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Chocolate Truffles Ii

Category: Candy

Author: The Savvybearcat

Date: 1/1/2007

Rating:

(2.5) by 2 users

Ingredients:

2 lb Dark, coating chocolate
6 oz Chocolate, unsweetened, baking (or more, to taste)
3 oz Butter, unsalted
1 1/4 cup Cointreau

Instructions:

Chop the chocolate. Melt together with the butter over simmering
water. Stir continuously with a rubber spatula. Don't let water get
into the chocolate.

Warm the Cointreau to the same temperature as the chocolate. Slowly
blend the Cointreau into the chocolate (still over the water). Stir
continuously. Do this slowly (as if you were making Hollandaise).
Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until cool and somewhat
thickened. (Takes about 5 minutes; you'll need a good mixer.)

Line a large baking sheet (11 x 17) with wax paper. Pour in the
truffle mix. (This will fill the pan.) Chill in the refrigerator
until solid (several hours).

Use a pizza cutter to cut the stuff into strips (peel off the wax
paper first), then into squares. Take each one, mash it in your
palm, and roll in cocoa. Chill some more.

I recommend Merckens Yucatan or Lindt Extra Bittersweet for the dark
coating chocolate. In place of the Cointreau, try substituting other
liqueurs (Chambord, Amaretto, Kahlua) and coatings (chopped roasted
almonds, finely chopped candied orange peel, coffee beans run through
a nutmeg grinder, etc.)

Truffles rolled in cocoa are "classic", here are some rough and ready
instructions for coating anything with chocolate, abstracted from
"Making Chocolates" by Alec Leaver, published in 1975 by Weathervane
Books by arrangement with Michael Joseph Ltd. (The book is out of
print.)

Melt some chocolate over hot water, let it cool slowly until it just
thickens (80-84 F). Now warm the chocolate gently and slowly until it
thins slightly. The temperature should be above 85, but below 91.
This maximum working temperature is absolutely crucial. The
temperature of the room you work in should not exceed 70.

Pre-bottom all centers, that is, smear a little couverature on what
will be the bottom of the center with the back of a spoon and place
it, bottom side up, on a plate. This lets you check that the
couverature is properly tempered.

After the bases have set and hardened a little, stir the couverature
thoroughly, trying not to get too many air-bubbles in. Drop a center
into the couverature, bottom down and, with an ordinary fork,
slightly warmed, push it down to submerge it fully. Immediately, pick
it out with the fork, tap the fork on the side of the bowl in order
to settle the chocolate, and wipe any excess from underneath the
fork. Transfer the center to a sheet of wax paper. Stir the
couverature after depositing each center to keep it well mixed.

NOTES:

* Classic chocolate confectionery -- These are as good, or better,
than anything you can buy in a store.

* The basis of the truffle centre is ganache paste, a mixture of
melted chocolate and warm cream well blended and cooled until it
hardens. Orange, honey, peppermint, rum or vanilla can be added to
give flavor, but it is important that the final mixture should be
hard enough to be moulded to shape and be capable of standing up to
being coated with chocolate.

* The texture of ganache paste depends upon the kinds of cream and
chocolate and the proportions in which they are used. Plain chocolate
is harder than milk chocolate, so more cream can be added to it.
Single cream is thinner than double so must be used in smaller
quantities. Incorporating cream or other liquids fulfills two
functions: it softens the chocolate and it gives flavor. After the
centre has been made and moulded to shape, it is coated with
chocolate to seal it and help to keep it moist. It is then rolled in
a final decorative coating, and this can cocoa sweetened with a
little icing sugar, or chopped mixed nuts.

: Difficulty: moderate for classic truffles, quite difficult for
coated centers.
: Time: most of a day.
: Precision: measure carefully.
:
: Martin Minow
: decvax!minow

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