Easy Chocolate Truffles
 
My husband made these truffles for me when we were dating. The original recipe used an 8 oz bar of chocolate, 7 Tbl of butter, and 1-2/3 cups heavy cream. When we moved to California and found Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bittersweet bars, I re-did the recipe to use an entire bar and stick of butter. More to love, right? These easy truffles have been a huge hit with our friends and family. I am frequently asked for the recipe. So it seemed like a good time to post it again. I like these truffles especially, because they are so rich a delicious, just a couple satisfies, yet they have very little sugar compared to most desserts and cause no problems with my blood glucose control. So they fit well into our low carb way of eating. They are also an easy dessert to take along to a party. Guy & Anna's Easy Dark Chocolate Truffles Ingredients: 1-3/4 cup heavy or whipping cream, with the highest butterfat % you can find* 1 stick unsalted butter 1 Bittersweet Trader Joe's Pound Plus chocolte bar, broken into pieces** Dutch process cocoa powder*** Optional: 2 Tbl Grand Marnier or your favorite liqueur (Frangelico is also good) OR 1/4 teaspoon pure orange extract (or flavor extract of your choice) Finely chopped nuts Instructions: 1) Put cream and butter into saucepan over medium heat, stirring all the while, until butter is melted and mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat. 2) Off the heat, add chocolate pieces to the cream-butter mixture and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and cools a bit. Stir in the liqueur or flavored extract. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator to cool (transfer chocolate mixture to a shallow casserole for faster cooling). Let mixture thicken at least 2 hours but stir it 3 or 4 times as it cools and hardens. 3) Place some cocoa powder in a shallow container. To form the truffles, remove chocolate mixture from refrigerator. If it has hardened too much, let sit a few minutes. 4) Scoop small portions of the chocolate with a spoon, then knock off the chocolate with another spoon (like when making "drop" cookies) or scoop with a very strong stainless small dough scoop***** into the cocoa powder. 5) Then slightly shake the cocoa container to roll the truffle until completely covered with cocoa. Remove truffle to serving plate or storage container. Repeat with another truffle. Chill. The truffles are best consumed in a day or two, but will keep at least a week in the fridge (they lose a little creaminess due to moisture evaporation). Let sit at room temp a few minutes before serving for best flavor/texture.**** ************************************************************************************* Alternate finishing technique: scoop truffle mixture and roll quickly between palms, then roll in to cocoa powder. Work fast so chocolate doesn't melt too much. This is the messy version and the telephone always rings or your nose itches when your hands are covered in chocolate. Finely chopped nuts may also be substituted for the cocoa powder. Macadamia nuts are very, very good. *I prefer cream that is NOT "ultra" pasteurized and without additives such as gums, thickeners & preservatives. Read your labels. It is getting hard to find plain heavy cream in grocery stores anymore. Trader Joe's sells a nice heavy cream in a plastic pint bottle that works very well. **TJ's 70 or 72% Pound Plus bar will not work for this recipe. Trust me, I have tried it. The butterfat separates and will not emulsify. I have never tried the milk chocolate PP bar. If not using Trader Joe's PP bittersweet bar, substitute 500 grams of dark semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate that is about 55-58% cocoa solids. ***Any cocoa powder will work, Dutched (alkaline treated) or not, but I prefer the dark richer flavor of Dutched. I use Callebaut Dutched cocoa powder from Chocolatesource.com. For some kids or adults who are not accustomed to dark or bitterweet chocolate, it might be better to slightly sweeten the cocoa before rolling truffles. Use fine sugar or a bit of confectioner's sugar mixed in, or Ghiradelli's ground chocolate powder. Ground cinnamon added to cocoa is nice, too. But Gabriel and some of his friends like the plain cocoa version just fine. ****For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to a month. Thaw in fridge. Creaminess is reduced a little after freezing, but no one complains. *****plastic dough scoops are too flimsy. Use a stainless dough scoop with "gears" or two teaspoons.
Going Against the Grain
Wednesday, December 19, 2007