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72% Chocolate Truffles
at Sun, 09 Nov 2003 03:09:26 GMT in
>, (Rona
Yuthasastrakosol) wrote :
>
>"Arri London" > wrote in message
...
>
>>
>> Why is it necessarily 'whipping cream' and not whipped cream? I've
>> made truffles before with whipped cream. The chocolate and other
>> ingredients were added to *whipped* cream. Made for a very nice light
>> truffle texture.
IMHO a confection made with whipped cream and chocolate is very good, but
it's not a truffle. It's a matter of definitions rather than of
palatability. A concoction made with whipped cream and chocolate isn't
dense and creamy, like a truffle, it's light and airy, like a chocolate
mousse. Indeed, I think this very simple preparation could almost be called
chocolate mousse, except, being technical, I tend to reserve the term
mousse for something that includes eggs as well. But chocolate and whipped
cream work very well togther. I use it as a filling for my Chocolate Death
cake (which also has truffles, as well).
>When you made truffles with whipped cream, how much whipped cream did
>you use and how much chocolate?
My ratio for chocolate cream is 8 oz chocolate to 1 cup (liquid) cream. You
melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, whip the cream until just below
fully stiff, then beat the chocolate in by adding it in a steady, slow
stream. The beating-in method, btw, works far better for keeping volume
than folding it in, which tends to collapse the cream.
>it firm up well, and could you dip them in couverture?
It does get pretty firm when chilled, but not dense and firm like truffle
ganache. If you hold it in your hands it instantly goes completely soft.
You can dip in couverture, if you freeze the mixture and work quickly. You
have to chill it first, use a melon ball or ice-cream scoop to make balls,
spike each with a toothpick, then freeze (the toothpick, btw, is to prevent
you having to pick up a frozen center with your hands.
However, it is VERY different done like this from a standard "truffle".
This will seem more like a fancy dessert than "chocolates" in the
traditional sense. Ever had those frozen things called "Bon Bons?" It's
similar to that. You don't have to freeze the concoctions once dipped, but
you do need to chill them.
>Have you ever tried making truffles with creme fraiche? Or clotted
>cream? I've just heard of doing that, but have never tried it, myself.
Clotted cream, yes. The result is VERY rich, but a bit greasy for my taste.
It's hard to control the texture. They tend to be somewhat grainy and
fudgy.
Creme fraiche isn't my favourite thing. I'm not really very fond of most
things that have been subjected to bacterial action. I suspect it would
tend to make truffles taste a bit strange, nothing one could put one's
finger on, but sort of unexpectedly "gamy". It would probably work best
with darker-roasted chocolates, like Domori or Cluizel. Light roasts, like
Valrhona or Scharffen Berger, I think, would become overly sharp. But this
is all speculation.
--
Alex Rast
(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)
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