White chocolate for cooking: creating chocolate desserts that are a little different

For those of you who love to create home-made sweet treats, good quality cooking chocolate is practically a must-have ingredient that you are sure to always have in stock. However, in most cases it is classic dark chocolate, and less often, if at all, it is white cooking chocolate, which can also be used to create many interesting flavour combinations. White cooking chocolate goes well with berries and can also be combined with dark chocolate. In addition, desserts made with white cooking chocolate are often a feast for the eyes.

Interesting facts about white chocolate

• White chocolate could also be called "the chocolate that isn''t". One of the most important criteria for defining a product as chocolate is that it contains cocoa particles, which give dark and milk chocolate their characteristic colour and slightly bitter taste. In the case of white chocolate, however, only cocoa butter is used. This is one of the reasons why white chocolate differs from traditional or ''real'' chocolate in that it is, in principle, caffeine-free.
• The invention of white chocolate is attributed to the well-known Swiss company Nestlé. It was first introduced to the general public in 1930, which means that it is considerably younger than its ''older sister'', which was already known to the Maya.
• Cocoa butter, a key ingredient in white chocolate, is considered to be one of the most long-lasting fats, and is also widely used in the manufacture of various creams and other cosmetics. Cocoa butter has the characteristic of being a solid aggregate at room temperature and melting in the mouth, so that the texture of white chocolate is very similar to dark or milk chocolate.
• Paradoxically, you will recognise a good quality white chocolate by the fact that it is not completely white but slightly yellowish in colour. It is also important to note that there are no other fats listed among the ingredients, only cocoa butter. These guidelines should also be followed when choosing white chocolate for cooking.

"White chocolate ''brownies'' for cooking

Who says that brownies, which are also known as ''brownies'' in this country, have to be brown? Why not make this popular dessert, which originated in the USA, a little differently next time, with white cooking chocolate? The recipe below can help you do just that ...

INGREDIENTS:

• one and a half cups of white cooking chocolate chunks
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• cup of sugar
• tablespoon vanilla sugar
• cup white flour
• half teaspoon baking powder
• half a teaspoon salt

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 °C and grease a rectangular baking tray. Melt ¾ cup of the white cooking chocolate and the butter in a pan. Stir constantly while heating. When the ingredients are melted and combined, remove from the stove and stir well with a whisk.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and vanilla sugar and add the eggs. Whisk until smooth, then add the white chocolate cooking mix and continue whisking. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix. Finally, add the rest of the white chocolate chunks (¾ cup).
3. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Let the pastry cool, then cut into squares or rectangles of any size. You can decorate the brownies with raspberries or blueberries (you can also use warmed jam) and almonds if you like.

Recipe for White Chocolate Brownies

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons sweet cream
• 200 grams of white cooking chocolate, chopped into pieces
• 2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
• half teaspoon vanilla extract
• half a cup chopped hazelnuts
• 170 grams dark chocolate, chopped

PREPARATION:

1. Heat the cream over steam and then add the white chocolate. Stir with a whisk until melted. Add the liqueur and vanilla. Let the mixture rest for about an hour to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 175 °C.
3. Using two spoons, shape the truffles and then place them in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill. In the meantime, shake the hazelnuts in a baking tray and bake them for 8 minutes. Melt the dark chocolate over steam.
4. Drizzle the truffles with dark chocolate or roll them in hazelnuts, if desired.