The chocoholic in me has been craving for a treat and I've been wondering what to make with the left-over chocolate and cream. So I googled for inspiration and came across a few recipes for truffles. I've always loved truffles but thought they are difficult to make at home. The real truffles are very expensive and are actually a kind of fungus. Chocolate truffles on the other hand are made by melting chocolate in cream and so called because of their appearance. So even though I did not have the required amounts of ingredients for truffles, I still decided to give it a go. One simple rule of thumb to use when making truffles is to use chocolate and cream in 2:1 proportion. I also added some instant coffee powder to the cream to give an extra kick of caffeine to the chocolate truffles.
You can be adventurous with the flavours and coatings for truffles. Truffles look truly gorgeous and are wonderful to give away as gifts. So go ahead and impress your friends!
Coffee Flavoured Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients (to make about 15 small truffles)
80 gms dark cooking chocolate (preferably of good quality)
40 ml double cream
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
Method
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place them into a bowl.
- Bring double cream to boil. Keep a watch otherwise the cream may boil over.
- When the cream has come to boil, add half a teaspoon of instant coffee powder and mix well.
- Add the cream to the chocolate and keep stirring until all the chocolate has melted completely and mixed well with the cream. The mixture will have a glossy appearance and is known as Ganache (a french culinary term used to describe chocolate-cream mixture)
- Cover the bowl with a cling-film to prevent a film from forming on the mixture.
- Put the bowl away in fridge and allow the mixture to cool down for atleast an hour.
- Take out the bowl from the fridge and with help of a melon-scooper or a teaspoon, scoop out small amounts of chocolate mixture and roll it between your palms to form balls.
- Spread the cocoa on a plate and roll the chocolate balls on it so that they are coated with cocoa.
I wanted the truffles I made to look special and this is how I packaged them:
My first batch of truffles was a success, so I felt confident about trying couple of variations that I made in the evening. The second batch has been prepared from milk chocolate and flavoured with Cardamom. I also tried couple of coatings - coconut and pistachio.
Milk Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients (to make about 22 small truffles)
150 gms Milk Chocolate - cut into small pieces
5 tbsp Double Cream
Cardamoms - 3 nos ground finely
1 tsp Sugar
Pistachios - ground coarsely/chopped for coating
Dessicated Coconut for coating
Method
- Bring the crean to a boil and add the ground cardamom and sugar. Mix well.
- Add this to the chocolate and mix well till the chocolate is fully mixed with the cream. If you find that chocolate is not melting easily, then place the bowl over another bowl of simmering water (double boiler method) and keep stirring until all the mixture becomes smooth and glossy.
- Bring the mixture to room temperature. Then keep it refrigerated for 2-3 hours. I found that the longer you keep the mixture in frige, the easier it is to roll the truffles.
- Take the mixture out from fridge. Take two bowls - one containing coconut and the other containing chopped pistachio.
- Using a melon scooper, scoop out small balls of chocolate mixture and roll them between your palms to form balls. Roll the balls either in coconut or pistachio until they are coated completely.
- Store the truffles in refrigerator.
Milk Chocolate Truffle with Coconut Coating
Milk Chocolate Truffle with Pistachio Coating
Yet another picture to inspire you :-)
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