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Chocolate Pralines

Chocolate pralines from Erken 1914: a sugar syrup with glucose boiled to 115 °C, worked into a white fondant with milk and vanilla, shaped into balls, dried, and dipped in melted chocolate. Variation with hazelnut paste.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 631 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Classic fondant pralines from the confectionery chapter in Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914). The sugar syrup is boiled to the "soft-ball stage" and worked out on a dish into white fondant – a technique she describes in several places. Erken also gives a variation with hazelnut paste instead of fondant.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Boil the sugar syrup

    Boil the sugar, water, and glucose syrup to the soft-ball stage, about 115 °C (240 °F).

  2. 2

    Cool down

    Pour the mixture out at once onto a lightly oiled dish, a marble slab, or parchment and let it cool.

  3. 3

    Work into fondant

    Add the milk and vanilla essence and work the mass with a wooden spoon until it turns white and pliable.

  4. 4

    Shape balls

    Shape small, round balls from the mass, roll them in powdered sugar, and let them dry for 1 hour.

  5. 5

    Coat with chocolate

    Cut the chocolate into small pieces and melt it over a water bath without adding sugar. Dip the balls in the chocolate and lift them out with a fork. Place them on paper until they set.

  6. 6

    Variation

    Instead of the fondant mass, you can use a mass of 250 g hazelnuts and 180 g powdered sugar stirred with 2 egg whites.

Changes from the original

"Soft-ball stage" is specified as about 115 °C (240 °F). Glucose corresponds to modern glucose syrup. The oiled dish is replaced by parchment or a marble slab. A dessert spoon is converted to about 1 tsp, and vanilla essence can be replaced by vanilla extract.

Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From19141949Modernised
To19141949Modernised
1914 (proofread, p. 631) → Modernised~84% of the text changedremovedadded
250 gr. sukker 1¼ del. vand g sukker. 1,25 dl vann. 8 gr. glykose g glukosesirup (glykose). 1 dessertske ts melk (1 dessertskje). 3 draaper dråper vaniljeessens (eller vaniljeekstrakt). 150 gr. chokolade. Sukker, vand g mørk sjokolade (til overtrekk). melis (til å rulle kulene i). Kok sukker, vann og glykose kokes glukosesirup til kulesukker, slaaes ca. 115 °C.. Hell massen straks op paa ut på et lett oljet fat, avkjøles, tilsættes melken en marmorplate eller bakepapir og vaniljen. Arbeides la den kjølne.. Tilsett melk og vaniljeessens og arbeid massen med træske til en tresleiv til den blir hvit og smidig masse. Av massen formes smaa, smidig.. Form små, runde kuler, som rulles kuler av massen, rull dem i flormelis, ligger til tørk melis og la dem tørke i 1 time. Chokoladen skjæres op time.. Skjær sjokoladen i smaa stykker, smeltes små biter og smelt den i vandbad vannbad uten at tilsætte den noget å tilsette sukker. Sukkerkulerne dyppes heri Dypp kulene i sjokoladen og tages op løft dem opp med sølvgaffel. Istedenfor sukkermassen en gaffel. Legg dem på papir til de stivner.. I stedet for fondantmassen kan man ta ¼ kg. hasselnøtter, bruke en masse av 250 g hasselnøtter og 180 gr. flormelis til g melis rørt med 2 eggehviter.

Note on Modernised

«Kulesukker» er presisert til ca. 115 °C. Glykose tilsvarer moderne glukosesirup. Oljet fat er erstattet av bakepapir eller en marmorplate. Dessertske er omregnet til ca. 1 ts, og vaniljeessens kan erstattes av vaniljeekstrakt.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the "soft-ball stage" and why is it important?
The soft-ball stage is the ball stage of sugar boiling (about 115–118 °C), where a drop of syrup forms a ball in cold water. If the sugar is boiled too little, the mass turns out loose; too long, and it turns hard and won't work up white and pliable.
Why should the chocolate be melted over a water bath without sugar?
A water bath gives mild, even heat so the chocolate doesn't burn. Sugar is not added, since the filling with 250 g sugar and powdered sugar is already sweet enough – and sugar can make the chocolate grainy.
How long does it take, and is there a variation without sugar mass?
Allow about 2 hours and 15 minutes in all, of which the balls need to dry 1 hour before dipping. As an alternative to the sugar mass, you can use a nut mass of ¼ kg hazelnuts, 180 g powdered sugar, and 2 egg whites.

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