Chocolate Truffles Recipe

Making Truffles

Equipment:

Tempering box
Truffle molds
Small paint brush
Marble slab, or other cool surface for working on
Bowl large enough for the ganache
A good thermometer

Procedure:
First, make the shells. Chop up the bittersweet chocolate into small bits and put them into the tempering box, reserving ¼ teaspoon of chocolate chopped very fine. Set the box to about 115 degrees F. When the chocolate is all melted and about 115 degrees, turn it down to about 95 degrees F. When it gets there, take some of the chocolate and put it on the marble slab and stir it around until it gets thick, then pour it back in. When that is mixed in, pour in the reserved chocolate and stir it in. That will provide seeds for the chocolate crystals to form around. After a few hours, the chocolate is ready for the molds.
Use the small paint brush to paint the chocolate onto the inside of the molds. I use three layers to make sure there aren’t any gaps or holes. Let them cool overnight.
Now you can make the ganache. Chop up the semisweet chocolate and put it in the large bowl. Heat the cream in a small heavy saucepan until it is almost simmering, then pour it over the chocolate and stir it in. It will take a couple of minutes to get it smooth. Add the butter and one teaspoon of vanilla to the chocolate. Let it cool for an hour or so. It should be the consistency of soft margarine.
The easiest way to put the ganache into the molds is to pipe it in, using a pastry bag or two gallon-sized plastic bags set one inside the other, and one corner cut off. Pour the ganache into the bag, and squeeze it into the molds. Fill them to a bit below the top, to allow space for the bottom.
When they are all filled, use the paint brush to paint the bottoms onto the molds, same as doing the shells. Let everything cool overnight. Turn the molds upside down and remove the truffles.