Brandy and dark chocolate have shared a truffle for generations, and every Christmas the pairing earns its place on the counter all over again. St Remy XO is a French wine brandy, aged in oak barrels and bottled for the kitchen at 60% vol, ready for ganache, pastry and festive bakes.

Because it is a brandy, its flavour follows its strength: at 60% vol, two-thirds of what a recipe asks for in a 40% brandy brings exactly the same flavour. That leaves a third of the liquid out of your ganache, which keeps it thick, lengthens its shelf life and stretches each bottle further. Choose the 250ml bottle for trials, the 1l bottle for everyday production and the 5l jerrican for your busiest weeks.

Using St Remy XO Brandy 

Warmth carries the flavour off along with the alcohol, so stir the brandy in at the end, once a ganache or cream has cooled. In a ganache, 50g of brandy per kilo gives a light flavour and 100g a very intense one. Between 20g and 50g per kilo flavours a pastry cream or a mousse, and a syrup for soaking a Christmas sponge takes 80g to 250g per kilo. Our brandy crème uses 2.5% of the base weight, so a 1l bottle covers 40kg of crème.

Ideas to Try

Brandy pairs beautifully with dark chocolate, apple, pear, hazelnut, dried fruit and warm spice.

• Classic St Remy XO brandy truffles
• Apple and brandy truffles
• St Remy XO brandy and hazelnut chocolates
• Spiced pear and brandy gelato
• Brandy butter for Christmas pudding
• Alfajores