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A Cluster of Truffles

Source of Recipe


From "The Chocolate Book" by Sara Perry



List of Ingredients



• ½ cup half-and-half or whole milk
  
• ¼ cup heavy (whipping) cream
  
• ¾ pound (12 ounces) imported bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  
• 4 Tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut in pieces
  
• ½ cup (about 2 ounces) grated, imported semisweet or white chocolate, for coating
  
• ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, for coating
  
• ½ cup finely chopped, toasted nuts, for coating
  






Instructions



1. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the milk and heavy cream and heat until boiling. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in the chopped chocolate and butter until melted. Stir until completely smooth with a wooden spoon, but don't let the mixture form bubbles. Pour onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight, until the chocolate is completely firm.
   
   
2. To make truffles, take the chilled pan out of the refrigerator and shape the truffles with a melon baller (or two teaspoons) into rough balls about ¾-inch in diameter. Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper and freeze for 30 minutes, so they are firm enough to handle without melting from the heat of your hands.
   
   
3. Place the grated chocolate, cocoa powder and nuts in separate saucers. Roll the chocolate balls in one or more of these coatings. Return them to the wax paper and refrigerate. They will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or in the freezer for a month. To serve, bring them back to room temperature.
   
   Makes about 30 truffles.
   
   ............
   
   VARIATIONS
   
   • Add 1 ounce of your favorite liqueur to the milk mixture when you add the chocolate and butter. Proceed as directed.
   
   • To make espresso truffles:
   Whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons of espresso (not coffee) powder to the milk mixture when you add the chocolate and butter. Proceed as directed.
   
   • To form a dipped truffle:
   Melt 12 ounces of chopped chocolate in a double boiler. Remove the top saucepan from the double boiler and let the chocolate cool to just above body temperature. Carefully drop the chilled truffle balls into the chocolate, one at a time, and roll to cover completely. Lift each truffle out carefully with a fork, scraping the excess chocolate off the truffle's bottom on the edge of the pan. Place on a paper-lined baking sheet by carefully pushing each truffle off the tines of the fork with the edge of a paring knife. Refrigerate.