For this recipe, buy the chocolate that you love best, but make sure it is at least 65-to-70-per-cent cocoa with the remainder being cocoa butter, sugar and lecithin. Large bars of good-quality chocolate are available at supermarkets as well as bulk-food stores.
White chocolate contains cocoa butter and is not really a chocolate as there is no chocolate liquor in it.
We used a 2-inch wide, heart-shaped cookie cutter, but you can use the shape you like. The chocolate "cookies" are then used to sandwich a flavoured filling.
Licorice with chocolate is a dynamite combination; orange and mint also pair well with chocolate. The choice of liqueur is really up to you.
If you have chocolate and mascarpone left over, cut the chocolate into chunks and stir into the mascarpone cream and serve as a topping for cake or fruit.
Servings: Makes 4 sandwiches.
dark chocolate hearts
2 tablespoons whipping cream
Pinch cardamom
½ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
White Chocolate Filling
½ cup white chocolate
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black peppercorns
1/3 cup mascarpone
1 tablespoon anisette or Pernod, or more to taste
Method
Place cream and cardamom in a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately. Add chocolate and stir until smooth.
Using a spatula, spread mixture evenly onto parchment paper until it is a rectangle approximately 9 by 5 inches. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.
Chop the white chocolate finely and reserve.
Place cream in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately, add white chocolate and stir until smooth. Add pepper and stir to combine. Stir in mascarpone and anisette. Refrigerate to set.
Remove bittersweet chocolate from refrigerator. To cut out heart shapes, dip the cookie cutter into hot water, wipe off excess water and gently press into set chocolate.
Top four chocolate hearts with 1 heaping tablespoon of filling each. Cover with remaining hearts.
Lucy Waverman