Cherry, Tonka & Almond

A review from a guinea pig: "This tastes better than the bonbons I'm served at Michelin-starred restaurants." And for the curious: benzaldehyde is a compound found in cherries, tonka beans, and almonds.

Recipe Details

Bonbon mold: Chocolate World 2295 - 13 grams (0.46 oz)
Recipe yields approx. 64 bonbons
Tools needed:
  • Mixer
  • Immersion blender
  • Grater (Microplane)

Components

Sour Cherry PDF - AW 0.7561

  • 200 grams sour cherry purée (7.05 oz)
  • 18 grams granulated sugar A (0.63 oz)
  • 4 grams pectin (jaune) (0.14 oz)
  • 160 grams granulated sugar B (5.64 oz)
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 30 grams glucose syrup (DE40) (1.06 oz)
  • 4 grams acid solution (0.14 oz)

Tonka Bean Ganache - AW 0.7618

  • 110 grams cream (36%) (3.88 oz)
  • 200 grams milk chocolate (40%) (7.05 oz)
  • 32 grams glucose syrup (DE40) (1.13 oz)
  • 10 grams sorbitol powder (0.35 oz)
  • 17 grams invert sugar (trimoline) (0.6 oz)
  • 1 tonka bean (approximately 1 gram) (0.04 oz)

Almond Praliné - AW 0.3614

  • 500 grams sweet almonds (17.64 oz)
  • 550 grams granulated sugar (19.4 oz)
  • 3 grams bitter almonds (approximately 3 almonds) (0.11 oz)
  • 1 scraped vanilla bean

As you can see below, we’re only using 120 grams (4.23 oz) of praliné. Of course, you can make a smaller batch. It’s not impossible but a bit tricky to make just 120 grams (4.23 oz). You can also use a small amount of bitter almond oil if you prefer to skip the bitter almonds, or you can leave it out entirely.

  • 120 grams almond praline (4.23 oz)
  • 24 grams cocoa butter (0.85 oz)
  • 3 grams sea salt (ground) (0.11 oz)

Instructions

How It's Made

Sour Cherry PDF

  1. Start by measuring the pectin and granulated sugar A into a small bowl. Mix well
  2. Scrape out the vanilla bean and mix the seeds with granulated sugar B
  3. Create a small "cavity" in the vanilla and sugar mixture and measure the glucose syrup into it. Cover the glucose syrup slightly with the same sugar, making it easier to lift out when needed
  4. Pour the sour cherry purée into a saucepan and heat it. When it reaches 40°C (104°F), add the pectin and sugar mixture gradually while stirring
  5. When the mixture starts to simmer, use a spoon to lift the glucose syrup from the sugar and add it to the purée and pectin mixture. Stir to ensure the glucose syrup is well incorporated
  6. When the mixture begins to boil, add the vanilla and sugar mixture in three portions, allowing the mixture to come back to a boil after each addition
  7. Cook the mixture to 107°C (224.6°F) or 75° Brix. Turn off the heat, add the acid solution, and stir well
  8. Pour the mixture into a container and cover with plastic wrap
  9. Let it cool completely, then blend it and pipe approximately 2.5 grams (0.088 oz) into each bonbon shell

Tonka Bean Ganache

  1. Pour 100 grams (3.53 oz) of cream into a small saucepan
  2. Grate the tonka bean into the cream (a microplane works perfectly)
  3. Bring the tonka-infused cream to a boil, cover with plastic wrap, and infuse for 20 minutes
  4. Reheat the cream and strain out as much of the tonka as possible
  5. Weigh the cream—it will be less than 100 grams (3.53 oz). Add fresh cream until you have exactly 100 grams (3.53 oz)
  6. Add all the sugar types to the tonka cream and heat to 40°C (104°F)
  7. At the same time, melt the milk chocolate to 40°C (104°F)
  8. Combine the cream and sugar mixture with the melted milk chocolate in a container and blend well to achieve a smooth emulsion.
  9. When the ganache reaches 29°C (84.2°F), pipe approximately 5 grams (0.18 oz) into each shell.

Almond Praliné

  1. Start by roasting the almonds in the oven at 160°C (320°F) for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn
  2. Meanwhile, make a caramel from the sugar. Add the scraped-out vanilla pod to the sugar as you’re finishing the caramel, allowing any remaining moisture to evaporate
  3. Pour the caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat and let it cool
  4. Use a grater (a microplane is ideal) to grate the bitter almonds
  5. Once the almonds and caramel have cooled, blend them together in a food processor—use the same weight of caramel as almonds
  6. When the mixture is finely ground, add the grated bitter almonds. Continue blending until you achieve the desired consistency. It should have some texture but be relatively low in viscosity. In other words, it shouldn’t be a “dough” but more like a nut butter—think of well-stirred peanut butter.
  7. When the almond praline is ready, melt the cocoa butter and heat it thoroughly to 100°C (212°F). This step ensures that the mixture doesn’t cool too much when you combine the cocoa butter with the almond praline.
  8. Weigh out 120 grams (4.23 oz) of almond praline, pour in the cocoa butter, add the salt, and stir until the mixture is smooth
  9. Precrystallize the mass, then fill the rest of the bonbon shells with approximately 2 grams (0.07 oz) per shell.
  10. Cap the bonbons and enjoy