Hi there!
Do you remember the chocolaterie ‘De Karina’, that I visited in the Golan Heights? Well, further to that visit, founder Karina Chiplinsky has agreed to share a few family recipes for the upcoming Shavuot (Pentacost) holiday. This is a real treat as Karina was chosen to take part in the campaigns launched for the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel. Billboards stating "70 years ... there is something to be proud of" were produced for 12 figures representing the 70 years of the State of Israel and the Israeli spirit.
Karina was portrayed holding a tray carrying an abundance of Mount Hermon Perlini – symbolizing the Israeli national snow mountain that inspired Karina to produce her best-selling praline. The photograph was taken against a backdrop of the wind turbines and blossoming spring landscape of the northern Golan Heights! The Hermon praline represents a tangible depiction of her values. The core - sweet Argentinean ‘Dulce de Leche’, the exterior, the finest Israeli milk chocolate and on top the snowy mountain peak year-round.
Karina’s Childhood of Chocolate
Karina has been in the chocolate business forever. When she was a young girl in Argentina, she spent many hours with her parents at the family chocolate factory. The parents were very busy at work so in order to occupy their daughter, they suggested a special employment of her own: drawing and creating in chocolate. There were no magic markers in the factory, and chocolate was even more delicious, so it worked. In addition, she wrapped pralines, pasted labels and counted chocolate boxes. Although it was perceived as an enjoyable occupation, she actually helped the family from a very young age and developed a love for the chocolate business. Karina studied chemistry and clinical nutrition related to her field of work today. She met Giora through a “matchmaking” and the honeymoon was spent in Israel. Among others, they visited the Golan Heights and fell in love with the place. Giora, a native of Israel, always wanted to return to Israel and Karina had visited the country even beforehand with her parents.
Life in the Golan Heights
The young family – Karina, Giora and the children - dreamed of a small, communal settlement, which they could be a part of while creating their own family business. The family arrived in Ein Zivan in 2002 and Karina began to brew jam from fruit grown in the kibbutz orchard. The "jam factory" became a second job: preparing the fruit, cooking the jam, filling the jars, pasting the labels, etc. The house became too narrow to contain everything and they decided to rent a small place and open a business. Later, following a visit to a food exhibition, the couple arrived at a chocolate factory that had closed its operations and purchased equipment for making chocolate. Thus, they began to engage in the real "Chocolate" dream - a family tradition of 3 generations. "The machines came to the Golan that very day after the visit to the factory, and from then on they experimented with the smells of chocolate in the air . Karina stated “I could not stop the tears ... The excitement, the smells evoked memories, feelings, longing ..." The excitement is evident even when she talks about it today.
The Summer Breakthrough ...
Six months after opening the factory, in August of 2006, the second Lebanon war began and everything stopped. Fortunately for us after the war, the Israeli public enlisted and preferred Israeli products, especially from the north. We received so many requests that we enlisted the help of everyone we could. Karina tears again when she talks about the warm embrace they received from the Israeli audience. "It was a time when I felt the national strength, the unity, the Israeli spirit," she says. The place again became narrow and the decision to expand was made... Today, as you know from my trip post, De Karina offers a full chocolate experience with a factory tour, tasting session and a variety of chocolate workshops.
Karina works alongside her husband. When asked what is the secret of success? How do you combine a couple and a business? Child rearing and professional success? She answers, "Each of us has a role, we work in different fields, on the business side and on the professional side, at work, we do not talk about the house and at home, we do not talk about work. It keeps us stable, and most importantly we learned that Shabbat is our family time. A business consultant who asked what was most important to us and we answered without hesitation “the Shabbat".
Our chocolate is kosher. The place is not open on Saturdays and holidays and allows us family time that is very important to us. I have been lighting Shabbat candles from home in Argentina. Giora takes command and prepares most of the Shabbat meal. I am responsible for salads and side dishes. We are a family that likes to eat well and drink properly. On Shabbat morning we prepare a large brunch and on some Shabbat they visit friends in Israel and rest for a little from the week. Another thing is the difference between us. I plan for the near future while Giora prefers to look into the distant future, 10 steps ahead and we complement one another. "
Karina has brought from home plenty of recipes and she shares with us two – a chocolate and vanilla milkshake and a frozen cheese cake. Both are especially suitable for the white holiday Shavuot!
A White Chocolate Vanilla Milkshake
Ingredients for the Milkshake:
2 large balls of quality vanilla ice cream
150 mL of milk
35 g of chopped white “De Karina” chocolate
Ingredients for the Decoration:
30 g dark 62% "De Karina" chocolate
40 g of whipped cream
Put all the ingredients in the blender to achieve a uniform texture.
Dissolve in a microwave 30 g of 62% De Karina dark chocolate, and pour into a tall, transparent glass for decoration of the inside of the sides.
Fill the glass with the milkshake, decorate with the whipped cream and toss bitter chocolate on top. Add a straw and serve.
Frozen Mascarpone Cheese Cake with White Chocolate Mousse
The recipe consists of five parts:
A. The base of the cake
B. Mascarpone cheese and white chocolate mousse.
C. Ice cream with berries
D. Ice cream with chopped dark chocolate
E. White chocolate sauce
A. The Base of the Cake Ingredients:
4 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons flour
Heat the baking oven to 200 degrees. Separate the yolk from the egg whites of the four eggs. Whip the yolks with the sugar. Whip the egg whites until the foam is firm. Mix the yolks and the egg whites and add the flour slowly and gently with a sieve so as not to damage the air. Carefully pour the batter into a circular mold, 24 cm in diameter, with a baking paper at its base. Put it in the oven for 10 minutes. Slightly wet a towel to be damp (not wet). Remove the base of the cake and roll it with the baking paper and towel and put aside.
B. White Chocolate Mousse and Mascarpone Cheese Ingredients:
160 g sweet 38% cream for whipping
300 g white "De Karina" chocolate coins
300 g already whipped cream
100 g of mascarpone cheese
Boil 160 grams of cream and pour over the chopped white chocolate. Wait 2 minutes and mix for a uniform texture. In a gentle way, fold the mixture over the whipped cream and add the mascarpone cheese. Wrap a Mold (24 cm) with a nylon or plastic wrap , pour the mousse into it and freeze for 1 hour.
C. Ice Cream with Berries for Home Preparation - Ingredients:
500 g cream based ice cream
100 g berries
Stir together the ice cream and the berries until the fruit colors the ice cream. Sprinkle the berry ice cream over the mousse layer of white chocolate and mascarpone. Put in the freezer for an hour.
D. Cream Based Ice Cream with Chopped Dark Chocolate – Ingredients:
500 g Cream based Ice Cream
50 g Chopped Dark Chocolate
Mix the ice cream with the bitter chocolate. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate ice cream over the layer of berry ice cream. Put in the freezer for an hour.
E. White Chocolate Sauce for the very spoiled! – Ingredients:
100 g "De Karina" white chocolate coins
100 mL of milk
100 mL sweet 38% cream for whipping
Heat the milk with cream and pour on the chocolate. Wait 2 minutes and stir until a uniform texture is achieved.
Serve:
Remove the 3-layer mold from the freezer. Turn the mold over onto a tray and place over the baked cake base. Pour the the white chocolate sauce over the cake and decorate with berries. Slice the cake with a hot knife.
Happy Shavuot!
Talma
Credit and Photos: Azoulay PR & More
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