Double, Double Toil and Truffle.

If someone tastes a chocolate confection and says, "Wow, this is really rich," and you think: Ooh, perfect.  I'll take two!... then you will enjoy today's recipe (and why aren't we friends?).  A plan started to form two nights ago when a) I wanted a chocolate dessert but only had milk chocolate and bittersweet chips in the pantry and wasn't quite desperate enough to eat them straight from the bag, and b) I had Nutella for future waffle-making endeavors.  I also had leftover heavy cream in the fridge, and because I have a simple, standard recipe for chocolate ganache that I use on a regular basis, truffles came immediately to mind.  I made two different kinds: one with rum and rolled in toasted coconut and the other with Nutella.  I have only made these once, so I will tell you what I could have done differently/will do in the future if I make them again, but because they turned out well, I thought I'd go ahead and do a post about them!

What I did wrong: 

1) Didn't chop the chocolate or let it warm up enough for the ganache.  I usually chop the morsels then heat them in the microwave for five to ten seconds and let the bowl sit on the counter until adding the cream, but I wanted to see if those steps were truly necessary (conclusion: they're not strictly necessary but prevent lumps and make the chocolate easier to handle later).  

2) Added slightly too much cream and about two teaspoons too much rum to the one batch.  Alcohol can keep the ganache from hardening properly.  Mine hardened eventually, but it took much longer than it would have otherwise.

3) Didn't temper the milk chocolate properly or dip the truffles with good technique. This didn't much affect how they looked after I'd rolled them (although next time I will make them smaller and rounder when rolling), nor did it affect the taste, but it did make it more difficult.  

I divided 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (60% cocoa) into two bowls to make two different flavors, so here are the ingredients for each; if you want to make a whole batch of just one, you can double the recipe.  Each makes ~25 truffles.

Nutella:

5 oz bittersweet chocolate (finely chopped and warmed to just above room temperature)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Nutella

1 1/4 tsp vanilla* 

5 oz milk chocolate for dipping

Cocoa powder, sprinkles, raw sugar, crushed hazelnuts, or other crushed nuts for rolling

Rum Coconut:

5 oz bittersweet chocolate (finely chopped and warmed to just above room temperature)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp dark rum

5 oz milk chocolate for dipping

Toasted coconut flakes for rolling

The first step is to put the chocolate (and Nutella) into heat-resistant/microwave-safe bowls.  

  

Then bring the heavy cream to a boil over medium heat.  Only let it boil for about 10 seconds, otherwise it will boil out of the pan.  There isn't a good way to take a picture of cream boiling; you'll know it's about to boil when the top looks filmy and starts to swirl.

If you're doing two flavors, pour the boiling cream evenly into both bowls over the chocolate, otherwise pour it all into one, and stir until smooth, adding in the vanilla to the Nutella ganache and the rum to the other after some cream has been stirred in.

At this point you can do one of two things: either you can let the ganache cool and thicken, then whisk until light and fluffy before refrigerating, or you can put it directly into the fridge.  Whipping will make a less dense truffle, but I chose to put the ganache directly in the fridge, covering it with plastic wrap to keep out moisture. Take the ganache out after no more than three hours so that it is easy to scoop and roll.

Next, use a scoop or spoon to form the truffles, trying to work quickly so it doesn't melt.  I used a small scoop but should have used an even smaller one. Each truffle should be roughly a tablespoon. I tried to even them out with my hands, but I could have done a better job.  The easiest way to roll and ensure the chocolate doesn't get too soft is to run your hands under cold water, make sure they're dry, then roll between your fingertips.  Place the formed truffles on parchment-lined baking trays. 

While the truffles went back into the fridge to firm up, I toasted the coconut for the topping. To toast coconut, preheat the oven to 350, spread the coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and bake for ~10 minutes until lightly browned.  Just make sure to continually check on the coconut; it can only take a minute or two to go from toasted to burned.

There are two ways to temper chocolate: in the microwave or in a double boiler.  I microwaved in quick bursts until most was melted then stirred until smooth, but I don't think I got it to the right temperature, so it wasn't easy to dip in, and I had to roll the truffles in the chocolate to coat them.  If you temper the chocolate correctly, the best way to coat a truffle is to submerge it completely, and lift it up with a fork, letting the excess drip off between the tines.  You can also completely melt the chocolate, which will make it easy to dip but can cause lumps and make it harder to keep the truffle centers from getting too soft.

I set up small bowls of cocoa powder and raw sugar to roll the Nutella truffles in, and left the coconut on the pan for the rum coconut truffles.  

As you can see, I just dropped the chocolate-dipped truffles into the bowls and then rolled them around with a spoon.  I lifted them up and gently tapped off the excess cocoa powder/sugar.  I did the same with the coconut, although I didn't get a picture of it.  I put the truffles into individual mini cupcake liners for presentation purposes:

The ideal way to store truffles (lasts the longest) is individually wrapped in wax paper in the freezer, then taking them out and putting them in the fridge for a day and then letting them come to room temperature before eating.  But I don't think anyone really wants to do that.  I'm storing them well-covered in the humidity-controlled portion of our fridge.  The main thing to remember is that you want the truffles to avoid moisture.  They should last for a few weeks.  They are best eaten at room temperature, but they're still good cold...

DEEMS THIS RECIPE:
About as easy as pie.  I think with practice it would get much easier, though.

*So sorry; I realized I accidentally put 1 1/2.  I always add slightly more vanilla than needed.  Even 1 teaspoon should be fine, and if I double it, I'd use "two and a bit" but not a whole tablespoon.