Liquor / Liqueur truffles

[Kerry Beal]

Apparently the snow we've been getting here all day is just the snow squalls before the storm. I'm thanking my lucky stars that I don't actually have to go anywhere tomorrow. Apparently we are expecting up to 50 cm (that would be about 19 1/2 inches for the metrically impaired)

I was noticing the other day just how many chocolatiers and confectioners there seem to be posting on eG these days, and how rarely there seem to be heated disagreements. I think right now we have a pretty interesting group from beginners to more experienced and I hope this will continue.

I wonder if all the sugar we consume makes us sweet people.

I had a salesman over the other day (he was bringing me box samples) and he was commenting on his failed attempts to get someone to teach him about chocolate. I've heard the same story from others, and I guess if I had a shop I might be a little hesitant to teach someone who might become potential competition.

I've seen it said before on eG, that sharing recipes is really only a jumping off point, everyone tweaks them and makes them their own anyway.

[aguynamedrobert]

I would have to agree. I think we have a great group of chocolate people here at the EG Forums...I have had to deal with other chocolate entusiasts on other forums and have had people who have way to much pride and not enough grace...so thanks to everyone one here for the great conversations!

Robert

Chocolate Forum

[waterdogs]

The expertise here is just incredible. I realized how valuable it was when I was reading a thread last night and there had been an almost real time diagnostic going on (Kerry, it was you) re "crystalline vs greasy" symptoms. Just amazing. As quite a rank beginner, may I just say thank you all for such generous sharing.

[Tweety69bird]

I thought I'd add a comment to say that everyone here has been helpful and friendly. It's amazing how much I have learned during my time on eGullet. There is so much to read, and even all the old posts are chock full of information too. I have tried to go through each page of just the P&B forum and read as much as I can. One day hope to find the time to read through the other forums. This site is a wonderful source of information, inspiration and support. So thank you to each and every one of you who have contributed to the wealth of information on this site.

... Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

[Indulge]

I just wanted to take the time to say that I agree wholeheartedly with you guys. This forum has a wealth of information that is hard to find anywhere else. Everyone is extrememly helpful and friendly.

[Desiderio]

I couldnt agree more with you guys!!

There arent many people willing to share their recipes and tips around .Thats how I grew up in Italy , bakers and chef there do not like to share anything , thats one reason why italian cousin and pastry world isnt as famous and fancy as the french one ,but thats another story....

Thnak you guys all of you and happy Valentine's day

[beacheschef]

As someone who searches this forum often, I want to thank you all for the great information and photos. Not only have I gained information, but you've inspired me to work on new challenges, such as colored molded chocolates. Years ago I cut out the N. Love article in PAD but never attempted it...now I am following an entire thread on the topic and am experimenting with it myself!

[ChristopherMichael]

I saw you guys discussing purees and I just wanted to recommend one to try...it is..."Perfect Puree" of Napa Valley...they sell a  lot of nice purees...just a heads up...

Robert

Chocolate Forum

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I heard they have a great purees, but aren't they expensive.

[mrose]

I heard they have a great purees, but aren't they expensive.

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[Desiderio]

The price is actually good , is the shipping costs that are challenging

[KKLL00b]

I've had great results using Chambord and a bit of Maury Island Raspberry Ecstasy in my truffles. I recently made friends with several beekeepers so I have an 'endless' supply of honey in exchange for a few truffles. I'm thinking of developing a recipe using very dark, 72% or higher cocoa mass chocolate with Chambord, raspberry purree, and honey to get the desired sweetness. The honey will also help keep the water activity in check and add its flavor to the mix. I've done a few experiments with 61% cocoa mass chocolate, Chambord, and honey and I've found it starts to get a bit too sweet for my tastes when I try to get the honey flavor to stand out. I think going with a less sweet chocolate will cut down on the sweetness so I will be able to add more honey. In general, I'm becoming more agressive with my use of various honeys as a "flavor" rather than just an anti-crystalizing agent. The best results so far came with a batch of "mystery" honey from a beekeeper. He just kept filling up a bucket with the remnants of his 'varietal' honeys until the bucket got full. I ended up with several pounds of the stuff and I love the complexity it adds to my ganache recipes. Now I have to recalibrate to get some of the firmness back as the ganaches are becoming too soft for my tastes. The rounds barely hold their shape even when chilled. I tried freezing, but it causes lots of leaks and cracks when I enrobe them with tempered chocolate.

[Desiderio]

Wonderfull , I use local honey as well in my confections.

You could try adding cocoa butter to your formula to improve firminess.

[ChristopherMichael]

The price is actually good , is the shipping costs that are challenging 

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Thanks for correcting me. Now I remember why I thought they were expensive. I was actually going to buy some a few months back, until they told me the shipping costs. They wanted to charge me twenty something dollars to ship two containers (if I remember correctly, it was more than the puree itself) and I live in CA where they're located. I still wouldn't mind trying some, but they need to charge less for shipping.

[Aria]

Desiderio,

I'm really interested in your use of honey. I've held off on honey ( although I personally love it ) because I wasn't sure about the safety of using honey. Hasn't there been some problems with honey causing botulism?

Wonderfull , I use local honey as well in my confections.

You could try adding cocoa butter to your formula to improve firminess.

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[Kerry Beal]

Desiderio,

I'm really interested in your use of honey. I've held off on honey ( although I personally love it ) because I wasn't sure about the safety of using honey. Hasn't there been some problems with honey causing botulism?

Wonderfull , I use local honey as well in my confections.

You could try adding cocoa butter to your formula to improve firminess.

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The concern with honey and botulism is the spores becoming activated and producing neurotoxin. If you feed honey to babies, who lack the acidity in their stomach to kill the spores then the bacteria can multiply in the gut and produce the neurotoxin that causes the disease botulism. Most cases of adult botulism relate to wound infection or to the spores becoming active in non acidic, improperly processed canned foods. I'm not sure if the risk to adults eating honey laced confections would be the same, or if there is a risk of the spores 'activating' in your damp centers. I suppose potentially there could be a risk to folks who are taking acid reducing medications such as Losec (Prilosec in the US), seems everyone is taking those these days.

I assume that the same precautions that we take to ensure that our centers have a reasonable shelf life might also protect the spores from becoming active (ie reduce available water).

[Desiderio]

I use local Honey , but for selling purpose I use Local ( lots of local productions here in COlorado ) that is been pasturized ( umm not sure is the right word ) anyway is the one you can buy in a store , usually at health stores , but the fact that we have many producers around here makes it easy to find it.I have one lady that produce honey as well an sells it , but I use it only for us .

[David J.]

Hi everyone!

Just finished all my Vday deliveries before the big snow storm hits...Kerry, I heard it's already coming down where you are! I wanted to thank mrose for his wonderful Chambord truffles recipe, I used it and it was really well received. I tweaked it a bit and the recipe is below. This got me thinking about how selflessly everyone here shares recipes, offers advise and hears vents...thanks all!

Mrose's tweaked Chambord truffles ( that really turned out well!! )

1 lb dark choc ( I used Valrhona Eq. Noir )

3 oz cream

5 oz butter

2/3 cup raspberry puree

2 tbsp Chambord liqueur

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I have to add that I believe that one can get all the benefits of a formal class right here. Between the official courses like Kerry's "Confections 101" to the short demonstrations and browsing others questions I have learned a great deal. That includes techniques, recipies, and sources for equipment and ingredients. There is a real wealth of knowledge here.

Now to tap that wealth:

How much additional butter would you add to the above recipie if you were to remove all of the cream?

I have a bag of pastry rocks and I'm looking to see if I can make a "Snap'n Raspberry" truffle. The puree and liquer might still disolve the sugar rocks, but I know that I have to get rid of all the cream if it's going to have a chance of working.

[Kerry Beal]

Hi everyone!

Just finished all my Vday deliveries before the big snow storm hits...Kerry, I heard it's already coming down where you are! I wanted to thank mrose for his wonderful Chambord truffles recipe, I used it and it was really well received. I tweaked it a bit and the recipe is below. This got me thinking about how selflessly everyone here shares recipes, offers advise and hears vents...thanks all!

Mrose's tweaked Chambord truffles ( that really turned out well!! )

1 lb dark choc ( I used Valrhona Eq. Noir )

3 oz cream

5 oz butter

2/3 cup raspberry puree

2 tbsp Chambord liqueur

←

I have to add that I believe that one can get all the benefits of a formal class right here. Between the official courses like Kerry's "Confections 101" to the short demonstrations and browsing others questions I have learned a great deal. That includes techniques, recipies, and sources for equipment and ingredients. There is a real wealth of knowledge here.

Now to tap that wealth:

How much additional butter would you add to the above recipie if you were to remove all of the cream?

I have a bag of pastry rocks and I'm looking to see if I can make a "Snap'n Raspberry" truffle. The puree and liquer might still disolve the sugar rocks, but I know that I have to get rid of all the cream if it's going to have a chance of working.

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The ganache I make for caramalized cocoa nibs and crunchy toffee type things, is just one part butter to 3 parts milk chocolate. I wouldn't add any puree or liqueur or puree if I wanted to add the pop rocks. When I want to add more fruit flavour with the pop rocks I just add smashed fruit flavoured hard candies, so for yours a nice sour raspberry candy would work.

[mrose]

The original recipe was

1# dark chocolate (I use 60%)

8 oz butter

3/4 cup puree

2 tbsp Chambord

Mark

[David J.]

The ganache I make for caramalized cocoa nibs and crunchy toffee type things, is just one part butter to 3 parts milk chocolate.  I wouldn't add any puree or liqueur or puree if I wanted to add the pop rocks.  When I want to add more fruit flavour with the pop rocks I just add smashed fruit flavoured hard candies, so for yours a nice sour raspberry candy would work.

So you've made pop-rock bon-bons or truffles? What flavors have you used? How much smashed candies do you add per batch (grams/1000g's of ganache)?

[Kerry Beal]

The ganache I make for caramalized cocoa nibs and crunchy toffee type things, is just one part butter to 3 parts milk chocolate.  I wouldn't add any puree or liqueur or puree if I wanted to add the pop rocks.  When I want to add more fruit flavour with the pop rocks I just add smashed fruit flavoured hard candies, so for yours a nice sour raspberry candy would work.

So you've made pop-rock bon-bons or truffles? What flavors have you used? How much smashed candies do you add per batch (grams/1000g's of ganache)?

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I went looking in my recipe program, but I hadn't written anything down. But for another similar recipe I added 50 grams of crystalline stuff to 300 grams of the chocolate/butter mix. I'd just play around with a tiny batch until it seems right.

[dantodd]

It should work out fine. You can often get food grade "popping sugar" or whatever it's called from soap suppliers. I like them because they are not flavored.

[2010]

Someone has asked me to make some port truffles for them. I'm wondering if it's best to just flavour the ganache with the port or to make a port gelee layer on top of the ganache (which I'd be most interested in doing.)

Does anyone have any suggestions and/or recipes? Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

Someone has asked me to make some port truffles for them. I'm wondering if it's best to just flavour the ganache with the port or to make a port gelee layer on top of the ganache (which I'd be most interested in doing.)

Does anyone have any suggestions and/or recipes? Thanks!

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You'd get a different effect adding the port to the ganache than adding it to a gelee.

I find that port, and other fortified wine, just adds an undefinable richness to ganache and kind of intensifies the chocolate flavour, without clearly being able to indentify the wine.

A gelee layer should give a clearly port tasting component.

I suspect you might find a recipe in Andrew Schott's book.

[2010]

Thanks for the info Kerry. I'll try and get a hold of his book but it's pretty slim pickin's here on the Isle of Wight (UK) for professional pastry reference material at the bookstores. Gawd I miss Chapters! Anyways, do you know how to go about making a gellee layer for truffles? I've always wanted to learn.