Crazed Chocolate Insanity Part 3

For some bizarre reason, ever since I've become vegan I have been obsessed with finding a way to experience peppermint patties/after dinner mints/mint slices again. I wasn't that interested in them when not vegan, so I don't really know what that's all about.

Anyway, I found the most amazing fondant recipe on vegweb, and I am now forever grateful to the awesome Earthchild for creating the York-A-Like Peppermint Patties recipe. What's great about it is that not only can you make peppermint patties to your heart's content, but you can also experiment with the flavours and textures successfully, because the recipe is so simple!!

Warning, though, this is a sugar blast of doom, and really should be made and consumed in great moderation.

Flavoured Fondant

Ingredients

1/3 cup Karo corn syrup (which you can get, bizarrely enough, from health food stores)
1/4 cup Nuttelex (or other vegan "buttery" margarine)
4 and 3/4 cups confectioner's/powdered/icing sugar
peppermint oil/extract (or other flavours, such as strawberry/orange/coconut) to taste - about 2 to 3 teaspoons worth
Chocolate to be melted (amount depends upon how much fondant you've made!

Method

Again, the food processor of extreme hardiness is required. This mixture gets really stiff and forms a strong ball, which can make food processors unhappy (I know mine started to whine after the third batch!!)

Pour the corn syrup into the food processor, and add the margarine and flavour oil/extract. Whip until well combined.

Slowly (cup by cup) add the sugar (I poured it in through the chute of the lid). Occasionally turn the mixer off and push the sugar mixture around in the bowl - as it gets more firm the sugar you're pouring in will have difficulty mixing in.

When all the sugar has been added, you will have a firm, almost "dry", bright white ball. When you press a finger into the ball, it should keep the indentation.

Note: I made coconut bars, and added a cup of shredded coconut to the mixture with no loss of consistency, and with the added bonus of coconutty goodness!

For peppermint patties, I like to divide the mixture into at least two lots, and roll them into long sausages (about 1 inch wide) in grease proof paper. This makes it easier to form the fondant into rounds.

For other flavours, I like to place the mix onto grease proof paper, shape into a 1 inch high rectangle, and then place another piece of grease proof paper over the top. I then carefully run a rolling pin over the top to even out the mixture.

Place the mixture in the fridge to really firm up - at least an hour. When firm, take out the peppermint rolls, and slice into 1cm slices. Quickly shape the slices into rounds. The mixture will become sticky as it warms up, so try and keep most of it in the fridge.

For the other flavours, use a sharp knife to slice the rectangles into the desired shapes (I used triangles for strawberry, squares for orange, and logs for coconut).

This fondant is extremely rich, so keep the shapes small.

And then comes the chocolate dipping fun!!

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, and allow to cool slightly.

Using a toothpick, spear your fondant shape, and quickly drop into the chocolate. Use a plastic spatula to cover the fondant in chocolate. Using the toothpick again, spear the fondant and remove from the chocolate, and quickly remove the excess chocolate. The fondant will begin to melt with the heat of the chocolate, so be as quick as possible. Drop the chocolate covered fondant onto grease proof paper.

I cool these by placing them directly into the freezer until the chocolate is solid, and then store them in the fridge.