each ball in it, by hand, until it is coated. Let the chocolate exterior set, about 15 minutes, then roll the balls in the tempered chocolate again
4. Once the chocolate exterior sets slightly, after 1 minute, roll the balls over a wire cooling rack to create spikes in the chocolate. Let them set on the wire rack for a few minutes, then transfer them back to the baking sheet, or they will stick to the rack. Store in an airtight container in a dry, cool environment for up to 1 week.