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An excellent quality white chocolate is normally ivory in color, and after whipping the mixture to aerate it, it turns pure white. You can enrobe them in dark tempered chocolate or roll the truffles directly into sifted cocoa powder or powdered sugar, or chopped and toasted nuts or coconut, if desired. White chocolate flavors so nicely; candy oils are so vibrant and make the best choice, but liqueurs work well, too.
CHOCOLATE RECIPE HELP
INGREDIENTS
Truffles
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality white chocolate or chocolate chips; SARAH SAYS: I like to use Ghirardelli or Valhrona
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) heavy cream
2 tablespoons liqueur or 1 to 2 teaspoons extract 1/4 teaspoon flavored candy oil
Chocolate Enrobing
16 ounces (1 pound) dark bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, preferably tempered; You can also use a Compound Coating (Candy Melts) which does not need tempering.
2 cups Natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted; measure and the, sift
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Chop chocolate bar into fine pieces suitable for melting – about 1/4-inch in size.
SARAH SAYS: Make sure each piece is even in size so each chocolate piece can melt at an even rate. This helps prevent some of the smaller pieces from seizing.
2. Melt chocolate and butter on the top of a double boiler until ALMOST MELTED, and set aside.
3. Carefully heat cream in the microwave on low. Take care because you cream burns easily.
4. Add heated milk to the melted chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds. Then start to stir slowly, using a small wire whisk, in a clockwise (or one) direction. The ganache will look lumpy at first.
Continue stirring, a bit faster, making a rotation with the whisk every second around the bowl. The chocolate and cream will thicken and become smooth when done.
5. Press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the ganache and place in refrigerator to cool and somewhat set.
SARAH SAYS: It needs to cool to lukewarm so it stiffens and will whip faster and have a better texture.
6. Place mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until aerated, beating in the liqueur, 1/2 teaspoon or so at a time.
7. Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-plain tip and fill halfway with the truffle mixture. Pipe on parchment or silpat mat lined baking sheets about 3/4-inches long. Refrigerate to set. Then, form piped shape into balls.
Or, you can scoop the mixture into balls, but refrigerate it first before doing so.
8. Refrigerate shaped truffles to set before enrobing in tempered chocolate.
9. Meanwhile, temper the chocolate.
Enrobe the truffles in the tempered chocolate and deposit immediately into the sifted cocoa powder, placed in a deep pan. Shake the pan so the cocoa powder covers them.
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Remove the truffles to another pan when they are coated, to set. After the coating sets, shake the truffles in a strainer to remove the excess cocoa.
STORAGE
Classic ganache can generally stay at room temperature for 2 days, as long as it's kept in a cool place.; then it must be refrigerated. If in a bowl, always place a piece of plastic wrap firmly against its surface so a film does not form or it won't form a sugar crust on its surface. Ganache can be frozen for a month. Reheat in the top of a double boiler under gentle heat, whisking together in one direction, before using.
