Chocolate Raspberry Snowballs

Chocolate Raspberry Snowball Cake

Boule de Neige Framboise Chocolat

Boule de Neige or Ball of Snow is a French dessert you don’t hear about much, but it boggles my mind why it is not more popular.  The original French version was a small butter cookie dipped in an orange or apricot preserve and then rolled in coconut.  This does sounds yummy and I am thinking of experimenting with a variation, but for the moment The Chocolate Goddess must turn her attention to that which is more desirable, a chocolate boule de neige.  Yes, of course, there is the commercialized snowball dessert with coconut. The chewy rubbery marshmallow coating, however, ruins it for me.

 Boule de Neige is an almost flour-less chocolate dessert which is usually made in a large ovenproof bowl that would be decanted, decorated, and sliced like a cake.  It is much more exciting for everyone to have a chocolate snowball they can call their own, so I made my version in two Wilton mini ball pans.  

I have seen chocolate versions of Boule de Neige combined with cherries or made with only chocolate, but I long for the taste of raspberry combined with chocolate. My version has raspberry preserves and a raspberry liquor known as Frambois.  My chocolate raspberry snowballs are easy to make, taste delicious, and will produce giggles, along with, oohs and ahhs from your audience.

It is a most wonderful dessert for the most wonderful time of the year! 

May All Your Sweet Dreams Come True!

And Remember

Always Stay in touch with Your Inner Goddess!

Spray the cavities with non stick spray and place the 4 inch squares of non stick Reynolds Wrap in the center and press down.  They do not have to be perfectly centered but your should have a little edge sticking up to help you grab when decanting the chocolate cakes.  Spray again. 

Stir the preserves to remove any lumps and add your Framboise and extracts.

Break up your good quality chocolate into small pieces and reserve a bit of the chocolate to add to the melted mixture to preserve the sine and consistency of the chocolate.

Add the butter to the bowl and melt on very low microwave setting power level 3.  Stir at 30 second intervals until just a tad of chocolate remains. 

Add your reserved chocolate and stir until all is melted. 

Fill cavities to almost the top.  These won’t rise since there is no baking powder or baking soda.  Place in preheated oven.

Bake until tops begin to crack and a inserted toothpick comes out with a few wet crumbs.

Spread a thin layer of raspberry preserves on one hemisphere and a thin layer of buttercream on the other.  Press the gently but firmly together.

First put a thin crumb layer of frosting on to keep down chocolate crumbs and then a thicker layer of frosting.  I smoothed the top layer by putting a small recessed spatula in the flame of a burner and smoothing.

Ingredients

Snowballs

2 Wilton Mini Ball Pans (each have 6 compartments)

PAM vegetable spray

Reynolds Wrap ® Non- Stick Aluminum Foil  cut into 12 - 4 inch squares

 1 pound Ghirardelli® Semisweet Chocolate

1 -1/4 cups of Sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) Butter

6 Large Eggs

1/3 cup Raspberry Preserves

2 tablespoons Framboise

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoons Raspberry Extract

1/3 cup All Purpose Flour

1 ½ cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

This will fill 12 cavities of the ball pan and make 6 snowballs

 White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2 ounces White Chocolate

1 ½ pounds (6 sticks) Butter

3 Boxes Powdered Sugar

Wilton White Food Coloring

Cream or Milk to thin if necessary

Filling

Have more raspberry preserves on hand for a thin layer of filling.

Decoration

1 bag Bakers® Shredded Moist Sweetened Coconut

Instructions

Snowballs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut 4 inch squares of Reynold Wrap nonstick aluminum foil.

Spray mold with PAM and place aluminum foil (dull side up) in cavities and press down.  Spray again.

Measure out ingredients.

Whisk eggs in a medium sized bowl.

Break up chocolate in a large heatproof glass bowl, reserving a small amount to add to melted chocolate.

Stir preserves to break up lumps and add Framboise, Raspberry extract and Vanilla Extract.

Melt chocolate and butter on low power 3 setting and stir every 30 seconds (don’t cheat - it may not look like much progress is being made but chocolate burns suddenly and burned seized up chocolate will have to be thrown out).

Just as chocolate is almost melted add in remaining reserved chocolate and stir until all is melted.

Whisk in sugar until well combined.

Add eggs, preserves, Framboise, raspberry extract and vanilla extract.

Whisk in flour.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Ladle into pans (a gravy ladle gives you control) almost to the top of the cavity until just a tiny bit of the foil is seen to help you grab onto when decanting. They will not rise as there is no leavening.

Bake for 30 – 34 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist morsels, and tops begin to crack.

Place on racks and cool overnight.

Frosting

Bring butter to room temperature.

Break up white chocolate into a heat proof bowl.

Melt white chocolate on low power stirring every 20 seconds, until almost all dissolved.

Remove and stir until all chocolate is melted.

Beat in powdered sugar until well combined.

Add vanilla food coloring to make a true white.

Add cream or milk, if the frosting is too thick or more powdered sugar, if it is too thin.

Construction

Remove chocolate hemispheres from pan.

Place round side down on waxed paper.

For each snowball, coat one flat half with a thin layer of preserves and on flat half with a thin layer of buttercream. Press together firmly, but without crushing.

Coat all spheres with what is known as a crumb layer of frosting to keep little bits of chocolate secured.

Then coat with a thicker layer of frosting, using a small offset spatula.

Heat spatula in flame if you want a smooth coating. Wipe buttercream off blade in between heating so it doesn’t burn.

Press coconut over balls. 

Scoop onto plates and serve.