The Culinary Works

The rich truffle center is made from Ganache, a mixture of chocolate, heavy cream and whatever flavorings you choose. The ratio of heavy cream to chopped chocolate determines the ‘melting point’ or softness of the truffle center. The more cream, the more easily they will melt, meaning when you put it in your mouth it immediately melts and begins to cover your pallet with a lovely chocolate sensation. Sounds great, right? The trick is that the more cream the lower the melting point but also the more difficult they are to work with, because they melt in your hands as well. So, you can always alter the ratio, just realize it does change the finish product. I personally use a 50/50 ratio of semi-sweet chocolate by weight to heavy cream by volume. To me, this creates the most fabulous truffles!

It’s this simple:

• 16 oz Semi Sweet/Dark Chocolate (Use good quality chocolate bars, not chips)
• 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 Tablespoons flavor (optional)

Chop 16 ounces by weight of semi sweet chocolate and place in a large mixing bowl. Heat just to boiling 2 cups of heavy cream. When it starts to boil, turn the heat off, and pour the cream into the bowl of chopped chocolate. With a whisk, starting in the middle slowly stir and incorporate the melting chocolate with the cream. This is my favorite part! You can then add some flavoring syrups or liquors like Amaretto or Hazlenut are great, or even Frambois (Rasberry) or Cointreau (Orange). This allows you to be creative. I sometimes add Espresso powder to them to give the chocolate an extra punch.

You can also divide the batch in half and do two types etc.

Once you have you Ganache prepeared, cover it and place it in the refridgerator to set. Once it’s fully set, you can scoop out walnut size pieces, quickly roll them into balls and set aside. I use rubber gloves when I do this to shield the ganache from the heat of my hands.

Once you have all your Truffle centers rolled, you have to decide what to coat them with. Rolling them in cocoa powder is a quick way to finish them and always a favorite. If you used a nut flavored liquor, you could roll them in crushed nuts. You can also dip them in melted chocolate…one caution here, remember we talked about the melting point? This process will take some focus. The Truffle centers need to be as cold as possible, but don’t freeze them. The melted chocolate needs to be as cool as possible but still liquid and you need to quickly dip them and place them back onto a silpat or parchment paper in a cool place. The moisture of the fridge is the enemy but if you put them way down in the bottom or in a veggie drawer for a few minutes they will set up.

Drizzled with some melted white chocolate they are beautiful enough to box up and give to your friends and colleagues for xmas or serve with coffee at your holiday gathering.

From this recipe yesterday I made:

Plain Truffles rolled in Cocoa Powder
Hazlenut Truffles rolled in chopped Hazlenut
Orange and Chili Truffles dipped in Dark Chocolate sprinkled with Chili Powder
Frambois Truffles coated in white chocolate
Espresso Truffles coated in milk chocolate and rolled in chocolate shavings

Get your piping bag out and give each a little design and your treats look like a million bux!  Skies the limit my chocolate lovers….go for it!