RECIPE Valrhona's Caramelized White

Chocolate
by Genius Recipes February 5, 2013 28 Comments

Photo by James Ransom

Author Notes: Pale, sweet, arguably boring white chocolate is made of three ingredients with a lot of
potential -- sugar, milk, and fat (in the form of cocoa butter) (more) Genius Recipes
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

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1pound white chocolate

Sea salt, to taste
Heat oven to 266F (130C). If the white chocolate isn't already in small chunks or fves, chop it
coarsely. Scatter it on a clean, dry rimmed baking sheet.
Roast chocolate in the oven for about 45 minutes, stirring and smearing the chocolate around with a
spatula every 5 to 10 minutes (make sure the spatula is clean and dry when you start). Don't worry if it
looks lumpy and crumbly at times -- it will smooth out as you stir.
Continue cooking until the chocolate is as dark as you like (we like a rich toffee color). Stir in sea salt to
taste.
Pour into a jar to store -- it will harden as it cools, and may look mottled (this is normal for untempered
chocolate). Store at room temperature, and warm it in a pot of barely simmering water when you're ready
to use it. It should keep for several months.
Alternately: If you keep roasting until it seizes into crumbles, don't worry. It is completely salvageable
and, in fact, it may be a handier form to keep around for baking. That way, you can freely toss handfuls
into cookies or scones, brownies or banana bread. You can also force it to become completely smooth
with the aid of a blender or a fine mesh strainer if you wish -- just warm with a little cream or neutral oil in

with the aid of a blender or a fine mesh strainer if you wish -- just warm with a little cream or neutral oil in
a double boiler, then either blend or strain.
White chocolate fans are a lonely, quiet bunch. But they're about to get some new recruits. Like you. And
even you over there, with the Scotch truffle in your mouth.
Most of us have spent the past two decades forgetting the white chocolate wave of the '80s, which eventually
begat the Hug, and an unpleasant macadamia nut cookie scent drifting though our malls.
There was also the persistent rumor that white chocolate isn't really chocolate, because it only contains the
butter, not the solids from the cacao bean. (Until they legitimized the term "white chocolate" in 2002, the FDA
wasn't helping.) But this is a little like saying pork tenderloin isn't really pork.

Matched against the brute appeal of a salty dark chocolate bar or a cookie heavy with bittersweet chips,
scrawny, milked-up white chocolate never really had a chance. But it can do something miraculous that dark
chocolate never could.
Here's the thing: Past that pale, sweet exterior lie three ingredients with a lot of potential -- sugar, milk, and
fat (in the form of cocoa butter). What happens when you expose these to enough heat? The sugars toast
and you get caramel.

This simple alchemy was harnessed at L'Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona (a.k.a. Valrhona Chocolate
School). Bloggers and chefs like David Lebovitz, Ideas in Food, and Bill Corbett learned the technique
through them and have since spread the gospel.

Essentially, you roast white chocolate at a low temperature (266 degrees F), for about 45 minutes, stirring

Essentially, you roast white chocolate at a low temperature (266 degrees F), for about 45 minutes, stirring
and swooping it around every 5 to 10 minutes. Then you salt it.

What it turns into, some call the "Toffee of Milk". Just like other chocolate, it's liquid when warm, solid when
cool.
It borrows from dulce de leche with hints of cocoa flavor and, maybe most distinctively, rounded chocolate
texture. As Food52er Rivka, who tipped me off to the technique, said, "It's one of the most delicious chocolate
substances I've ever tasted."

The cocoa butter proportion matters -- the higher it is, the more willingly melty it gets. We used 34% Valrhona
Ivoire Fves, but if yours is 30% and looks a little stiffer than ours, that's okay -- just stir it often and watch it
closely. Once it's the color you like, pour it into a jar and re-warm it whenever you want to get jiggy.

If you take it too far and it seizes into crumbles, don't panic. It is completely salvageable and, in fact, I think
it's a handier form to keep around. Not only can you force it to become completely smooth with the aid of a
blender or a fine mesh strainer, you can also freely toss handfuls into cookies or scones, brownies or banana
bread. And into your own mouth.

See below for three of the simplest ways to use the stuff, but there are countless others. (Our Head Recipe
Tester Stephanie Bourgeois turned hers into ice cream, mousse, cookies, pots de creme, and three types of
ganache -- all in one night.)
For Valentine's Day, I can promise these three desserts have all the allure and heady depth of a dark
chocolate mousse. And maybe even more, because your date won't see them coming.
1. Hot (Caramelized White) Chocolate

Heat up milk (maybe with a little cream), pour over caramelized white chocolate chunks (or crumbles) in a
blender. Wait a minute for melting; blend. (See Ideas in Food's recipe if you'd like proportions.)
2. Ganache (between two cookies, for example).

Whisk a little hot cream into caramelized white chocolate; smear between cookies.
3. Ice Cream Topping, Magic Shell-Style

Warm up 8 ounces of caramelized white chocolate with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Pour over ice cream.
Bust through shell with spoon.