So when you’re in Cuba you have to try a cigar right? Here is a dessert that was fun to make for a new years eve party. I made these last year for a themed party called “Havana nights”. The night was filled with lots of little fun cuban themed items but the dessert was the real show stopper. I have to admit that I found a similar recipe online which I have based mine off of. I know there are a lot of different recipes for dessert cigars but this one was one that was probably the least labor intensive compared to the rest of them. Here is the recipe I hope you enjoy it!
Recipe Ingredients
Chocolate Tuiles
3 large egg whites
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
pinch kosher salt and a pinch of cinnamon
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Honey ganache
1/4 cup honey
7 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
Recipe Instructions
How to make Honey Ganache
Add cream and honey to a pot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute. Then whisk until completely smooth. Then add the butter until shiny and smooth. Let it cool for 20 minutes and then fill a disposable pastry bag and let it cool completely. Don’t put it in the refrigerator if you are going to fill them right away because the ganache will be too cold to fill the cigars.
How to make chocolate Cigars
I had an old silicon mat that I took and cut a 2 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch rectangle. This is what I used as my template for my cigars. Then in a food processor or bowl mix all the ingredients together well until it becomes a smooth batter. Place the batter in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Then Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take a sheet pan lined with a silicon mat (silpat) and using your template spread 3 thin rectangles of batter in the template using a small offset spatula. Place in the oven and cook for about 8 minutes. Working fast now, open the door to the oven and take one tuile out of the oven. Immediately using a cannoli tube or a small wooden rolling pin roll the tuile around the tube. Hold it for a second and then continue with the other two. Three was about as many as I could do at one time before the other ones became to crisp to work with. As soon as the tuiles start to cool they become crisp. So you have to work fast when take them out of the oven. It will probably take a few trial runs before you get into a groove cranking them out. I think I doubled the recipe and ended up making about 50 or so of these cigars. So it was a little bit of a process but the end result was great.
To Finish,
You can get some edible paper from an arts and crafts or specialty baking store (Michaels in Austin) along with edible ink which allows you to make your wrapper (more for looks because it doesn’t taste that great). Then once cooled completely you can take your pastry bag with honey ganache and fill your cigars with them. You don’t want to fill them too far in advance because at some point the tuiles will soften from the ganache. You can fill them 20-30 minutes probably an hour but I wouldn’t do these a day before you are going to serve them. I was lucky enough to have a nice wooden box that had the top glass so you could look in. I filled the box up with coffee beans which gave them a bit of a coffee aroma. Just another flavor boost! Now time to serve and enjoy!
