Chocolate Easter Eggs

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Chocolate eggs are a big Easter tradition in Brazil, and they are not so easy to find here,  so I have been making my own for the past two years. Typically you would wrap them in some sort of pretty cellophane or foil and decorate it with ribbons. It makes for a great Easter gift.

This is barely a recipe as there really isn’t much to it but melted chocolate that’s cooled in a egg mold. I found the plastic molds online.

I chose bittersweet chocolate that does not contain any dairy, but a combination of bittersweet and milk chocolate works well too.

 

 

Chocolate Easter Egg Recipe

this recipe makes one large full egg or two small ones

You will need:

1/2 lb. (500g) good quality chocolate*

 

Chop the chocolate.

Melt chocolate in the microwave or on a double boiler, whatever method works best for you.

Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate in the molds, just enough to cover it. Place molds in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

After that time, remove from fridge and apply another layer of chocolate. repeat this process until all the chocolate is gone, or until you reach the desired thickness for the eggs.

If you want the parts to melt together, heat a knife or metal spatula quickly under an open flame and pass it around the edges. Immediately join the parts, they should stick together.

 

* A note on chocolate: If you are using coverture chocolate, you can use it right away, but if using regular chocolate, it’s a good idea to temper it before putting it in the molds. There are several ways to temper chocolate and a wide range of articles and video tutorials online, so I won’t get too much into it here.

 

 

This year, I made two variations for Easter: Trail mix and goji berries eggs

 

Trail Mix Chocolate Egg

 

Make a plain chocolate egg as described above and let it firm up. Once firmed, fill the cavity of the eggs with a trail mix of choice:  dried fruits, mixed nuts, seeds, candied ginger, pretzels, etc.

Put  the two parts together and warp it with foil.

Keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy.

 

 

Goji Berry Chocolate Egg

 

Make a plain chocolate egg as described above, but sprinkle some chopped goji berries during the second layer while the chocolate is still soft. On the third layer, use the leftover chocolate to cover most of the berries that might be sticking out.

Close the two parts and warp in foil. Keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy.

 

 

 

You can use any other kind dried fruits you want. I like the contrast of the tart goji berries with the chocolate.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter!

Double Chocolate Mint Cookie

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Most people I know would say that these cookies taste like Christmas. That’s because of the peppermint flavour, which is associated with the Holiday Season. I don’t really understand that association since I never heard anyone say that After Eight tastes like a Holiday candy, for example. I find that peppermint and chocolate is a match to be enjoyed anytime of the year.

These cookies are meant to stay soft inside, so keep an eye on them towards the final minutes of baking to make sure they don’t overcook. I think they go very nicely with a cup of black coffee.         

 

Double Chocolate Mint Cookie Recipe

makes about 36 small cookies

 

You will need:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

4 tablespoons sour cream

3/4 cup mint chocolate chips

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, salt and baking soda over a bowl and set aside.

Beat butter and both sugars until it is light in colour and texture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat one more time. Reduce speed and mix in egg, vanilla and mint extracts until there is no trace of eggs and the mixture look smooth.

Add a third of the dry ingredients, then half of the sour cream. Stop the mixer, scrape the sides of bowl. Add another third of the dry ingredients, the sour cream and then the remaining dry ingredients.

Mix in the chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop the batter onto three baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake it for 13 minutes.

Enjoy it!

Chocolate Salami

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This is an old Brazilian recipe that has been on my list of things to cook for quite a while and I am so happy I finally made it, it was easy to do and the end result was quite delicious. No, it’s not a sweet salami. In fact, it’s not a salami at all. This is a sweet, chocolaty treat made with cocoa, nuts, sweet condensed milk and a touch of cognac. Sounds good? It gets even better: this is a one-dish, no-bake recipe that requires less than half an hour of hands-on time.  It’s called “salami” because this log shaped treat resembles a salami, both from the outside or when sliced. Even if the salami resemblance is not that obvious,this dessert will for sure make a good conversation piece.

 

Chocolate Salami Recipe:

makes 3 logs

You will need:

1/2 cup of raisins

4 tablespoons of cognac, divided

2 packages of Maria cookies (400g total)

1 cup of blanched almonds

1 1/2 cup of melted butter

2 cups of cocoa powder

1 can of sweet condensed milk

confectioner’s sugar for decorating

Soak the raisins in 2 tablespoons of cognac for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, break the cookies with your hands into medium size pieces. Add the almonds, butter, cocoa powder and sweet condensed milk. Add the soaked raisins and stir it all very well. This will be a very stiff dough and the best way to mix it all is by using your hands. It may seem like it’s not going to come together, but it will, just keep mixing it up until all ingredients are well incorporated, forming a dark, moist dough.

Roll a double layer of plastic wrap onto a clean work surface and place one third of the dough in the middle. Using your hands, shape dough into a log about 2-3 inches in diameter. Place log towards the end of the plastic wrap and start rolling the plastic tightly around the log. Twist the ends of the plastic like a candy and tuck them under the log. Refrigerate log overnight.

When ready to serve, use a small sieve to sprinkle the outside of the logs with confectioner’s sugar (or, if you prefer, sprinkle the confectioner’s sugar on a kitchen towel and roll the log on it).

Slice it with a sharp knife. Enjoy it!

 

 

Dobos Torte - Daring Bakers

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The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of

A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

This was the first time since join the Daring Bakers that I was not completely  pleased with the results. The Dobos Torte tasted very good, which was not a surprise. White sponge and lots of chocolate ganache, how bad can that taste? My problem was with the presentation, and it probably had a lot to do with my decision to cut the recipe in half (lesson learned).

Since it's only the 2 of us, and I was  recently told by my doctor to decrease my sugar intake , I thought  I would make just a small cake for us to share. The problem of making small amounts is that if something goes wrong, you don't have much back up, and that is what happen to my sponge cake. It all went well for the first batch, but the second one stuck to the baking paper and I couldn't remove it. So I ended up with 1/4 of the sponge cake from the recipe. That is the reason you only see a small slice of my "torta"....

The chocolate buttercream was easy to make and tasted great, the only thing is that it melts pretty fast so it has be kept in the fridge. Even after the layers were assembled, I had to keep it refrigerated or the layers would slide off and melt.

A typical Dobos Torte is topped with  a caramel-covered sponge layer, normally sliced into wedges. Since I was already running short of cake layers, I decided to skip the caramel altogether.

I ended up with a multi layered mini torta that tasted great (just like store bought actually), but didn't exactly look that attractive., specially if you think of Dobos Torte as a beautiful, tall cake with a crunchy and shinny caramel topping.... Mine wasn't any of that.... 

Although Dobos is a wonderful dessert, certainly elegant (when made properly), I don't think I will be making this again anytime soon. Perhaps it is a little too rich for my taste, but as a true Daring Baker, I am happy that I tried it.

 

For more beautiful photos of Dobos Torte (and too see how they are really suppose to look like), head over to the Daring Kitchen. And for the complete recipe for this particular Dobos, click here or here.

Milano Cookies - Daring Bakers

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The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

We were given a choice of making both cookies or only one of them. I chose to make the Milano cookies because I am not  a big marshmallow fan. The cookies were very easy to make and the dough reminded me of my first Daring Bakers challenge, the Tuiles. Remember them? This time the dough was piped and had a much thicker consistency. The filling of the cookies was as simple as a chocolate ganache can be, with the addition of some orange zest.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and I did not make much changes to it. I did, however, omit the lemon extract (didn't have any), and halved the entire recipe. I ended up with about 16 cookies. If you would like to see more  Milano cookies or the chocolate covered marshmallow cookies, head over to the Daring Bakers site and have fun!

This is the original recipe given to us. I halved all ingredients (using 3 egg whites) and omitted the lemon extract.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

 

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

 

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Banana and Chocolate Tart

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I know very little people (if any) that don't like chocolate or bananas. The combination of both is even better, so when I ended up with an extra tart shell from my last Daring Bakers challenge, I knew exactly what to do with it. It's hard to go wrong with chocolate and bananas.

If you have already a tart shell frozen or if you are using a store-bought one, this dessert comes together in no time at all and can easily be made on any busy week night. If you are going to make the dough from scratch, than you'll have to add some extra time, but this dough is really easy to work with. For this recipe, I used an already blind-baked tart shell,

The idea here is to make a layer of chocolate on the bottom of the tart shell and top it with fresh bananas. A no-brainier, really. I also added some possible variations and additions to make this tart even more delicious.

 

Banana-Chocolate Tart Recipe:

makes one 9 inch round tart

 

You will need:

1 tart shell, homemade or store-bought , par baked and cooled (recipe for sweet short crust pastry as well as how to blind bake a tart shell, here)

4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 cup of cream or half and half

3-4 ripe bananas, depending on their size

1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons of  brown sugar

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the cream just until bellow boiling point. Pour it over the chocolate and stir until you get a smooth consistency. Let it cool.

Peel the bananas and half them lengthwise. Squeeze the lemon juice over the bananas and add the sugar. Mix well.

Spread the chocolate sauce on the bottom of the tart shell and top it with the bananas, cut side up, forming a circular pattern.

Bake it until tart is golden brown and bananas are soft, about 30 minutes.

Serve warm by itself or alongside some vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy it!

 

Possible variations:

Sprinkle the bananas with some chopped peanuts or walnuts half way trough baking.

Place a layer of shredded coconut between the chocolate and the bananas.

Use cinnamon-sugar instead of the brown sugar.

 

 

Mexican Chocolate Cake

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Taking a look at the ingredient's list, one would quickly find out that this is not your usual chocolate cake. A Mexican chocolate cake incorporates the warmth of spices like cinnamon and chili and the punch of balsamic vinegar. The result is a cake with a spicy kick that is not too sweet, yet super flavorful. I love it, and I specially enjoy serving it to friends because no one ever expects it to be spicy. It's a pleasant surprise, but I am not sure kids would like it, or someone with a more pick palate (like Andrew). You can cut back on the amount of chili or cayenne used in the cake to fit your own taste. I've made this cake numerous times because it's so easy, fast and makes very little mess of bowls and dishes. In fact, this batter is made in one bowl, than poured into the cake pan, and that's it. I normally don't make the chocolate glaze, I prefer simple cakes, but this time I went all the way, so you can have an idea of how pretty this simple cake can be.

Note:

This is an egg-less cake, great news for all the batter eaters out there (you know who you are...)

 

 

Mexican Chocolate Cake Recipe:

makes one 8 inch round cake

 

You will need:

1 1/2 cup of flour

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or chili powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of cold water

1/4 cup of canola oil

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch cake pan, set aside.

In a large bowl,whisk all dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix well until batter is fully combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and finish cooling it in a wire  rack.

 

Chocolate Glaze Recipe (optional):

Confectioner's sugar

Unsweetened cocoa

Cinnamon (optional)

Water

For the glaze, combine confectioner's sugar and cocoa using a 2 for 1 ratio (2 parts sugar, 1 part cocoa). Use small amounts of water by the spoon full to moisten it and bring to the consistency you want. For this cake, I used less than 1 cup of sugar and half that amount of cocoa. I also added a pinch of cinnamon to it.

If you have extra glaze, keep it refrigerated and use it over fruits or mix it with plain yogurt.

Enjoy it!

Valentino Cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream - Daring Bakers Challenge

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It seems like Valentine's day was so long ago, but it was actually only 2 weeks ago. So this month's Daring Bakers challenge is a celebration of love!

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

We were given the option of  making the vanilla ice cream recipe that was offered in the challenge or using one of our own. I decided to make a cinnamon ice cream which was a simple enough recipe that I could make as I have not yet mastered the art of ice cream making... The ice cream was very nice, although the cinnamon flavour is really strong and for some people (my Valentine included) it may be a little too much. I will definitely make this ice cream again, but perhaps pair it with something more fruity like an apple pie.

 

 

The Valentino cake was as easy to make as it was to eat.....At first I thought it was going to be too dense and rich and we weren't really going to be able to eat it quick. Oh, who are we kidding....The cake was made on Friday and it was gone by Sunday. It's that good, but yes, it is super rich, since it is a flour less cake. Not a cake to be made every week, or something you would keep it in the counter for an afternoon tea & cake thing...  This cake calls for an special occasion. I used a mix of semi-sweet and milk chocolate and baked it in a heart-shaped pan that I brought years ago in Brazil.

I enjoyed the challenge and the cake very much. Here is to love....

 

Chocolate Valentino Cake Recipe:

Recipe comes from "Sweet Treats" by Chef Wan

Preparation time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated
1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

 

Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe:

original recipe from allrecipes.com

serves 8

1 cup of white sugar

1 1/2 cups of half-and-half cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup of heavy cream

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

In a large sauce pan, warm half-and-half and sugar until sugar is dissolved and liquid is heated, do not boil it. Remove from heat. Pour a ladle of the warm liquid into the eggs's bowl and whisk it fast and non stop until liquid is incorporated into eggs and mixture is warm. Repeat the same operation twice again, a ladle of the time. Bring this egg and cream mixture back into the pan, add the heavy cream and bring it to medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove custard from heat, add cinnamon and vanilla, stir and let it cool to room temperature. Chill for at least 4 hours, up to 2 days. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Freeze for 6 hours before serving.

 

Chocolate Almond Crunch

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I found the perfect sweet treat for a movie night. It's these little chocolate clusters. They are so crunchy and easy to eat, perfect after a bowl of popcorn while watching your favourite movie at home. What's fun about this recipe is what makes the chocolate balls crunchy: fried egg noodles. That's right, the type you use in soups and Chinese Lo Mein. Perhaps it's not a new idea, but for me it is. I saw it while flipping through a cookbook about noodles the other day at the local library. I don't remember the book name, neither the recipe itself, I just remember that it used fried egg noodles to add crunchiness to the chocolate.  And I loved the idea!

This is my attempt on recreating it. As I said, it feels perfect for movie night, but I am sure they would be a welcome snack at anytime of the day or occasion. The good thing is that once prepared, the chocolate crunches stay in the fridge and can be served anytime.

This sweet treat didn't take more than 15 minutes to make and it takes only about 10 minutes to chill in the fridge. How easy is that?

 

Chocolate Almond Crunch Recipe:

makes about 20 balls

 

You will need: (the measures on this recipe are pretty loose)

3 oz of egg noodles

oil for frying

10 oz of chocolate (any type you want to, I made some with white and some with milk chocolate)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup of golden raisins

1/2 cup of sliced almonds

 

Fry the noodles in hot oil (about 375 F) for 1 minute, be careful not to burn it. Transfer to a bowl, and let it cool. Once cooled, break it up with your hands.

Melt the chocolate using a double boiler, once melted,add vanilla and stir. Add the broken noodles, raisins and almonds. Mix well with a spoon or spatula until it is evenly incorporated.

Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture into a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Chill in the fridge until set and ready to serve.

 

This is my entry for this month's Weekend Wokking, an event created by Wandering Chopsticks featuring a different secret ingredient every month. This month's host is Blazing Hot Wok and the secret ingredient is almond.

 

Chocolate-Banana Panini

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After I made those yummy potato-buttermilk rolls I decided to used them for a sweet treat as well. Bananas and chocolate are a great combo, so why not put them together in a bun? Super easy to make, this is a quick recipe that can be made at any time of the day. I used the rolls I had at home but brioche would be a good choice too.  Basically any bread that is plain (no olives, herbs).  Here it's how it's made:

 

Chocolate-Banana Panini Recipe:

makes 2 panini

 

1 banana

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

cinnamon

chocolate chips

2 rolls

 

Peel the banana and slice it lengthwise then crosswise, making 4 pieces. Melt the butter in a skillet and sprinkle it with cinnamon. Add the bananas ad cook them just until they are browned but sill firm, turning once. Set aside, do not clean the skillet (just yet).

Split buns open and wipe the skillet's butter with them (now you can wash the skillet...).   Divide bananas into buns and top it with chocolate chips, as much as you want. Close sandwiches, butter outside of buns and place them on a hot panini maker. Grill them until chocolate has melted. Serve warm, it goes really nice with a glass of cold milk, yum!

Enjoy it!

Walnut and Chocolate Chip Blondies

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We moved to Seattle in 2007 and I had only one afternoon to find us an apartment. It sounds like not enough time, but as soon as I entered our building (where we currently live), I knew this was it. There was nothing available at the time, but I liked it so much that we ended up signing a lease by mail a month later to a unit we had never even seen. It was one of the best decisions we made.

If you live in our building, not only you get to enjoy a roof top patio with incredible views of Puget Sound (and 2 barbeque grills available 24-7), but you are also invited to seasonal parties every 4 months. Brunch to celebrate Spring, wine and cheese during the winter, and of course the BIG July 4th BBQ party. Now they are also offering tenants a breakfast get together every first Saturday of each month. Is that great or what?

But the best part of living here is the people. Fellow tenants are great and so is our building manager and the maintenance staff. I like to bring them a little sweet treat every once in a while, it's a way to say thank you. That was the purpose of these blondies. I brought it downstairs in individual containers so they could take them home. I saved a few pieces for me, after all, it was my first time making blondies. They turned out really good! And really easy to make too. I loved the crunchiness from the walnuts and the buttery kind of flavour from the dough.

 

The recipe is  from marthastewart.com which is always a reliable source for all things cookie-related.

Walnut and Chocolate Chip Blondie Recipe:

makes 16 squares

 

1 stick of unsalted butter, melted (plus more for pan)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon  of salt

1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare pan by buttering it first, than covering it with parchment paper. Leave a 2 inch overhang on each side for you to pull the cookie later on. Butter the parchment paper as well. Set aside.

Whisk butter and sugars until smooth, add the egg and vanilla and whisk some more. Add flour in two batches and salt, mixing it until it is all combined. Do not over mix it. Fold in half of the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Pour batter into prepared pan and top it with the remaining chocolate chips and walnut pieces.

Bake it for about 40 minutes, or until the toothpick test comes out clean.

Let it cool completely. Using the overhang paper, lift cake form pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Slice it into 16 even squares using a serrated knife.

Enjoy it!

 

 

Banana and Strawberry Chocolate Drizzled Skewers

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This is our alternative to fondue. We love having fondue, whether it is at home or at a restaurant (we happen to live two blocks away from one...). But what does a fondue lover does during the summer months or when money is short to spend on fondue? The skewer you see on the picture is my answer to that.  I think bananas and strawberries go really well together, and what fruit doesn't like to be covered in chocolate?

I take some chocolate chips, melt it in the microwave and stir cream until the right consistency. Sure it can be done on the stove using a double boiler but the idea here is to have as little work as possible. The strawberries are washed, dried and leaves removed. Bananas are chopped into fairly large pieces. Once the fruits are in the skewer, it's just drizzle some chocolate and let it set.  Yum!

Panettone Chocolate Candles for the Holidays (Velas de Panettone)

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Wishing everyone a Holiday filled with Joy and Peace.

Panettone Chocolate Candles How-to:

This edible candle is made with only 4 ingredients.

A chocolate Panettone, or as they call it in Brazil, "Chocottone"

Cream

Semi-sweet chocolate

Milk chocolate

I made 3 candles out of this 26 oz chocolate- panettone:

The way I did was to slice the panettone with a serrated knife going around in circles so you end up with one long piece. Roll it with a rolling pin to flatten it a bit. Kind of like this:

Bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolates on separate bowls. Stir until chocolate is fully melted and you have a good consistent sauce.

Divide panettone in 3 peices.

Spread some of the semi-sweet chocolate sauce on the panettone and roll is as you would a roulade. Wrap it with wax paper and twist ends like a tootsie roll.

Refrigerate it for about 2 hours. Unwrap it and cover it with more semi-sweet chocolate sauce. Alternatively, spread the chocolate sauce on a clean piece of wax paper and re-roll. The goal is to cover the panettone log with chocolate and let it set. Place it standing on a tray or plate, you can use some chocolate on the bottom to secure the candle up.

To make the melted wax effect, top candles with some of the milk chocolate sauce and let it drip on the sides. Top them with a Brazil nut posing as a flame.

I kept my candles in the fridge until they are ready to make their appearance on Christmas Eve.

Notes:

I really like the idea of a home-made-edible center piece, however, this was more messy and time consuming than I expected. So to help you out, check out this page where I got the recipe from, it is written in Portuguese but there are more pictures that might be helpful.