[Sca-cooks] Favorite chocolate truffle recipe?

[Susan Fox-Davis]

Oh. My. God. That syrup sounds glorious, but...  Do you know how much 
trouble I'd get in around here if I used up a whole bottle of Champagne 
that way?  I just boiled a goose for fat and lovely stock, and at $7 USD 
per pound my lord husband was Not Amused.  We do have a goodly pint or 
more of goose fat though, perhaps some kind of confit will appease him.

As for putting peanut butter or other treats inside the truffle? 
 Whyever not?  Do make the flavors compatible in some way.  I'm not sure 
how wine flavor would go with peanut butter.  What wine =does= go with 
peanut butter anyway?  Peanut butter should be in a fairly firm form, 
maybe refrigerated or frozen, before trying to apply chocolate ganache 
to the outside.  Aliter, cinnamon in the ganache over bits of candied 
orange peel, however, sounds lurvely!

On making truffles with mostly clean hands:   I'm a big believer in the 
ice cream scoop with the lever to release the food within.  I have a 
little one for cookies, will need a littler one for truffles!  You could 
probably get a decent "puff" [think Hersey's Kiss] if not a perfect 
sphere if you use a pastry bag with a large circular opening.  I'm 
thinking a pastry bag tip holder, only without the metal tip, just the 
plastic conic section and wide circular opening.  Start extruding over a 
saucer of dry cocoa [or whatever coating medium you are using, toasted 
nuts, etc.].  Keep the tip low and in one place until the glob is as big 
as you want it, then bring the tip up gently.  Roll carefully and you 
won't get too much chocolate goo on your hands.  But Master A is right; 
 a truffle is supposed to look globby and organic like an underground 
fungus.  If you want a perfect manufactured sphere, go out and buy one! 
 Home-made goodness should look home-made, I always say.  It's the 
visual preview that says "this is going to taste better than anything 
you could buy"!

Selene Colfox

ranvaig at columbus.rr.com wrote:

>>  I just did the reduction of a full bottle for my batch, and got 
>> about two Tablespoons of a syrup, which, when cooled to room temp., 
>> was about as thick as honey.
>
>
> How can you reduce it that far and not burn it?  That sounds so 
> delicious!!
>
> Ranvaig
> ______________