Subject: RECIPE: Chocolate Truffles II
From: minow@decvax (Martin Minow)
Date: 28 Feb 86 05:12:13 GMT
Newsgroups: mod.recipes

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.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE TRUFFLES-2 D "19 Dec 85" 1986
.RZ "CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES II" "Classic chocolate confectionery"
These are as good\(emor better\(emthan anything you can buy in a store.
.IH "makes 10 dozen"
.IG "2 lb" "dark coating chocolate" "900 g"
.IG "6 oz" "unsweetened baking chocolate" "200 g"
(or more, to taste)
.IG "3 oz" "unsalted butter" "90 g"
.IG "1\(14 cup" "Cointreau" "300 ml"
.PH
.SK 1
Chop the chocolate.  Melt together with the butter over simmering
water.  Stir continuously with a rubber spatula.  Don't let water get
into the chocolate.
.SK 2
Warm the Cointreau to the same temperature as the
chocolate.  Slowly blend the Cointreau into the chocolate (still over
the water).  Stir continuously.  Do this slowly (as if you were making
hollandaise).  Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until cool and
somewhat thickened.  (Takes about 5 minutes; you'll need a good mixer.)
.SK 3
Line a large baking sheet
.AB "(11\(mu17 inches)" "(30\(mu40 cm)"
with wax paper.  Pour in the truffle
mix.  (This will fill the pan.)  Chill in the refrigerator until solid
(several hours).
.SK 4
Use a pizza cutter to cut the stuff into strips (peel off the wax paper
first), then into squares.  Take each one, mash it in your palm, and roll
in cocoa.  Chill some more.
.NX
I recommend Merckens Yucatan or Lindt Extra Bittersweet for the dark coating
chocolate. In place of the Cointreau, try
substituting other liqueurs (Chambord, Amaretto, Kahlua) and coatings
(chopped roasted almonds, finely chopped candied orange peel, coffee
beans run through a nutmeg grinder, etc.) 
.PP
Truffles rolled in cocoa are ``classic''\(emhere are some rough and
ready instructions for coating anything with chocolate, abstracted
from \fIMaking Chocolates\fR by Alec Leaver, published in 1975 by
Weathervane Books by arrangement with Michael Joseph Ltd.
(The book is out of print.)
.PP
Melt some chocolate over hot water, let it cool slowly until it
just thickens
.AB "(80\-84\(deF)" "26\-28\(deC)" .
Now warm the chocolate gently
and slowly until it thins slightly.  The temperature should be
above
.TE 85 29 ","
but below
.TE 91 32 .
This maximum working temperature is absolutely crucial.
The temperature of the room you work in should not exceed
.TE 70 21 "."
.PP
Pre-bottom all centers\(emthat is, smear a little couverature on what
will be the bottom of the center with the back of a spoon and place
it, bottom side up, on a plate.  This lets you check that the
couverature is properly tempered.
.PP
After the bases have set and hardened a little, stir the couverature
thoroughly, trying not to get too many air-bubbles in.  Drop a center
into the couverature, bottom down and, with an ordinary fork,
slightly warmed, push it down to submerge it fully.  Immediately,
pick it out with the fork, tap the fork on the side of the bowl
in order to settle the chocolate, and wipe any excess from underneath
the fork.  Transfer the center to a sheet of wax paper.  Stir
the couverature after depositing each center to keep it well mixed.
.PP
The basis of the truffle centre is ganache paste, a mixture
of melted chocolate and warm cream well blended and cooled
until it hardens.  Orange, honey, peppermint, rum or vanilla
can be added to give flavor, but it is important that the
final mixture should be hard enough to be moulded to shape
and be capable of standing up to being coated with chocolate.
The texture of ganache paste depends upon the kinds of
cream and chocolate and the proportions in which they are used.
Plain chocolate is harder than milk chocolate, so more cream can
be added to it.  Single cream is thinner than double so must
be used in smaller quantities. 
Incorporating cream or other liquids fulfills two functions:
it softens the chocolate and it gives flavor.
.PP
After the centre has been made and moulded to shape, it is
coated with chocolate to seal it and help to keep it moist.
It is then rolled in a final decorative coating, and this can
cocoa sweetened with a little icing sugar, or chopped mixed nuts.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
moderate for classic truffles, quite difficult for coated centers.
.I Time:
most of a day.
.I Precision:
measure carefully.
.WR
Martin Minow
Digital Equipment Corporation, Ultrix Engineering Group, Merrimac, NH
decvax!minow