I am turning 40 years old this June 4th, and I’ll be honest, I’m a little uncomfortable about it. I don’t mind turning 40, I just don’t like that 40 is closer to 50 than it is to 20. It’s a bit of a bummer. Anyway, I am already dreaming up my birthday cake. Cake decorating isn’t my thing, but I do want this birthday cake to be beautiful. I envision 3 tiers. I want it to be square-shaped. And it has to taste really good. I’m thinking about decorating my cake with sculpted chocolate or marzipan, so I’ve started to practice. Today I made easy chocolate taffy roses from Susie Norris’ & Susan Heeger’s book Hand-Crafted Candy Bars. This taffy was incredibly easy to make, and has a deep chocolate flavor. I made vegan chocolate cupcakes and vegan vanilla frosting (recipe here) and then placed a rose on top. I thought the cupcakes looked elegant and beautiful. Here’s to hoping that 40 feels the same.
Okay, let’s do this… melt bittersweet or dark chocolate in a double boiler. Be sure to stir constantly until smooth. Then mix in corn syrup, salt, and a little vanilla. Remove the mixture from the heat and set it aside until it comes to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Once it has cooled it will have a nice elastic feel. Between two pieces of parchment, roll out the taffy.
Using the back of a large piping tip, or milk bottle cap cut out circles. Lay them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes. If the taffy is too warm then it will be sticky and difficult to work with.
Once cooled, thin out the edges of the circles with a spoon. Take one circle and roll it up like a cigar. That’s the center of the rose. Begin adding “petals” around the center using about 4 to 5 circles. Refrigerate the roses until ready to use.
If baking vegan chocolate cupcakes with vegan vanilla frosting just be sure to bake the cupcakes in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I also used a #1M piping tip to pipe out the frosting.
- 2 cups (310 g) Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup Corn Syrup
- ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl and then place that bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Be sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir constantly until smooth. Mix in the corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Remove bowl from heat. Allow the chocolate mixture to come to room temperature while stirring occasionally. As it cools it will thicken and become more elastic. Once completely cool divide it in half and then form each half into a disc. Wrap up in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place one of the disks between two pieces of parchment and roll out to ¼-inch thickness. Using a milk bottle cap or large piping tip (or any cutter that is 1-inch in diameter), cut out circles, and place the circles on the baking sheet. If the taffy circles get stuck use a thin spatula for easy removal. Refrigerate the circles for 30 minutes.
- To make a rose, take one circle and roll it up tight like a cigar. This will become the center of your rose. Next, flatten the edges of 4 to 5 more circles with a spoon, and then wrap each circle around the center “cigar”, like petals of a rose. Each “petal” should get looser and wider as you go around. Refrigerate the roses until ready to use. If the taffy becomes sticky and soft at any time during the rose construction then just refrigerate until it firms up.
- Heat proof bowl
- Saucepan
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- 1-inch round cutter (milk bottle cap, or large piping tip)
- Chocolate taffy will keep a week in the refrigerator if well wrapped, and 1 month in the freezer if well wrapped. Serve the taffy at room temperature
