Terra Americana

This was meant to be the filling for tarts, I think it would be smashing in a cupcake!  Something to experiment with....

• 5 tbsp Earth Balance (soy butter), cut into 10 pieces
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup Orange Vanilla Sugar
• 2 oz white chocolate, cut into small dice
• 2 oz milk chocolate, cut into small dice
• 4 biscotti, The biscotti I used for the truffle filling was from our Capuccino Biscotti Mix, chopped

 Bring an inch of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Put the butter and bittersweet chocolate in a large metal bowl and place the bowl over the saucepan – do not let the bottom of the pan touch the surface of the water. Allow the chocolate and butter to melt slowly, stirring from time to time, as you work on the rest of the filling. Remove the chocolate from the heat when it is melted and allow to cool until it is just slightly warmer than room temperature.

 Put the yolks and vanilla extract in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large mixing bowl. Using the whisk or a hand-held mixer, start beating the yolks at medium speed and then, when they are broken up, reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat the yolks and sugar until the yolks thicken and form a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is lifted.

Spoon about 1/3 of the yolks onto the cooled chocolate mixture and fold them in with a rubber spatula. Don’t worry about being too thorough. Pour the chocolate into the beaten yolks and gently fold the two mixtures together until they are almost completely blended. Add the cubed chocolates and biscotti, folding to incorporated the chunky pieces.

Make the Chocolate Truffle Tartlets this recipe was created for