Truffles Milk Chocolate Ganache Food

GANACHE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Shave 1 bar of 72% Green & Black 's and 1 bar 100% unsweetened Ghiradelli. It should make about 2 cups total. Use a serrated knife. The smaller the bits the better. Really brand doesn't matter as long as it is GOOD chocolate. The better the chocolate, the better the texture of ganache.
• Normally, I use 2 full cups cream and no sweetener. If you add in moisture with liquor or honey or a flavored syrup, you have to reduce the cream accordingly. You want the total VOLUME of the liquid to chocolate to be about even. So if you get 2 cups of chocolate after shaving it down, you will need 2 cups of liquid. Heavy cream and flavored syrup both included.
• For Christmas, I divided the chocolate in half and adding a 1/2 cup of liquer to each. Because the mint Bailey's is a chocolate mint, I added some mint extract to increase the mint flavor a bit. With the kahlua, I added a couple tablespoons of espresso ground beans. If you are separating this into several flavors, divide the chocolate before cutting it, it's easier when you use 2 types of chocolate.
• Shave the chocolate into a glass measuring cup. This makes it really easy to add the cream straight into it and, if the chocolate cools too fast, you can place the measuring cup right into the pot of hot water (see next step) and finish mixing.
• Bring heavy cream to a low boil (or high simmer?), using a double boiler (I actually prefer a pot of water with a glass pyrex bowl nestled in it). Stir regularly. You want it just starting to boil.
• Pour the cream over the chocolate. If you are doing more than one flavor of chocolate, try to get the cream divided equally between the chocolates. I suggest leaving the dish of chocolate (or dishes) on the stove so they don't get cold. It blends best this way.
• Let sit for 1 minute and then slowly stir each until well blended. Then beat until it shines. Refrigerate until stiff enough to roll into balls (about 6 hours. I stir hourly). I found 2 teaspoons to be a good size for me.
• If you are going to dip these in chocolate, then once you form them, freeze for one hour. Otherwise, roll them in your topping as you form them into balls. Being warm from your hands helps them pick up the coating.
• If you are rolling in topping:.
• Grind your topping in a food processor or blender. I used my coffee grinder for the cacao nibs. Pour onto a plate and spread out evenly.
• As you roll the truffles into balls, roll them into the topping of choice immediately and set them on a waxed paper lined tray. Refrigerate until serving.
• If you are dipping in chocolate:.
• Using the double boiler, melt the chocolates. DO NOT OVERSTIR. Just let them melt and stir just enough to combine the chocolates. Overstirring leads to stiff chocolate that cannot be used for dipping.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. One at a time, drop the truffles into the chocolate, coat, and then place on the waxed paper. I found that chopsticks were the easier to do this with, as I could grip easily and let it drip off excess. I've read suggestions about stabbing with a fork, but that just didn't work for me.
• These will soften quickly. If they start slipping off the chopsticks or smush as you work with them, put them back in the freezer for a bit. I divided my truffles onto to trays so that one was always in the freezer and just swapped them as the ones out softened. I also put an ice bag on the tray with the truffles to help keep them cool while they were out.
• Once all the truffles are coated, let them get hard enough to move. Then you can nestle them all together on the same tray and drizzle them with white chocolate. Alternately, you can sprinkle them with cocoa powder or ground cacao nibs while still soft.

MILK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the cream into heavy saucepan. Add the pod to the cream as well and bring to a boil. Allow to steep for 10 minutes.
• Strain the cream mixture through a dampened cheesecloth and wring out thoroughly. Add water if necessary to return the liquid to 240 ml.
• Bring the liquid back to a boil and pour over the chopped chocolate. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes minutes, then stir gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until well blended and smooth. There should be no lumps! If necessary, heat the ganache over a hot water bath to completely melt all of the chocolate.
• Gently stir the butter into the ganache until melted and smooth. Pour into half hotel pan(bread pans work good too) and cover.
• Let set overnight in refrigerator, or if your in a hurry, stick it in the freezer for an hour(depending on your freezer temperature- you dont want it TOO hard, but you don't want it too soft. If has to be a little hard- just enough to scoop and to be able to work with your hands when you roll them).
• When firm, use melon baller and scoop out small balls and roll together with hands to make a smooth hard ball.
• Place on cookie tray and continue to use your melon baller to scoop out balls. Do this until you have scooped out all of the chocolate.
• Return cookie tray to freezer or refrigerator and allow to firm up again.
• Once the truffles are firm and your chocolate is melted, line up all of your decorating ingredients, put your gloves on and make sure you have a fork in each bowl so you can roll the truffle around inches You want a main fork in the chocolate bowl- you don't want to mix up the ingredients in there or with the others- you don't want your truffles looking messy.
• Place a truffle in the melted chocolate and roll it around quickly with a fork until coated nicely. Transfer it with the fork to your desired decorating ingredient- roll the truffle around until it is coated and place onto a new clean cookie sheet.(I used 3" cake cups to put the truffles in so they look " fancier", but it works just as well to put them onto a cookie sheet or whichever you have on hand that works best for you). The truffle will set again, and whatever you coated onto it will harden quickly so nothing will fall apart.
• Continue to coat the truffles in the melted chocolate and roll them in your favorite ingredient.
• If needed, Re-melt the chocolate over a water bath if the chocolate gets too hard.
• Keep doing this until you have completed decorating your truffles.
• If you have any leftover chocolate, it is easy enough to store in a plastic container and put into the fridge! No waste! Same goes for all of your other ingredients- if you have any leftover coconut or crushed candy canes, etc- just put them into their own little snack bags and put them together in the fridge so they are ready for next time. You might have to pick out bits of chocolate and eat them! ;)
• Keep the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, either seems to work just fine. They come back to room temperature very fast so you don't have to sit around waiting for them to thaw out- they taste better when they are cooler in the center anyways!
• They make great party snacks, or Christmas gifts- you can be creative and use other ingredients to coat them with; these are just the ones I had on hand.