How to make: chocolate rosettes with cinnamon ganache

Recipes taken from Couture Chocolate by William Curley

Makes 15 Rosettes

Ingredients

170g (6oz/generous 1 cup) Plain (all-purpose) Flour

10g (1/4oz) Cocoa Powder

160g (51/2oz/1⅔ sticks) Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes and softened

65g (21/4oz/generous ⅓ cup) Icing (powdered/pure) Sugar

30ml (1 fl oz) Milk

For the Cinnamon Ganache

150ml (5fl oz/⅔cup) Whipping (pouring) Cream

⅓ Cinnamon Stick

125g (41/2oz) Fine Dark (bittersweet) Chocolate (66% cocoa solids),finely chopped

12g (⅓oz) Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes and at room temperature

Method

For the rosettes, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Put the butter into a separate bowl and beat until soft. Sift in the icing (powdered/pure) sugar and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the milk and then fold in the flour and cocoa powder.

Spoon the mixture into a piping (pastry) bag fitted with a 10mm (1/2 inch) star nozzle (tip). Pipe the dough into about thirty 3.5cm (11/2 inch) diameter circles onto a baking tray (sheet) lined with a non-stick baking mat. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Leave to cool.

For the ganache, put the cream and cinnamon stick in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat, cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Put the chocolate into a bowl. Bring the cream back to the boil and strain onto the chocolate, mixing with a spatula until the mixture is smooth. Add the butter and mix to form a smooth emulsion. Leave the ganache to firm for 1 hour, then spoon into a piping (pastry) bag fitted with a 10mm (1/2 inch) star nozzle (tip) and pipe a swirl onto the flat side of half of the rosettes. Top with the remaining rosettes, flat side down.