Chocolate Truffle Croquembouche

Use your imagination to see what abortion really is! Fight against the kind of social stupor that gripped Nazi Germany – the feeling that the problem is so huge and so horrendous and so out of our control that I just can't be wrong to let it be. Use your imagination to see and feel what is really happening behind those sterile clinic doors. If you could see each little handiwork of God and what it looks like when it is being crushed or poisoned or starved, you would say, this can’t be happening. Civilized people do not do this! The children will not be saved and God’s work will not be reverenced without an act of sustained sympathetic imagination. Otherwise it is out of sight out of mind – just like Dachau, Buchenwald, Belsen, and Auschwitz. It just couldn't be happening and so we act as if it isn't.

John Piper

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy		December 19	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	c	Plus 2 tablespoons whipping
		cream
3/4	c	Unsalted butter, 1 1/2
		sticks
2 1/4	lb	Bittersweet, not
		unsweetened or
		semisweet
		chocolatechopped
3/4	c	Sour cream
6	T	Orange liqueur
1 1/2	T	Grated orange peel
1 1/2	c	Powdered sugar
1 1/2	c	Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4	lb	Imported white chocolate
		such as Lindt
		chopped
1 1/2	lb	Bittersweet, not
		unsweetened
		chocolate chopped
38		Candied violets, optional*
		*Available at specialty
		foods store.
1		12 inch styrofoam cone*
		Rose leaves and miniature
		white roses or
		other small flowers

INSTRUCTIONS

Styrofoam cones are available at most floral and party supply stores.
Bring cream and butter to boil in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to
medium; stir until butter melts. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and
smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sour cream, liqueur and orange
peel. Pour into 9x13-inch baking dish. Refrigerate mixture until firm
enough to hold shape, about 1 hour.  Line 4 large cookie sheets with
foil; sift powdered sugar over 2  sheets and cocoa powder over 2
sheets. Using 3/4-ounce ice cream  scoop (1 1/2 tablespoons), scoop
truffle mixture, mounding slightly,  and release onto sugar-dusted
sheet. Repeat to form total of 28 large  truffles on sugar-dusted
sheets and 28 on cocoa-dusted sheets. Using  1/4-ounce ice cream scoop
(1 1/2 teaspoons), scoop truffle mixture  and release onto sugar-dusted
sheet. Repeat to form total of 10 small  truffles on sugar-dusted
sheets and 10 on cocoa-dusted sheets. Freeze  truffles 10 minutes.
Roll each truffle on sugar-dusted sheets in sugar, then roll between
palms of hands into smooth round and set onto clean cookie sheet.  Roll
each truffle on cocoa-dusted sheets in cocoa, then roll between  palms
of hands into smooth round and set onto same cookie sheets as
sugar-dusted truffles. Freeze 1 hour.  Dipping  Line 2 cookie sheets
with foil. Melt white chocolate in top of double  boiler over simmering
water, stirring until candy thermometer  registers 115F. Remove from
over water. Submerge 1 large sugar-dusted  truffle in white chocolate,
tilting pan if necessary. Using long  fork, lift truffle from
chocolate. Tap fork gently against side of  pan (if necessary) to
remove excess chocolate. Using knife as aid,  slide truffle off fork
and onto clean foil-lined cookie sheet. Wipe  fork clean. Repeat
process with all remaining sugar-dusted truffles.  Freeze for 15
minutes.  Reheat remaining white chocolate to 115F. over simmering
water. Repeat  dipping process to give truffles a double coating of
white chocolate.  Melt bittersweet chocolate in top of clean double
boiler over  simmering water, stirring until candy thermometer
registers 115F. Dip  spoon into bittersweet chocolate and wave quickly
white  chocolate-coated truffles, creating zigzag lines. Refrigerate
truffles.  Line 2 more cookie sheets with foil. Using dipping process
described  above, dip cocoa-dusted truffles into bittersweet chocolate,
dipping  each truffle only once. Immediately top each with candied
violet.  Refrigerate truffles 1 hour. (Can be prepared 3 weeks ahead.
Cover  and chill truffles and remaining melted bittersweet chocolate
separately.)  Assemble  Remelt remaining bittersweet chocolate. Brush
melted bittersweet  chocolate in 2-inch-wide strip down length of cone.
Wrap waxed paper  around cone, covering completely and pressing against
chocolate to  adhere. Place cone on platter. Holding toothpick at sharp
angle,  press 2/3 of toothpick into cone near base. Press 1 large
truffle  onto toothpick. Repeat with more toothpicks and remaining
large  truffles, alternating dark and white truffles and attaching in
spiral  design toward top of cone. Begin attaching small truffles 4
inches  from top of cone and continue to cover completely. (Can be
prepared 1  day ahead. Cover and chill.) Press rose leaves between
truffles on  cone, covering any spaces. Press toothpicks into roses and
attach to  leaves between truffles.  Makes 76. Bon Apetite, Dec 1991.

A Message from our Provider:

“Jesus: Eternal Combustion Protection”

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 5319 Calories From Fat: 2995 Total Fat: 347.9g Cholesterol: 781.8mg Sodium: 1010.8mg Potassium: 3145.4mg Carbohydrates: 572g Fiber: 64.4g Sugar: 310.1g Protein: 53.7g