Nama Chocolate Two Ways
A Simple & Elegant Chocolate Treat.
Hi! This week’s recipe is an easy one. It’s the crowd favourite Nama Chocolate! This newsletter contains the recipe for both dark chocolate and matcha nama chocolate. I hope you guys enjoy :) .
If you didn’t already know, Nama Chocolate (生チョコレート) is a popular rich and fudgy Japanese confectionery. They usually come in fancy packaging which makes them ideal for gifts. Royce’, specialising in nama chocolate is arguably the most popular nama chocolate brand and can be found around the globe. In Japanese, Nama (生) translates to ‘fresh’ or ‘raw’ which refers to the generous amount of fresh cream used in the confectionery.
Nama Chocolate is essentially a rich, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate ganache truffle cut into bite-sized pieces dusted with cocoa powder. It is made by mixing melted chocolate with hot cream and then putting it in a mould to set.
Ingredients
Chocolate:
Use the highest quality couverture dark/ white chocolate you can find. You only want to see 100% cocoa butter with no added vegetable oil in the ingredient list. I personally like using callets from Callebaut but you can also use chopped-up bar chocolate. Popular couverture chocolate brands are Callebaut, Valrhona, Ghirardelli and Cocoa Barry.
Heavy Cream:
Heavy Cream usually has a higher fat percentage (at least 36%) when compared to whipping cream (30% - 35%). The high-fat percentage helps make the ganache richer and more stable.
Glucose Syrup:
Glucose syrup gives the nama chocolate a smooth and chewy texture. Substitute it with the same amount of corn syrup if you cannot find it.
Matcha Powder:
I used a high-quality, culinary-grade matcha powder. I don’t recommend using ceremonial-grade matcha because of the high cost and because you will not be able to taste all of the subtleties from the matcha coming through.
Brandy (optional):
I used Martell VSOP for this recipe however, you can omit it if you want it to be alcohol-free. Substitute it with 15g of heavy cream instead. Additionally, you can also swap out brandy with other liquors like whiskey or rum.
Cocoa Powder:
I used Dutch-processed cocoa powder for dusting the nama chocolate before serving. However, any cocoa powder made with 100% cacao will do.
Dark Chocolate
300g Dark Chocolate, 60% or higher
170g Heavy Cream
17g glucose syrup,
25g Brandy (optional), substitute with 15g of heavy cream if not using
Cocoa Powder for dusting
1. Line an 8-inch square baking tin with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, microwave the dark chocolate for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat in 20-second intervals until fully melted. The chocolate should not exceed 50C.
3. Heat the heavy cream and glucose syrup in a small saucepan until simmering and small bubbles form around the edges. It should be hot but not boiling. About 70C.
4. Add the cream mixture into the melted chocolate then mix well to combine. It should be smooth and glossy.
5. Add the brandy and mix until smooth.
6. Pour the melted chocolate into the prepared baking tin, and spread it evenly using an offset spatula or a spoon.
7. Cover with cling film and refrigerate until firm. About 3 – 4 hours.
8. Cut the chocolate into 1-inch square pieces using a hot knife, and wipe it off between each cut for cleaner results.
9. Dust the chocolate with cocoa powder and serve.
Matcha
300g White Chocolate
18g Matcha Powder, plus more for dusting
125g Heavy Cream
14g Glucose Syrup
1. Line an 8-inch square baking tin with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, microwave the white chocolate for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat in 20-second intervals until fully melted. The chocolate should not exceed 45C.
3. Heat the heavy cream, matcha powder and glucose syrup in a small saucepan until simmering and small bubbles form around the edges. It should be hot but not boiling. About 70C.
4. Add the cream mixture into the melted chocolate then mix well to combine. It should be smooth and glossy.
5. Pour the melted chocolate into the prepared baking tin, and spread it evenly using an offset spatula or a spoon.
6. Cover with cling film and refrigerate until firm. About 3 – 4 hours.
7. Cut the chocolate into 1-inch square pieces using a hot knife, and wipe it off between each cut for cleaner results.
8. Dust the chocolate with more matcha powder and serve.