I always wanted to make some Truffles but never got around to do it. Several pages like Sumptuous Spoonfuls have some lovely ideas on how to go about it. So here I am, making Truffles.
The original recipe comes from Sumptuous Spoonfuls, check her instructions out here. However, I had some other things in my pantry and so I thought I can get working on those Truffles no problem. Major thing here are the wine, the cookies and the fruit. Oh, and ganache, chocolate ganache with Whisky.
Ingredients:
– 70g chocolate
– 6 gingerbread men cookies
– 1/2 cup of raspberries (defrosted)
– 1/4 cup Merlot
– 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
– 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
– 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
– 1 tsp. vanilla
– 3 tsp. cocoa powder
– 40g cream cheese
– 40g ganache, cold and solid
– chocolate for dipping
I had those gingerbread men cookies in my pantry from a Christmas Cookie exchange. I thought those would go nicely in Truffles, especially if you add some fruit. Talking fruit, I had some frozen raspberries, which I thought go well with the wine in these Truffles. I chose a Merlot because, well, I had one open and I like sweet wines.
Tip 1: If you use raspberries or some fruit with little seeds, then you should puree them first and push it through a sieve. That way the seeds are not in your Truffles.
Break up the gingerbread cookies and grind them in a food processor. Add the fruit and combine until you have a nice paste. Transfer this to a bowl and add the spices, vanilla, cocoa and Merlot, combining all until smooth.
Now you have the option of splitting the paste into two. I used cream cheese on one part and cold ganache on the other. I figured that both have about the same consistency. You can also just use a combination of both for the whole batch if you like. Once you incorporated the ganache and/or cream cheese, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for several hours.
Tip 2: I used semi-sweet chocolate and would recommend that it has a good quality.
Take a cookie sheet and line it with either wax paper or aluminum foil. The remove the bowl from the fridge and start rolling balls. I noticed that you do not really need any oil or such on you hands. You just want to make sure that your hands are not all to warm, maybe a quick ice bath would be good. I was able to roll about 8 balls in one sitting. The first ones are a bit smoother than the last ones but I feel that that’s just fine. Place the Truffles on the cookie sheet and place the sheet in the freezer.
Let the Truffles freeze over night if you can. Melt some chocolate, whichever you prefer, and dip the Truffles with a fork. Slightly tap it to let excess chocolate run off and place it back on the cookie sheet. If you want to add sprinkles you need to be quick, due to the frozen Truffles the chocolate hardens in a flash. Place them in an air tight container in the fridge.
The hard chocolate and the soft center are a real treat and very delicious.
Baking in Saskatoon 