Photo by Maren Caruso

Lavender Vanilla Ganache

From "Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor" by Michael Recchiuti, and Fran Gage, photography by Maren Caruso. Stewart, Tabori and Chang Publishers September 2005.

The strong floral tones of the lavender stand up to the full-bodied chocolates. If you want to showcase the lavender flavor even more, top each piece of finished chocolate with a lavender flower. Michael makes this ganache with Lavandula augustifolia "Grosso," a variety that dries without losing its fragrance.

If you are lucky enough to have abundant "Grosso" lavender plants in your garden, you can harvest the flowers and dry them yourself. Cut the flowers in the early morning, divide them into bunches of no more than 100 stems each, and secure each with a rubber band. Hang them in a dark, well ventilated place until no moisture remains.

About 50 dipped squares or round truffles

• ¾ cup (6 ounces) heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup plus 2 teaspoon (3 ¾ ounces by weight) invert sugar (stir before measuring)
• ½ Tahitian vanilla bean, split horizontally
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
• 10 ¾ ounces 61% to 70% chocolate, finely chopped
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter with 82% butterfat, very soft (75ºF) About ¼ cup melted untempered 41% milk chocolate if dipping squares
• Tempered 41% milk chocolate for dipping squares or unsweetened natural cocoa powder for rolling truffles

Make the ganache

Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with plastic wrap.

Stir the cream and invert sugar together in a small saucepan. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean into the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, remove from the heat, and stir in the lavender flowers. Cover the top of the pan with plastic and let steep for 20 minutes.

While the cream is steeping, put the chocolate in a medium stainless-steel bowl and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts and registers 115ºF on an instant-read thermometer. Lift the bowl from the pot.

Strain the cream through a sieve lined with cheesecloth into a 2-cup liquid measure. When  the liquid has run through, pick up the cheesecloth and squeeze the remaining drops into the sieve. If necessary, add cream or discard some of the liquid to bring the volume to 8 ½ ounces. Check to make sure the temperature is at 115ºF and adjust if necessary.

Pour the chocolate and cream into 1-quart vessel. Blend with an immersion blender using a stirring motion and making sure to go to the bottom of the vessel.  The ganache will thicken,
Become slightly less shiny, and develop a pudding-like consistency. Add butter and incorporate it with the immersion blender.

Pour the ganache into lined pan. Spread it out as evenly as possible with a small offset spatula. Allow the ganache to cool at room temperature until it has set, 2 to 4 hours. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to dip squares or roll truffles.

Dip the ganache squares in chocolate or make truffles  

See instructions for tempering chocolate, dipping chocolate, and making truffles.

Lift the square of ganache from the pan, turn it over onto a work surface, and remove the plastic wrap.  If you are dipping squares, apply a thin coat of melted untempered (112ºF) 41% milk chocolate to one side of the ganache square with a small offset spatula. (If you are making truffles, don't apply the chocolate coating.) Let the chocolate harden. Turn the ganache square over and trim the edges. Cut the ganache into 1-inch squares with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry before each cut and wiped clean after each cut.

If you are dipping squares, temper the chocolate and then dip the squares. Store the dipped chocolates in a cool, dry place, not in the refrigerator.

If you are making truffles, dust your palms with cocoa powder, roll the ganache squares into balls, and then coat with cocoa powder to keep them from sticking together. Store in the refrigerator, but remove 30 minutes before serving.

About Chocolate Obsession

Known as the "Picasso of chocolatiers," Michael Recchiuti creates confections that are every bit as daring and original as any of his namesake's artworks. But unlike the painter, the chocolate maker has made it possible for even the amateur to achieve his artistry. In Chocolate Obsession Recchiuti, owner of the famed artisanal chocolate company, Recchiuti Confections,  in San Francisco, divulges his professional secrets and techniques, allowing home cooks to reproduce his exquisite confections in their own kitchens. Opening with a complete discussion of chocolate from bean to bar, the book goes on to offer detailed instructions for dipped chocolates, truffles, and molded chocolates. With more than 60 recipes in all, this book will satisfy even the most obsessive chocolate lovers among us.  Have even more sugar cravings? Check out Fran Gage's other books Bread and Chocolate and A Sweet Quartet. 

Get Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor at:

• Amazon.com