Chocolate Truffles
Why I Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
16 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate (Scharffen Berger 62%)
8 Oz Heavy Cream
6 TB unsalted butter
2 - 3 TB Fine Liqueur such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico, Tuaca, Rum, Cognac, Cointreau, Poire William, bailey's, Kirschwasser, Chambord, Creme de Cassis, Marachino, Benedictine, or Marc.
12 oz Semisweet Chocolate for coating
Cocoa Powder, either natural or Dutch, it's your choice.
Directions
Place 16 oz Chocolate and the cream in the top of a double boiler or a heat proof bowl over simmering water.
Stir until melted but do not let the mixture reach above 110 degrees or the chocolate will UN-Temper and not set properly.
Remove from heat and add room temperature butter and liqueur and stir until butter melts and is incorporated.
Pour mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and let set until cooled to room temp, then refrigerate until VERY cold but still pliable, about 3 hours.
Meanwhile... Prepare your double boiler with 12 oz semisweet chocolate, heated and maintained at about 100 degrees.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Remove truffles mixture from refrigerator and utilizing a 1/4 oz ice cream scoop, drop filling onto on of the prepared baking sheets.
Once the sheets are full, go back and roll into loose balls (They do not have to be round, in fact they should not be round, thus the truffle shape.)
Chill for 10 - 15 minutes
Remove from refrigerator again and coat hands with 100 degree chocolate, roll one of the balls between your hands then drop into a small bowl filled with cocoa powder... Roll to coat, then place back on baking sheet... Repeat till all truffles are coated.
Return to refrigerator to ensure chocolate shell sets up.
Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
BE ADVENTUROUS:
Use Grand Marnier & Orange Peel or Orange oil (Not extract, it will seize the chocolate)
Use Frangelico and wrap filling around a toasted Hazelnut
Add Finely ground hazelnut or almond praline to your truffle mixture then roll in nuts.
Use Chambord and Wrap filling around a raspberry
Use Godiva Liqueur for a double chocolate flavor
Use Malibu Rum and roll in ground coconut
Use Amaretto and roll in ground toasted Almonds
Use All BitterSweet chocolate
Use 8 oz Semi Sweet & 8 Oz Bitter sweet
Use White 'Chocolate' and Lemon oil, then roll in Ground macadamia nuts (The chocolate should never reach over 100 degrees for white)
Use Powdered sugar instead of Cocoa
Just leave the chocolate coating, without any dusting.
Roll in Ground up Cocoa Nibs.
Think of the truffle as your canvas to phenomenal works of culinary artistry.
Rules of thumb:
This recipe is based on the Cocoa Butter content of Semi to Bittersweet chocolate.
If you use Milk Chocolate, Multiply the amount of chocolate by 1.5.
If you use 'White Chocolate' multiply the amount of Chocolate by 2.
Thus you will need 8 oz Heavy Cream and 24 oz Milk Chocolate; or you would need 32 oz of White Chocolate
