The first step to identifying your problem is admitting that you have one. Friends, I have a serious addiction to chocolate. I can’t help it. Chocolate is the key to our hearts and the root to our souls. I think it provides the chemical we feel when we’re in love after we take that first bite which explains why chocolate comes around on Valentines Day (Singles Day) I got a little sad around Valentine’s Day, so I made these truffles for my Single friends. After all, chocolate makes us feel 1000 times better.
So friends, I hope u enjoyed them because they were time consuming but were the best thing I’ve made from Gourmet so far. Mom helped me with the mixture. It wasn’t too complicated- it was just time consuming.
30 Truffles (we doubled it)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 9 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped– (we used chips)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For coating
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted, and/or 1/2 to 1 cup pecans, ground fine
“In a dry heavy saucepan (about 3 1/2 quarts) cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork until melted… ” (It was so cool to watch the sugar melt into caramel- I’ve never made caramel before-)
…”swirl pan until sugar is a golden caramel. Remove pan from heat (we turned heat off) and add cream carefully (mixture will bubble up)…” it bubbled up A Lot. I thought I was doing something wrong, so Mom took over (my natural instinct). I learned that when heat is over boiling temperature adding cold heavy cream will make the caramel bubble a lot. Learning a little science as I cook is always fun. “Return pan to heat and simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved.”
Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, salt, and vanilla. Let mixture stand 5 minutes (we didn’t do this we kept stirring until chocolate melted. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool, uncovered. Chill mixture, covered, 2 hours, or until firm.
Coat truffles:
Scoop out truffle mixture with a spoon and form into 1-inch balls. Roll truffles in 1/2 cup cocoa powder or coat with 1 cup pecans, pressing nuts slightly to adhere. (Alternatively, roll half of truffles in 1/4 cup cocoa powder and coat remaining truffles with 1/2 cup pecans.) Chill truffles on a tray lined with wax paper until firm, about 1 hour. Truffles keep in an airtight container, chilled, 2 weeks.
Mom got sleepy. My accountant friend Andrew is in the middle of busy season and had to work a full twelve hour day on Saturday. He came over starving around 8ish. By the time he came over, I was ready to put him to work. He helped me form the mixture into chocolaty truffles covered in coco power. As Forest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.” That was precisely what we tried to do. Some truffles had nuts on the outside or on the inside. Even the ones covered in coco powder had nuts. So, you really never knew which one you were getting.
I woke Mom up to try one- and she gave it a 5+ and Dad kept wanting seconds and thirds.
Ratings:
Taste: 5+
Do-Ability: 2- Very time consuming… Chocolate melts very easily so we kept putting the mixture back in the fridge to solidify since it kept melting in my hands.
Overall, a complete success!!