kattitudes

Truffles look and sound complex, but truthfully, they are really very easy to make. Frighteningly easy.

In fact, if you are drawn to chocolate and have not yet made a batch of your own, I warn you now of the dangers of discovering the ease of truffle making.

Fortunately (or not) everyone around the Kattitudes office copes with migraine issues which are brought on by both chocolate and caffeine (such an unjust punishment for sins of a past life) such that the making of truffles always means fantastic gifts for others and none for us. Ah, the many joys of aging.

Putting the multitudinous joys of migraines aside, truffle construction is really just chocolate and cream melted together and then made cold until it hardens into a rich tasty mess, rolled into a ball and covered with your favorite power, chopped nut or even powdered herb.

It is so easy, but produces such a tasty treat that you really should try whipping a batch of these out for a special occasion, like Monday. Or maybe celebrating that you washed your hair. Or did the laundry. You know, something truly special that deserves a chocolate treat!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped (if you’re going to do this, splurge and buy some quality chocolate, as it makes a significant difference in the taste)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Topping of your choice; for example, cocoa powder, cinnamon powder, finely chopped nuts, powdered sugar

This is a basic truffle filling to which you can add your own flavorings or extracts.

You may use this to fill chocolate shells you make (using candy molds) or roll into balls then into powdered sugar, cocoa, sprinkles or other toppings.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine chocolate and cream.

Cook, stirring, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat and whisk in flavoring, if desired.

Pour into a small dish and refrigerate until set, but not hard-approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Form balls and roll in toppings.

Work as fast as you can, because the heat of your hands will start to melt the truffle.

After shaping, put back into the refrigerator to firm.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 19th, 2007 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Recipes, candies, chocolate, desserts, kitchen gifts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.