Peter Greweling

Espresso Caramel Crunch Bars

Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Medium

  • Yield:

    120

    Bars

Appears in

top 1000Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner

Chocolates and Confections

By Peter Greweling

Published 2007

  • About

Ingredients

Caramel

Sugar 680 g 24 oz 30%
Evaporated milk 680 g 24 oz 30%
Heavy cream 280 g 10 oz 12%
Vanilla bean, split and scraped 1 bean 1 bean
Glucose syrup 570 g 20 oz 25%
Butter 40 g 1 oz 1%
Salt 1 tsp 1 tsp <1%
Coffee extract 60 g 2 oz 2%
Batch Size 2310 g 81 oz 100%

Hazelnut Gianduja/Sponge Candy

Hazelnuts, toasted 440 g 16 oz 34%
Confectioners’ sugar 440 g 16 oz 33%
Dark chocolate, melted 440 g 16 oz 33%
Batch Size 1320 g 48 oz 100%
Sponge Candy, chopped into 6-mm/¼-in pieces 700 g 24 oz 100%
Batch Size 700 g 24 oz 100%
Dark chocolate, melted, tempered, for precoating and enrobing as needed
Instant coffee crystals, for finishing as needed

Method

To Make the Caramel

  1. Combine the sugar, evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla bean and its seeds in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  2. Add the glucose syrup and continue cooking over medium heat, while stirring, until the mixture reaches 110°C/230°F. Add the butter.
  3. Cook while stirring until the mixture reaches 115°C/239°F (see Note). Add the salt and coffee extract and remove from the heat, remove the vanilla bean, and pour the caramel into a frame 12 × 24 × ¼ in set on oiled parchment paper.
  4. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
  5. Place another frame 12 × 24 × ⅜ in on top of the one containing the caramel.

To Make the Hazelnut Gianduja/Sponge Candy

  1. Grind the toasted hazelnuts with a small amount of the confectioners’ sugar in a food processor until liquefied.
  2. Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar and the melted dark chocolate. Mix just until homogeneous.
  3. Temper the gianduja by tabling; mix in the chopped Sponge Candy. If necessary, rewarm the gianduja lightly to prevent excessive thickening.
  4. Spread the mixture immediately into the frame on top of the caramel. Allow to crystallize until completely set.

To Complete the Espresso Caramel Crunch Bars

  1. Precoat the gianduja side of the slab with the tempered dark chocolate.
  2. Cut into bars 19 mm × 8 cm/¾ × 3 in using a chef’s knife. Enrobe in the tempered dark chocolate. Before the chocolate sets, use a 3-prong dipping fork to make waves on the surface of each bar. Garnish with a sprinkle of the instant coffee crystals.

© 2007 All rights reserved. Published by Wiley.