Homemade Chocolates (Laura Secord Type)
Submitted by aprilc
Homemade chocolates in the Laura Secord style: a creamy fondant center mixed with maple, mint, lemon, orange, or almond flavoring, then dip-coated in semisweet chocolate. The chocolate-shop classics, made on the kitchen counter.
YIELD
1 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minOld-School Homemade Filled Chocolates, Laura Secord Style
The Canadian candy chain Laura Secord built its reputation on these: small, dipped chocolates with sweet fondant centers in classic flavors like maple, mint, and orange. This recipe lets you recreate that chocolate-shop magic on your kitchen counter, no special equipment required beyond a double boiler and patience.
The technique is two-part. First, you make a soft fondant from icing sugar, butter, and just enough condensed or evaporated milk to bring it together into a kneadable dough, then divide and tint with food coloring and flavor extracts. Second, you melt semisweet chocolate with paraffin wax (the trick that gives the coating that snappy, glossy finish you can’t get from plain melted chocolate), then dip each fondant piece on a toothpick.
The paraffin keeps the chocolate coating from going matte or grey at room temperature and gives the finished candies a longer shelf life. It’s food-grade and used in commercial candy-making for the same reason.
Pro Tips
- Add the milk to the icing sugar very slowly. Too much liquid and the fondant turns into icing; too little and it cracks when you knead it.
- Knead the food coloring and flavoring into well-floured hands (use icing sugar) to avoid stained fingertips.
- Let the molded centers sit on wax paper for 30 minutes before dipping. A slight crust on the surface helps them hold together in the warm chocolate.
- Keep the chocolate-paraffin mixture warm but not hot. Too hot and the chocolate seizes; too cool and it gets thick and gloopy.
- Use food-grade paraffin wax only. Look for it in the canning section of grocery stores or with cake-decorating supplies.
Variations
- Roll fondant centers around a whole almond, pecan, or maraschino cherry for filled chocolates.
- Skip the paraffin and use real tempered chocolate or candy melts for a paraffin-free version.
- Sprinkle the wet chocolate coating with chopped nuts, sea salt, or sprinkles before it sets for decorative finishes.
Ingredients
Directions
The above ingredients are approximate quantities only, use to your taste and discretion.
For every cup of icing sugar you use, mix in approximately 1 teaspoon of softened butter or margarine.
Then slowly mix in enough of the evaporated milk to make the mixture of a consistency such that you can form a ball with it. (Mixing with the hands is the easiest way).
Next seperate the mixture into as many parts (3 or 4) as you want different flavored chocolates.
Then slowly knead in the desired flavoring and food color you want in each different part.
Now mold the resultant mixture into the desired shapes and sizes you want your chocolates to be.
Now melt in a double boiler (or microwave) two parts semi-sweet chocolate to one part parawax.
Remove from heat. Immediately, using a tooth pick, pick up each shape created above and dip it into the chocolate mixture to coat them.
Then put them on a piece of wax paper until the chocolate coating is set.
As the chocolate mixture cools and thickens, reheat it and continue.
If you run out of chocolate mixture, simply add more chocolate and parawax in the proportions listed above.
Suggested flavors and colors: - Maple flavor with no coloring - Mint flavor with green coloring - Lemon flavor with yellow coloring - Orange flavor with orange coloring - Almond Flavoring with red coloring (small amount to create pink)
Comments
When do you use the eagle brand?
According to the third paragraph of the direction: Then slowly mix in enough of the evaporated milk to make the mixture of a consistency. Here you use the evaporated milk.
It tells you to add the Evaporated milk in thr 3rd paragraph but nothing to say when you add the Eagle Brand Condensed milk????
Exactly. I don't see the scm anywhere but in the ingredient list.
Are you interchanging the scm with the evaporated milk?