Homemade Bordeaux Chocolates

Homemade Bordeaux Chocolates: My husband had a long-standing tradition of Sees Bordeaux Eggs for Easter. I had never tasted them before we were married, but one try and I was hooked!

I really like cooked candy of any kind, but the creamy brown sugar, almost maple flavoring of the center pairs so beautifully with milk or dark chocolate. When I attended my cooked candy class in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I specifically requested a Bordeaux chocolate recipe. My instructor handed me a recipe for Penuche. It’s an old-fashioned candy that often contains pecans and very much resembles southern pralines. Often penuche is served as fudge and not dipped in chocolate at all. But who can resist a decadent candy center when it’s dipped in chocolate.

Our family calls these Bordeaux chocolates because they so closely resemble the Sees candy of my husband’s youth. But we have been making them homemade in our kitchen for almost 25 years!

In the beginning years of making these candy centers, I created egg shapes for Easter. However, I really like the ease of rolling balls and dipping them. Plus, the ratio of candy to chocolate is equalized with a one teaspoon-sized center. The addition of #4 sized candy cups makes them look so professional! It’s all about presentation, right!?!

If you read my Homemade Marshmallow Eggs post, you will find the Homemade Bordeaux Chocolates use a very similar technique. The ingredients, cooking temperatures, and the finishing steps change for each type of cooked candy, but many of the tools and the cooking technique with the candy thermometer remains the same each time.

Tools Needed For Homemade Bordeaux Chocolate Centers:

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Candy Thermometer: Since candy is temperature sensitive, a candy thermometer is a kitchen thermometer designed specifically for cooked candy. It is not the same as a thermometer used for testing meat. The texture of the candy, crunchy or soft and smooth, can vary greatly with a degree or two of change in cooking temperature.

Small saucepan: Used for calibrating the thermometer and for washing down the sugar crystals with the pastry brush.

Large Cooking Pot: For this candy, it boils up high because of the addition of the creamer and the butter. You definitely want at least a 4-quart pot for this one.

Wooden Spoon or Silicon Spatula: Either one is perfect for stirring the sugar mixture until the sugar dissolves.

Pastry Brush: Used for washing down the sugar crystals just as the sugar mixture reaches boiling point.

Stand Mixer with metal bowl (or hand mixer and metal bowl): A metal bowl is necessary the 237° F heat. The stand mixer is strong enough for beating the thickening, cooling sugar mixture. (If it puts too much strain on your hand mixer, you can beat the sugar mixture by hand with a strong wooden spoon.)

Tools Needed for Dipping Bordeaux Centers in Chocolate:

Microwave-safe bowl for dipping chocolate: You can use plastic or glass. Just be sure the glass bowl doesn’t get too hot when heating in the microwave. My favorite is a small, white 1.5 quart CorningWare glass bowl because it holds the heat for just a little bit, which keeps my chocolate warm longer.

Dipping Tool or Fork: You can use a dipping tool or a kitchen fork to dip your chocolates.

Wax Paper: I prefer wax paper over parchment paper when dipping chocolates. Wax paper seems to release the hardened chocolate easier.

Candy Cups #4 (1”x3/4”): Size #4 is the right size for teaspoon-sized chocolates. These cups add a professional look to your homemade chocolates!

Ingredients for Homemade Bordeaux Chocolates:

Candy Making Ingredients are very simple.

Light brown sugar: Dark brown sugar will work also, but the flavor will lean more toward an essence of molasses instead of maple.

Non-dairy creamer: You can use any brand you prefer. Just a simple vanilla flavor is perfect.

Unsalted butter: Use unsalted butter since you will be adding salt independently. I like having control over how much salt I add to a recipe, so my preferred choice of butter is always unsalted.

Light corn syrup: An essential ingredient that keeps the sugar from crystallizing as it cooks. Check the brand, Karo has reformulated their recipe so that it does not include high-fructose corn syrup. “Light” refers to color and not calories.

Callebaut Belgian Couverture Dark Chocolate (Guittard Couverture French Vanilla Semi-Sweet Chocolate Wafer or your choice of dipping chocolate): This brand, this style (couverture chocolate), this flavor, is AMAZING! Be aware that Couverture Chocolate needs to be tempered before you dip the chocolates. Visit my Chocolate 101 post for step-by-step, SIMPLE instructions on how easy it is to temper chocolate. Don’t be afraid—embrace the beauty and the taste of this amazing dipping chocolate!!

Callebaut Vermicelli Dark Sprinkles (Guittard Gourmet Decoratifs or any all-chocolate sprinkles): These sprinkles are narrow (instead of chunky) and made with real cocoa. They are the perfect size for dipped chocolates and they melt into the warm chocolate just enough to be more of a decoration than crunchy sprinkles sitting on top of the chocolates!

Instructions for Making Homemade Bordeaux Chocolates:

Calibrate Your Thermometer:

Adjust the recipe to the boiling point temperature of water today. Refer to this blog post: Calibrating Your Candy Thermometer for details. Don’t skip this step or your cooked candy may set up too fast or not at all. Altitude and barometric pressure can affect your boiling point at any given moment. I perform this step each time I make cooked candy. It only takes 10-15 minutes—which is the same amount of time it takes me to gather my ingredients, gather my tools, and measure out ingredients. And it’s a no-fail method of making candy!!

Cooking the Candy Mixture:

• Measure brown sugar, non-dairy creamer, unsalted butter, light corn syrup and salt. Place them in a large (4 quart) cooking pot.
• After determining the adjusted temperature in your calibration step, attach the candy thermometer to side of the large cooking pot and bring to a rolling boil on high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until the sugar is dissolved, which is typically about the time bubbles are starting to rise to the top.
• Once the sugar mixture reaches boiling, use a pastry brush and the water from your thermometer calibration to wash down the sugar crystals on the sides of the saucepan, and behind the candy thermometer. There is no need to dip the pastry brush into the candy mixture, just wash the sides above the boiling candy and let the water and sugar crystals run down the sides of the pot.
• Cook the sugar mixture, without stirring, to 237° F (114° C). While making cooked candy, stay in the kitchen area. Watch closely in last 15° as sugar syrup changes temperature quickly.
• When the sugar mixture has reached temperature, take the candy off the heat immediately.

Cooling the Candy Mixture:

• Pour the hot sugar mixture into the metal bowl of a stand mixer (or a metal bowl for a hand mixer).
  DO NOT SCRAPE the edges of the cooking pot. It will cause crystallization.
• Add vanilla to top of hot sugar mixture, but DO NOT stir.
• Let sugar mixture cool to 110-120° F. It takes about 50 minutes in the metal bowl of my Kitchen Aide.
• Two options for speeding the cooling process:
  • Pour the hot sugar mixture into a metal bowl. Place that bowl in an ice water bath. Keep water away from the inside of the bowl and the candy mixture. The ice water bath will cool the mixture faster, then follow the same steps outlined below “From Liquid to Set”.
  • Pour hot sugar mixture onto a marble slab instead of a metal bowl—once the sugar mixture has cooled to lukewarm, don’t follow the “From Liquid to Set” steps outlined below. Use a metal bench scraper to knead and fold the mixture until it sets up. Then roll the candy mixture into balls.

Candy Centers: From Liquid to Set:

• When sugar mixture has cooled, use the paddle attachment to beat the mixture on medium speed. This will add air so the candy will set up.
• Continue beating on medium speed for about 15-20 minutes or until mixture loses its glossiness and holds shape. The candy will still be slightly warm. As the candy cools, it hardens.
• Pour onto parchment paper on countertop or baking sheet.
• If the candy hardens… no worries. Just knead it with your fingers until it’s soft and pliable again. The warmth from your hands softens it just that little bit.

Preparation for Dipping the Candy Centers:

• Use a metal teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop some of the candy and roll it into a ball.
• Place candy center on a parchment or wax paper covered baking sheet for dipping
• Prepare chocolate for dipping.
  • If using couverture chocolate, refer to this post for Tempering Chocolate.
  • If using compound chocolate, melt in 50% microwave power in 1-minute increments, stirring between each setting, until chocolate is smooth (about 3 minutes). More details for melting compound chocolate on the Homemade Marshmallow Eggs post.
• Dip candy centers in chocolate with a dipping tool. I like to put the candy centers, one at a time, in the chocolate up-side-down.
• Then use the tool to cover them with chocolate.
• Scoop the top of the center out of the chocolate (with the bottom side up) and tap the handle of the dipping tool several times on the edge of the bowl.
• Flip the dipped center over onto the wax paper (bottom side down). Swirl the remaining chocolate onto the top of the dipped center for a cool finished look.
• Immediately sprinkle top with a couple of pinches of all-chocolate sprinkles immediately before it hardens. See how-to video.
• Note: If you worry that the candy centers have become too dried out… The moisture from the chocolate will rehydrate the outside of the candy centers.

Have fun learning the technique of making cooked candy!

–Kim

Print Recipe

Homemade Bordeaux Chocolates

Creamy brown sugar fudge centers dipped in luxurious dark chocolate, with chocolate sprinkles on top. Penuche is the old-fashioned name for these chocolate centers, but they taste like a See’s Bordeaux copycat.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Cooling Time50 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: candy, chocolate, cooked candy, dipping chocolate

Servings: 104 Teaspoon-Sized Chocolates

Author: Kim Melanson

Equipment

• Candy Thermometer
• Small saucepan (for calibrating thermometer)
• 4-quart Cooking Pot
• Wooden Spoon or Silicon Spatula
• Pastry Brush
• Stand Mixer with metal bowl (or hand mixer and metal bowl)
• Microwave-safe bowl for dipping chocolate
• Dipping tool or fork
• Wax Paper
• Candy Cups (#4 size)

Ingredients

• 4 ½ cups (907g) light brown sugar
• 1 cup non-dairy creamer
• ½ cup unsalted butter sliced in 1 TBS pieces
• 4 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Add when candy is cooling:

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For Dipping:

• 3 pounds Callebaut Belgian Couverture Dark Chocolate or Guittard Couverture French Vanilla Dark Chocolate or your choice of dipping chocolate
• ½ cup Callebaut Vermicelli Sprinkles or Guittard Gourmet Decoratifs or any all-chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

• Calibrate your thermometer and adjust the recipe's target cooking temperature to the boiling point temperature of water today.
• While the thermometer is testing the boiling water temperature, gather all ingredients and tools.
• Measure first 5 ingredients and place in a large (4 quart) cooking pot.
• Attach candy thermometer to side of the large cooking pot and bring to a rolling boil on high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until sugar is dissolved, which is typically about the time bubbles are starting to rise to the top.
• Once the sugar mixture reaches boiling, use a pastry brush and water to wash down sugar crystals on the sides of the saucepan, and behind the candy thermometer.
• Cook the sugar mixture without stirring to 237° F (114° C).
• When the sugar mixture has reached temperature, take the candy off the heat immediately.
• Pour hot sugar mixture into the metal bowl of a stand mixer (or a metal bowl for a hand mixer). DO NOT SCRAPE the edges of the cooking pot. It will cause crystallization.
• Add vanilla to top of hot sugar mixture, but DO NOT stir.
• Let sugar mixture cool to 110-120° F. It takes about 50 minutes in the metal bowl of my Kitchenaide. (For other cooling methods, see blog post.)
• When sugar mixture has cooled, use the paddle attachment to beat–adding air so the candy will set up.
• Continue beating on medium speed for about 15-20 minutes or until mixture loses its glossiness and holds shape. The candy will still be slightly warm.
• Pour onto parchment paper on countertop or baking sheet.
• If the candy hardens… no worries. Just knead it with you fingers until it’s soft and pliable again.
• Use a metal teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop some of the candy and roll it into a ball.

  Place balls on a parchment or wax paper covered baking sheet for dipping
• Prepare chocolate for dipping. (See blog post for details on melting chocolate.)
• Dip candy centers in chocolate with a dipping tool. Place on wax paper to harden.
• Sprinkle with all-chocolate decoratiff sprinkles immediately after you place the chocolate on the wax paper and before it hardens.