make chocolate truffles

After last year, I really wanted to make this an annual tradition, so I was thrilled to wrangle a truffle making date just in time for Christmas. Today Astara and I spent the day up to our elbows in ganache. We paused between milk & dark rollings for chai & frangelico in big pink mugs, setting the pots out in the snow to chill.

We got high on chocolate, laughing hysterically for hours (poor, dear Mr. Cheevers, the hypothetical cat), wringing out stress, talking about life, all while rolling truffles, dusting them in cocoa powder and delicately placing them into lovely little paper cups & tins.

This was just what I needed. Just what everyone on my Christmas list needs too. These babies are magic. My fridge is full of magic babies! Joy to the world!

I’m an admitted chocoholic – especially when it comes to the good stuff. And I adore truffles. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make them myself, and today I got the chance. I met up with my friend at her mom’s place and spent hours talking, laughing & making 3 different flavors of absolutely orgasmic balls of chocolate bliss: milk chocolate, kahlua, and rum.

I can’t even describe the pleasure of getting chocolaty up to my elbows while lovingly rolling each one by hand. It was like some sort of exquisite grown-up mud play. You absorb it and reach a giddy state. Chocolate may not look like it makes sexy evening gloves, but try it. It does. My hands feel silky and still smell sweet. And the taste… oh – pure heaven. I have a sweet, pleasurebuzz throughout my whole body.

I brought home about 20 of each kind, and they’re so rich I’ve only had two. These will be shared with a few very special people. (I’ll post the recipe we used later)

Put too much cocoa on it. Powdery taste is no good. Maybe coconut coating would have been better. Didn’t come out very creamy either. Whoops!

I made Mocha and Pecan chocolate truffles for Christmas and they were delicious! It is well worth it. It takes a lot of chilling and rolling them out but they are a lot better then the store boughten ones.

You can take a look at the recipe I found at this page. I’m not sure if I can find any semisweet chocolate, but I think a mixture of half bittersweet and half regular chocolate is a reasonable substitute. I’d use orange juice in them, but I’m not sure I want them to taste orange-y so I want to find some praline or hazelnut liqeur. Any suggestions?

Wish me luck! =)

They are easy to make and you will have a lot of new best friends. There is one minor downside, eat a few and get them out of the house so you don’t expand!

These were easy to make and didn’t turn out too bad (I was probably a little impatient waiting for the mixture to thicken). The end result tasted pretty good though which I suppose is the main thing!

and i am not remorseful in the least. not at all. i even shamelessly flashed gratuitous truffle shots

oh yes! the truffles rule!!!

• Caramel in milk chocolate
• Vanilla in white chocolate
• Cherry (brandy) in dark chocolate
• Coffee (tia maria) in Galaxy coffee chocolate
• Dark choc dipped marzipan ‘coins’

They were divine! Urm… not to sound like I’m boasting, I just mean it’s fab being able to concoct your own flavour combinations!

Bit of a story: got up the morning after making the ganache to find that, yes, it did set. Solid! Had promised to be at my dad’s for lunch so ended up phoning to ask if I could take everything through with me to finish off. Spent xmas eve evening remelting (in a bain marie-type setup) the ganache (and added some more tia maria to the coffee ones!), then allowing it to cool to just the right consistancy to maintain a good form when I spooned it onto a sheet of tinfoil. Then, cool and coat in melted chocolate (again, bain marie works brill), before leaving to harden.

L ate most of the cherry ones (which is some kind of thumbs up!), and the coffee ones worked really really well – right mix of alcoholic middle and extra espresso coating.

Mmmm!

Never one to do things by half measures, if the recipe quantities are right I shall have 40 truffles tomorrow!

We-eeell… she says. I have serious doubts about the second batch setting – I thought less cream would balance out the more liquid flavourings, but – ah, we’ll see! Cherry brandy, vanilla, caramel, coffee (liqueur)... mmmm! Oh, and some half-choc-dipped marzipan for good measure!

Of course, I do have to now do all the coating/dipping before I leave tomorrow. Erp. I may not have a chance to get back online, so again – happy holiday of your choice!