A random act of kindness

Every once in a while, I like to surprise friends and family with a little home-made treat, be it to cheer them up, to thank them for something they’ve done for me, or just: as a random act of kindness. Recently, I received a small bottle of rose essence and thought it would be perfect to use for white chocolate pralines in the shape of roses. No sooner said than done! And they are so easy to make.

For about 24 rose pralines, you’ll need:

• Silicone icing roses mould: mine is available at Amazon UK
• 200 grams of white chocolate: I took one bar of Lindt Blanc and one of Lindt Lindor
• A small pat of butter
• A few drops of rose essence
• Food powder in pearly pink: I took the one from Silikomart which is available in Switzerland at Globus, or online at Cakemart for my readers in the UK

Chop your chocolate and together with the butter and the rose essence place it in a metal bowl and slowly melt using a bain-marie. Careful! White chocolate is much trickier to melt than milk or dark chocolate because it has a lower burning point. As a result, it overheats quickly, and turns lumpy or grainy. Just slightly above body temperature will do it for your chocolate to melt. Also note that any contact with small amounts of liquid can easily ruin the melting process. Therefore, make sure that no steam from the water comes into contact with the chocolate, the spoon you are stirring with is completely dry and do not cover the bowl as this will cause condensation which will drip into the chocolate.

Remove the chocolate from the heat after most of it has melted but while a few lumps are still present. The chocolate will continue to melt after being removed from the heat as long as you continue to stir it. When you’re happy with the result, push a blob of your glorious rose goo into the freshly cleaned mould, level off with a sharp knife, and pop it in the freezer until the roses are set, which should take about 10 – 15 minutes. Repeat until all your chocolate is used (or eaten).

Pop them out on to a plate to dry. When dry, dust them with the pearly pink powder.

Pile a few roses into a cellophane bag, tie them up with some twine, add a little tag, and they’re ready to be given to your lucky recipient!

By the way: the roses are also great for decorating cakes!