Sweetie sweets: chocolate truffles

I had intended to post this prior to Valentine’s day, but one thing led to another and I didn’t end up having time. Let this therefore be an idea for next year, or even better, a gift idea for a random expression of love!

I love Valentine’s day. I know some people think it’s a commercial, Hallmark holiday. Not me. I love having a day assigned to expressing and celebrating love. I don’t need flowers or presents, just an excuse to have a nice dinner date, and perhaps to bake something sweet.

Coincident with the holiday, R decided he’d like a cooking project and offered to help with whatever I had planned for the week. Perfect time to try the truffle recipe that I’ve been eyeing in the Tartine cookbook I blogged about here. The recipe looked simple enough, and contains very few ingredients, all of which I had on hand (except of course the pretty little boxes and wrappers that truffles demand). One of the nicest things about the recipe is that it’s basic. No exotic flavors. No lavender. No cardamom. Just chocolate. That’s just the way I like my chocolate: pure and unadulterated.

The truffles were divine. Smooth, silky and creamy. As I am writing this I had to jump up and pop one in my mouth as just thinking about it made me want one immediately!

The recipe suggests that you allow the chocolate mixture to cool and firm up, and then pipe it into inch thick logs on a baking sheet, allow it to firm more in the refrigerator, and then cut the logs into inch pieces that you roll in your palms to get an uneven ball. All of that is well and good, except if your baking partner falls asleep after they’ve been put into the refrigerator, and you lose track of time. If left to cool too long, you risk ending up with logs that are too firm to be coaxed into balls. I was on the verge of the point of no return when I rescued them. I used a couple of paper towels and my fingertips (vs. my palms) to roll them since the heat of my hands started to make them melt on the outside. The paper towel looked like evidence that a chocolate murder had occurred, but it worked. You can skip the piping method altogether and just scoop balls out of the firm truffle mixture. This would probably result in more even, less traditionally shaped truffles, but I might try that method the next time out of convenience.

Save this for next year or use this as an excuse to spread the love any time!

P.s. I am helping a friend with a photo collaboration project (Sea and Sky Journal) this week (My involvement started yesterday). It's a daily diptych using one of her photos, and one of someone else's (unplanned). It's pretty neat. To check it out, click here.

Chocolate Truffles (from Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson)
(yield: about 60 1-inch truffles)

1 lb bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp light corn syrup
5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
~1 cup cocoa powder

Place chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the cream and corn syrup and heat to just under a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute or two. Stir with a rubber spatula in a circular motion until the chocolate has melted. Add the butter and stir until it is incorporated. Let the mixture firm up in a cool place until it can be piped from a pastry bag. The amount of time for the mixture to become firm depends on how cool the room is. Or, place in the refrigerator to speed the process.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Transfer the contents of the bowl to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (no 6 or 7) plain tip. Pipe out long logs abut 1 inch wide. Place in the refrigerator and chill well, about 1 hour. If you don't have a pastry bag and tip, you can leave the mixture in the bowl in the refrigerator until well chilled.

Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator and cut logs crosswise into pieces about 1 inch long. Roll each piece between your palms into an irregularly shaped truffle. If you have left the mixture in the bowl, use a small scoop or spoon to scoop out each truffle and then roll between your palms. Once the truffles are shaped, place the cocoa powder in a shallow bowl and roll each truffle in the cocoa, coating evenly.

The truffles will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

Chocolate pots de crème (in pretty little bowls)

My Mud Australia baby noodle bowls arrived (and did not disappoint). I couldn’t wait to use them for a baked dessert: what to bake? I knew right away where to look. I recently purchased a very lovely dessert cookbook from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Everything about the cookbook is appealing: it’s printed on delicious, thick, matte paper and has wonderful, mouth-watering photographs (my only complaint is that I wish there were more). It’s full of great recipes for sophisticated basics, most of which appear to be fairly easy to prepare. I knew it would not disappoint when I saw that Alice Waters wrote the foreword. I can’t wait to try their brioche bread pudding recipe (always looking for a good bread pudding) and some of their savory baked goods are very tempting too. The book is organized by theme (each chapter introduced by an explanatory foreword) and there is an entire chapter devoted to cream desserts that immediately drew me in. The chocolate pot de crème recipe (a baked pudding like a sophisticated flan) seemed like the perfect inaugural dish for my pretty little bowls. I’m also excited to try a classic chocolate pudding, a molten chocolate cake, and individual mini soufflés (if I can muster up the courage).

The dessert was very quick to assemble and fit into six baby noodle bowls perfectly. I shared all but one with neighbors and got great feedback. After all, who doesn’t like a creamy chocolate pudding? I served it with unsweetened whipped cream. You can make the desserts ahead and easily refrigerate them for several days. They can be served warm or cold.

For me, the pretty bowls made the dessert! I am a sucker for simple, white pottery with thin walls and an organic feel. There are so many beautiful hand-made porcelain and ceramic vessels I have discovered recently and would just love to collect. I have to hold myself back from loading up. For another beautiful alternative to the simple Mud bows, check out the oven-safe bowls by White Forest Pottery here. To check out a few other discoveries, see Anne Black’s pottery (particularly the tilt bowl) and Nathalie Derouet's line - so lovely!


Chocolate pots de crème (from Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson)
(makes 8 individual custard cups or ramekins with 3/4 cup capacity)

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 3/4 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
8 large egg yolks
Unsweetened softly whipped cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Have ready custard cups or ramekins. Choose a baking pan or baking dish for a water bath large enough to accommodate custard cups or ramekins without touching, and deep enough to hold water that will reach three-fourths of the way up the sides of the molds once they are added. Pour enough water into the pan to reach about halfway up the sides of the pan, and place the pan in the oven while it is heating.

Pour water to a depth of about 2 inches into a saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a gentle simmer. Select a stainless-steel bowl (or other heat-proof bowl) that will rest securely in the rim of the pan over, not touching, the water. Put the chocolate in the bowl, place over the water, and heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, and salt, place over medium heat, and heat to just under a boil. Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk until well blended. When the cream mixture is ready, remove it from the heat and slowly pour it into the melted chocolate, whisking to incorporate. Slowly add the chocolate-cream mixture to the egg yolks, again whisking well to incorporate. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher or large measuring cup. You should have about 1 quart.

Line up the custard cups or ramekins on the countertop, and pour the mixture into them, dividing it evenly. Pull out the oven rack holding the water bath and place the molds in the bath. Pour in more water if necessary to reach three-fourths of the way up the sides of the molds.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. To test for doneness, jiggle one of the molds; the center of the custard should still be a bit wobbly, but the outside should appear set. Remove the water bath. Let cool. The custards will continue to cook and set up as they cool. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream. (Note: my baking time was considerably longer, probably because I used a large roasting pan and had more water to heat than was used in this recipe. I baked until the custard was set as described and the texture turned out perfectly)

(Note: save the unused egg whites for an egg-white omelet, might as well enjoy the dessert and have something virtuous the next day!)

p.s. Coincidentally, the current Sugar High Friday food blogging event's theme is "pudding" so I've submitted this post for the roundup which is being done by Kochtopf.