White Chocolate Grapes with Chocolate Pearls
Wohl & Company
Photographer, artist, and author Kit Wohl (who has penned many cookbooks, including The James Beard Foundation's Best of the Best: A 25th Anniversary Celebration of America's Outstanding Chefs and New Orleans Classic Creole) prepared JBF Award winner Michel Richard’s white chocolate grapes with chocolate pearls at our JBF Taste America cooking demo in New Orleans. “Chocolate doesn’t like to be messed with, so you have to work slowly and carefully,” she told the audience. “Pastry is a product of absolutes—only some people have the right kind of personality that’s just persnickety enough to do it!”
Ingredients
- 1 pound seedless grapes, chilled
- 4 ounces white chocolate
- 1 cup chocolate pearls*
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Method
Dry the grapes with a dishcloth or paper towels and place them in a large mixing bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt the white chocolate: fill a medium pot 1/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Place a heat-resistant bowl into the pot to create a double boiler (the bottom of the bowl should be 2 to 3 inches from the water). Melt the chocolate until the temperature reaches 98°F on a candy thermometer.
Fold the melted white chocolate into the bowl of grapes 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the chocolate pearls and mix.
As the chocolate begins to set, use a small strainer to quickly sprinkle the confectioner's sugar onto the grapes. Gently toss or stir the grapes as you sprinkle, and do so until all the grapes are well coated.
Spread the grapes out evenly on a parchment sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is set.
Yield
4 servings
