Making Chocolate Truffle Pinecones
Part 2 of Edible Forest Elements for the Forest Floor Dessert
These mini chocolate truffle pinecones are a decadent small bite. A dark chocolate shell with a rich, fudgy center. As part part of the Forest Floor dessert, I kept them quite small, but this works well with larger sizes.
If you want to make more than 10 of these, I suggest getting a couple molds or one with several pinecone cavities. Otherwise, you end up making about 3 at a time while trying to keep your ganache warm enough to pipe.
What you will need
✓ Tempered chocolate
Use a good dark chocolate like Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate chips 60% cacao. Tempering will ensure the shells set well. I’ve outlined my quick microwave method in Making Chocolate Forest Decor page.
✓ Truffle ganache
Make this when you are about ready to fill or prepare to heat it up in order to pipe it in. (see recipe)
✓ Silicone pinecone molds
I opted for this mold set as it also had the pine needle elements for the other decor. I wanted very small pine cones (I did not use the bigger sizes). There are molds with just pine cones of various sizes.
✓ Piping bag(s)
I use this for the ganache filling specifically. You could also use it to more neatly pipe in the tempered chocolate.
✓ Small spatulas or palette knife set
A tool with a pointed end is helpful to be able to get into the mold as you are creating a hollow shell.
✓ Prep tray
✓ Parchment Paper
✓ Luster Dust
Gold or gold mixed with a brown luster will provide bright highlights. For more subtle, just brown luster or a bronze luster will work.
Clean, Dry Molds
Make sure you have gently washed your silicone mold in warm soapy water and rinsed well. They need to be thoroughly dry.
To help make sure everything is very clean and dry, you can use a cotton swab dipping in a little plain vodka to polish out the inside areas. Or just a dry cotton swab.
Prep Station
Set up a clean, dry area where you can have all your chocolate, molds and equipment at hand. As working with chocolate can get messy, I like to work over a silicone mat with lots of paper towel at hand.
Create a Chocolate Shell
With this method, you are sort of painting in the chocolate to the pinecone mold walls. This is due to this being a soft mold that does not work well with the fill and release method of traditional chocolate molds. (I tried that already.)
You can try setting up a small piping bag with very small tip snipped out. Or you can scoop it in with the offset spatula.
Use the spatula to work the chocolate all around the edges of the mold. You want it thick enough to coat but leave a hollow center for the filling.
Scrape around the edges pushing toward the center of each pine cone. You want the top of the mold to be clean.
Place the mold on a prep tray and refrigerate for a few minutes to speed up the setting process.
Fill Chocolate Molds
Set up the chocolate coated molds in the prep tray in your work area. Check your ganache filling in its bag to enough it is warm enough to pipe out of the bag. Snip a small opening at the tip of the bag.
Gently squeeze in the ganache into the cavity of the pine cone molds. Make sure you are equally fill to about ¾ up. These are small, so it only takes a little bit of filling.
Once the molds are filled, lift the prep tray and lightly tap it down on the work surface. This is to help release bubbles and even out the ganache.
Place the tray in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to allow the ganache to harden a bit.
Chocolate Seal
Bring the tray with filled chocolate molds back to your work station.
Pipe or spread a layer of tempered chocolate over the top of each pinecone, covering the ganache. Make sure the chocolate reaches to the edge of the mold and connects to the chocolate edging.
Use the offset spatula to careful scrape over the tops of the molds. You want the bottoms to be flat and as clean as possible from the edges. (You can always trim excess if needed).
Put the tray bag in the refrigerator for 10 minute to help set and really firm up the chocolate.
Release Pieces
Bring the tray of chocolate molds back to your work station. Immediately begin to pull the mold away from the edges of the truffle pinecones to start the release.
Carefully bend the mold to allow the pinecones to fully release. Set them on a parchment lined tray as you release them.
Repeat process
Before you start your next batch, it helps to swab out the molds. This helps make sure you get a good release. Use a cotton swab (either dry or dipped in vodka) working into all the crevices of the mold.
Finishing
A bit of luster dust across the tops and edges of the truffle pinecones help make the details pop. I used a brown luster dust that had a strong bronze shimmer to it. You can read more tips of highlighting.