Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Ganache Filling Ingredients:
2 lbs bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao)
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
extracts for flavoring
Chocolate Coating Ingredients:
12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
14oz Hershey's milk chocolate bars
approx 4 Tbsp paraffin (roughly 1/2 bar)
Decoration Ingredients:
white chocolate
food colorings
1. Chop the bittersweet chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a small pan, until it just begins to boil.
3. Pour the hot cream into the bowl of chocolate. Cover and wait a couple minutes. Gently stir until all the chocolate is melted.
4. Pour the melted chocolate into shallow dishes, one for each flavor desired.
5. Stir in 1 tsp extract per 1/4 batch of chocolate, if desired. If the ganache breaks, rapidly stir in a small amount of cold cream to return chocolate to temper.
6. Chill the ganache until firm.
7. Using a heavy-duty #60 portion scoop, scoop ganache into approximately 72 equal portions, placing on sheet pans lined with waxed paper, being sure to keep flavors separated and labeled.
8. Roll each portion into balls approximately 1" in diameter. Refrigerate until ready to dip.
9. In a double boiler, melt the paraffin. Stir in chocolate chips and broken-up Hershey bars. Keep chocolate warm but not too hot.
10. Drop each ball of chocolate filling into the chocolate coating, quickly rolling to coat, removing with a fork, and placing on a cookie sheet lined with clean waxed paper.
11. After each truffle has been dipped and the coating is mostly set, dip the truffles again, and place on a new cookie sheet with a fresh sheet of waxed paper. This is to ensure an even coating. The first time you coat them, a hole in the coating is left by the fork. The second time you dip them, make sure that the rough part that was the bottom is no longer on the bottom.
12. If desired, decorate the truffles with colored white chocolate stripes to identify the flavors. Melt a small amount of white chocolate in the microwave, stir in food coloring, transfer to a plastic bag with a tiny hole cut in the corner. Drizzle the white chocolate into a decorative pattern on each truffle. A light brown color can be made by mixing a small amount of the chocolate coating into the white chocolate.
Makes about 72 truffles. Pictured here with mint, orange, almond, and plain chocolate truffles in mini (1-5/8 inch) baking cups. Truffles may be served at room temperature, but refrigeration is recommended for longer term storage.