Conference turris::cooks

Okay, as it is the holiday season and dieters are all going over the 
hill for the duration, I made some truffles...and I want to tell ya,
these are the best candy I've ever made!  They disappeared faster
than the speed of light.  The recipe is courtesy of BON APPETIT
November 86..

     		RUM TRUFFLES

     2/3 Cup whipping cream
     1 and 1/3 cup Bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
     6 teaspoons Meyers Dark Rum

The chocolate must be really good quality stuff, forget the chocolate
chips....I used Lindt.  Also make sure it is FINELY chopped.

Place the chocolate in medium sized, heat proof bowl.  Bring cream to
a boil in heavy, small sauce pan over medium high heat, whisking
frequently to continually (I did it continually).  Once cream is
boiling, pour it over the chocolate and whisk continually until
chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth...whisk in the rum,
one teaspoon at a time.  Cool to room temperature, stirring
occasionally from sides into center to keep it cooling evenly.

Now, it can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or just until it
gets solid enough to hold shape when formed into balls.  Use
a small teaspoon of this, form into a ball (you can butter
your fingers lightly for this task, but try to use unsalted
butter).  Roll the balls in:

     	chopped coconut or
     	cocoa powder or
     	diced pecans or

     Well, you get the idea...If you are a chocolate lover
     (Only communists and alien life forms are not chocolate
     lovers..) these things will blow your socks off!!!

     		GOOD EATING!!

	If you are ever lunching in the Acton area, Savory Lane, a somewhat
	overpriced, Gourmet Yuppie Deli on Rt 2a in front of the Acton 
	Cinemas usually has Chocolate Truffles sitting on the counter near 
	the cashier to tempt you on the way out.  Have been there for a while,
	but the food was good, and the truffles were MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

						     
							- JP

    Dian, these sound positively decadent! but could you give an idea
    how much chocolate to buy that would equal 1 and 1/3 cup after it's
    chopped?  Would chopping change the volume? 
    
    Have you tried anything other than Myers - like Amaretto or Frangelica?

    re .2
    
    Amaretto, Kahlua, Cointreau, Gr.Marnier, Chambord,....
    
    Another variation is to use white chocolate, peppermint snapps is
    good with white.
    
    Annie

               -< Is there such a thing as too much chocolate? >-

    Dian, these sound positively decadent! but could you give an idea
    how much chocolate to buy that would equal 1 and 1/3 cup after it's
    chopped?  Would chopping change the volume? 
    
    Have you tried anything other than Myers - like Amaretto or Frangelica?

ANSWERS:

I used approx. 10 - 12 ounces chocolate... this makes a relatively stiff
ganache which easily becomes little clumps of pure ambrosia....
If you use less chocolate, the finished product is softer.

RULE OF THUMB:  Don't use more than twice as much bittersweet chocolate
as cream...if you use milk chocolate, you can add slightly more than
twice as much chocolate as cream.

No, I haven't tried other spirits, being very fond of meyers flavor in
my cooking, but I'll bet any one of them would be wonderful...how about
Grand Marnier (spelling?)...or Congnac????  ACK!! I just gained another
4 pounds thinking about this stuff.

    Thanks Dian!
    
    I made them this weekend...couldn't resist...you were right!
    
    I used Bakers semi-sweet chocolate.  Also, not having Myers on
    hand I made three separate batches, 1 each with Frangelico,
    Kaluah and Amaretto.  Rolled them in crushed almonds, jimmies
    (real ones - wouldn't dream of using artificially flavored ones
    on these heavenly delights), and coconut.  Using 2 eight ounce
    packages of chocolate, and one pint of heavy cream, the yield
    for the three batches was about 5 dozen.  
    
    Since this is the first time I've attempted this recipe I just
    wanted to make sure I didn't do things the hard way.  I tried
    chopping the chocolate in the food processor with the metal blade...
    didn't do anything but make a racket and started to melt the 
    chocolate from the friction.  Resorted to using the grating 
    attachment which, albeit messy (chocolate powder all over the
    counter) seemed to do the trick.  Just curious what method you
    used to chop the chocolate when you made them.  Also, since I'm
    not (or at least wasn't until this recipe) a chocolate freak, is
    Lindt softer than the Bakers?  That stuff was like grating rocks!
    
    Also, I found this is not the recipe for those hating to get their
    hands dirty.  Found the mixture melted in your hands (as well as
    your mouth) quite quickly when rolling them into shape.
    
    Despite the mess I made of myself and the counter...I'll be making
    these again real soon!
    
    Thanks for sharing it with us.
    
    Evelyn

The quantities sound correct...I think the Lindt bittersweet
chocolate will be just as hard to grate as any good chocolate that
is bittersweet (less softening ingredients than milk chocolate).

My technique for chopping the chocolate was to simply leave it out
on my kitchen counter while I fixed the weeks meals so it could
soften up and then I chopped it into very small chunks with a
sharp knife....I didn't think of the grater but it probable made
it easier to melt the stuff with the cream...if a food processor
melted some of it, it should not matter as that is what you will
do with the hot cream anyway....we should try dropping pieces
of chocolate into the processor while it is running with the
steel knife...that is the technique recommended for small items.
A good excuse to make more of them!!!!  Testing, testing...

Also, yes it does melt fast..one point, keep the stuff chilled
in the fridge and work with small portions at a time.  Other
than that, just work quickly....after all, if they don't look
perfect we'll just have to eat them ourselves and not share
with company....

    I've made a few batches of truffles a year for each of the last
    four years.  I've always had some trouble with the chocolate melting
    on my hands, but I've developed a technique that works.  I keep
    a bowl of ice cubes and a roll of paper towels near me as I work.
    Every two or three truffles, I "wash" my hands with one of the ice
    cubes and wipe them dry with a paper towel.  It's not terribly
    comfortable, but it works.
    
    Susie

    The Jan issue of Bon Apetite
    has lots of truffle recipes.

    I've also used this recipe (with Grand Marnier) to make chocolate
    frosting for my chocolate cake. It must cool for about 1/2 an hour
    before you use it, though. I've used my food processor (Robot-Coupe
    with metal blade) to make this with no problem. After you've coarsly
    processed the chocolate, and with the machine running, you pour
    in the scalded heavy cream, and then add your additional flavoring(s).
    After a few seconds of processing, stop the machine and scrape down
    the sides of the processor bowl, then process a few more seconds.
    Let cool, and, Voila!
    
    Ken....

    I'd like to try making these truffles, but I have a question.
    Why does the chocolate have to be finely chopped?  Can it be melted
    instead or will that do something to the recipe?  It just seems
    a whole lot easier if the chocolate can be melted instead of grated.
      
    Thanks,
    Cathy

If you don't finely chop the chocolate first, it won't melt nice and fast
when added to the hot cream.  The trick is to stir it all together without
getting separation of cocoa butter and coming up with goey mess.  let
the chocolate come to room temperature, cut into small pieces and go from
there......

    
    When I make truffels, I use an assortment of "coverings" usually
    rolling them in unsweetened cocoa is the most successful. I have
    used powdered sugar, granulated sugar, finely chopped nuts and for
    white chocolate i have used colored sugars.

Classic Chocolate Truffles

6 oz semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder

Chop the chocolate. Combine the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over low heat.
Stir constantly until the cream boils. Remove from heat and stir until the 
chocolate melts. Pour into a bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface 
of the chocolate to prevent the formation of a skin and refigerate until firm,
about 2 hours. Or if you're in a hurry, freeze 1/2 hour.  Shape mixture into 1"
balls. Roll balls in cocoa. - makes 16

Variations:

Orange Pistachio - Stir 1 Tbs orange liqueur into melted chocolate mixture. Chop
1/3 cup unsalted pistachio nuts. Or boil salted pistachio nuts 2 minutes, drain
and chop. Shape mixture inot 3/4" balls. Roll balls in chopped nuts - makes 20

Amaretto Truffles (my favorite) - Stir 1 Tbs amaretto into melted chocolate 
mixture. Chop 1/3 cup almonds and toast in a 300 degree oven until golden,
about 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Shape mixture into 3/4" balls and roll
in chopped almonds - makes 20.

Lemon Truffles- Add 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest to the cream and chocolate 
before boiling. Shape the mixture into 1" balls. Roll the balls in cocoa. -
makes 16

My variation calls for chopping dark chocolate (preferrably bittersweet)
into a heat-proof bowl.  Bring HEAVY cream to a boil over medium (never high)
heat and then add to chocolate.  Stir constantly until well mixed.  Add 
flavorings.  Chill to harden, scoop out with small melon ball scoop.  Roll
in coatings.  Chocolate to Cream ratio may be adjusted somewhat, but the
basic rule of thumb is that the MOST cream to use is equal in ounces to the
amount of chocolate.  Normally, you use 2/3 chocolate and 1/3 cream.  Some
quantities might be:

	12 oz. chocolate to 4 oz. cream
	18 oz. chocolate to 6 oz. cream
	 8 oz. chocolate to 4 oz. cream
	 8 oz. chocolate to 8 oz. cream (absolute upper limit of cream) 

I use 1 teaspoon vanilla to each 8 oz. chocolate to "soften" the flavor.
The quality of chocolate you use is all.  I use Calebaut brand.  I also use 
fine cocoa powder (dutch process) for coating (if not using nuts).

Some Variations:

Brandy Truffle - use the finest brandy you can afford.  Use the 12 oz.
chocolate to 4 oz. cream ratios.  Add 4 shots of the brandy to the melted
genache (that's the chocolate mixture).  Chill and form.  Roll in crushed
nuts or in cocoa powder.  Serve only to adults.

Raspberry Truffles - Stir 4 shots raspberry liqueur into the melted chocolate 
and cream (use 12 oz. chocolate to 4 oz. cream).  Chill and then scoop with
melon ball scooper.  Re-chill and then roll in plain cocoa powder.  Place in
little paper or foil cups and store in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Truffles are the same, using strawberry liqueur (or Schnapps).
Peach is also an option.

Mint Truffles are made with Creme de Menthe, etc.

Pecan truffles - make basic truffles and then roll in crushed pecans.

Hazel-nut truffles - poke a tiny piece of hazelnut into the chocolate ball,
smooth with fingers and then coat with crushed nuts.  work with cool hands
when handling the chocolate (i use surgical gloves and dip in ice water,
and then quickly dry my hands when handling the truffles).

    Light and airy inside, crunchy outside, these are my absolute
    favorites!
    
    		Cherry Kirsch Truffles
    Approximately 1 lb. milk chocolate wafers for dipping
    1-1/2 cups finely chopped toasted almonds
    1/4 cup whipping cream
    9 ozs. real milk chocolate 
    2 tbsp cherry flavored brandy
    1 cups candied cherries, finely chopped
    
    Place cream in a samll saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil,
    stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, add chopped chocolate, cover
    the pan and let stand for three minutes to melt chocolate.
    
    Stir mixture until smooth and chocolate is thoroughly blended.  Stir in
    cherry brandy, a tbsp at a time. then blend in cherries.  Refrigerate
    for 1 hour.
    
    Beat with electric hand mixer at highest speed for three minutes. 
    Beating will make this mixture light and fluffy.  Take off portions
    with a spoon and form into mounds for about 40 minutes.  Place each
    mound in melted chocolate wafers, then immediately into chopped nuts. 
    Note:   Chocolate wafers should not be too hot as they will melt the
    centers as you dip them.      
    
    Once filling is coated in chocolate and nuts they may be stored for
    several weeks in an air-tight container or your refrigerator (if they
    last that long!!)

RASPBERRY FUDGE TRUFFLES
------------------------

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 6 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
3/4 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup raspberry preserves, strained
Finely chopped almonds
Cocoa
Powdered sugar

Combine cream cheese and chocolate, mixing until well blended.  Stir in crumbs
and preserves.  Chill several hours or overnight.  Shape into 1-inch balls;
roll in almonds, cocoa or sugar.

ALMOND TRUFFLES
---------------

3 TBS butter, softened
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
6 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, finely grated
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 TBS white creme de cacao
24 whole blanched almonds, toasted
1/2 cup finely chopped blanched almonds, toasted

Cream butter, gradually add powdered sugar, beating well at medium speed of
an electric mixer.  Add grated chocolate, beaten egg yolk, and creme de cacao;
beat until blended.  Cover and chill mixture at least 1 hour.

Shape mixture into 1-inch balls, inserting one whole almond into center of each
ball.  Roll truffles in chopped almonds.  Cover and chill 8 hours.  Store in
refrigerator.  Yield:  2 dozen

These aren't exactly truffles, but pretty close so I thought I'd post it also!

KENTUCKY BOURBON BALLS
----------------------

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup bourbon
1 cup chopped pecans
4 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
4 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric
mixer.  Stir in bourbon.  Knead until mixture is blended and does not stick to
hands; knead in pecans.  Refrigerate 1-2 hours.  Shape into 1-inch balls.  Chill
at least 8 hours.

Place semisweet and bittersweet chocolate in top of double boiler; bring water
to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; cook until chocolate melts.  Working quickly,
dip each ball into melted chocolate.  Place on wax paper to cool.  Store in
refrigerator.  Yield:  4 dozen.

    
    
    Here's one for all you cooking wiz's:
    
    One of my favorite truffles is a Truffle Glace� made by Corn� de la
    Toison d'Or.  Since I can no longer find these in New England, I would
    like to make them at home.  The interior is an orange-scented ganache
    which is piped with a broad pastry tip so that folds back over itself
    (does this make any sense?)  Anyway, I can handle it up to this point. 
    But the exterior is a very thin crystallized sugar coating.  Does
    anyone know how I can reproduce this?  The subtle crunch of sugar
    contrasts wonderfully with the velvety smooth interior.
    
    Ahh, just thinking about these makes me delirious.  And you should
    taste their Champagne truffles....
    
    /Brian/

you need a very COLD FREEZER....generally, only a commercial freezer will
freeze something cold enough for this.  The trick is to freeze the ganache
in balls - then quickly dip into a sugar syrup and drain on a rack.  If
the ganache isn't cold, you get a mess.  Chill well, once the dripping has
stopped.  Sugar syrup is ratio 1:1 sugar and water.

    RE: .8 .9
    
    Handling mushy truffles:  Freezing them helps in handling them (.9).  Also
    increase the chocolate to cream ratio.  Lastly, another good trick is
    to add a small amount of butter in addition to the cream (you will need
    to reduce the cream a little).  What this makes is a truffle that is
    soft initially, but hardens at the hint of cold.
    
    As for sugary-crunchy texture, add superfine sugar after you have
    heated the chocolate - it won't disolve completely, and will stay
    slightly crunchy.  I learned this as an accident.
    
    				-David

    Here are two that I haven't seen in the books.  If anyone has, I'd
    be interested in seeing how the pros do it and a pointer would be
    appreciated.  When I make truffles as Christmas presents, these are the
    most popular flavors (I've made 300 of each so far this year).
    
    Cinnamon Truffles:
    -----------------
    1 lb white chocolate
    6-8 oz heavy cream
    1 Tbl cinnamon
    4 oz Ameretto
    3 oz Frangelico
    
    Melt chocolate slowly, add cream, cinnamon and liquors.  Form anyway
    you wish and coat with cocoa, cinnamon, or dip in chocolate.
    
    Because you are using white instead of dark chocolate the consistency
    will be gooier (no cocoa solids to bind things).  You will probably
    find that 8 oz of cream is too much, but experiment.  You will probably
    need to freeze these to form them.  When I form them it requires many
    stages since handling them a little bit makes them mushy.  Typically,
    I will freeze them, portion them with a mellon baller, refreeze them,
    do a "rough shaping," refreeze them and then roll them into smooth
    ball, refreeze them and dip them (usually in dark chocolate).
    
    You can also use dark chocolate.  The cinnamon flavor doesn't come out
    like it does in the white chocolate version, but it adds a little something
    to the standard dark chocolate ganache.
    
    
    Coffee Truffles:
    ---------------
    1 lb White chocolate
    8 oz heavy cream
    6 oz Kaluha
    1/4 cup instant coffee disolved in a tiny amount of hot water
    
    Disolve coffee in as little hot water as you can until you have a heavy
    syrup.  Melt chocolate slowly, add cream, Kaluha, and coffee last. 
    Form and coat.
    
    				-David

    This looks like a good place to put this question.
    
    Has anyone ever had their gananche curdle?  It happened to me twice
    last night and I had to throw away 6 lbs of Calabaut chocolate <rrrrr>.
    
    It only has happened to me with white chocolate ganaches.  I melt the
    chocolate, everything is fine.  I add the cream and it causes the
    chocolate to separate into this grainy mess with oil floating on top.
    At first I thought it was due to the chocolate being too hot when I add
    the cold cream, but my second batch also went south and I was careful
    to keep the chocolate temperature low.  Also, with the second batch I
    added the liquors and then the cream - no luck.
    
    With my third batch, I used the "heat the cream and add the chocolate
    approach," which worked fine.  However, last week I made three batches
    successfully be melting the chocolate first, so this doesn't
    particularly give me confidence.  Until I find out what causes this,
    it all seems kind of arbitrary.
    
    Any help is appreciated.  Free truffles to the 1st person who solves
    this (you gotta come to ZKO to collect your prize).
    
    				-David

    Dave,
    
    Is the cream you are adding cold?  I have a horrible time adding cold
    liquid to melted chocolate, so have resorted to warming the cream to
    lukewarm, adding to the chocolate, then cooling the entire mixture to
    proper temperature for either whipping (ganache) or forming into balls
    (truffles).  Seems to me when you add cold to warm chocolate, it
    solidifies everything except the fats, and cooling the chocolate
    doesn't help.  I ,too, have only had it happen when working with white
    chocolate.  Wasted 6 lbs. of Calabaut?  I'd faint dead-away! (so would
    my wallet : )  
    Sarah
    

    RE: .20
    
    Your biggest enemy is leaving them exposed to air and not temperature;
    so be sure to put them in an air tight container.  Other than that,
    refrigerating or freezing won't make too big a difference.  I have stored
    truffles up to 4 weeks at room temp with no ill effects.
    
    Personally, I think freezing is overkill, I would just refrigerate them
    if you are feeling nervous about them going bad.
    
    If you dip them in chocolate, I wouldn't even bother refrigerating
    them.  The chocolate makes a great air tight seal and they last for
    a long time as long as it doesn't get too hot (85ish) or humid.
    
    				-d

    RE: .24
    
    Glad you liked 'em.  They are *very* gooey.  This is how I shape them
    for dipping (they won't keep their shape at room temp for rolling in
    cinnamon).
    
    I freeze up a bowl of the ganache, then I take a mellon baller and
    portion truffles out on a cookie sheet or two.  since they have the
    consistency of cookie dough, I don't worry at all what they look like.
    The cookie sheet goes back in the freezer for at least an hour, and
    then I do a rough shaping.  I have found that the blobs I got from the
    portioning can't be rolled very well into spheres sinces they are
    flattened out too much, so I just shape them with my finger tips into
    what looks like a really lumpy ball.  They go back into the freezer,
    and come out a third and last time to roll then into balls.  I keep
    them refrigerated or frozen until it's time to dip them.
    
    As I said before they are two mushy to coat with cocoa or cinammon, but
    two other ways to coat them are in Nestles mini chocolate chips, or 
    sometimes I pour them into a pan between two more solid type of
    filling (chocolate for example) and cut them up into squares like
    fudge.
    
    				Enjoy,
    
    				   David

    I'm not sure where to put this, but since I'm making truffles, it seems
    to fit in here. I made truffles for Christmas last year, and they were
    such a hit that I'll be making more this year.  So last night I
    actually took a truffles class to get some pointers and learn how to
    temper the chocolate and such. I had done my own version of tempering
    last year with OK results, but I'm not sure I can duplicate that
    accurately. The instructor gave us a list of sources of chocolate and
    other equipment, and one of the places has this non-tempering chocolate
    that you melt and dip in, and it comes out like tempered chocolate.
    
    I'm wondering if there is a difference in taste between the tempered
    chocolate and using the non-tempering chocolate which seems so much
    easier.  Anyone had any experience with it?
    
    Cathy

    If it's the chocolate "wafers" that are sold by companies such as
    Wilton, there is a tremendous difference in flavor, and I wouldn't use
    it.  It's okay, but since you tempered your own last year, everyone
    would be bound to compare and this year would lose!  ;-)

    I suppose it depends on how flavorful your "insides" are!  If you make
    very generic chocolate-only truffles, then I would think the exterior
    dip would have to be of equal quality.  But if you have very intense
    flavors for the actual truffle, then you could probably get away with a
    thin coating of lesser quality chocolate.  
    Aren't those wafers compound? I didn't think they had enough butterfat
    in them to be called "chocolate".  I agree, they don't taste like much,
    more like cocoa-cardboard.  
    Did the instructor recommend, or just pass along the information?
    I'd be really interested if it's indeed decent quality chocolate. Might
    save some time and relieve some of the stress of wondering if it's
    going to come out right or if the entire batch is useless : )
    Sarah

    I'm not talking about the chocolate wafers.  The instructor gave out a
    list of places to get chocolate, and it lists the non-tempering
    chocolate. The brand is Cacao Barry imported French chocolate, and it
    was their brand of bittersweet that we used in class. They sell the
    regular chocolate in 11 pound blocks, and sell what they list as
    dipping chocolate coating - non-tempering and it comes in 9 pound
    blocks. Since it costs $30.60 a block, it's comparable to the $39.95
    for the 11 pounds of regular chocolate and sounds like it might be OK.
    
    I'm planning to make my truffles from milk chocolate because I don't
    particularly care for bittersweet, so I need to decide it I want to try
    tempering the chocolate or try this non-tempering variety. But at that
    price, I don't want to just take a chance.
    
    I did manage to temper the chocolate last year based on instructions
    from either this file or the chocolate file, but I basically winged it
    and just got lucky that it worked. I'm not so sure I'd be that lucky
    again.
    
    By the way, if anyone wants it, I have a list of chocolate and
    equipment suppliers I got from the class.
    
    Cathy

    That sounds wonderful!  I'm very interested in your list from class. 
    Are the truffles you're making fruit flavored or chocolate (like a
    ganache)?  If chocolate, you might want to make a milk chocolate center
    and then dip in the bittersweet for a contrast - and make it a thin
    layer.  That might be an "acceptable" amount of bittersweet,
    tastebud-wise.
    
    Good luck.  I'd go for the non-tempering, probably.  But every time I
    watch that Chocolate show on the Learning Channel, he makes tempering
    look so easy, I'm tempted to try it again.  I know he has the luxury of
    a staff and television cameras (which can be stopped when he goofs!),
    and I don't have that luxury.
    
    
    Susan

    OK, I'm well on my way to having my truffles finished for this year's
    Christmas presents, and I have another question. I did manage to
    successfully temper the chocolate I used for coating last night, and I
    put the leftover tempered chocolate in the fridge. Now I've got 2 more
    batches to do tonight, and I was wondering if I have to do anything
    special to the already tempered chocolate to re-use it as coating. I
    can't imagine that I need to, so I thought I'd ask here. My plan is to
    melt the chocolate, and re-temper it so that I can use it as a coating.
    That seems to make sense to me.  Anyone know if this is OK?
    
    Thanks,
    Cathy

    I think retempering it should work fine.  It's been a long time since
    I've had the time to make chocolates!  I was hoping that I'd get to
    this Christmas, but... Maybe for Easter.  Good luck!  --S

    I did just re-temper the chocolate, and that worked fine. Brought a
    variety of Christmas goodies to the office today including the
    truffles, so I'll see how they go over.
    
    Thanks for the help.
    Cathy

    I'm new to this notesfile and, quite honestly, new to making truffles.
    Could someone please explain to me what tempering chocolate means and
    how to do it? 
    
    I tried making truffles over the holidays but they came out way too
    soft.  The recipe was in the Hershey's Chocolate Lover's Cookbook and
    was much different than the recipes that I've seen in this file.  I'm
    definately going to try again using the info I've found here but would
    also like to understand this tempering thing.
    
    Thanks...from a novice!
    Carol