The recipe for candied clementines by Christophe Felder

The ingredients of the recipe

For the candied clementines:

• 500g organic Corsican clementines
• 25 cl of mineral water
• 15 cl clementine juice
• 200 g caster sugar

For the icing:

• 5 cl of mineral water
• 225g icing sugar
• 300g tempered dark chocolate

Preparing the recipe

Candied clementines:

1. 5 days in advance, cut the whole clementines into slices 4 mm thick.
2. Put them with the water, juice, and sugar in a saucepan. Reduce over very low heat for 10 minutes to obtain slightly candied wedges.
3. Ideally leave them in this syrup overnight.
4. The next day, cook for 10 minutes over very low heat, let cool, and cook a little more. If ever the syrup is too thick, add a little water, just to dilute it slightly. Place these quarters on a grid, in order to drain them well.
5. Then for three days, every 24 hours, sprinkle them lightly with caster sugar on both sides. You can then store them, either in an airtight box and in the fridge, or by freezing them.
6. You can also dry them for 30 minutes in your oven at 60°C, after draining them.

The icing

1. Mix the water and icing sugar.
2. Glaze the clementines with the mixture and let them dry overnight.
3. The next day, dip them on one side in tempered dark chocolate.

Chocolate tempering

1. Break your chocolate into pieces in a container. Melt it in a bain-marie. Blend until smooth. Check the temperature with a cooking thermometer: 55°C for dark chocolate, 50°C for milk chocolate, and 45°C for white chocolate.
2. Then work it with a spatula, until it returns to 28-29°C in a bain-marie of cold water with a few ice cubes.
3. Warm the chocolate gently in the first bain-marie.
4. Stir while watching the temperature, which should be 31 to 32°C for dark chocolate, and 29 to 30°C maximum for milk and white chocolates.
5. When this temperature is reached, maintain it imperatively by checking with the thermometer. The chocolate can optionally be reheated, preferably in the microwave.
6. It is always easier to temper a large quantity of chocolate. So do not hesitate to prepare more than necessary, you can always reuse it later.

A recipe taken from the book “The Extraordinary Christmas of Pastry Chefs”, Christophe Felder & Camille Lesecq, 2022, Éditions de La Martinière.