GMA Recipe: Truffles

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Truffles
From chef and author, Sherry Yard
December 25, 2003

If you're a fan of chocolate desserts, you'll fall in love with Sherry Yard's latest creations. Yard, the executive pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago at Beverly Hills, shared some of her most amazing chocolate dessert recipes with Good Morning America.

The following collection of Yard's recipes come from her new book, The Secrets of Baking. The recipe book is packed with everything from chocolate ganache to fudge fondue.

Sherry made a bunch of her recipes on GMA. They include Master Ganache, Campton Place Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Whipped Cream, Fudge Fondue, Chocolate Short Dough and Truffles.

All recipes are exerpted from Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts by Sherry Yard © 2003, Houghton Mifflin Co.

Yard says the chocolate truffle has an interesting history. Originally, it was a French confection meant to simulate the heavily desired truffle fungus. It was rolled rough like the real fungus, and it was covered in cocoa powder to replicate the dirt it grows in, Yard says. If you decide to use alcohol when making your truffles, there are many choices. But you can also leave it out entirely. Substitutions for alcohol could include brewed coffee, orange juice, or fruit puree.

Ingredients

1 recipe Master Ganache, with the addition of:

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 tablespoons liquor, such as Grand Marnier, kirsch, bourbon, or rum

2 cups sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Candy thermometer

Piping bag with a large (#6) plain tip (optional)

Parchment paper

Directions

1. Follow the method for Master Ganache (recipe above), adding the butter to the chocolate and the corn syrup to the cream before bringing the cream to a boil.

2. Pour the hot cream and corn syrup over the chopped chocolate and butter.Tap the bowl on the counter to settle the chocolate into the cream, then let it sit for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, stir slowly in a circular motion, starting from the center of the bowl and working out to the sides. Be careful not to add too much air to the ganache. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the liquor and stir to combine. Allow the ganache to cool at room temperature until it is warm. This should take at least 4 hours in a 65°F room or 2 hours in the refrigerator.

4. Once the ganache is warm, it can be formed into truffle balls. Using a piping bag, a mini ice cream scoop, or a tablespoon, make 1-inch-diameter blobs. Then roll the blobs into somewhat uniform balls by hand. This is messy, no doubt about it. If they begin to warm up and become soft, refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. If you have hot hands or it is a hot day, it may feel as though you can't get a grip on the truffle. Work near a sink with cold running water. When the ganache feels like it's melting, cool your hands under the running water, then dry them and dust with a little of the cocoa powder. Be careful not to get too much cocoa powder on the truffles, or they will taste like cocoa powder.

Yield: About 2 dozen 1-inch truffles

Coating Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Using a serrated knife, finely chop the chocolate into 1/4 inch pieces and place it in a medium heatproof bowl. Fill a medium saucepan half full of water, bring it to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Create a double boiler by placing the bowl on top of the saucepan. Stir the chocolate occasionally with a rubber spatula until it melts, about minutes.

3. When the chocolate has melted, take it off the heat. Stir it slowly with a rubber spatula until the temperature drops to 90°F, about 5 minutes. Place the remaining cocoa powder in a small bowl.

4. Drop one rolled ganache ball into the melted chocolate. Remove it with a fork, tap off the excess chocolate, and toss it into the cocoa powder. Roll the truffle around in the cocoa until it is well coated. Transfer the truffle to the prepared baking sheet and let it harden. Repeat with each truffle, coating one at a time.

Truffles should be stored in an airtight container at 60° to 65°F. Refrigerating them is OK too. If condensation forms when they come out of the refrigerator, simply toss them in more cocoa powder before serving.

Variations

Other delightful coatings include finely chopped toasted nuts, toasted unsweetened coconut, grated milk chocolate, and powdered sugar. Match the coating of the truffles to the liquor used in the ganache, such as Frangelico truffles with hazelnut crunch coating. This will create an interesting depth of flavor.

Steep 1 black currant tea bag in the cream and add 2 tablespoons Chambord as the liquor.

Add 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder to the cream and use 2 tablespoons Kahlá as the liquor.

Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped orange zest and 1/2 teaspoon orange oil to the cream. Let sit for 10 minutes. Strain out the zest. Use 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier as the liquor.

Add 2 tablespoons strained blackberry puree (or the puree of another fruit) instead of the liquor.

Peel and grate fresh ginger and squeeze from it 2 tablespoons ginger juice. Add this and 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice instead of the liquor.

Combine 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup Champagne or brandy in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn off the heat and let the raisins cool and absorb the liquor. Drain off any remaining liquid, chop the raisins, and stir the raisins into the warm ganache.

Recipes exerpted from Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts by Sherry Yard © 2003, Houghton Mifflin Co.