Posted: November 24th, 2009 | Filed under: Candy | Tags: Baked truffles, dark chocolate truffles, kitchen fun, milk chocolate truffles, shower food, treat boxes, Truffles, wedding shower | 2 Comments »
My sweet sweet friend Teagan got hitched last month… but before the vows were said were a few fantastic parties. One of which was a “Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Shower.” Teagan’s maid of honor and I slaved in the kitchen for a “few” hours making hot spinach dip, a walnut-balsamic-pear brie cake, some beautifully rich brownies, a lemon cheese tart, and best of all.. truffles.
Poor Kelley, I’m sure she was not aware that we would be A) in the kitchen nearly as long as we were B) using a lot of arm muscle and patience to get our chocolate tempered correctly for that lovely “crunch” on the outside.
But the hours and the aching muscles were totally worth it. The truffles were not only delicious, decadent, full of rich deep dark chocolate-y wonderful-ness that just can’t be replicated with store bought truffles– they were also a huge hit, and our chocolate loving bride-to-be was very happy. So we showered her with gifts for the kitchen and home, to start them off right (lots of Martha Stuart cookware).
The only downside for our sweet bride – She was trying to stay on that wedding diet (not that she needed it), and we overloaded her chocolate-y goodness! Poor thing, that diet was on the loosing side of the battle.
Honey and Dark Chocolate Truffles
(Recipe adapted from Baked)
9 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (72% cacao)
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
Tempered dark chocolate
For the truffle centers:
Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Place a mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.
In a medium sized saucepan, stir together cream, honey, and instant coffee granules and bring to just a boil. Remove from heat and pour cream mixture through the sieve directly over the chocolate. Let sit for two minutes. Gently stir mixture from the center outward until smooth and shiny. Cover the entire bowl in plastic wrap, making sure the wrap comes in direct contact with the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 5 hours or until firm.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and scoop the truffles with a small melon baller and drop onto the parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Tempering the chocolate:
1 pound of dark chocolate is needed – you will need to chop well and reserve about a 4th of the chocolate for dropping the temperature.
Put 3/4 of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a pot of simmering water. Melt chocolate until an instant read thermometer reads 120 degrees F. Remove the bowl from heat and add reserved chocolate. Stir vigorously without stopping until completely melted and cooled to 80 degrees F. Place the chocolate back over simmering water stirring constantly until the temperature is between 86 and 90 degrees.
Now you may begin dipping, and then roll in powdered sugar.
Enjoy, especially the satisfying little crunch when you bite into your tasty truffles!
This is awesome!! Maybe the greatest about me picture ever to grace the internets.
Look forward to following along.
My mouth still waters from remembering how amazing that food was!! Every bit of it was amazing.