"Space Invader" White Chocolates with Walnuts and Brown Sugar

It has been my recent goal to expand my chocolate-making into the realm of actual filled formed chocolates, rather than just chocolate truffles. For weeks I have been jotting ideas for fillings and combinations, scribbling in crayon on my handy pad of paper I keep in the side of my car door at each stoplight. I have been on the lookout for the perfect chocolate-forming vessel, and, alas, we met.

Although I was originally searching for a basic square tray, there was no way I could decline Space Invaders. How often do you come across a Space Invaders ice tray?! It was just too quirky to pass up. Imagine the possibilities of conversation starters!

For my first attempt, I decided to go with a butter, walnut, and brown sugar filling encased within a white chocolate shell. The inner combination was inspired by a popular crepe filling, and I chose the delicate creamy white chocolate as a complement.




1/3 c Brown Sugar (I mix light and dark; dark brown sugar has a higher content of molasses, which provides added flavor)
2 oz (about 1 cup) Walnuts (toasted at 350 for 15 minutes)
1 T each light and dark Corn syrup
2 T softened Butter


12 oz White Chocolate







Add the toasted walnuts to a food processor, reserving a few attractive halves to decorate the chocolates later.

Pulse lightly with the corn syrup...


and butter. I also added a dash of macadamia nut liqueur :) Don't overpulse the mixture- a few large walnut segments are nice in the completed chocolates.


Waiting to fill the Space Invaders!


Time to temper the chocolate! The general rule for tempering white chocolate is to gently heat 3/4 over a double-boiler until the chocolate reaches 110 degrees, then add the other 1/4 and stir until the chocolate cools to 83 degrees. This can be tricksy...

All of my tools made me feel I was prepping for surgery.



I used 12 ounces of white chocolate (reserving 3 ounces to add back in later).


Smaller uniform pieces help the chocolate to melt evenly.


After the arduous task of tempering, I excitedly filled my little invaders, tapped out the excess, and allowed the shells to cool.


Once the outer shell has cooled, add the filling.


Then, again, cover with white chocolate, scraping off any excess. As you can imagine, I was feeling pretty darn cool at this point.


When my chocolates had cooled sufficiently, I gently overturned them, hoping to release my delightful creations into the world.

It wasn't so easy.

After about 2 hours worth of warming, cooling, bargaining, I decided that I would be satisfied to have just ONE successful Space Invader chocolate. I would photograph the heck out of it, then I would hide the crumpled bodies of my victims in the bottom of the garbage and claim that my chocolates were so delicious that I couldn’t help but eat them all. All I needed was one photo to prove my success…




just one...












please?
























What?! My Space Invaders were defeated by these perfectly (ordinary) round morsels?!

After many fits, tantrums, and angry calls to my mother seeking comfort from the evil which falsely calls itself "white chocolate", I broke down and started over. My brother will be receiving an ice-cube tray surprise; hopefully he will end up cooler for it, using the jokes and opening statements I had originally planned for myself.



Maybe simple and round suits me :)