Amazing Chocolate Truffles
This recipe has gotten me more compliments than probably anything else I’ve ever made. Some people really, really like them, including all of us at my house. Some people will probably gaze upon you with newfound tenderness and respect after you give them some of these babies. “When you get that feeling, you need confectional healing,” as the Central Market ad says, and here it is.
I found the recipe one day while standing in line at WalMart. Real Simple magazine had a title on the front that caught my eye, something about truffles made easy. We had recently bought some Godiva chocolates as a gift and I found them overpriced, but certainly a nice gift that anybody would appreciate. I ended up buying the magazine and have made this recipe, my version of the truffles, countless times since. My daughter gets together with friends and makes them, too. They make an outstanding homemade holiday gift or impressive contribution at a fancy potluck, establishing your reputation as a domestic goddess. I had to concentrate pretty hard and make everybody leave the kitchen when I first started making them, but now I find them wonderfully easy and fun to make. They can be made over two days. Don’t try to make them when it’s hot. Cold weather is the best for them, or set the air conditioning to a low temperature. If you have any questions or trouble with the recipe, please leave me a comment and I will rush to your aid, like a knight in shining armor, coming to your emotional and confectional rescue.
Ingredients
20 oz semisweet chocolate (I use Ghirardelli, the 4-oz flat bars). If you like darker chocolate, you can replace two or three of them with bittersweet, for the coating
2 T unsalted butter
1 C heavy cream
In a small pan over low heat, bring the cream to a gentle simmer.
Meanwhile, break up 8 oz of the chocolate and add it to the butter in a glass container or baking pan that’s about 4’x6’ or so.
Remove the cream from the heat and pour about half of it over the chocolate and butter. Slowly whisk the mixture, adding more cream as it’s incorporated in. Blend thoroughly.
Place the mixture, called ganache, in the freezer for about 30 minutes or in the fridge overnight, until set. It should have the consistency of fudge. Each of the cooling phases of the recipe can be extended for some hours or even days, I suppose. Thorough cooling is essential and can’t really be overdone.
Use a small melon baller or spoon and form rough rounds of the ganache and spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. I like to make smaller rather than larger balls because it makes more and because they are extremely rich! One at a time is enough for me! Let the truffles harden in the freezer for about 15 minutes, or longer in the fridge.
Remove them from the freezer and squeeze and roll each truffle between your hands to make them into balls. Cold hands, working quickly, is best. They don’t have to be perfectly round or crack-free.
Let the truffles cool in the freezer again while you make the coating.
Put all the remaining chocolate in a small pan inside another pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted. Be careful not to get water into the chocolate. Remove from the heat and let cool at room temperature a few minutes.
Drop the truffles, one by one, into the coating, rolling them quickly with a fork to coat them, and remove them with the fork, scraping the excess chocolate off the back of the fork on the edge of the pan. Set them carefully on a new sheet of wax paper.
As they come out, you can dust them, five or so at time, with a sifting of cocoa powder, powdered sugar (I use a small strainer to do this), finely chopped nuts or shredded coconut, a few grains of coarse sea salt (my favorite) or leave them plain. I like to make some of a few different types, including plain.
Allow them to set in the fridge for awhile again, then carefully peel them off the wax / parchment paper. I buy miniature muffin papers to pack them in. The truffles are best kept in the fridge and keep well for a couple of weeks (not that they would ever last that long).
Recent Comments