There's a certain mystique to truffles: Godiva sells them for exorbitant prices, people think of them usually around holidays, and most cooks are intimidated by the idea of trying to make them. There's a reason for that intimidation. These aren't easy, but they go easier if you've got a little knowledge of candy-making, especially chocolate tempering, under your belt already. I've found that the best way to make truffles is with a friend. That way, things go more quickly (an advantage when you're working with ingredients that can melt or deform when they get too cool or too warm), and the whole experience is more fun with two people. Plus, with a friend's help, you won't be tempted to eat all the truffles yourself, which is the biggest problem that I have when I make this recipe!
It's worth it, though, even if you go it alone. These little candies are the very height of decadence: a creamy, melt-on-your-tongue center surrounded by a crisp chocolate shell, and delicately -- but not overwhelmingly -- accented by the flavour of a liqueur. They are candies to be eaten in many bites, savoured for their rarity (how many truffle-makers have you known in your lifetime?) and for the impressive oomph of flavour that they can pack into a tiny, neat package. They are also very pretty, suitable to serve as a centerpiece during a meal and the dessert afterwards, especially if you pair them with pretty red berries and stripe them with white chocolate. In short, these truffles deserve their reputation both for divine taste and difficulty in the kitchen. Try them once, and you'll never go Godiva again, because they make store-bought truffles taste like cardboard in comparison (trust me, I've held taste tests!). These are what you whip up when you're cooking balls-out to impress.
Chocolate Truffles
Note: With any recipe, the quality of ingredients is crucial to the taste of the final product, but that's especially true here. Use only the very best chocolate that you can get your hands on for these. Be willing to spend a few extra dollars to get good chocolate. Ordinary Hershey's chocolate is NOT sufficient. My personal favorite is Scharffen-Berger's Antilles bar, but that particular brand can be hard to come by. Ghirardelli (which is much easier to come by) and Valrona are also very good. One note: I don't recommend Green & Black's, or any of the other organic bars. While they may be expensive, they have a strangely fudgey texture, and they tend to melt oddly. It's more difficult to get them to temper correctly, and they tend to make an uneven ganache, in my experience.
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (What particular percentage of chocolate you use is a matter of personal preference. I tend to go for Scharffen-Berger's Antilles bar, which is a 75% blend, or Ghirardelli's 60%.)
8 additional ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (You can use the same, or a different chocolate here)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (It's very important that the butter be unsalted. In fact, if you can find the unsalted, creamy European-style butter at your grocery, use that.)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 vanilla beans
1/4 cup brandy or your favourite liqueur (I've used everything from a good port wine to Chambord here. Just go with whatever floats your boat. If you're not into alcohol, leave it out completely, but honestly, it's worth it to add the hint of flavour you get here.)
Start by adding 10 ounces of chocolate and the butter to a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds on full power. Remove and stir to help redistribute the chocolate, and repeat this process 1 more time. Stir again, and set aside. It's okay if all of the chocolate isn't completely melted, the residual heat in the bowl will help it continue melting for a few minutes afterwards.
Heat the heavy cream and corn syrup together in a small saucepan over medium heat until the mixture simmers (don't boil!). Slice the vanilla beans down the middle with a sharp knife, and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the beans to the cream mixture, and allow these to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring slowly. Remove the pan from the heat, fish out the bean halves, and pour the cream-corn syrup mixture over the melted chocolate and butter. Let this stand for about a minute, then use a rubber or silicone spatula (the idea is something flexible, but with a bit of stiffness to stir the thick chocolate) to stir the mixture in slow circles, until all the chocolate is melted and the whole thing is glossy and very smooth. Add the brandy or liqueur, and stir again (gently!) until the mixture is once more smooth and homogeneous. Congratulations, you've just made a chocolate ganache. Pour the mixture into an 8x8 baking dish and refrigerate for at least an hour. Longer is better with the refrigeration time, as the goal is to have a very, very hard ganache when it's finished chilling.
Once the mixture has been in the fridge a while, remove it and use a melon baller or two spoons to scoop out little balls of chocolate onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper. The key to this process is being relatively quick: don't let the ganache get too warm, or you'll have trouble because it tends to stick. I usually dip my melon baller into cocoa powder to keep the balls of ganache from sticking to it, then use my bare hands to shape the scooped balls into spheres. This process gets chocolate all over my hands, but if I'm very quick about the rolling (my hands are on the ganache balls for less than three seconds, usually), it produces a more uniform candy. When the ganache has all been rolled into balls, return the balls to the fridge for another hour or so to get them chilled back up and re-firmed.
After the ganache balls have chilled for an hour or so, place the remaining 8 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler, and bring the water under it to a bare simmer. Lower heat is better in this case, because the goal here is fairly fine temperature control. Position a candy thermometer in the bowl so that the end of the thermometer sits in the middle of the melting chocolate (not against the bowl, which may be hotter than the mixture itself). Stir the chocolate occasionally, and watch the thermometer. Heat until the mixture reaches 88F, then remove it from the double boiler. The actual goal is 90F or 92F, but removing the heat source before it reaches the goal temperature will keep the chocolate from getting too hot. DO NOT allow the chocolate to heat past 94F. If you do, your coating will not have the snap or shine to it that distinguishes a well-made truffle. You may need to adjust your heat occasionally to maintain this optimal 90-92F temperature. Just watch the thermometer carefully, and you should be fine
Remove the ganache balls from the fridge, and stick a toothpick in the top of one. Using the toothpick to hold the truffle, swipe it QUICKLY through the melted chocolate to coat it. The need for speed cannot be over-emphasized: if the truffle remains in the hot melted chocolate too long, the ganache will melt and contaminate your coating chocolate, preventing a smooth, shiny coat for future chocolates. It may also fall off the toothpick, which means that you must use a spoon to retrieve it, and its shape will get mangled. So do this quickly. Once the truffle has been coated, sit it back on a different baking sheet covered with parchment or waxed paper, and after fifteen or so seconds, remove the toothpick, leaving a coated candy with a small hole at the top.
Important notes for the dipping procedure: Observe your ganache balls carefully during this process: if they sit out too long, they will soften to room temperature, and you will have a more difficult time coating them. If your ganache balls seem to be getting too soft, just stick them back in the fridge for a while, then remove them and continue when they've re-firmed. It is advisable not to stick the coated truffles in the fridge for at least an hour, to give them time to set. Cooling them too quickly may shock their chocolate coating, and will make it look less shiny. It won't affect the taste or texture at all, but the appearance won't be as fine. This is a rather delicate process, as the melted chocolate must be monitored to keep it under 94F, the ganache balls must be monitored to keep from getting too warm, and the truffles must be swiped through the coating quickly yet carefully to get complete coverage while preventing them from melting. Nonetheless, a careful baker will find that it goes more smoothly than perhaps this recipe makes it sound. I'm simply warning for all contingencies; not all these situations may present themselves during your truffle-making attempts.
Once the truffles have all been coated, the remainder of the melted chocolate can be discarded. Allow the truffles to sit for an hour or so to set. Afterwards, if you wish to decorate them further, you can melt a little white chocolate and drizzle it over the candies with a spoon to give them white stripes. This technique can also be used to disguise the toothpick holes, if you're fussy. Other options for decoration include sifting cocoa or confectioner's sugar over the truffles immediately after they've been dipped, before the chocolate has a chance to set, or rolling the barely-set truffles in chopped nuts (Although this is a difficult and messy operation, and I don't necessarily recommend it).
Once set, the truffles should be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to two weeks. To serve, remove them from the fridge half an hour or so before service, to allow them to come to room temperature. The texture is good when they're cold, just out of the fridge, but the taste of the chocolate really displays its many dimensions best at room temperature.
Servings: About 35 truffles.
No comments:
Post a Comment