Chocolate Bonbons Coffee Raúl Bernal so good #32

Juanito Banana Bonbon with date water, banana, and coffee by Raúl Bernal

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Have you heard of any established and prestigious chocolatier who is willing to submit to a professional test as demanding as a championship for Spain’s Best Master Chocolatier (MMACE)? Well, Raúl Bernal is one, a resident of Huesca (Spain) and owner of a unique and unrepeatable pastry shop, LaPaca, located in the same city, which this year celebrates its fifth anniversary.

In his active career, this chocolatier had already achieved a well-deserved victory in the competition for the Best Chocolatier of Spain, the Lluis Santapau trophy, as well as the award for Best Artisan Bonbon of Spain. However, since he enjoys challenges, he decided to prove himself worthy once again.

In so good .. magazine 32, we interview Bernal and review his participation in the MMACE, where he ingeniously merged his two great passions, chocolate and cycling. One of the creations he presented was this self-created chocolate with a very funny name: Juanito Banana. “It was a last minute resource. I had to give up a mold in the shape of a plate, which was very expensive. And I took advantage of another mold I had for something else. And I made up a story that wasn’t true, which was that with the bike, my friend and I arrived in Binéfar and there we ate a banana to get energy. And suddenly Juan, from the company Borén, our supplier of nuts, who is in that town, would appear and give me some pecan nuts. And finally we would have a coffee, thus completing the flavors of this bonbon that we call Juanito Banana. The story is not true, but maybe someday it can happen (laughs)”. We share the recipe exclusively at www.sogoodmagazine.com.

Discover So Good #32

Juanito Banana Bonbon

Date water

250 g date
1,000 g water

Boil water and add the date. Leave for 30 minutes to hydrate. Strain. Mix with the weight of water and blend. Pass through a sieve. Set aside.

Banana caramel

100 g sugar
90 g sugar
20 g UHT cream 35% MG
90 g banana puree
40 g date water (previous step)
30 g liquid glucose
0.3 g bicarbonate
12 g bourbon ground coffee beans
1.6 g fine salt
40 g UHT cream 35% MG
4 g corn starch
40 g butter
100 g 34% Zephyr caramel chocolate

Caramelize the first sugar dry. Heat the second sugar with the cream, date water, banana puree, glucose, bicarbonate, ground coffee, and salt. Add to the caramel and mix well. Mix the second part of the cream with the starch. Pour the caramel over the cream with the starch and cook the mixture for a few seconds. Add the butter and the couverture and strain. Emulsify. Cool in gastronorm and leave in a container covered with cling film directly touching the mixture. Pour into the mold.

Banana with coffee caramel

600 g sugar
800 g water
20 g Bourbon ground coffee beans
peeled bananas

Caramelize the sugar dry. De-caramelize with very hot water. Add the ground coffee beans. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours. Cut 1 cm banana discs and cut out with the cutter. Vacuum pack and set aside.

Black paint

300 g Maragda 70% dark chocolate
200 g cocoa butter
6 g fat-soluble black food coloring

Melt the butter and the couverture separately and mix. Add the food coloring and use a blender. Strain. Check that the paint is above 40ºC and temper to 30ºC. Use.

Yellow paint

350 g 30.3% Nacar white chocolate
150 g cocoa butter
6 g fat-soluble yellow food coloring

Melt the butter and the couverture separately and mix them together. Add the food coloring and use a blender. Strain. Check that the paint is above 40ºC and temper to 30ºC. Spray.

Assembly

Mold with white chocolate. Paint with tempered yellow paint. Add a few touches of black paint with a brush. Spray with black paint with light pressure. Allow to crystallize. Fill with caramel. Place a piece of Borén caramelized pecan. Finish with the banana.