Chocolate Christmas Tree

Chefs Battle Over World's Tallest Chocolate Christmas Tree

A chocolate arms race is heating up this holiday season as two French chocolatiers vie for recognition as creators of the world's tallest chocolate Christmas tree.

The Yuletide rivalry began in 2007 when chef Alain Roby, 54, constructed a 22-foot-tall chocolate Christmas tree for a holiday display in a Hong Kong shopping center. Though the work was never submitted to Guinness for recognition, it nonetheless stood beside a vertical banner that proudly declared it a "New World Record."

It wasn't the first of Roby's chocolate-themed feats. The French-born pastry chef at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago broke the Guinness World Record for World's Tallest Chocolate Sculpture in October 2006. His 20-foot-high replica of three New York skyscrapers, displayed at the F.A.O. Schwartz toy store in Manhattan, was feted at the time as a marvel of culinary engineering.

Michel Euler, AP

French chocolate maker Patrick Roger poses next to his new creation, a 32-foot-high chocolate Christmas tree in Sceaux, south of Paris, Nov. 30, 2010.

Then came Patrick Roger, a bold Parisian more than a decade Roby's junior. In late November, Roger unveiled a massive 32-foot-tall, 4-ton chocolate Christmas tree in his studio in the outskirts of Paris.

It, too, was hailed as a structural wonder, and though his tree far surpassed the height of his colleague's, Roger laid no claim to a world record.

Instead, he announced that it had all been done for charity, auctioning off parts of the tree and donating proceeds to an organization that studies neuromuscular disease.

His creation, which took a month to make and used $45,000 worth of 65 percent dark chocolate, attracted worldwide media attention and established him as the hot new name in large-scale chocolate sculpting.

When told by AOL News that his Christmas tree world record had apparently been broken -- by a Frenchman, no less -- Roby responded in a phone interview, "I can do 40 feet any time."

The author and celebrity chef, who has lived in the Chicago area for over 20 years and professes a deep love for the United States, added, "And I can line up sponsors any time. I'll bring the title back to the United States!"

While calls to Roger seeking comment on the nascent rivalry were not immediately returned, his publicist sent AOL News a brief e-mail saying that the chef was busy preparing for the Christmas holiday.

At the moment, neither Frenchman holds the Guinness World Records seal for tallest chocolate tree -- but the Internet has become an imprimatur all its own. A Google search for "world's tallest chocolate Christmas tree" yielded seven page hits from relatively obscure sites, four of which handed Roby the record.

A search for "giant chocolate Christmas tree," however, delivered dozens of page hits for Roger, including video coverage from established news sites in the United States, England and China.

So it's tough to say just who the real top chocolate-Christmas-tree-sculpting chef is.

And though the men have never met, they would appear to be fillings of the same truffle. Roby, too, is charitable, donating proceeds from sales at his store in Geneva, Ill., to Tiny Hearts, an organization that helps fight congenital heart problems.

As evidence of his sanguine side, Roby complimented Roger on his decision to use 65 percent chocolate for his tree.

"That's a good chocolate," Roby said. "Very easy to work with. It's a little harder than milk or white chocolate -- it's like cement."

There's no reason, after all, for a chocolate rivalry to be bitter. From time to time, it's just unsweetened.

summer berries and white chocolate

summer berries and white chocolate ganache tarts

These decadent tarts are so perfect for an Australian summer. Juicy red berries are in their prime, just begging to be eaten. Combine berry coulis with white chocolate ganache and pipe a swirl to sit on top of chocolate tart cases. Dust with sugar and add a wee sugar heart to top off the miniature Christmas tree. Recipe to follow after the break

Summer Berries and White Chocolate Ganache Tarts

230g white chocolate
180mL heavy cream
2 tbs unsalted butter
100g fresh red berries (raspberries, blueberries and strawberries fresh or frozen. You can use just raspberries for ganache to be more pink in colouring)
15 drops raspberry flavour oil (optional. Available through Essential Ingredient in Australia)
Dusting sugar and sugar hearts

1} Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside.

2} Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over low/medium heat. Bring to a slight boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

3} If desired, add the raspberry flavour oil. Let cool

4} Place berries in food processor. Strain liquid through seive to eliminate seeds. This should yield around 2 tablespoons liquid. Add to ganache

5} Cover and place in the refrigerator until the ganache is firm (this will take several hours or overnight)

6} Use large piping tip and pipe swirls on parchment paper. Refrigerate or freeze

7} When firmly set gently place on pre-purchased chocolate pastry shells. Place in fridge or serve frozen (fabulous on a hot Summer's evening)

8} Before serving, dust with sugar and top with a sugar heart

Chocolate Cookies and Wine for Christmas Dessert

Christmas is the one time a year when hopefully we can all forget about diets until the New Year! Chocolate lovers can have their treats with or without the wine; same goes for those who'd just rather have a drink after dinner; skip the chocolate treats in that case.

Christmas Chocolate Cookie Recipes

Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients:

5.3 oz. almond paste

• ½ egg white

Filling:

• 3.5 oz. butter
• ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 egg yolks
• To serve:
• 7 oz. dark chocolate
• red and green sprinkles

Method:

1. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Lightly blend in the egg yolk with the almond paste.
3. Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheet, flatten with a floured palm.
4. Bake in the center of the oven at 300 F for 15 minutes.
5. Loosen the cookies while still warm from the parchment paper, and let them cool upside-down.

Filling:

1. Beat butter and sugar until frothy.
2. Shift in cocoa powder through a sieve.
3. Add the egg yolks, beating lightly.
4. Make “sandwiches” with two cookies and filling at a time.
5. Leave the cookies in the fridge overnight.

To serve:

1. Melt the chocolate in a pan.
2. Dip in the “sandwich” cookies until covered in chocolate, and dust with sprinkles. Let dry.

Round Chocolate Mini Loaves

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 /2 cups sugar
• 5.3 oz. dark chocolate, melted
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. vanilla essence
• 2 cups flour
• confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients, except the confectioner’s sugar. The dough will be hard.
2. Let it cool in the refrigerator for a while, then make round cookies, flatten.
3. Roll the cookies in confectioner’s sugar, and place on the baking sheet.
4. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes.
5. Let the cookies cool, and powder with more confectioners’ sugar.

Cherry Chocolate Drops

• 11 oz. dark chocolate
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup cherry preserves
• 3 tbs. cherry liquor

To Serve:

• 2 oz. dark chocolate

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate, stirring well. Lift off heat just before the chocolate is all melted.
2. Mix the cherry preserves and cherry liquor together.
3. Add the cherry mixture to the chocolate, stirring well.
4. Make small balls with a spoon, flatten, place on parchment paper, and refrigerate well.
5. Just before serving, slice the remaining chocolate to cover the chocolate cookies.

Dessert Wines for Christmas

All dessert wines have one thing in common: they are sweet. They can be had on their own as dessert, or you can try pairing them with any of the above delicious chocolate cookie recipes, for a really sweet treat. Below is a selection from all around the world. Muscat – many varieties form all over the world; maybe one of the oldest wines around.

• Ice Wine – from grapes that have been frozen while still on the wine.
• Port – from the Porto region of Portugal.
• Tokaji – a very old wine again, from Hungary.
• Sherry – dessert wine from Spain, popular in the UK.
• Marsala – from Sicily, Italy.
• Madeira - from the Portuguese Madeira Islands.
• Vin Santo – traditional dessert wine in Tuscany region in Italy.

Hello Kitty chocolate Christmas tree decorations