The white almond cups in the photo are a variation included at the end of this recipe. The two kinds make for a nice presentation. If you're going to wrap the almond cups up and refrigerate or freeze them for later, make sure you set them out at room temperature for several hours before unwrapping or they'll become wet from moisture in the air.
“If you like almonds, you will love these candies. Molded cups of chocolate surround a filling of rich almond truffle cream. Whole almonds adorn the top of the two-bite pieces of ecstasy.” – Carole Bloom
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup toasted, finely ground almonds, plus 60 whole, blanched almonds, toasted
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup toasted, finely ground almonds, plus 60 whole, blanched almonds, toasted
Method
Place 8 oz. of the chocolate in a 2-quart mixing bowl. In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream into the bowl with the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 1 minute, then stir together with a rubber spatula, whisk, or immersion blender until thoroughly blended.
Add the ground almonds and blend well. Cover, let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator until thick but not stiff (2-3 hours).
Melt and temper the remaining 1 pound chocolate (see instructions). Pour the chocolate into a paper pastry cone and cut off a 1/2-inch opening at the pointed end of the cone. Or pour the chocolate into a plastic squeeze bottle. Pipe or squeeze chocolate into 60 1-inch foil candy cups, filling them. Let the chocolate set up around the edges for 3 minutes, then turn the cups upside down over a sheet of parchment or waxed paper and let the chocolate run out. This will leave a thin film of chocolate in each cup.
Fit a 12-inch pastry bag with a large, plain round pastry tip with a 1/2-inch opening and fill partway with the truffle cream. Pipe truffle cream into each foil cup to three-quarters full. Pipe the remaining tempered chocolate into each cup, filling them to the top edge. Place a whole almond on top of each cup, pressing lightly so that it will adhere. Let the candies set up at room temperature 1 hour, or chill them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
In a tightly covered container wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, the almond cups will keep for 1 month in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. Serve the candies at room temperature either in the foil candy cups or on their own.
White Chocolate Variation:For the filling, substitute 10 oz. of white chocolate for the 8 oz. of bittersweet and use 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream. Use 1 lb. white chocolate rather than 1 lb. bittersweet to coat and top the cups.
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