(My truffles before decoration was added)
(adding decoration...)So I set out to research chocolate. It has been a grand journey thus far, and I expect it will only get better from here on out. I have been leaning about the origins of chocolate, where it grows, how it is made from the bean to the creamy stuff that we know, what types of beans there are, all about cocoa butter...etc. You get the point. And I love it, I love it all!! Chocolate truly fascinates me. It is like a fine wine or well roasted coffee...of which both I also love. So I have set out to be a chocolate connoisseur, which not only involves learning about it, but eating it, exploring different types, and cooking with it too.
(dark chocolate truffle with cinnamon and cayenne pepper ganache)So I began my first official chocolate cooking experience with making some truffles. I have always thought truffles would be difficult to make. There is the creamy flavorful ganache which resides in the center of a chocolate shell. How to do you make such a flavorful ganache, and on top of that how to get the chocolate shell to cover it without a mold? I had many questions. But alas, I looked up a recipe, purchased some cooking chocolate, and set out to prove myself wrong on this being a difficult task.
(dark chocolate truffle with white chocolate, lemon, and honey ganache)I did it too, and it was quite easy. The ganache was fun to make! I was worried about burning the chocolate, but it never happened. I was enjoying the process so much that I decided to get creative with it. Instead of just making a plain chocolate ganache, I added some flavors. One of the truffles was dark chocolate with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. The other truffle was definitely a leap out of my comfort zone, but it turned out perfectly. It was a white chocolate with lemon and honey. Yum! I don't even know if I could duplicate these truffles again either, because I was just throwing things into the mix, no measurements here!
(white chocolate truffle with white chocolate, lemon and honey ganache)The whole truffle making process took some time, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Then later that day Andy and I had some friends over for dinner and desert was, you guessed it, truffles! They were a hit. Our friends loved them and my ego was stroked with their wonderful compliments.
(All of the truffles that I made!)
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