Thanksgiving Spiced Cranberry & White Chocolate Bites

It’s officially autumn and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. With the leaves changing color and cold weather settling in, we wanted to develop a recipe that celebrates some of my favorite fall and Thanksgiving flavors. It seems like everyone has already developed their own version of sweet potato and marshmallow confections so we went with a different Thanksgiving staple – cranberries. At Tomric, we also enjoy the challenge of making food that looks like other foods – especially Thanksgiving recipes.

Inspired by classic Thanksgiving cranberry sauce, these mini bite-sized pralines combine bright citrus, warm spices, and tart cranberries with a creamy, sweet, and vanilla-forward white chocolate shell. The tartness of the filling is really nicely complemented by the melted ice cream flavor of the Agostoni Monte Bianco.

Tools Needed

Heavy-Bottomed Pot
Small Bowl
Burr Mixer
Whisk
Thermometer
Chocolate Mold (we used I-1158) (x5)
Scraper
Airbrush
Paper Towels

Ingredients

Spiced Cranberry Filling: 445g

106g Cranberries
37g Lime juice
83g Water
95g Grapefruit
120g Sugar
3.5g Burke’s Confectioners’ Pectin
0.3g Chinese Five Spice
0.2g Nutmeg
0.2g Cinnamon
0.1g Cloves
445g Total

Chocolate Shell:
575g Agostoni Monte Bianco (115g per mold)
ChocoButter Infrared
ChocoButter Crimson
ChocoButter Onyx

Instructions

1. Place pectin and small amount of sugar in a small bowl. Mix and set aside.
2. Place everything else in a heavy-bottomed pot and cook on medium-low heat for approximately 20 minutes, giving time for the berries to burst and some water to cook out.
3. When most -if not all- of the berries are burst, burr mix for a more consistent texture.
4. Place back on heat. Add in pectin/sugar mixture with a whisk. Turn heat on high and bring to 215°F, quickly.
5. Let cool to approximately 86°F to pipe.
6. While filling is cooling, spray your cocoa butter colors into the molds. First Infrared, then crimson, then onyx – simulating the look of a real cranberry. Let partially set.
7. Shell mold tempered white chocolate.
8. Pipe cooled filling when it reaches correct temperature.
9. Cap and cool.

This recipe will make approximately five I-1158 molds or 180 pieces.