[Sca-cooks] Champagne Truffles Revisited

[Tara Sersen Boroson]

I've made Champagne truffles, and agree with Mistress AEthelwynn.  They 
flavor was really too subtle to be *good*.  Interesting, yes.  But, 
worth all the effort and cost, not really.  The flavor was seriously 
overpowered by the chocolate.  You kind of tasted something there and 
thought, Gee, that's interesting, what is that?  You never really 
figured it out because it was too... anonymous.  But that in turn kind 
of detracted from the chocolate flavor.

They'll never beat the habanero truffles in the hearts and minds of all 
my truffle scarfing compadres :)

Also, although I adjusted my liquid to make up for the additional liquid 
in the champagne, they turned out way gooier than any other flavored 
truffle I've made.  I found that kind of frustrating.  My truffle 
recipe, by the way, uses cream rather than the egg yolks that Mistress 
AEthelwynn mentions.

-Magdalena

>I sent the discussions about champagne reductions and truffles from a few
>months back to our local truffle maker, Mistress AEthelwynn Thraedgild.
>Below is her report on how it went. Adamantius, do you have any comments
>that I could send back her way?
>Christianna
>
>Christianna,
>First, the Champagne truffles, of which I still have a few for you to try.
>As I said on the phone, I simmered an entire bottle of dry champagne down to
>1/4 cup of syrup.  And syrup it was.  Tangy and tasty and very grapey.  I
>made my usual batch of truffle with ~8 oz. semisweet chocolate, 2 egg yolks,
>and 1 cube of unsalted butter and added the champagne syrup.  The grape
>flavor does not come through so clearly but the tang sure does.  These
>truffles are interesting.  Really.  Not my favorite and not the favorite of
>one other taste tester.  When I get to feeling wiggy, I'll get a bottle of
>Spumanti and try that.  I think a much sweeter champagne would taste better.
>Yours in Service,
>AEthelwynn
>  
>

-- 
Tara Sersen Boroson

Mom-asté: the mother in me recognizes and honors the mother in you.