1000 pizza doughs

The Truffle Shuffle - Part 2

Or alternatively, "If I keep this up, I'm going to need stretchy pants." (See  Part 1 here.)

Finally got to enjoy the long-awaited Valentine's truffle class at The Kitchen Studio. (Yes, it's March. But remember the Snowpocalypse? Class was initially scheduled for blizzard, Day 0.) 

First thing you need for truffle making? A ginormous amount of chocolate, in various varieties, if you like. 

But definitely some chocolate discs for melting (NOT chocolate chips, says Chef Christine).  That's her in green.  It's pretty obvious that she loves her job! (BTW, the last word in the photo title was supposed to be studio, but it's funnier this way.)

You can buy these chocolate discs from online sources including King Arthur Flour and Gourmail. (In the summer King Arthur has special chocolate shipping options, to make sure your chocolate doesn't arrive as soup!)

We made some lovely truffles, including salted caramel (my favorite!), Aztec truffles with cinnamon and cayenne), Chai tea, cappuccino, and Gianduja, which is a hazelnut milk chocolate. The process is best tacked over two days.  Chefs Christine and Caroline had done an enormous amount of prep work, so we could get some practice with each step of the hands-on process.  But a lot of truffle-making consists of waiting for the chocolate to set.

Here's my husband, commenting that his handiwork looks like a small mountain lion got loose in the kitchen.

He does have a point, but once you get past rolling the centers (a messy affair), the outer coating hides all that.  It's super-helpful if you have a chocolate tempering machine, like so:

I really REALLY want one of these.  But really, what good could come of that?  I would be coating everything in chocolate.  Pretzels, cookies, bacon... mmm... chocolate-covered bacon.  Oh, sorry, got a little distracted there.

Truffle class was lots of fun, and we got to bring home samples of our work (and by our work, I mean mostly Chef Christine's, though we tried). 

Next time I want some truffles... I'm probably going to Zoe's (or Perfect Truffle, or Candy Kitchen).  They're fun to play with, but we're lucky enough to have not one but THREE awesome chocolate stores in downtown Frederick, where they are more than happy to do all the work, and I am more than happy to pay a little more for really good truffles, and let them clean up the mess!

The Truffle Shuffle - Part 1

(Sorry, could not resist a reference to the greatest movie moment of my childhood.) 

I am a firm believer in the value of lifelong learning.  Especially when said learning involves chocolate. And champagne. And hors d'oeuvres. And did I mention chocolate?

I spent a lovely evening yesterday at The Comus Inn in Dickerson, Maryland, which I had previously viewed in passing from my bike, but had not been inside. (Public service announcement for parents: The Comus Inn welcomes your children, they say, especially for Sunday brunch.) The event? Gourmet Truffle-Making Demonstration.

First, we "got ready" for the demo.

Then Chef Jose Molina did a brief demonstration and offered tips for successfully experimenting with flavors.  For example, add any flavored liquors, such as Grand Marnier, directly to the chocolate, not the cream, and use sparingly, since the alcohol will not burn off.  Here he is demonstrating the chocolate-cream mixture that is refrigerated for at least an hour, then scooped into balls to form the inside of the truffles.

 

After refrigerating (up to overnight), form the chocolate-cream mixture into balls with a small ice cream scoop. Gloves are recommended, not necessarily because it's messy, but because they keep your body temperature from melting the chocolate as quickly.  This would be a fun (and messy) party: have truffles ready up to the point of scooping, or maybe already formed into balls and kept in the fridge. Then guests/kids could dip and coat them.

Chef Jose also recommended 60% cacao as the ideal truffle-making chocolate, to avoid bitterness, and cautioned that heavy cream is a necessity (I'll second that!).

These discs were melted alone to form the outside coating.

Like so... and then we dipped some previously refrigerated balls in this chocolate, and coated them with finely chopped toppings including Oreos, pistachios and toasted coconut (my personal favorite). 

While our truffles went in for their final chill, Chef Jose and his very friendly and laid-back staff fed us bacon-wrapped scallops, mini spanakopita pockets and other fantastic food. And more champagne.

And we all took home the truffles we made in class, and neat little recipe cards with the exact instructions. Luckily, they had extra pre-made truffles available for purchase, because these lasted all of about 1 minute after I got home.

So why was this Part 1? In my continued pursuit of (ahem) higher education, I will be attending another truffle class next week--this one at Frederick's own Kitchen Studio. Learning is fun!

p.s.  I am creating a new category for my blog inspired by this post. Despite my best efforts to eat whole grains, veggies, etc., it's the more sinful foods that generally awaken my inner muse. Welcome Wicked Indulgence.