INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

GANACHE
DIPPING
GARNISH
from the book Chocolate Truffles by Carrie Huber.
Making the Ganache: To prepare ganache, chop or grate chocolate into small
pieces. Place in top half of double boiler along with cream. Put hot (not
boiling) water in bottom half of a double boiler, making sure the water
doesn't touch the top pan. Stir often with wooden spoon. When all of the
chocolate has melted, beat until well combined. Remove from heat, let cool
to room temperature. Transfer to covered bowl and refrigerate overnight to
harden. (Ganache will keep in this state for a few days if necessary.)
Take a little ganache at a time and form 1" balls, using fingertips (with
as little contact as possible so the chocolate doesn't soften). Keep unused
portion refrigerated as you work. Place balls on waxed paper-lined baking
sheet; continue until ganache is used up. Refrigerate baking sheet until
ganache is hardened, overnight or up to two days. Allow to set in
refrigerator at least two hours before loosely covering with waxed paper.
Foil can be substituted in all cases for waxed paper, but never use clear
plastic wrap. It clings too tightly to the candies and traps moisture
inside which discolors the chocolate. Prepare Chocolate Coating: Chop or
grate chocolate into small pieces. Heat chocolate and oil together in top
of double boiler over hot water, stirring until smooth with a wooden spoon.
Insert candy thermometer and begin dipping the ganache balls when
temperature registers between 85-90F. If chocolate begins to cool and
thicken before you're finished dipping, reheat over hot water. Work with
only 1/2 dozen at a time, keeping the rest refrigerated. Drop a single
ganache ball into the chocolate, turning to coat well, then lift it with
the fork. Allow excess chocolate to drip back into pan, then gently rap
fork against edge of pan to remove more chocolate from ball. Failure to do
this will cause a large dribbly "platform" or "skirt" to form around the
base of each hardened truffle. (this makes it difficult to pack them side
by side in a box.)
There are two schools of thoughts as to the proper method of depositing
truffles onto the baking sheet: A) If you are conservative by nature it's
best to gently slide them off the fork with a butterknife, onto the waiting
baking sheet. B) If you intend to further decorate the truffle, the second
method, (for the show-offs among us) involves dropping the truffle off the
fork upside down directly onto the baking sheet. Quickly manipulate the
single strand of chocolate, adhering to the fork, into some glorious shape
atop the candy, like the pros do. Either way is acceptable, although the
second way requires some practice and an accurate thermometer to get it
right. If your chocolate temperature is off by a few degrees, you're likely
to find a chocolate highway - not a chocolate strand - adhering to the fork
when that critical moment comes.
The perfect finale for the basic recipes, for instance, is a sprinkling of
shaved dark chocolate over the top, or better yet, gently rolling each
newly-dipped truffle in the shavings to coat completely.
Refrigerate all truffles after dipping several hours or overnight to
harden.
When ganache has cooled to room temperature, add Kahlua before
refrigerating. Top dipped truffle with a chocolate coffee bean.
Posted to Bakery-Shoppe Digest V1 #463 by Shelley Sparks
<ssparks@mailbox.arn.net> on Dec 20, 1997

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