Chocolate truffles...

I'm on a chocolate making quest right now, call me Willy Wonka if you like but there's a  science behind it and an art. Chocolate is a temperamental ingredient and a batch can be ruined in a second if it's not handled properly. Have you ever melted chocolate chips from the store and tried to dip stuff in it? It's really goopy and thick making it difficult to dip or coat and the reason is because of the oil content in it. This will turn out different from real chocolate which is cocoa butter based. Using real chocolate requires tempering to give it a glossy shine and a snap when broken. Tempering can be tricky and requires the chocolate to be melted to no more than 110 degrees and then dropped to 88-89 degrees and held at that temp. There are tempering machines for use in the home but they can be expensive for the baking hobbyist.

I have been using two types of chocolate for my truffles. The first one I tried was a compound chocolate which has no cocoa butter and instead has vegetable oil. The pros for using this is that it requires no tempering and wont let you down. It melts well and requires very little maintenance. Compound cons may be a less superior taste but this can be alleviated with an awesome tasting center.  The other type I used was a couverture chocolate which does have cocoa butter thus requiring tempering. If it isn't tempered correctly then the cocoa butter will separate from the cocoa and the end result will be a dull, lacklustre truffle with a soft feel to it. You may also see a white bloom on it which is the butter separating. These all sound really negative but the chocolate will still taste good but wont look it's best.

The compound chocolate looked good, it had a nice shine with a nice hard shell and I was surprised how well it turned out. I made two fillings, one was a caramel which was very good and the other was a commercial bought cream filling which was terrible. I would love to post some pictures of these two types but I ate them (sorry). When I used the couverture chocolate I tried my best to adhere to the melting temps but the end result was a slightly dull looking truffle and after a day on the counter it started to bloom.

 Before I poured the first chocolate into the mold to make the shell I dropped in a variety of small toppings. I used smoked salt, chili flakes and crushed pecans.

 After the shell had hardened I dropped in the ganache ball which would be my truffle center. I split the mix into two flavors, whisky and orange. After the ganache had been dropped into the shell I simply back filled it with more melted chocolate and left to harden.

 I'm learning a lot about this amazing bean. Chocolate is truly an indulgent ingredient even if it is just a store bought candy bar, but next time try and grab a higher quality bar if you can. The difference is like night and day. The higher the cocoa percent, the more chocolate liquor it has and a deeper intense flavor is what your tongue will experience. Trying to make the perfect truffle is not only fun but nothing really gets spoiled, somebody has to eat them....