Gingerbread Hearts Filled with Red Chocolate Icing

Preface:

1. This dough is not for immediate processing. It has to rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks so that it can develop properly. Please take this into account when planning the back.

Dough:

1. Beat the butter and sugar until frothy. Gradually stir in the eggs. Then add all the other ingredients and roughly knead everything with the dough hook of the hand mixer. Then place the dough on the work surface and knead thoroughly with your hands until you have a smooth, shiny, non-sticky dough. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for the aforementioned 2 weeks.

Preparation:

1. Now cut off 1.5 cm thick slices from the dough. Then roll out each one between 2 layers of baking paper and completely without flour into an elongated, 3 mm thin and 11 cm wide strip. If the hearts are a little bigger, then make the track wider. On one long side, close together (that is, sometimes with the point up, sometimes down), mark the hearts with the cutter and place a small dab of filling in the middle. Any firm jelly, firm jam, plum jam or marzipan is suitable here. I still had some of my quince bread in stock and used this. The amount depends on the size of the heart cookie cutter. There has to be enough margin around the filling so that it doesn’t ooze out later.
2. When all the fillings are in place. Halve the dough sheet lengthways and carefully place the free strip over the one with the filling. Gently press everything down with the palm of your hand so that it fits well around the fillings. Now cut out the hearts so that the slight curve with the filling is exactly in the middle. Start (once with the point upwards, once downwards) as you marked it before. Place the punched out hearts on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
3. Knead the leftover dough again, roll out everything and repeat until all of the dough has been processed. Since no flour is required when rolling out, the dough retains its consistency until the last step.
4. Preheat the oven to 175 ° circulating air. The baking time on the 2nd shelf from the bottom is 10 – 12 minutes. After baking, slide the hearts including paper from the tray onto a grid and let them cool down well.

Molding:

1. Chop the couverture. First, heat approx. 375 g together with the cocoa butter over a water bath to 45 ° and let it melt. Remove from the water bath, stir in the remaining 125 g, dissolve in it and color the chocolate with the food coloring. Color intensity is up to you. If the mixture is still too tough, add more cocoa butter in small portions.
2. Then pierce the underside of the hearts on a skewer, dip the top to the bottom, tap the skewer several times on the edge of the bowl to drain and then place the hearts on a paper pad. If you like, you can decorate it. But this has to be done very soon after dipping, otherwise the chocolate will be solid.
3. The above-mentioned number of people refers to a portion of approx. 47 pieces.