Coconut Cream Truffles Food

COCONUT CREAM TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Place coconut in food processor and pulse repeatedly until coconut is fine and not stringy. Set aside.
• In a separate, large bowl, stir together condensed milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, and coconut extract (if using).
• Pour in coconut and stir well.
• Add powdered sugar, stir well.
• Place bowl in refrigerator and chill at least 15 minutes.
• Remove from refrigerator and roll into 1 1/2 Tablespoon-sized balls (if the filling is too sticky, return to fridge for an additional 10 minutes to chill).
• Place on wax-paper lined cookie sheet, repeating until all filling is rolled.
• Place cookie sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Prepare melting wafers according to instructions on package.
• Dip chilled coconut truffles into dark chocolate, return to wax paper lined cookie sheet and allow chocolate to harden before serving. If topping with sprinkles or toasted coconut, be sure to add before chocolate hardens.
• Keep uneaten truffles refrigerated in airtight container.

COCONUT CREAM TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Gently melt butter and white chocolate in large bowl in microwave.
• For best results don't over melt, if just a few chocolate pieces appear solid, stir them in with what has already melted until it's all smooth.
• Add coconut milk, coconut essence (optional), desiccated coconut and icing sugar.
• Stir until well mixed.
• Recipe says chill so you can roll it into balls, freeze etc, but personally I spooned my mixture into two small plastic bags so that it formed slabs about 2cm thick, then threw it into the freezer for at least 2 hours.
• Remove slabs from freezer, peel away plastic bags and"dice" your mixture so that you have a plate full of little cubes.
• Microwave your dark or milk chocolate mixture until half of it is melted, stir until all is smooth (doing it like this meant that the mixture started to set quickly and evenly around the cubes and didn't just make puddles at their bases).
• Dip the cubes one by one into the darker chocolate mixture, turning over with a teaspoon until evenly coated.
• Place coated cubes onto a tray lined with foil.
• Leave at room temperature to set, and store in a cool place (not the fridge).
• Edited to add: making the filling into round balls does look more professional and less "home made" -- mind you, once your family and friends have tasted these they honestly won't care how they look, they'll be too busy diving back in for another one :).
• I loved the suggestion about the other flavours and played around with it -- some of my guests preferred 2T Tia Maria etc for a softer more mellow taste, other preferred theirs with 3T for a stronger taste.
• The mixtures with the Baileys/Tia Maria were softer and a little more sticky than the original, so *slightly* more messy rolling them, but your guests will love you for the 10 minutes extra work.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Melt 1 pound of chocolate, slowly stirring, in a double boiler. Warm the cream in a large saucepan but do not scorch. Remove the chocolate from the heat, cool slightly, then combine with the heavy cream. Stir the butter into the chocolate cream mixture and refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chocolate to a pastry bag fitted with a large straight tip and pipe into teaspoonsize mounds onto a waxed paper covered cookie sheet, or use a spoon to dole out teaspoonsize mounds. Refrigerate the entire pan until the chocolate is hard to the touch.
• When the chocolate is sufficiently firm (this can be done a day or 2 ahead) remove the chocolate from the refrigerator and, working quickly to prevent melting, roll the chocolate mounds into balls, then chill the balls again until firm.
• In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the coconut briefly to make it a little finer so that it will adhere better to the truffles. When firm, roll each truffle in the coconut, pressing firmly to make sure the coconut sticks. At this point you can refrigerate the truffles for as much as a day, until you are ready to dip them.
• Melt the remaining chocolate in the double boiler. Remove the double boiler from the heat and using a wire dipping spoon, or a regular teaspoon and your hands in latex gloves, dip each coconut covered truffle briefly into the melted chocolate. Place on a cake rack set over a cookie sheet until dry, and refrigerate until firm. You may scrape up any chocolate that has dripped on the cookie sheet and return it to the dipping pot for more dipping. The truffles will keep for several weeks if refrigerated in a covered container.