Truffles

From: Karl Boggs and Ian Watters

Karl Boggs <kebg0412@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:

Warning : This recipe is very flexible, super easy and very very fattening ;)

Heat 1 cup heavy cream until it forms very small bubbles - reduce heat to very low! Mix in 12 ounces of the chocolate of your choice (bittersweet is usually my choice) and stir until it is completely melted and well-mixed. Take it off the heat completely and add 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter-mix until it is completely combined and let cool to room temperature. Stir in about 1/4 cup of some alcoholic flavoring and put in the refrigerator over night (I think you can freeze this stuff if you want - but am unsure.) It is now ready for whatever you want to do with it - eat it as is, use it as a cake filling, hand dip it, or other things ;-) If you are going to hand dip the stuff you need to shape it into balls and remember the stuff will melt on contact with body heat (the mind wanders....) Ahem, I use a melon baller and put them into the refrigerator, but do what ever you want.

Flavoring ideas: (go wild - be creative!!)

• Amaretto and Almond Extract
• Frangelico
• Grand Marnier (really incredible with a little orange flower water.)

If you want to include fruit or nuts into the truffle, grind it up in a food processor and mix well with the cream (do not mix cream to hard or you may find your self with butter) Dry additions seem to work better than real mushy ones if you want to hand-dip them. FYI, frozen raspberries with hazelnuts and Ghiardelli Semisweet with Frangelico is the best combo I have ever made! (Dried cranberries with Boggs Liqueur in Lindt White Chocolate sounds really weird but was very good if you like cranberries :-) Go nuts it is really hard to make something icky except the consistency may force you to do other things with it (the mind continues to wander:-).

I guess I should include experiences with hand-dipping. First, don't be surprised at the size of the mess you can make or how weird things may look when you are done. The first time I made them I went a little over- board and made about 10 dozen in 8 flavors and most of them looked like mutant chestnuts (think about it and the image may become clearer.) OK first melt what ever chocolate you want to use in a double boiler over simmering water - basically not hot! No double boiler?- put a bowl in a pan of hot water. Warning: water in anything will cause the chocolate to seize so you can't do anything with it besides eat it (well I guess that is a very good thing too :-)) Melt the chocolate and let cool to below body temperature. OK, the best way for a single lonely male (without a moustache) to do this, is to dip a finger into the chocolate and put it on your upper lip - if it feels cool you can go for it. Take one of your truffle centers coat it in the chocolate and put it on wax paper, and when you are done stick them in refrigerator for awhile. Obviously if your chocolate is too stiff you will need to reheat it, if your centers aren't hard enough you need to do something else or freeze them but watch out for condensation, also if you want to dip with white chocolate you will need to be more careful since it is much softer at the same temperatures.

All I can say now is good luck and enjoy!!!!

...a slightly simpler recipe for truffles:

10 fl oz double cream 500g of the best dark chocolate you can find -- if it says less than 50% cocoa solids, put it back on the shelf.

1. Chop / grate 500g of the best dark chocolate you can find -- if it says less than 50% cocoa solids, put it back on the shelf-- into small pieces, less than 1/4" sq.
2. Bring 10 fl oz double cream to boil, then turn off immediately.
3. Stir in chocolate, until its all melted (the smaller the pieces, the less time it takes.)
4. Add flavouring. About 4 tablespoons of a suitable liquid. Concentrated orange juice is good, if you don't want alcohol.
5. Stir until it's solid enough for rolling. The better the chocolate, the less time it takes. (70% cocoa = about two hours, 50% = about five) It'll be quicker with less "flavouring" too.
6. Roll into spheres . The better the chocolate, the less messy this will be!
7. Coat with icing sugar or cocoa powder.

Putting it in the 'fridge would reduce the time, but it doesn't solidify evenly, so I don't recommend it. I suppose it depends on whether you want Pure Truffles (tm) or truffles quickly. It's just as fattening as Edward's version!