INGREDIENTS
75ml whipping cream
150g dark chocolate, chopped
100g frozen raspberries
35g caster sugar
Optional: a splash of raspberry liqueur
Topping of choice, eg cocoa powder and icing powder
Preparation: 30 minutes plus 2-6 hours chilling
Makes approx 30-40 depending on the size
METHOD
Mix the raspberries and sugar and cook over a low heat stiring occasionally until reduced by half. Sieve out raspberry seeds if preferred.
Cool, add the cream and heat until you can see a few bubbles.
Take off the heat and pour over the chocolate.
Let it sit for 30 seconds, then stir to combine.
Refrigerate for 2-6 hours.
When firm roll into small balls and then roll in your desired topping.
Steph's tips on truffle making:
Buying chocolate
Look for four ingredients: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla, and if milk chocolate perhaps milk powder or a milk product. Cocoa percentage is not necessarily an indicator of quality — there are many poor quality high percentage chocolates but equally some high quality milk chocolates with low percentages.
If you want to splash out try a single origin chocolate for a more interesting flavour profile. Madagascan is fruity and brightly flavoured, with an acidic edge; Ecuadorian is more earthy and robust.
dos and don’ts
Do stir with a spatula, which is thin and flat and won’t introduce extra air bubbles. Bubbles make a chocolate less smooth and shorten shelf life by introducing bacteria.
Don’t use a plastic bowl — it’s harder to control the heat, and you can get lumps.
Do use unsalted butter — if you want salt, add your own sea salt which has a less chemical taste than table salt.
Do heat cream for ganache or truffles to “scalding point” — when you see a few bubbles on the edges. If cream overheats and boils it won’t taste as good, but underheat it and you won’t kill any bacteria.
Do mix hot cream and chocolate by stirring in small circles in the centre of the bowl. You want a smooth emulsion between the water in the cream and the fat in the chocolate. Once you have that emulsion you can increase your circles.
Do refrigerate ganache before using, as firm ganache is less messy; and wear latex gloves if you can or use a melon baller or a teaspoon to scoop.
when making truffles
A cocoa powder coating can be bitter so mix it 50:50 with icing sugar. Or try using crushed pretzels, desiccated coconut, freeze-dried raspberry powder, chopped nuts or even dried citrus zest mixed with cocoa powder.
eating truffles
Ganache truffles can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for five days, but eat them at room temperature because the cold dulls their taste.
