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Christmas Candy Recipes: Dark Chocolate Truffles
If you’ve ever caught yourself deep in thought and then suddenly wondered what in the world you were thinking, you are not alone. When I was making these dark chocolate truffles the other day I found myself deep in thought. I’m guessing it was the intoxicating aroma of melting chocolate combined with the righteous sugar high I was on due to the fact that I was snarfing down caramels as fast as my teeth could chew them. Me + too much sugar + too much caffeine = a really ugly picture. Mention the words chocolate truffles, and you are greeted with a sigh that is usually reserved for the unveiling of a great masterpiece like the blue diamond or the Mona Lisa. I suppose I chuckle when I hear that great noise because I know how easy it is to make chocolate truffles. Yes, it’s true…easy chocolate truffles recipes! A bigger anomaly would be finding difficult chocolate truffles recipes. Most of my friends, myself included, prefer dark chocolate truffles but they can be made from dark chocolate, bittersweet chocolate and even white chocolate. Truffles are also really easy to personalize with yours (or your friends) favorite flavors. It’s all a matter of preference.
The two easy chocolate truffles recipes that I have here utilize a basic truffle recipe from Jacques Torres, who is also known as Mr. Chocolate. He is married to Mrs. Chocolate (naturally) and she is Hasty Torres, whose recipe for cocoa nib brittle you may have seen me post earlier this month. The variations that I use for these two recipes came from my love of mixing heady spices with chocolate (Mayan Spiced Dark Chocolate Truffles) and my other favorite combination: hazelnuts and chocolate (Frangelico Dark Chocolate Truffles). I also find that both of these variations pair beautifully with dark chocolate. To coat your truffles you can simply roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder or chopped nuts. Or you could dip them in melted chocolate and leave plain or top with a nut or drizzle with more chocolate. The possibilities are about as endless as the number of flavor combinations you can think of.
There are only a couple of things that you need to remember when making truffles. Melt the chocolate slowly, although you can usually save a broken chocolate when making truffles (at least the ganache part of the truffle can be saved). The other is to keep your hands cool when rolling the ganache. When your hands are warm, they melt the ganache and make it very difficult to roll it into nice balls. When you notice that the ganache is sticking to your hands and not rolling properly either stick your hands into a bowl of ice water or stick them under cold running water. Pat them dry and continue rolling. Relationship Advice My deep thoughts also took me down a windy path that culminated in the realization that truffles (the candy not the fungus) are a kind of metaphor for each other. I know, pretty random, but stay with me on this. And no, I’m not pulling a Forest Gump on you…exactly. We all come in different shapes, sizes and colors. Sometimes our outside appearance does not reflect what we’re like inside. Some of us are sweet and some of us are bitter. Some of us are a little nuttier than others. Some of us are spicy. Some of us are smooth and some of us are a bit rough around the edges. That being said, assuming we like chocolate (are looking for love), there’s a truffle that’s just right for our palate. It may take a while to find the one that works best for us, but it’s they’re out there. My Man's Belly Dark Chocolate Truffles Recipe Makes 4 dozen 1″ truffles Ingredients 1 Cup Heavy Cream 10.5 Ounces Dark Chocolate (I used 60% cocoa) *choice of flavoring (if any) Directions Cover a large baking sheet or sided pan with plastic wrap. Chop the chocolate into very small pieces so that it melts quickly and place it into a metal or glass mixing bowl. Heat the cream in a heavy saucepan (I used a 2 quart saucepan) until bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Pour half of the hot cream into the bowl with the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Slowly whisk until the chocolate and cream are smooth and well blended. Gradually add the remaining cream until it has all been added and is completely blended with the chocolate. If your ganache separates, add a bit more cold cream to the mixture and whisk to bring it back together. Add in flavoring* and thoroughly whisk it into the mixture. Pour the ganache onto the plastic wrapped lined pan. Let cool for at least 4 hours or over night. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Using a teaspoon, scrape up the ganache and roll into 1″ balls. Place balls onto covered baking sheet. If ganache balls are too soft to be coated, you can put them into the refrigerator for an hour to firm up. To coat you can either dip them in melted chocolate or roll them in unsweetened cocoa or chopped nuts. *Flavoring Ingredients for Mayan Spiced Dark Chocolate Truffles 1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg 1/8 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper *Flavoring Ingredients for Frangelico Dark Chocolate Truffles 1/8 Cup Frangelico Liqueur related searches : Christmas
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