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Let There Be Truffles

Not too long ago, my nephew Mac went to a buffet at a really nice hotel. The buffet was served in the Grand Ballroom. There were 17 stations. Salad, seafood, cheese, sushi, antipasto, soup, vegetables, and charcuterie. There was roast turkey. Peppercorn-crusted prime rib. Braised short ribs. Seared Maine scallops. Pumpkin risotto. Charred octopus. Sous vide duck breast. There was also a special children’s buffet table, groaning with the weight of with chicken fingers, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and even peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Dessert? Madeleines. Apple macaroons. Caramel turtle cheesecake. and a liquid nitrogen ice cream station.

But there were no truffles.

Mac, while immensely grateful for and appreciative of the delightful array of amazing food, was at the same time crushed. He had been to the buffet the year before, the truffles were amazing, and all he could think about for the whole year was...truffles.

He poured out his soul in a letter to the executive chef. The meal was “lovely,” he wrote.

“However,” he added. “The earth shattering pain that I experienced when I learned of the lack of truffles can’t be described in words. It was as if my childhood pet got run over by a car the same day I failed my exam. I love truffles.”

OK. Yes. He was exaggerating to make a point. Still, when Laura, one of my office mates, recently made some incredibly delicious truffles as part of am amazing array of holiday cookies and candies, I snagged the recipe. Mac, you don’t have to wait a whole year, perhaps to be disappointed again. These can be made by you in your own kitchen! Let that be a lesson to you. In this life, pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. The power to make ourselves happy is, more often than not, in our own hands.

Chocolate Truffles (plain)

By Laura Robida

½ cup heavy cream

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tsp light corn syrup

8 oz. chopped, semi-sweet chocolate

6 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate

for dipping

(I actually use milk chocolate melting wafers for dipping)

Mix the cream, butter, and corn syrup together in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a full boil. Turn off the heat. I stir constantly until boiling but I don’t know if you actually have to.

Add 8 ounces of chopped chocolate and gently swirl the pan. Do NOT stir (seriously, don’t stir). Let rest for 5 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. After 45 minutes, the mixture thickens quickly, keep refrigerated another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Use a mini ice cream scoop or two spoons to form the mixture into 1-inch balls. Place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or wax paper).

I refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the balls to set (typically, I leave them overnight).

Once set, dip the balls into melted chocolate. I “double-dip” meaning that I dip all truffles once in just chocolate, allow them to sit (usually about 15 minutes), and then I dip again in the chocolate and then roll them in whatever topping (nuts, chopped up candy canes, cocoa powder, confectioner’s sugar).

Variation: Raspberry Truffles

Use the same method and ingredients as above but add ½ tsp of raspberry extract (I frequently use 1 to 1 ½ tsp, until it tastes the way I want it to). If you use a raspberry liqueur, however, you should use 1 tbsp of liqueur instead of the ½ tsp of extract. Truffles may need to be refrigerated longer to allow them to thicken fully.

White chocolate truffles

My recipe for these come right from Ghiradelli (I only use Ghiradelli baking bars for truffles)

8 oz white chocolate baking bar

1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. heavy cream

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

Follow the same directions as for the chocolate truffles.