Kimi ni Todoke: Valentine chocolate with almonds

In Kimi ni Todoke, Sawako Kuronuma stays up the night before February 14 making chocolate for her friends and a more careful bag for Shota Kazehaya. Season 2 episode 1 of the 2011 anime, titled Valentine, follows that last bag through a whole school day. Kurumi, the nickname of Ume Kurumizawa, reaches him first with what she calls her first and last chocolate.

The method below is a homemade almond chocolate in small metal candy cups: toast the almonds, melt a thick ganache, then fill, top, and wrap.

Contents 3

Honmei chocolate and giri chocolate in the episode

On Valentine's Day in Japan, women traditionally give chocolate. Honmei choco (本命チョコ) is the chocolate for someone you have romantic feelings for, often homemade. Giri choco (義理チョコ) is a polite gift for classmates, coworkers, or bosses, usually store-bought and modest. A homemade honmei usually shows more care than a cheap boxed giri chocolate.

Sawako makes both in one night. The class bags can pass as thanks. The bag for Kazehaya has extra hearts, so she delays. Kurumi, already rejected, makes him take a chocolate and tells Sawako he would accept a thank-you. Giving him that homemade bag is close to a kokuhaku, a spoken confession.

The rest of the February 14 vocabulary, including tomo choco and White Day on March 14, is in the Valentine's Day and White Day in Japan guide.

Chocolate ingredients

• 30 grams of almonds with skin;
• 90 grams of cream or heavy cream or soy milk;
• 300 grams of semi-sweet chocolate (you can use 150 grams of milk chocolate and 150 grams of semi-sweet chocolate);
• 1 tablespoon of extract of your choice (suggestions: almond, hazelnut, vanilla, or, if the recipient is an adult, liqueur or rum);

You will also need:

• Size 3 metal candy cups;
• 1 piping bag;
• Colored sprinkles (optional);
• A muffin tin or small tart molds (optional);

Note: Brazilian metal candy cups (forminhas n°3) are sturdier, and they look closest to the small chocolate cups used in Japan.

How to make

First, toast the almonds so they turn crunchy and easy to eat.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes;
2. Spread the almonds on a small baking tray and bake for 15 minutes;
3. Take them off the tray and let them cool before using;

Now, make the chocolate

1. Chop the chocolate finely, or grate it if you prefer. Even pieces melt more evenly. Set aside;
2. Put the cream, or the liquid you chose from the list, in a saucepan and heat over medium until it just begins to boil. Small bubbles should appear at the edge of the pan. Turn the heat off at that point, because extra time can scorch the chocolate;
3. Add the chocolate to the hot liquid. Do not stir yet. Cover the pan and wait 1 to 2 minutes;
4. Stir until the mixture is smooth;
5. Use it as soon as it is ready;

Finally, the assembly of the chocolates

1. Spoon the chocolate into a piping bag;
2. Fill the candy cups carefully. A muffin tin or a small tart mold makes the cups easier to hold;
3. Let them rest for 10 minutes at room temperature;
4. Place the cooled almonds and the sprinkles on top;
5. Refrigerate for 20 minutes, or until set;

Done!

You can decorate them as you like. Colored bags and satin ribbons make a simple wrap for the gift. Did you like this recipe? Which other anime recipes would you like to see here? If you make this batch, tell us how it went.