Saturday 17 January 2015

Chocolate Truffles

Delicious homemade chocolate truffles

Recently we heard on the news that maybe chocolate is not the ultimate health food as it sometimes has been attributed to be. But most of us find chocolate delicious, so enjoying chocolate in moderate amounts contributes to our well being. Anyway that is my opinion.

It is fun to create something delicious and making homemade chocolate truffles is quite easy. And the pleasure of eating them, yummy!



 

 Chocolate

The taste and quality of the truffle depends primarily on the quality of chocolate you start with. A chocolate with a velvety smooth texture will produce a truffle that is velvety smooth. However, the most important point to consider when choosing is whether to choose a bittersweet or a semisweet chocolate depending on your preferences.

Additional flavouring
You can choose to add any flavours that you like. Chocolate flavour combines very well with a multitude of other flavours. If you would like your truffles to have coffee flavour stir one tablespoon espresso powder into the hot cream and optionally add Kahua or Tia Maria to the truffle mixture. The loveliest orange flavoured truffles you get if you add Cointreau to  the truffle mixture.
For fruit flavoured truffles use 2 tablespoon of fruit puree e.g. raspberry. Today also chili is a quite common addition to chocolate. Maybe you would like chili tasting truffles?
Truffles store well. They can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or frozen for several months. Truffles are best when served at room temperature.



Ingredients

Chocolate Truffles: 30pcs

8 ounces (225 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)
2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons alcohol (Cointreau, Cognac, brandy, kirsch, rum, bourbon, or Kahlua to name a few) (optional)
or 1 tablespoon espresso coffee powder
or 2 tablespoons fruit puree

Coating:  cocoa powder, white or dark chocolate

  • Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put them i na aheat resistant bowl.
  • Pour the whipping cream into a saucepan together with the unsalted butter,cut in small pieces, and heat the mixture until boiling.
  • Pour the hot cream mixture over the small chocolate pieces and let it sit for a minute to let the chocolate melt and the stir until smooth. If the chocolate does not melt completely, put the bowl in the Microwave for 30-40 seconds.
  • Add flavourings.
  • Let the chocolate cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or over night until it gets firm.
  • Scoop up bite size balls with a spoon and roll them until round.
  • For coating: roll them in cocoa powder or in melted white or dark chocolate. When finished place them in a nice box or serve them on a plate.
Enjoy
 









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