Fudgy Nama Chocolates

When Nami posted the recipe for Nama Chocolates on her website Just One Cookbook, I read it and thought "Wow, making homemade Royce chocolates looks pretty easy. Just make chocolate truffles and cut them into squares instead of shaping them into balls." Now, why didn't I think of that? Royce chocolates hail from Japan and they have opened quite a number of stores around Asia. So far, I have only come across the Royce chocolate store at Takashimaya in Singapore, where I would usually walk past the display counter hoping that the salesperson standing behind would be offering free tasting samples (in miniscule 1 centimetre cubes). It was such a treat at the time (a long time ago!) when I considered them a luxury item, what more with a name like that.

Thanks to Nami for this recipe, I have made these chocolates twice already and shared them with friends and colleagues (otherwise the kids would definitely OD on chocolate with a few ensuing trips to the dentist and doctor!). The first time I made them with dark chocolate containing 45% cocoa butter, and they turned out fudgy and delicious, although not firm enough to be cleanly sliced into pieces, and had a tendency to stick to the knife. The second time, I used dark chocolate with 70% cooca butter, and the chocolate turned out much firmer and much easier to yield a clean cut. It's also great if you like your chocolates to be not so sweet. However, I found that with the higher percentage of cocoa butter, the chocolate tends to split quite easily, and that's where you'll see the oil start to separate. I might have heated up the cream too much, or perhaps the saucepan I was using retained too much heat even after I turned it off  the dropped the chocolates in. The next time I make these, I might mix both the 70% and 45% chocolate, and pour the heated cream into the chocolates in a separate bowl instead.

Nama Chocolates
Adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

400g dark chocolate (between 45% - 70%, up to your preference)
200ml thickened cream
Liquer of your choice (or use vanilla extract if you like)
Cocoa  powder to dust

Method

1. Break up or chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place them in a medium heatproof bowl.
2. Line a 8 inch square baking tin with baking paper.
3. Heat up cream in a saucepan until it almost reaches a boil. Turn off the heat when bubbles start appearing around the edges of the saucepan.
4. Pour the cream onto the chocolates, making sure the chocolates are covered in the cream. Let it sit for about 2-3 minutes so that the chocolate starts to melt. Stir until smooth and well combined.
5. Pour the chocolate mixture into the lined baking tin and smooth out the surface. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours until firm.
6. Use a warm knife (dipped into hot water and wiped dry) and slice the chocolates into 1 inch squares/rectangles. Dust the top (and sides if you like) with cocoa powder. Serve chilled. Refrigerate leftovers, if any. Enjoy with friends and family!