White Chocolate with Candied Orange Peel, Pecans

By á-25087

This sweet treat features white chocolate with candied orange peel, pecans and maple syrup. Happy Holidays!

Ingredients

• 18 ounces good-quality white chocolate
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• Black lava sea salt
• Salt-roasted pecans (about 1/4 pound or so depending on your lavishness)
• 1/2 cup candied orange peel, cut into very fine bits (store bought)

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 30mins

Preparation

Step 1

Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Have at hand the diced orange peels, the pecans and the sea salt.

Break the white chocolate chunks into the top of a double boiler, or into a small heavy bottomed saucepan.

Prepare the maple syrup—pour the 3/4 cup into a small heavy saucepan and simmer it to reduce it by about a third. Don’t let it foam up and boil like crazy—work carefully so it does not crystallize.

Meanwhile, turn on the heat beneath the bottom of the double boiler, or a separate large saucepan, with about an inch of water in the bottom. When the water starts to simmer, melt the white chocolate, stirring with a silicon or rubber spatula. Don’t let the pot with the chocolate in it touch the simmering water. And keep an eye on the maple syrup—you want it to reduce so it is thicker, but not so much that it turns into maple sugar.

When the white chocolate is entirely melted, begin creating the individual candies. Form the base by spooning about two tablespoons of white chocolate onto the parchment paper and spreading it with the back of the spoon into a roundish shape about 3 inches across. It should be about 1/3 inch thick.

When all the chocolate is parceled out, working quickly, add pecans to each coin. Five or six should do, but you can jam in more if you wish. . Next, dot each piece with bits of orange peel, then sprinkle on the black salt.

Finally, drizzle with the reduced maple syrup, making streaks in places and allowing it to make little pools here and there.

When it’s all on there, admire your work for a moment. Then slide the sheets into the refrigerator for half an hour or so to set up. When the candy is set, lift it up from the parchment paper, peeling off the paper. At this point, store it in an airtight container in the fridge.