Shoppers' Chocolate Truffles 

Excerpted from Chopping Spree, copyright 2002 
by Diane Mott Davidson by permission of Bantam 
Dell Publishing Group, a division of Random 
House Inc.  All rights reserved.

Available on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553107305/wburorg-20/102-1624954-6480103


Ingredients – Ganache (filling)

1/2	cup heavy cream
1	tablespoon Grand Marnier liqueur
1/4	teaspoon vanilla extract
11	ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
2	tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
	Cocoa powder for rolling

Ingredients - Coating
6	ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate
1 to 2 teaspoons clarified butter or solid vegetable shortening




Directions:

1.	Start with the ganache filling. Pour the cream into a heavy 1-quart or larger 
saucepan. Add the liqueur and vanilla and heat over medium to medium-high 
heat until the mixture reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.	Remove the mixture from the heat, add the chopped chocolate, and stir 
vigorously until the chocolate melts and the mixture is shiny. If all the chocolate 
does not melt, you can briefly return the pan to the burner over low heat, stirring 
constantly just until the chocolate melts, when the pan needs to be immediately 
removed from the heat.

3.	Scrape the ganache into a bowl and allow it to cool at room temperature. Do not 
attempt to hasten the cooling in any way. When the ganache reaches 90 degrees 
Fahrenheit, beat in the butter. Allow the ganache to cool until it is firm.

4.	Using a 1 tablespoon ice-cream scoop, measure out the firm ganache into balls 
and place them on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone (Sil-Pat) sheet. Cover 
loosely with plastic wrap. Chill overnight in the refrigerator.



5.	Remove the chocolate from the refrigerator and dust your hands with cocoa 
powder. Roll each mound into a smooth ball, and then place it back on the cookie 
sheet. When all the ganache mounds have been rolled, return the cookie sheet 
to the refrigerator.

6.	In a double boiler, melt the chocolate used for the coating with a tablespoon of 
the clarified butter or shortening. Whisk it well until thoroughly combined and 
melted.

7.	Line another cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Working one at a time, drop a 
chilled ball of ganache into the coating chocolate, roll it around gently with a fork 
until it is completely covered, then lift it out of the pan, scrape off the excess 
chocolate on the side of the pan, and place the truffle on the aluminum foil. Work 
in this way until all of the truffles are coated. If the coating chocolate begins to 
seize and become recalcitrant, add a bit more clarified butter to it and stir and 
melt as before.

8.	Allow the coating to set up and cool on the truffles; this usually takes over an 
hour. Makes between 12 and 15 truffles.