Making pralines yourself – instructions and recipes for pralines

Pralines are considered the high art of chocolate making – and anyone who has ever tasted them knows that this is justified. They are not only artfully decorated for the eye, but also deliciously filled with flavorful mixtures of marzipan, nougat, or liqueurs. For a long time I didn’t dare try making pralines because I didn’t quite get along with chocolate glaze.

After a praline workshop in Gänserndorf with the wonderful  course instructor Edwin Rieth, I realized that with the right equipment and a little patience, pralines can nowadays also be made at home. Of course, it’s not something you can manage in 10 minutes, but anyone who enjoys this sort of thing and has the time should give it a try.

Homemade pralines are of course not only practical when someone comes to visit, they also make wonderful gifts to bring along.

Making pralines yourself

Right off the bat, without a bit of equipment it becomes more complicated to make pralines yourself. Here I have put together a personal list of what is worth buying:

1. Silicone spoon for temperature control

It is very important to have something with which you can measure the temperature of the chocolate. A silicone spoon with temperature control works very well for this. Because the chocolate must not get too hot and should also cool down again to a certain temperature. I used to do this by feel and usually ended up with a grayish glaze. In the praline workshop I then learned that my chocolate was definitely too hot.

2. Praline molds

Here I only bought myself a small silicone praline mold. Anyone who has already tried it may also have noticed that these are very unstable and difficult to transport to the refrigerator. Here I would rather recommend solid molds, such as terrine molds. If you don’t want to bother with the chocolate shell, simply use ready-made hollow shells. They are available in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate and you only need to fill them yourself.

If you would like to treat yourself to something nice, you should get a magnetic mold for pralines. Although they are somewhat expensive to purchase, with prices starting at €35, their handling and lifespan are priceless. These molds are made of solid polycarbonate and equipped with magnets. With them you can create beautiful decorations using transfer sheets. Such a sheet prints a beautiful pattern onto the praline, because the magnets ensure that the plate is pressed firmly against the sheet and the pattern is transferred to the couverture. According to my course instructor, these magnetic molds last for years.

3. Good chocolate

For pralines, it is important to use good chocolate. I recommend Belgian chocolate Callebaut. It is also practical to use small chocolate chips, as they melt much faster. Large bars of chocolate have to be chopped up first.

4. Decorating set – squeeze bottles

Very practical for getting the filling precisely into the praline are squeeze bottles. These should be squeezable and are available in different sizes and with different openings.

5. Offset spatula

For spreading the chocolate, an offset spatula works very well.

6. Melting pot

To melt the chocolate well, a melting pot is recommended. Over a water bath, the chocolate can melt nicely while being stirred constantly – always pay attention to the temperature!

7. Praline fork

Anyone who wants to coat pralines completely themselves is well advised to use a praline fork. With this kind of praline utensil, it is ensured that the praline does not get too many marks in the chocolate coating.

Extra tips:

• A rack does not necessarily have to be purchased – in my opinion, simple baking paper is even easier to handle here.
• Piping bags do not have to be purchased either – small cones can be formed with baking paper and the opening can be cut to the desired size with scissors.

Melting couverture properly

Chocolate chips are best suited for praline couverture. If you use a bar of chocolate, you now have to chop it finely. Also prepare a bowl or tub with cold water that the melting pot fits into.

Now fill a pot with about 3–4 fingers’ width of water and bring it to a boil. Place a suitable melting pot over it; it must not touch the bottom of the pot. The chocolate must be melted while stirring constantly. The temperature must be checked with a thermometer. It should not get hotter than 38 °C. Now place the melting pot in the cold water and let the chocolate cool to 28°C while stirring. Then place it on the stove once more and warm it to 32 °C. When processing, the chocolate should constantly have the correct temperature, which should be checked regularly. If the temperature is no longer right, temper it again.

Pralines in casting molds

Whether hearts, balls, or a square, beautiful shapes can be made using a casting mold.

To do this, thoroughly clean the casting mold; with a magnetic mold, insert the transfer sheet. Now pour in the tempered couverture with a ladle so that each mold is filled with chocolate. Now place baking paper on top and turn the mold over with a quick swing, letting the excess couverture run off onto the baking paper. Turn the mold back over and scrape the excess chocolate into a bowl with an offset spatula, so that only the bottom and the side walls are coated with it. This is a bit of fiddling, because you must not tilt it too much, so that too much chocolate runs out again. Briefly and carefully shake the mold back and forth on the work surface so that the bottom is really completely filled with chocolate. Now place the mold in the refrigerator for about 60 minutes and let it harden.

After that, the desired cooled filling can be piped into the molds using a squeeze bottle. Chill the filled pralines again and only then fill with tempered couverture (this is also called sealing, because now the praline is covered all around with couverture). To do this, cover the mold completely with couverture and scrape off the excess couverture with the spatula over a bowl, then chill the whole thing thoroughly again for at least 2 hours. Then release from the mold by turning the mold over and tapping it on the work surface. Now either serve the pralines, eat them right away, or freeze them for special occasions.

Cut pralines

1. Variation: With a marbled pattern: Here you need an oblong terrine mold that is only 2 cm wide. For a nice pattern on the surface, cut a sheet to the size of the terrine mold and first spread tempered white or colored couverture on it with a spatula, and only then coat it with dark chocolate. Then immediately place the sheet in the terrine mold; it should completely cover the bottom and both edges. Let the whole thing chill in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, the desired filling can be prepared. Let the filling cool a little, because if you pour it into the terrine mold while it is very hot, the chilled couverture will melt. Fill the cooled filling into the terrine mold so that a few millimeters remain for sealing, and then place it straight into the refrigerator. Finally, fill the entire terrine mold again with the tempered couverture so that no filling is visible anymore. Now the praline is completely sealed again and goes back into the refrigerator to harden. Once set, release the praline bar from the terrine mold and cut it on a board into bite-sized pieces with a very sharp knife.
2. Variation: Coat completely with chocolate: For this variation, line the terrine mold with film or baking paper. Pour the desired filling into the terrine mold and chill. Once the filling has set nicely, carefully turn it out of the terrine mold and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Now prepare melted couverture and coat the pralines completely with it. To do this, place the praline on a praline fork and dip it into the couverture, carefully tap off the excess couverture, and place it on baking paper. If you want to decorate the praline, you must do so quickly before the couverture is dry. Candied flowers or sugar pearls can be used for this.

Extra tip: the praline fork must always be clean, otherwise the praline cannot be slid off it.

Hollow-shell pralines

If you want to save yourself the whole process of filling praline molds with couverture, buy ready-made hollow shells made of chocolate. They come in many shapes, such as hearts, Christmas trees, balls, or stars, and much more. Now only the desired filling has to be made and filled into the hollow shell using a piping bottle. Let the whole thing harden again in the refrigerator.

Afterwards, the pralines can also be decorated with tempered, colored chocolate or sugar decorations.

Fillings for pralines

Ganache praline filling

A very fine and creamy filling for pralines is a ganache, also called Parisian cream. It is made from a mixture of whipping cream and chocolate. For filling pralines, a mixing ratio of 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream is best. First, the whipping cream is heated in a pot and the chocolate is melted in it. Depending on taste, various aromas can be added here (e.g. alcohol, syrup, instant coffee, nuts or brittle, or also spices, such as gingerbread spice, cinnamon, vanilla, zest of a tonka bean) can be added. In some recipes, glucose syrup or honey is also added.

Extra tip: Glucose syrup can always be replaced 1:1 with honey. I always use honey.

Extra tip: Instead of rose liqueur, a splash of rose syrup can also be used.

Nut fillings

Classics include nut fillings, such as marzipan or nougat. For a nougat filling, melt the finished mixture in a water bath, let it cool slightly, and fill it into the hollow shells using a paper cone or piping bottle. You can modify a nougat mixture by sprinkling chopped and lightly toasted hazelnuts or hazelnut brittle into the filling.

For a marzipan filling, the marzipan must be kneaded with a little powdered sugar. Here, too, various flavors, such as pieces of orange peel or chopped pistachios or almonds, can give the praline that certain something.

Crunchy fillings

If you like something crunchy in your pralines, you can use wafer pieces in addition to nuts and brittle. To do this, simply crumble hollow wafers with your fingers and add them to the filling. Ready-made chocolate crispies are also great; they can likewise simply be added to the prepared filling.

Fruit fillings

Fruit fillings are usually also very popular in pralines. For this you can use candied or preserved fruits, such as rum raisins or Amarena cherries. Lemon or orange peels also add a fine aroma to a filling. Make sure to always use organic fruit, especially for the peels. A good jam or marmalade in the filling also lends a fruity aroma.

Extra tip: Rum raisins go very well with dark chocolate; Amarena cherries harmonize very well with white chocolate. The peel of lemons or oranges goes with almost any praline filling.

Pralines with alcohol or syrup

Alcohol gives every praline a special note, so various liqueurs are suitable here. If you do not want to use alcohol, you can also use a good syrup. A little instant coffee also works very well. Simply stir the desired liquid into the melted chocolate. Very fine liqueurs for pralines are: rose liqueur, Cointreau, stone pine liqueur.

Extra tip: Do not use too much syrup or alcohol, so that the fine taste of the chocolate is not masked.

Here are a few more impressions of ‘my’ pralines. The first 5 pictures are pralines that we created in the workshop with the absolutely wonderful Edwin Rieht. The last 2 are my attempts at making pralines on my own.

Extra tip: If all else fails, order pralines from a professional; here I can highly recommend the pralines from Eveline Wild; they are truly wonderful. A great gift, or always order a box for yourself as well; they melt in your mouth!

Read also: Cherry praline recipe

Photos by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at