An entire entry devoted to truffles.
"The original chocolate truffle was a French confection meant to simulate the much-sought-after truffle fungus. They were rolled rough like the real fungus, not round, and covered in cocoa powder to replicate the dirt they grow in. (Whose idea was it to make people think they were eating dirt?) Chocolate truffles are a rich, decadent treat with a special elegance all their own." - Sherry Yard, The Secrets of Baking
I'm making Swiss style truffles today. The main difference in Swiss truffles and other European truffles is that rather than using fats or oils to add to the chocolate, you add dairy. They have a creamier, softer consistency, but must be consumed within a few days. They are also more complicated to make, at least without molds. But, I've been wanting to try it.
First, you'll need some chocolate. I used a regular (1/2 lb) bar of bittersweet chocolate, like you use for baking. It needs to be finely chopped, which is quite a task. I read that you can put it in a food processor, but it seems like that would be quite messy, especially if the blades got warm. I just got out a knife and started shaving the chocolate squares. It took about 20-30 minutes to finish the entire bar, but I may have been a little too obsessive about getting it fine enough.
Put it all in a bowl, I used a regular mixing bowl. Then, boil 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream. It will start foaming right before it boils and if you aren't right there to turn off the heat, you'll have a huge mess. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and shake the bowl lightly so the chocolate is all coated. Then place something over the bowl to hold the heat in for about 5 minutes. (I kept lifting it and peeking to see how well it was melting)
Then, stir the chocolate/cream mixture until it is smooth. If you are adding flavoring, this is when you do that. I chose rum. At this point, put the mixture in the fridge for about 2 hours. I ended up leaving mine for 3 hours and it was pretty hard to work with, so I let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before proceeding.
At this point, the chocolate is about the consistency of a soft cheese. Spoon it out onto wax paper. The next step is the hardest part. Since I don't have molds and I wanted to try this the authentic way, I had to give my hands an ice bath. That's as much fun as it sounds! I filled up a big bowl with ice and added some water and dipped my hands in for a few minutes. If you are handrolling the truffles and you don't do this, the chocolate warms too much and won't be shaped properly, not to mention the huge mess you'll be. So, I waited until my hands were red and a bit tingly and began rolling each truffle into a round ball. Part of the beauty of truffles is that they are not perfectly round, so I wasn't too obsessive about the shape, just focusing on smoothing them out. after about 5 truffles, my hands would start warming and I would take one of the ice cubes and rub it on my palms to cool it back down. I would have photographed this process, but my hands were too messy. I eventually got all of the truffles rolled and then decided to chill them for a little bit before rolling them in powder.
The recipe I was using suggested rolling them in pure cocoa powder. I wanted to sweeten them up just a tad, so I mixed in a little bit of confectioner's sugar. Yum. You could also use toasted coconut or finely chopped nuts.
Make sure to chill these until you serve them. So delicious! Perhaps people who like more american chocolate should add sugar or corn syrup to the recipe, but I really prefer dark, bittersweet chocolates and I love the simplicity of the recipe. Next time I want to try adding a fruit liqueur. Maybe for my birthday party next Friday!
