Looking to make your own dark chocolate gelt at home? It is easy, and you can turn them into sandwiches by filling them with whipped cream or in this case, a matcha green tea mousse (optional).
The combined taste of dark chocolate and light matcha works like magic for these homemade chocolate gelt sandwich cookies. While gelt cookies are typically eaten at Chanukah, these cookies look beautiful on any holiday table AND they're tasty all year round.
This recipe does contain raw eggs in the mousse, but I'm showing you how to make it safely with raw eggs for all who want to eat them.
Why this Recipe Works
Store-bought gelt isn't usually the best quality chocolate. In this recipe, you can use any chocolate chips or chocolate you like, and I'm sharing the ones I usually use.
Dark chocolate, depending on the cocoa percentage, has a rich taste that is more on the bitter side and less sweet. This means it balances out lighter, sweeter flavors in a filling like the matcha cream mousse or whipped cream. These cookies are deceptively simple yet have an amazing, rich flavor.
The snap of the dark chocolate gelt juxtaposes with the delicate filling, so the texture and flavors all work to create the perfect bite. Combining different textures is a great way to add sensory interest to your recipes. You can serve them as sandwiches or have each piece of gelt topped with a dollop of whipped cream or mousse.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
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Matcha powder (only if making the filling) – I recommend using culinary-grade matcha powder. This is a matcha I like on Amazon, and here is the brand of matcha I usually use in my recipes.
Dark chocolate – Any brand will work, but try to find a high-quality dark chocolate that is at least 66-85% cocoa. However, this recipe will work with anything from white chocolate to milk chocolate to dark chocolate. Here are some brands I usually use:
- Guittard 72% Dark Chocolate Chips or 70% Dark Chocolate Baking Bars
- Ghiradelli 72% Dark Chocolate Bar
- Valrhona 70% Chocolate
How to Make this Recipe
This recipe has two components, the dark chocolate gelt, and the matcha mousse filling. You can make this recipe without the mousse if you'd like to have just the gelt. Or, you can make it with whipped cream, or this dark chocolate mousse.
Matcha Mousse
Put a medium to large bowl in the freezer.
In the meantime, add the 3 egg whites to a mixer or large bowl if using a hand mixer. When the egg whites turn white and begin to get stiff, slowly add ⅓ cup of sugar and whip to stiff peaks. Then add 1 tablespoon of matcha powder and mix to incorporate. Clean the mixer or hand mixer before moving on.
Whip 1 cup of cold heavy cream in a clean mixer bowl or medium-sized bowl. When the whipped cream begins to get stiff, slowly add ⅓ cup of sugar and vanilla. Whip to stiff peaks.
Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the matcha mousse at a time until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 days.
Why refrigerate? Refrigerating for 1 hour is important because it helps the mousse get a little more solid. It is delicate, as is, even after being refrigerated.
Note: Yes, this recipe does contain raw eggs, which is a no-no for some including those who are pregnant, have compromised immune systems, or are under 3 years old. I've included a version that uses cooked eggs in this in-depth post on making Matcha Mousse just in case.
Dark Chocolate Gelt
Heat the 7 oz. of dark chocolate in a large bowl over a bain-marie with a teaspoon of coconut oil. Stir until melted. Remove from heat.
If you'd like to temper the chocolate so it is shiny, you will need an instant-read thermometer. Melt about ¾ of the chocolate in the bain-marie until it reaches 122°F-131°F. Remove it from the bain-marie, add the rest of the chocolate, and stir until it cools to 82°F-84°F. You can do this over a bowl of cold water. Finally, heat it over the bain-marie again until it reaches 88°F-90°F.
Fill your silicone chocolate mold. The disc mold I use is no longer being made, but here is the closest thing I could find that would work well. The one I have is 1/12" deep, and the circles are 1.25" in diameter.
Don't let equipment stop you, you can make the gelt in the muffin tins with muffin liners!
Muffin tin instructions: spray your muffin tin with coconut (or a flavorless) oil spray. If using a large muffin tin, add 2 teaspoon of the chocolate to each well. If using a mini muffin tin, add 1 teaspoon of chocolate to each well. Refrigerate for minimum 20 minutes.
Use a pastry spatula to smooth the tops and scrape off the excess chocolate. Set in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
If you used the muffin tin, gently remove your gelt from the muffin tin gently with an offset spatula. If using a chocolate mold with holes in it, make sure the gelt is not sticking to the parchment paper before piping. If using a mold without holes in it, pop them out.
Gold them up!
Continue to top them with mousse or whipped cream, or wrap them up in gold aluminum foil candy wrappers.
Adding the mousse filling
Add the mousse or whipped cream to a piping bag, get a mini ice cream scoop, or use a spoon.
Pipe mousse on top of half of your gelt, and top each with another piece of gelt. Refrigerate until ready to serve!
Want these treats but don't want to do all the steps? Then buy some chocolate gelt, and just make the filling. You can even use the mousse as a dip and the gelt as chips!
FAQs
Yes! They freeze great. You can either freeze them assembled (with the matcha mousse filling) or just freeze the chocolate gelt. Whether planning on freezing or not, I like to make gelt in advance and keep them in the freezer until ready to use, so I'm not in a rush to make the whole thing.
Gelt, meaning "money" in both Hebrew and Yiddish, are chocolate coins given to children during Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Gelt is used as money to gamble in the game of dreidel or as decoration during Hanukkah.
I like to buy dark chocolate from a variety of brands, and my favorites are Guittard, Ghirardelli, and Valrhona.
More Fantastic Hanukah Recipes!
It's going to be one tasty Hanukah! You can find all my Jewish recipes here.
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Homemade Dark Chocolate Gelt (with optional filling!)
Equipment
- Disc Mold or Muffin Tin
Ingredients
Matcha Mousse
- 1 cup heavy cream cold
- 3 egg whites
- 10 grams sugar
- 1 tablespoon culinary grade matcha powder
Dark Chocolate Gelt
- 7 oz. dark chocolate chips chopped
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
Matcha Mousse*
- Put a medium to large bowl in the freezer.
- In the meantime, add the 3 egg whites to a mixer or large bowl if using a hand mixer. When the egg whites turn white and begin to get stiff, slowly add ⅓ cup of sugar and whip to stiff peaks. Then add 1 tablespoon of matcha powder and mix to incorporate. Clean the mixer or hand mixer before moving on.
- Whip 1 cup of cold heavy cream in a clean mixer bowl or medium-sized bowl. When the whipped cream begins to get stiff, slowly add ⅓ cup of sugar and vanilla. Whip to stiff peaks.
- Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the matcha mousse at a time until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 days.
Dark Chocolate Gelt
- Heat the 7 oz. of dark chocolate in a large bowl over a bain-marie with a teaspoon of coconut oil. Stir until melted. Remove from heat. See note on tempering the chocolate if you want it to be shiny.**
- Use a pastry spatula to smooth the tops and scrape off the excess chocolate. Set in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- If you used the muffin tin, gently remove your gelt from the muffin tin gently with an offset spatula. If using a chocolate mold with holes in it, make sure the gelt is not sticking to the parchment paper before piping. If using a mold without holes in it, pop them out.
- Continue to top them with mousse or whipped cream, or wrap them up in gold aluminum foil candy wrappers.
Dark Chocolate Gelt & Matcha Mousse Sandwiches
- Add the mousse or whipped cream to a piping bag, get a mini ice cream scoop, or use a spoon.
- Pipe mousse on top of half of your gelt, and top each with another piece of gelt. Refrigerate until ready to serve!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in November of 2018 but was republished with step by step instructions & FAQs in December of 2020. It was updated in November 2022 with chocolate recommendations, updated links, and small changes for clarity throughout.
Very good
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Chinhson!
I like it.
I'm glad to hear you liked it, Nguyen 🙂