Dark Chocolate Filled Truffles

Dark Chocolate Filled Truffles
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen
It’s important when making truffles to use the best quality chocolate and cocoa powder available. Seeing as there are so few ingredients, it isn’t possible to mask the flavor of your chocolate. Truffles made with inexpensive, overly sweet chocolate will taste, well, inexpensive and overly sweet. I prefer to use dark chocolate from Tanzania made by Cacao-Barry, which has a slight bitter cocoa taste and an exotic depth of flavors. The truffles are coated with tempered chocolate, which creates a hard shell to contain a decadent ganache, however the truffles can be simply rolled in cocoa powder if you’re pressed for time.

18 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 oz heavy cream
1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 tablespoon liqueur, such as Cognac, Grand Marnier, or Poire William (optional)
Best-quality cocoa powder
4 oz white chocolate, finely chopped

1. Make the ganache: Place 8 ounces of chocolate and the cream in the top of a double boiler or
a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted; remove from heat. Add
butter and Cognac, and stir until combined.

2. Pour mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until
mixture is very cold and set but still pliable, about 2 hours.

3. To temper chocolate for coating; melt 6 ounces chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until almost completely melted (chocolate should not reach higher than 115∞ F), remove from heat. Stir in remain chocolate in batches until chocolate temperature comes down to 79∞ F. Place chocolate back over simmering water and bring temperature back up to 89∞ F. Chocolate should never go higher than 95∞ F or you will have to start this process over again. If chocolate gets to cool return to simmering water to rewarm slightly.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Using a 1/4-ounce ice-cream scoop,
drop ganache onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Chill 10 minutes.

5. Coat the palms of your hands with cocoa powder. Roll balls,
one at a time, between your palms until you have a ball. Dip in tempered chocolate and transfer to second baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balls, coating your palm with more
cocoa powder as needed. Allow truffles to harden before proceeding.

6. Melt the white chocolate in heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Using a tablespoon drizzle the white chocolate over the set truffles by rapidly swinging the spoon back and forth. Allow to cool, and harden. Chill until ready to serve. Truffles can be stored, refrigerated in an airtight
container, for up to 2 weeks.