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Chocolate Cherries
Difficulty level Difficult
As I've mentioned before, I love making candy. It is a lot of fun to do, and the reactions you get are often quite amazing—people don't really understand the process of making candy, and are usually very impressed that you manage it. My mom's absolute favourite candy is chocolate cherries. Super sweet maraschino cherries, floating in fondant, wrapped in chocolate—I had to try them. I was a bit confused at first, as I wasn't entirely sure how I was supposed to get the liquid in the chocolate, but a bit of research in the recipe straightened me out.
These cherries were a little difficult to assemble, but they were a lot of fun and the outcome was delicious. I would recommend them for gifts and parties—eating them yourself is great, but something this complicated is really about the show!
You can use store-bought fondant for this, but I made mine from scratch. It didn't seem fair to not make it myself, and it made way more than I could possibly need for the recipe, so I got to keep eating it while the chocolates were cooling. Which was pretty perfect, if I do say so myself. Using store-bought fondant, though, would cut out at least half of the cooking time, if not more. As it stands, the recipe takes about two hours to make, including cooling time.
The recipe specifies that you use cherries with stems, and I highly recommend it. I could only find stemless cherries and it made dipping them in chocolate exceedingly difficult. It's still possible, but you'll get a cleaner look more easily with stems.
As with most candy making, you will need a candy thermometer for this recipe. They are very affordable and available at most cooking stores.
INGREDIENTS
| 3 cups | sugar |
| plus 1 tbsp water | 1 cup |
| 1/4 cup | light corn syrup |
| 60 | maraschino cherries with stems |
| 24 ounces | semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped, or chocolate chips |
| Butter for greasing the pan | |
PREPARATION:
- Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan and set it aside. Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a heavy medium saucepan. Using a wooden spoon, stir gently over medium heat until the sugar dissolves completely and the syrup comes to a boil. Clip a candy thermometer to the inside of the pan and cook, without stirring, until it reaches 240°F (soft ball).
- Immediately pour the syrup into the 9 by 13 inch pan. Let the syrup cool undisturbed until the bottom of the pan feels lukewarm to the touch.
- Using the wooden spoon, stir the mixture until it forms a ball. This could take quite a few minutes. As it solidifies, the mixture will turn an opaque white (as opposed to a translucent golden that it started as). The fondant may seize into a very hard ball that you cannot stir. If this happens, just continue to the next step.
- Seal the fondant in a large plastic Ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible. Let it rest for one minute. Leaving it in the bag, knead the fondant lightly with the heel of your hand. Continue kneading for about ten minutes, until the fondant looks smooth and creamy and feels like cookie dough.
- Drain the cherries, reserving the liquid. Place the cherries on paper towel to absorb any excess liquid. Butter a cookie sheet and line it with wax paper.
- Place the fondant on top of a double-boiler and set it over simmering water (you can also place a metal bowl or pot over top if you don?t have a double-boiler). Stir the fondant until it melts. Place your candy thermometer into the fondant and continue to stir until it is 150°F. Stir in two or three tablespoons of the liquid from the cherries.
- Hold the cherries by the stems and dip them, individually, into the melted fondant (the cherry should be covered). Place the dipped cherries on the cookie sheet.
- Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler set over warm to hot water (NOT simmering—that will scald your chocolate). When the chocolate has melted, remove it from the double-boiler. Dip the cherries into the chocolate, individually, and place back on the cookie sheet.
- Let the cherries cool at room temperature for two hours, and then place them in the refrigerator overnight, where the fondant will soften and become liquid. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
From The Ultimate Candy Book.
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