Chocolate Truffles

Sorry for the lack of updates, I’m trying to finish up the semester rather than bake and I really haven’t thought of anything else to write about. So, since I was all alone tonight I decided to make some truffles.
The thing about truffles is that you NEVER get how many the recipe claims…which is quite annoying. Like supposedly I should have ended up with 120, and I have maybe half that. Whatever. Maybe it has to do with size, I don’t know.

approx. 22 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
16 oz heavy whipping cream

I got two pound plus bars from Trader Joe’s for chocolate, and then I got a bar of Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate for the tempered chocolate outside…but the ganache I was gonna dip got way too hard so I’m saving that chocolate for something even better.
I decided I was going to make four kinds: plain old chocolate (which got messed up, I didn’t heat the cream enough and the chocolate wouldn’t entirely melt…and then it got way too hard, I couldn’t save it :[), Nutella, champagne, and mocha.


For each different kind I used 14 squares of the pound plus chocolate bar and then a 1/2 cup of cream. Heat the cream until it starts to boil. Add half to the chocolate, let it sit about 30 sec to 1 minute, then stir until it starts to get smooth. Add the rest of the cream slowly, stirring to keep the mixture smooth. If it starts to separate, add a little cold cream. Once it’s nice and smooth, add in the flavoring.
For Nutella: add 3 tablespoons, one at a time, to the mixture, stirring until it’s smooth before adding the next.
For champagne: add 3 tablespoons of champagne to the mixture, stirring until smooth
For mocha: add 1 tablespoon instant espresso and 2 tablespoons Kahlua, sitrring until smooth.
Leave sitting at room temperature for about 4 hours, or put in the refrigerator for about 2. Be sure to watch it if you keep it in the refrigerator, you don’t want it to get too hard.
Next, place rounded spoonfuls (whatever size you want..I used a teaspoon, I’ve seen instructions to use a melon baller) on parchment paper. Let sit at least 15 minutes. They shouldn’t be perfect spheres yet.

Once they’ve set for some time, you can roll them into balls in your hand and then dip them in chocolate or in another topping.
For the Nutella truffles, I toasted some hazelnuts then chopped them up for the outside coating. The champagne and mocha truffles got a mixture of unsweetened cocoa and powdered sugar. Shake them off and place them back on the parchment paper.
Store the truffles in an airtight container, preferrably in the refrigerator. I’m not sure of the life span outside the refrigerator, but they should last 2 weeks chilled…as if they won’t all be eaten by then.