Chocolate Truffles
Although called chocolate truffles for their visual similarity to the mushroom-like fungus, chocolate truffles do not contain an actual truffle. Truffles are edible fungi that can sell for extraordinary prices, between $1000-$2200 per pound for white truffles, and they come in a number of succulent varieties that are used almost exclusively for cooking purposes.
A chocolate truffle is in fact a chocolate ganache, or filling, coated with chocolate or powdered cocoa to give it that dirt-covered truffle look. Created by M. Dufour in Chambery, France in the late 19th century, chocolate truffles come in many varieties including milk chocolate truffles, white chocolate truffles, American truffles (a mixture of dark or milk chocolates with butterfat), and European truffles (made from syrup mixed with a base of cocoa and milk powder, fats and other ingredients).
Typically, truffles chocolate, or the ganache, combines solid semisweet chocolate and cream, which when cooked at the right temperatures cools to form a paste with intense chocolate flavor. Raspberry and strawberry jam fillings, liquors, and nuts and other crunchy fillings, can be added to lend unexpected textures and tastes.
Thanks to the strict laws concerning chocolate production and labeling, French chocolate truffles are among the finest in the world. The Swiss can also be counted on to produce excellent varieties including chocolate Lindt truffle collections.
Chocolate truffles are easy to make at home and will make you a welcome guest at any special event. Remember that the better the quality chocolate you start with, the better the truffles will taste. The quality of the chocolate is affected by the type of cacao bean and their blend as well as where they are grown. The truffles will also be influenced by how smooth and velvety your chocolate is, whether it is bittersweet or semi-sweet, and the kind of alcohol you use to flavor your chocolate truffles.
There are endless variations to the basic truffle recipe, so be sure to experiment and come up with your own perfect chocolate truffle. You should have no problem finding willing samplers to help you in your quest. Although chocolate truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or frozen for several months, they are best served at room temperature.