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- From: minow@decvax (Martin Minow)
- Newsgroups: mod.recipes
- Subject: RECIPE: Chocolate Truffles II
- Date: 28 Feb 86 05:12:13 GMT
- Organization: DEC - ULTRIX Engineering Group
- Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA
-
-
- Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
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-
- .RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE TRUFFLES-2 D "19 Dec 85" 1986
- .RZ "CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES II" "Classic chocolate confectionery"
- These are as good\(emor better\(emthan anything you can buy in a store.
- .IH "makes 10 dozen"
- .IG "2 lb" "dark coating chocolate" "900 g"
- .IG "6 oz" "unsweetened baking chocolate" "200 g"
- (or more, to taste)
- .IG "3 oz" "unsalted butter" "90 g"
- .IG "1\(14 cup" "Cointreau" "300 ml"
- .PH
- .SK 1
- Chop the chocolate. Melt together with the butter over simmering
- water. Stir continuously with a rubber spatula. Don't let water get
- into the chocolate.
- .SK 2
- Warm the Cointreau to the same temperature as the
- chocolate. Slowly blend the Cointreau into the chocolate (still over
- the water). Stir continuously. Do this slowly (as if you were making
- hollandaise). Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until cool and
- somewhat thickened. (Takes about 5 minutes; you'll need a good mixer.)
- .SK 3
- Line a large baking sheet
- .AB "(11\(mu17 inches)" "(30\(mu40 cm)"
- with wax paper. Pour in the truffle
- mix. (This will fill the pan.) Chill in the refrigerator until solid
- (several hours).
- .SK 4
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the stuff into strips (peel off the wax paper
- first), then into squares. Take each one, mash it in your palm, and roll
- in cocoa. Chill some more.
- .NX
- I recommend Merckens Yucatan or Lindt Extra Bittersweet for the dark coating
- chocolate. In place of the Cointreau, try
- substituting other liqueurs (Chambord, Amaretto, Kahlua) and coatings
- (chopped roasted almonds, finely chopped candied orange peel, coffee
- beans run through a nutmeg grinder, etc.)
- .PP
- Truffles rolled in cocoa are ``classic''\(emhere are some rough and
- ready instructions for coating anything with chocolate, abstracted
- from \fIMaking Chocolates\fR by Alec Leaver, published in 1975 by
- Weathervane Books by arrangement with Michael Joseph Ltd.
- (The book is out of print.)
- .PP
- Melt some chocolate over hot water, let it cool slowly until it
- just thickens
- .AB "(80\-84\(deF)" "26\-28\(deC)" .
- Now warm the chocolate gently
- and slowly until it thins slightly. The temperature should be
- above
- .TE 85 29 ","
- but below
- .TE 91 32 .
- This maximum working temperature is absolutely crucial.
- The temperature of the room you work in should not exceed
- .TE 70 21 "."
- .PP
- Pre-bottom all centers\(emthat is, smear a little couverature on what
- will be the bottom of the center with the back of a spoon and place
- it, bottom side up, on a plate. This lets you check that the
- couverature is properly tempered.
- .PP
- After the bases have set and hardened a little, stir the couverature
- thoroughly, trying not to get too many air-bubbles in. Drop a center
- into the couverature, bottom down and, with an ordinary fork,
- slightly warmed, push it down to submerge it fully. Immediately,
- pick it out with the fork, tap the fork on the side of the bowl
- in order to settle the chocolate, and wipe any excess from underneath
- the fork. Transfer the center to a sheet of wax paper. Stir
- the couverature after depositing each center to keep it well mixed.
- .PP
- The basis of the truffle centre is ganache paste, a mixture
- of melted chocolate and warm cream well blended and cooled
- until it hardens. Orange, honey, peppermint, rum or vanilla
- can be added to give flavor, but it is important that the
- final mixture should be hard enough to be moulded to shape
- and be capable of standing up to being coated with chocolate.
- The texture of ganache paste depends upon the kinds of
- cream and chocolate and the proportions in which they are used.
- Plain chocolate is harder than milk chocolate, so more cream can
- be added to it. Single cream is thinner than double so must
- be used in smaller quantities.
- Incorporating cream or other liquids fulfills two functions:
- it softens the chocolate and it gives flavor.
- .PP
- After the centre has been made and moulded to shape, it is
- coated with chocolate to seal it and help to keep it moist.
- It is then rolled in a final decorative coating, and this can
- cocoa sweetened with a little icing sugar, or chopped mixed nuts.
- .SH RATING
- .I Difficulty:
- moderate for classic truffles, quite difficult for coated centers.
- .I Time:
- most of a day.
- .I Precision:
- measure carefully.
- .WR
- Martin Minow
- Digital Equipment Corporation, Ultrix Engineering Group, Merrimac, NH
- decvax!minow
-