Gourmet Chocolate Truffles - Recipes Online

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What is a gourmet chocolate truffle?

Essentially, these recipes are a simple ganache, which is a wonderfully creamy collaboration of three things: chocolate, flavourings and liquids. Originally chocolate truffles were simply a ganache ball which was rolled in chocolate or cocoa powder by the chocolatier.

Where did the name truffle come from?

Quite simply because they resemble the truffle mushroom!

Many of the old European chocolatiers still make their chocolate truffles in the traditional way, but others have adapted them to incorporate new techniques and flavours. Modern truffles tend to be dipped in luxury dark chocolate rather than rolled or dusted with cocoa powder, as dusting can have a 'drying' effect which can reduce a truffle's shelf life considerably.

There are some excellent manufacturers of gourmet chocolate truffles around today, many of which have good websites with straight-forward ordering facilities. But if you want to try making your own truffles, here are two simple recipes to get you started.

200ml cream
285g dark chocolate
50g bitter dark chocolate
100g cocoa powder

Boil the cream and blend in the dark chocolate.
Cover the mixture and cool in the refrigerator for an hour or two.
Make small balls from that preparation using a spoon or your hands.
Return to the refrigerator until the balls are well-set.
Melt the bitter dark chocolate, then dip the truffles in the chocolate using a fork.
Follow by rolling the truffles in the cocoa powder by hand.
Place the truffles somewhere cool (but preferably not in the refrigerator this time!).

425g plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
90g butter
150g caster sugar
2 tsp coffee granules, dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
4 eggs, whites and yolks separated
25g toasted ground hazelnuts
40g plain flour
300 ml (½ pint) double cream
Handful of strawberries

Melt a third of the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water.
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add the melted chocolate, coffee and egg yolks and beat well.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, and fold into mixture.
Carefully fold in the hazelnuts and flour, and then pour the mixture into a greased and lined cake tin.
Bake at 170 ºC / 325 ºF / Gas mark 3 for 75 minutes.
Cool in the tin for twenty minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.
Meanwhile, place the cream in a small pan and heat until it slowly bubbles.
Remove from the heat and mix in the rest of the plain chocolate until it melts.
Leave to chill for an hour or so until the mixture is firm enough to hold a peak, then smooth over the cake.

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