Bittersweet Chocolate And Hazelnut Truffles Recipes

Steps:

• Lightly oil a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan and line with plastic wrap.
• In a double boiler or a small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt milk chocolate with 1/2 cup cream, stirring until smooth, and remove double boiler or pan from heat. Spoon mixture into loaf pan and tap pan on counter to level surface. Cool mixture to room temperature and chill, uncovered, 15 minutes.
• In cleaned top of double boiler or bowl melt white chocolate with remaining 1/2 cup cream in same manner. Stir hazelnuts into white chocolate mixture and pour evenly onto chilled milk chocolate layer. Chill confection, loosely covered, at least 6 hours, and up to 1 week.
• Lift confection out of pan and peel off plastic wrap. On a cutting board with a sharp large knife cut confection lengthwise into 6 strips and cut strips crosswise into 11 strips (to make a total of 66 truffles, each about 3/4-inch-square).
• In a double boiler or small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt bittersweet chocolate, stirring until smooth, and remove double boiler or pan from heat. Cool chocolate 10 minutes. Dip 1/8 inch of white chocolate portion of each truffle into melted chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip off. Top each truffle with a small piece of crystallized violet and chill, uncovered, until firm. Truffles may be made 2 weeks ahead and chilled in layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Chop the hazelnuts and place them on a sheet pan. Roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. (If the hazelnuts have skin on them, roast them for 25 minutes.) Set aside to cool.
• Chop the chocolates finely and place in a bowl.
• Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it boils. Immediately pour the hot cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with the chocolates. With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. (If the chocolate doesn't melt completely, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir for a few minutes just until it melts.) Whisk in the hazelnut liqueur, coffee, and vanilla. Cover and chill for 45 minutes to 1 hour until pliable but firm enough to scoop.
• With 2 teaspoons or a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop, make dollops of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until firm enough to roll into rough spheres. Roll the chocolate in the chopped hazelnuts and chill again. Truffles are best when they're allowed to set overnight in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Place chocolate in medium metal bowl. Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Pour over chocolate; let stand 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Mix in brandy and vanilla. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
• Using electric mixer, beat chocolate mixture until fluffy and lighter in color, about 4 minutes. Mix in 6 tablespoons ground hazelnuts. Cover and refrigerate truffle mixture until firm, about 2 hours.
• Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Place 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts in another medium bowl. Fill glass with hot water. Dip 1-inch-diameter melon baller into water, then into truffle mixture, forming round truffle. Drop truffle into nuts; roll to coat completely and press to adhere. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffle mixture and nuts. Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead; keep chilled.)

Steps:

• Finely chop the chocolate block or use pistoles. The size of the chocolate pieces is key. Make sure the chocolate is in small pieces so that the heat from the boiled cream can melt all of the chocolate.
• Place chopped chocolate in a large non-reactive bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring cream, salt, and vanilla bean to a boil. Once mixture has boiled and foamed up, immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Let chocolate and cream mixture sit for 3 minutes. With a wooden spoon, begin stirring small circles in the middle of the bowl. As the smooth mixture begins to form in the middle, slowly expand the size of the circle until the cream and chocolate is fully incorporated. Remove vanilla bean and stir in butter. Cover mixture and let sit until firm.
• Fill a piping bag or zip top freezer bag with the truffle mixture and pipe into 1 tablespoon size dollops. Allow dollops to set up until they are firm. Roll dollops into round truffles. Truffles can be coated in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, ground nuts, coconut, etc.
• Optional: Add 1-ounce distilled liquor or liqueurs (i.e. brandy, Kirsch, etc.) to butter for additional flavor variations. Distilled liquors or liqueurs add flavor without adding extra sweetness.

Steps:

• Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour over chocolate. Let sit 2 to 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Refrigerate (uncovered) until somewhat firm, about 1 hour.
• Spoon mounds (2 level teaspoons each) of chocolate mixture onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Return to refrigerator 15 minutes.
• With your hands, roll mounds into balls. Place desired coatings in shallow bowls; roll balls in coatings, pressing in and covering completely. Return to baking sheet; chill until set, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Place 1 pound of the chocolate in a 2-quart mixing bowl. In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream into the bowl with the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 1 minute, then stir together with a rubber spatula, whisk, or immersion blender until thoroughly blended. Mix in 3/4 cup of the hazelnuts and blend well. Cover the truffle cream, let cool to room temperature, and chill in the refrigerator until thick but not stiff (2 to 3 hours). Or let the truffle cream sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight until completely set and thick.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Fit a 12-inch pastry bag with a large, plain round pastry tip with a 1/2-inch opening and fill partway with the truffle cream. Holding the pastry bag 1 inch above the paper, pipe out mounds about 1 inch in diameter. Or use a small ice cream scoop to form the mounds. Cover the mounds with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 2 hours or in the refrigerator for 6 hours.
• Dust your hands with cocoa powder and roll the mounds into balls. These will be the truffle centers. Cover and chill the centers for another 2 hours in the freezer.
• Remove the truffle centers from the freezer and bring to cool-room temperature so the outer coating won't crack when they are dipped. Line 2 more baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Melt and temper the remaining 1 1/2 pounds chocolate (see pages 25-30). Place a truffle center into the tempered chocolate, coating it completely. With a dipper or fork, remove the center from the chocolate, carefully shake off the excess chocolate, and turn the truffle out onto the paper. After dipping 4 truffles, sprinkle a pinch of the remaining ground hazelnuts on top of them, before the chocolate sets up.
• Let the truffles set up at room temperature, or chill them in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes. When the truffles are set, place them in paper candy cups. In a tightly covered container wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, the truffles will keep for 1 month in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. The truffles are best served at room temperature.
• VARIATIONS
• Instead of dipping the truffles in tempered chocolate, roll them in a small bowl of cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, or finely chopped, toasted hazelnuts as soon as they are rolled into balls. Any nuts can be substituted for the hazelnuts both inside and outside the truffles.
• White Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles: Substitute white chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate and use 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream.
• Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles: Substitute milk chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate and use 1 cup heavy whipping cream.
• Milk Chocolate Almond Truffles: Substitute milk chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate, use 1 cup heavy whipping cream, and substitute finely chopped almonds for the hazelnuts.
• Praline Truffles: Substitute finely ground praline (page 147) for the hazelnuts.

Steps:

• Make hazelnut base:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and sides of an 8-inch square metal baking pan, then dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.
• Finely grind nuts in a food processor with flour, sugar, and salt.
• Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan, then remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking until smooth. Stir in nut flour until just combined.
• Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake in middle of oven until top is firm and dry and a tester inserted into center comes out with crumbs adhering, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, at least 2 hours.
• Make ganache:
• Lightly beat yolks in a bowl. Bring cream with salt just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, then add half of it to yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Whisk yolk mixture into remaining cream and cook over low heat, whisking, until slightly thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F (do not let boil).
• Remove from heat and add chocolate, whisking until smooth. Pour ganache over hazelnut base in pan, smoothing top with offset spatula, and chill, covered, until firm, at least 5 hours.
• Cut into squares with a warmed thin knife, wiping off knife after each cut, and remove from pan while still cold.
• Serve truffles cold or at room temperature.