The very easy Chocolate Truffles

Greetings from chocolate-country and thumbs up for your truffels!

Maybe you will like this small contribution;

You cannot make good truffels without good dark chocolate! I let you guess which chocolate, begins with a B..... for the origine and C... for the brand, like in Callebaut, oops.

Truffels are actually a ganache dipped in melted chocolate and rolled in cacao powder or chocolate curls, or almond flakes...

The ganache can be made to your own taste. It's mainly chocolate in chunks or pellets with a fat, cream, booze, fruitjuice... Ganache makes the chocolate able to manipulate. The more fat or liquid, the softer the ganache. Try adding your own flavors; orange zeste, praliné (mixture of almond nuts in caramel)...

For the booze, use whatever you like, or just leave it out. Please, experiment a lot with others like rum, Grand-Marnier, why not american whisky...

An example;

- 200 ml cream

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract

- 250 gram black chocolate for the ganache, 150 gram for the coating

- 75 gram butter

- 50 gram cacao powder, 150 gram for the coating

- 1 tbsp cognac

Make the ganache;

Heat cream and vanilla-extract for a while. Away from the fire; add chocolate in chunks. Stir regularly to get a homogenous mixture. Let cool to handwarm, add butter, cacao and cognac. Done.

Let the ganache cool for 12 hours in a cool spot (not your fridge!) so the flavors can merge.

Make the truffels;

Take teaspoons of ganache and roll in your hands to a ball or a shape you prefer. Put the balls in the fridge to harden. You can put them in the freezer half an hour before going to the coating, this will make your life easier.

Make the coating;

Melt 150 gram chocolate on a very low fire or "bain-marie" (stir!) or or use the microwave. Put the cacao powder on a plate or low bowl.

Use a fork to put the truffels one-by-one in the melted chocolate, let drip shortly and put immediately in the cacao powder. Shake the plate with the powder or roll the truffels in it.

Note; Personally I prefer truffels rolled in chocolate flakes instead of in powder. Melt some chocolate, spread it open with a cakeknife very thinly on a marble or granit surface. Let cool. Use a pallet knife to push the chocolate in front of the knife, this is how you get nice chocolate curls, well, after some practice. Break the curl a little and use this instead of cacao powder. Most Belgian trufferls are made like this.

A nice alternative is to use roughly chopped almond flakes.

Also, please get rid of the unsweetened cooking chocolate! You probably add sugar in your mixture too; no way, use regular chocolat and don't add extra sugar unless you want to commit a mortal sin.

I've never sold my own food, but I suppose it entails a bit more than just cooking it and asking for money in exchange for what you've cooked. Have you thought about laws, codes, zoning, regulations, licenses, labeling etc...? Do you own or have access to a fully inspected commercial kitchen? Or were you just thinking of selling to family and friends? Do you have liability insurance? What if one of the person who buys from you gets sick and decides to sue you?

I'm sorry, don't mean to be a party pooper... but I believe those are things you need to consider before you start selling your own food.

Truffles are  great, but the shelf life on them is not the same as a drugstore box of chocolate.  With fresh cream, impeccable hygiene, and good technique, figure on 3 weeks shelf life--at room temp.

Chocolate and bon bons (truffles included) should NEVER be stored in the refrigerator, or "sugar bloom" will result.  You can succesfully freeze them, but they need to be vacuum packaged and undergo a 48 hr thawing process.  I do this quite often, and it works with delicate bon-bons, and molded bon bons with transfer sheet imprints as well.

In the confectionary business, packaging is what sells, and in many cases, the packaging (and labour involved) is more expensive than the materials and labour for the chocolates.

Please, please, don't use "Baking chocolate", if you want to go the diabetic route there are some decent bulk chocolates made with malitol.

With ChrisBelgium, we know where his loyalties lie in chocolate,--and why not?  Belgium makes some excellent chocolate.  But, as I tell my customers, the Swiss know a thing or two about chocolate as well.  Then again, so do the French.  There is a lot of good chocolate out there and a lot of garbage.  Learn to read lables and know your ingredients.

Hope this helps,

Foodpump

--or should I say "Eduard-aus-der-Schweiz"? 

Oh sorry I just assumed you lived in the U.S. - then by all mean, go for it! We used to eat chocolate truffles every single Xmas when I grew up. And no offense to Chris, but we never ate Belgian chocolate of any kind, as it was considered sub-par. The Swiss chocolate was considered a step up from that, but really the French chocolate was the only one "allowed" in the house.

I recently went to Switzerland and was shocked to see that even the best, deluxe "boutique" chocolatiers on bahnhofstrasse in Zurich all list "Palm Oil" as one of their first ingredients. If a chocolatier did that in France he would get shot or at least go to jail or something. I still bought a box for some friends and we ate them, and they were ok but honestly I wasn't impressed.

I think Belgian chocolates are great, ditto Swiss.  Italian or  French?  Naaaah, not so much   (Sorry, FrenchFries!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by French Fries 

...We used to eat chocolate truffles every single Xmas when I grew up. And no offense to Chris, but we never ate Belgian chocolate of any kind, as it was considered sub-par. The Swiss chocolate was considered a step up from that, but really the French chocolate was the only one "allowed" in the house... 

I'm not even trying to convince people to change their own preferences, but it might be helpful for the OP and all of us if you just listed your favorite brands.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reyesryanmjaube 

Actually, I have diabetes so I use that kind of chocolate. I use splenda or stevia as my sweetener. haha :D

 

Thanks for your input though. Your truffles are kinda different since you dip it in chocolate. Mine are just ganache and covered with powder :D

Oh, I didn't know there was a diabetic challenge. Sorry.

Do try the method of plunging them in chocolate first! It's the original way to make truffels. You'll like the variation in textures; biting through the thin outer chocolate layer and then into the ganache... yumm 

Quote:

Originally Posted by French Fries 

...We used to eat chocolate truffles every single Xmas when I grew up. And no offense to Chris, but we never ate Belgian chocolate of any kind, as it was considered sub-par. The Swiss chocolate was considered a step up from that, but really the French chocolate was the only one "allowed" in the house... 

Quote:

 

I'm not even trying to convince people to change their own preferences, but it might be helpful for the OP and all of us if you just listed your favorite brands.

Are we talking chocolates as in a box of chocolates that you can offer to someone at Christmas? If yes, then my favorite "brands" are not brands, but are local artisan chocolatiers, in Grenoble, in the Alpes, where I grew up. They still exist today and they still make, in my opinion, some of the best chocolates I've ever tasted.

Here they are:

Zugmeyer: http://www.chocolats-zugmeyer.fr/

Bochard: http://www.chocolaterie-bochard.com/chocolat/chocolat/7-chocolat.html

We're talking about "Maitre Chocolatiers" who've been doing this as a family business for 60-80 years, not about chains or national brands.

Some of the Belgian chocolates I've tasted were the Leonidas (http://www.leonidas-chocolate.com/), which honestly were actually quite good, but much creamier and ... well less "cocoa" taste, very sweet and no complexity. The French taste is also typically much less sweet vs other countries (especially the U.S.). Even Belgian chocolates are too sweet for me. French chocolate, in my opinion, is the perfect marriage of subtlety and complexity. They're not bitter, they don't overwhelm your senses the second you put them in your mouth, but they keep working at your palate for the whole time you're eating them, and, like a good wine, they continue working their magic long after you've swallowed them.

Now if we're talking chocolate tablets, that's a different story, and even in France we eat tons of Belgian (Cote d'Or - actually one of my childhood favorites) and obviously Swiss (Nestlé, Lindt, Toblerone, Suchard...) chocolate, along with our French chocolate (Poulain, Valrhona...). But keep in mind most of those big Swiss names actually make their dark chocolate in France - or well, to be more detailed, they make some dark chocolate in France, and some dark chocolate in Switzerland. In my opinion it's no secret that some of the best dark chocolate tablets is probably the one made in France by those Swiss brands. The best milk chocolate tablets in the world are in my opinion the ones made by Swiss brands in Switzerland.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ishbel 

I think Belgian chocolates are great, ditto Swiss.  Italian or  French?  Naaaah, not so much   (Sorry, FrenchFries!)

Aaah that's alright Ishbel: different cultures, different taste educations, different childhoods, different memories, different tastes.

 Mmmm....  Lindt still makes it's couvertue in Kilchberg--just outside of Zurich, and in Berne.  I usually get my shipments of Lindt in 300 kg lots several times a year, and it is indeed mnfctrd in Kilchberg.  Lindt has many European subsiduaries, and these make bars, novelities or confections, but use couverture from the "mother factory."  Carma, another factory just outside of Zurich still makes it's own couverture, but the factory is now owned by "Ma Callebaut",  Max Felchlin, a very high end mnfctr is in the Kanton of Schwyz, and is bean to bar as well.  The huge Swiss retail giant "Migros" has it's own chocolate factory--"Frey" and it is bean to bar as well

It was Rudolphe Lindt who made the first "Fondant Chocolate", chocolate as we know it today, and attributed it's smoothness to "conching" a processing method he developed.  All the other European countries were right behind and improved on the design.  Good chocolate is the product of good beans--properly harvested, fermented, and dried,- and good manufacturing processes. The European nations stand out becasue they have always invested heavily in machinery to process the chocolate.

Needless to say France has/had her colonies from which she imported cocoa, as did Belgium, Germany, and Holland.  Each cocoa growing region has it's own type of tree, climate, and soil, much like wine.  I get a bit upset when customers come to me and say "Country "X" makes the best chocolate", and I stop and take the time to educate them that there is NO "Best", but very good chocolates, all unique and wonderfull.

Milk Chocolate was a collaboration between two French Swiss, Daniel Peters, and Henri Nestle.  Peters had a chocolate factory and Nestle had just invented a process for making milk powder.  Peters went to his grave, regretting the fact he had never bothered to patent his process of making milk chocolate, Nestle went on applying his process to coffee..... 

Quote:

Originally Posted by foodpump 

Quote:

But keep in mind most of those big Swiss names actually make their dark chocolate in France - or well, to be more detailed, they make some dark chocolate in France, and some dark chocolate in Switzerland. In my opinion it's no secret that some of the best dark chocolate tablets is probably the one made in France by those Swiss brands. The best milk chocolate tablets in the world are in my opinion the ones made by Swiss brands in Switzerland.

I get a bit upset when customers come to me and say "Country "X" makes the best chocolate", and I stop and take the time to educate them that there is NO "Best", but very good chocolates, all unique and wonderfull.

I understand. I'm glad I took the precaution of saying "In my opinion" twice. Maybe I shouldn't have said "the best" but "the one I prefer".

I can't tell you exactly how or where Lindt makes their chocolate, but what I can tell you is that their "Made in France" dark chocolate does not taste the same as their "Made in Switzerland" dark chocolate. Maybe it all comes from the same source but the manufacturing processes and recipes are adapted to the taste of the country, that I'm not sure. But personally I find the Lindt that is "Made in France" to be of superior quality to the one "Made in Switzerland". That is not the case (again, IMO) with milk chocolate.

Here is a PORTION of the chocolate aisle in a French supermarket:

FrenchFries, the chocolate that is probably most appreciated in gastronomic circles is the french Valrhona, however, I live at a 15 minute drive from a french supermarket Auchan. I have never, ever seen any Valrhona in their aisles. On the other hand, many artisanal chocolatiers use Callebaut in pellets or in huge blocks. Callebaut has a very strong reputation for "couverture" chocolate, even available in industrial amounts. They are quite specialized in this market, that's also why I suggested at to the OP.

I consider Cote d'Or to be a very, very good home chocolate, both milk chocolate and especially the dark varieties. Lindt is indeed somewhat a good commercial alternative. On the other hand, chocolates such as Swiss Toblerone, contains too much sugar to please my pallet. I think the Suisse chocolates are generally too sweet, they are more known for their milk chocolates, low on cacao, high on sugars and milk, well, milkpowder to be honest.

My preference in eating chocolate however is very general; 70% cacao, low sugar, shiny surface, chunks must snaps off with a sound that says how good it has been tempered and stored, and a very deep longlasting taste, and.. a coffee or a whisky aside is always good company. Most brands have now merged and are dependent of international foodgroups. Chocolate has become as we say "unity-sausage". I very much disagree with your remark on Belgian chocolates being too sweet. Our food in general is very much french orientated. So is chocolate; very few sugar!

@ reyesryanmjaube on the remarks on package; their are 2 ways of selling truffles and pralines (bonbons); in the regular big distribution chains where package is indeed very important. On the other hand, the chocolates bought from chocolatiers are mostly offered unpacked. You have to choose from the counters in their store, wherafter they pack it in simpler "ballotins", nothing more than a simple box, sealed with a ribbon. Here's one example from a great Belgian chocolatier to inspire you;

http://www.godiva.be/products/product_detail.asp?iCategoryID=78&iID=933

FrenchFries,

O.K., I told you where all Lindt couverture is made.

What would I know about chocolate?

Quote:

Originally Posted by foodpump 

FrenchFries,

 

 

O.K., I told you where all Lindt couverture is made.

 

What would I know about chocolate?

I think maybe we're not talking about the same thing? I was talking tablets, you were talking couverture. I'm sorry, I'm confused.
 

Yes, the tablets are comprised mainly of couverture 

Well then maybe it wasn't Lindt, that's what I remember but maybe it was another big Swiss chocolate? But I remember the made in France from the same brand tasted better than the made in Switzerland. Can't explain how or why though. You say "mainly" so maybe it was whatever else they do to it that was different?

Congratulations RRMJ, very nice result! They even look very much like real truffles (I mean not the chocolat ones)!

Good luck with your chocolat business ambition.

RRMJ, maybe Foodpump can give you a lot of good advice, he works quite a lot of chocolate as we all read.

When I was a lot younger, I helped in a bakery many weekends that made their own truffles. I made lots of kilos of these goodies! We dipped the frozen ganache simply in melted chocolate (no previous tempering) one by one with a fork, and immediately dropped them in cacoa powder etc. and rolled them. Done!

I understand you're in the Phillipines, not the ideal place to make these; humidity and heat are the biggest enemies of chocolate. An outer layer of chocolate would help you a lot imo.

Whe adding cocoa to a ganache powder, not much will happen, other than having a grittier mouthfeel to it.

There's a balance to truffles, too firm and they shape well, but are too firm in the mouth.   Too soft, and they feel great in the mouth  but are too soft to transport.

Think of the the tempered shell around the ganache as an "exo-skeleton", it protects the soft ganache, and also provides a firm "bite"

Classical technique for truffles is to roll the ganache into balls  When firm, dip into tempered couverture and roll in the palm of your hands, giving it a thin shell.as well as sealing out air.  Then do it all over again, but this time, when still wet, toss into cocoa powder--or ground toasted nuts, or chocoalte shavings, or.....

There's cocoa powder, which is reddish -brown,  and "dutched" cocoa powder, which is a dark brown.  Dutched has been treated with alkalai. 

Choose wisely

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ishbel 

I think Belgian chocolates are great, ditto Swiss.  Italian or  French?  Naaaah, not so much   (Sorry, FrenchFries!)

I DO LIKE THE Truffettes de France,JUST ONCE IN A YEAR!

Sagemore, these are industrial types of chocolates, made by ChocMod in Roncq (near Lille), 10 minutes drive from where I live in Belgium. Here's their website; http://www.chocmod.com/#chocolat/PRESENTATION 

Guess where these guys learned to make chocolates?

RRMJ;"...Cold ganache roughly rolled and dipped in melted chocolate then let it roll on cocoa powder while still WET and I got this..."

That's the way you should make them! Works even faster when you put the ganache rolls in the freezer first! They look fantastic.

BTW, forget about the truffles in that link, it's industrial stuff (low cocoa, high sugar and lots of non cacao related fats), nothing to compare to artisanal work like the ones you just made.

If you really want the very top of artisanal chocolates, take a look at this guy; Dominiek Persoone, one of the 2 chocolatiers ever mentioned in the Michelin guide. Take also a look at the device he developped for sniffing cacao.. especially made for a birthdayparty from a Rolling Stones guitarist!

http://www.dominiquepersoone.be/ 

Many people around the world put their chocolates in the fridge. The problem of condense doesn't happen when storing them in the fridge, the waterdrops will appear when you get them out of the cold into the heat. Just advice your clients to eat them asap (so they can buy another box).

Cacao doesn't dissolve that easy in liquid, don't worry. Maybe sending an email to Dominiek Persoone will help you out.