Martha Stewart Living (February 2010)
When you hear "chocolate truffles," you probably think of perfect little orbs of chocolate, lightly dusted with cocoa -- decadent little treats the chef would deliver to your table in a brightly colored box, which you would applaud over before popping one into your mouth, rolling your eyes, and tittering, "Oh, Jacques, how you spoil me!"
No? Just us?
Well, anyway, chocolate truffles have always seemed to us to be an impossibly heady indulgence, something reserved for candlelit Valentine's Day dinners. And, appropriately, these truffles appeared in the February issue of Martha Stewart Living.
So we decided to try them out (a month late, but still).
And we quickly learned that truffles -- ours, at least -- are far from perfect little spheres of chocolate. These things were a mess!
The first step here couldn't be simpler: Simmer the cream, Grand Marnier and cream, and pour it all over the chocolate. Then chill.
But then we ran into trouble. Even though we had chilled the chocolate for longer than the recipe's suggested 30 minutes, when we tried to scoop the chocolate out and form it into balls, things got really messy really fast. Forming balls out of the chocolate mixture was like trying to roll pudding into little spheres. It was just so liquid!
Did we do something wrong? Maybe our fridge wasn't cold enough. Maybe we should have stuck the tray of chocolate farther back in the fridge. Or maybe this is how it was supposed to be?
Anyway, rolling the chocolate was a huge mess, and we ended up with lopsided globules of chocolate, rather than the pristine little orbs we'd had in mind. But they did hold together well enough for us to roll them in cocoa powder and pop them back into the refrigerator.
Regardless of how messy the rolling was, we have to say that the final result was pretty amazing. (Although, given the ingredients, how could it not be?) Each truffle was a smooth, super-rich little bite of creamy chocolate, subtly infused with the orange flavor of the Grand Marnier.
They were delightful and delicious, definitely worthy of the whole applause-and-tittering thing.
We just decided to call them "rustic."
Chocolate Truffles
Martha Stewart Living (February 2010)
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(This photo: Martha Stewart Living)
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Makes 28
Ingredients
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (at least 61 percent cacao), chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for rolling
Directions
1. Place chocolate in a bowl. Bring cream, Grand Marnier, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate, and let stand for 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
2. Pour chocolate mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish, and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
3. Scoop balls of chocolate mixture using a tablespoon or a 1-inch ice cream scoop. Roll balls in cocoa powder, tossing, until fully coated. Shake off excess.
