Pumpkin Pie Truffles

[KKLL00b]

I was helping a friend develop a "pumpkin pie" pastry cream for a special project he was working on and it turned out quite tasty. We had about half the can of pumpkin pie mix left so I decided to make some pumpkin pie truffles.

I used E. Guittard white chocolate (31%) with heavy cream and pumpkin pie filling and it turned out way too sweet for my taste so I added some sour cream to tone the sweetness down. Even after a few hours of setting a room temperature (72 F), the texture was still much to soft to work with. It still tasted very sweet with very little pumpkin pie flavor. I decided to let the ganache set in the refrigerator overnight to see what happened. The next day I went back to the kitchen to enrobe my Chambord and Kona coffee truffles and checked the pumpkin pie ganache. The ganache developed a much better pumpkin pie flavor and set enough to form some rounds, but softened very quickly at room temperature. I placed all of the rounds in the freezer for about an hour and brought them out a dozen or so at a time to enrobe in dark chocolate.

I was going to enrobe the pumpkin pie truffles with white chocolate, but the ganache was already much too sweet for my taste so I used the same dark chocolate that I used to enrobe my Chambord and Kona coffee truffles.

The truffles well received by all so I think I'll keep them in my recipe collection for other pumpkin-friendly events. I may try using creme fraiche next time.

Here's the recipe I used:

16 ounces E. Guittard white chocolate

6 ounces pumpkin pie filling

2 ounces heavy cream

4 ounces sour cream

1 ounce unsalted butter

Chop the white chocolate and place in mixing bowl

Bring filling, heavy cream, and sour cream to a simmer

Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and let it rest for a few minutes

Stir until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture is uniformly combined.

Stir in butter until well-combined.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator.

[Desiderio]

I think there is too much liquid /wet element in that formula , thats why they were hard to work . The white chocolate should be more like 3:1 ratio with all that wettness.I would try a dark chocolate next time , a nice flavor one , not too strong and not over 60%, if you didn like the sweetness that may be better .

Good idea , too bad I dont like pumpkin pie ,I do like pumpkin bread though.

You can try to dry the pumkin pure in a skillet at low heat ,to get some the extra water out.

Edited November 24, 2006 by Desiderio (log)

[Kerry Beal]

How about some cocoa butter in place of some of the white chocolate, better setting, less sweet?

[mrose]

I also decided to try add a pumpkin truffle as a seasonal item. I used milk chocolate for the ganache so it wouldn't be too sweet.

9 oz milk chocolate

6 tbsp heavy cream

3 tbsp canned pumpkin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

let setup overnight in frig.

Covered in milk chocolate.

I might try dark cover next time which I like so much better (you could use dark couverture for my taste). Might be the Chocovic Ocumare dark chocolate which is just terrific dark chocolate.

I like the idea of cream fraiche, I don't always plan that far ahead to have it ready to use. I think it would improve the taste.

It was a bit soft for truffles but working in small batches & keeping it cool it wasn't too bad.

I also make truffle logs which are a 2.5" triangle either 6 or 12" long. In it I added a layer of a white chocolate cream cheese ganache to make a pumpkin cheescake log. I like the combination of flavors these logs offer.

Has anyone tried anyother seasonal flavors in truffles? I also tried an eggnog truffle.

Edited November 25, 2006 by mrose (log)

[chefmoni]

Hi! I am actually trying a pumpkin truffle this week, so thanks for the recipe. eggnog truffles are also on the list (so I'd love your recipe ). already made gingerbread, and roasted pear this week.

gingerbread:

16oz white chocolate

4 oz heavy cream

2 oz molasses

1/2 t ginger

1/4 t cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

pin h cloves

pear:

roast 2 pears 450degrees with olive oil, cool, puree to get 8 oz

8oz puree

8 oz heavy cream

2 oz corn syrup

1/2 vanilla bean

steep for 30 minutes

16 oz 54% or 62% chocolate

2 oz butter, soft

salt

I also decided to try add a pumpkin truffle as a seasonal item. I used milk chocolate for the ganache so it wouldn't be too sweet.

9 oz milk chocolate

6 tbsp heavy cream

3 tbsp canned pumpkin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

let setup overnight in frig.

Covered in milk chocolate.

I might try dark cover next time which I like so much better (you could use dark couverture for my taste). Might be the Chocovic Ocumare dark chocolate which is just terrific dark chocolate.

I like the idea of cream fraiche, I don't always plan that far ahead to have it ready to use. I think it would improve the taste.

It was a bit soft for truffles but working in small batches & keeping it cool it wasn't too bad.

I also make truffle logs which are a 2.5" triangle either 6 or 12" long. In it I added a layer of a white chocolate cream cheese ganache to make a pumpkin cheescake log. I like the combination of flavors these logs offer.

Has anyone tried anyother seasonal flavors in truffles? I also tried an eggnog truffle.

←

[Desiderio]

Thank you for posting you recipes guys

[chefmoni]

my pleasure!! and i'd love to hear your seasonal specialities, too....

[mrose]

Egg Nog Truffle

2 oz Commerical Eggnog

2 oz glucose

18 oz white chocolate

pinch nutmeg

1 vanilla bean (1 tsp ground vanilla)

steep vanilla bean in eggnog & glucose

combine with white chocolate

let sit till sets up or overnight

cover in dark chocolate

[chefmoni]

thanks!! i was debating whether to use commercial eggnog or just heavy cream infused with all of the spices...but everything i've seen so far uses eggnog. can't wait to try it (perhaps tonight??)

Egg Nog Truffle

2 oz Commerical Eggnog

2 oz glucose

18 oz white chocolate

pinch nutmeg

1 vanilla bean (1 tsp ground vanilla)

steep vanilla bean in eggnog & glucose

combine with white chocolate

let sit till sets up or overnight

cover in dark chocolate

←

[mrose]

red, white & blue nonparelles look good on top

[Joni]

where do you purchase glucose?

[mrose]

You can use light corn syrup.

[Desiderio]

Oh Oh Oh , egg nog truffle my my, thank youuuu, you guys are dangerous

[Desiderio]

where do you purchase glucose?

←

I use light corn syrup also when I dont have glucose, it works fine .You might find glucose at your local hobby store , in the cake decorating section , also wal mart has it sometimes I think in the same section.usually they carry Wilton.

[chefmoni]

i made pumpkin ganache (for molded chocolates not truffles) tonight but found that the ganache (while completely emulsified) is slightly grainy -- i'm assuming due to the fibrous nature of pumpkin. if i used less pumpkin, the flavor would just not be there...but the ganache just isnt' right. i did heat the pumpkin with the cream, then strained it over the chocolate (45%), burmixed and then incorporated butter in. it also just wasn't nice and shiny, as ganache should be. any ideas?

[mrose]

Maybe you have to puree the pumpkin before you incorporate that in the cream and then strain. I used canned pumpkin since this is already done.. The ganache I made was smooth. The recipe I posted was for a truffle so a bit less cream was used so truffles would retain their shape. Original recipe would have added 1 cup cream.

[chefmoni]

i actually used different ratios than your truffle bc i decided to do a ganache for chocolate molds (i had already made too many truffles). i, too, used canned pumpkin and ther was really no need to burmix the heated hc/pumpkin mix before straining over the choc.

anyhow, i let my ganache set up overnight and then i fixed it this morning. added more cream, more glucose and more butter. seems a much better consistency now, so i'll just have to wait and see. i also just remembered that, since i'm using 45%, it will naturally result in a more "gooey" ganache......

[tammylc]

Egg Nog Truffle

2 oz Commerical Eggnog

2 oz glucose

18 oz white chocolate

pinch nutmeg

1 vanilla bean (1 tsp ground vanilla)

steep vanilla bean in eggnog & glucose

combine with white chocolate

let sit till sets up or overnight

cover in dark chocolate

←

mrose, or anybody else - please tell me about the glucose in this recipe. Is it there for preservation, or for flavor, or texture? I'd think the white chocolate would be really sweet already. I just want to understand the proportions a bit before I attempt a test batch. How's the flavor? It seems like there's not much eggnog - does it contribute much to the taste, or is that mostly coming from the vanilla bean and the nutmeg?

Thanks!

[mrose]

Tami

I wanted to be able to make hand formed truffles. Too much liquid would cause the truffles to pancake. You could probably increase eggnog to 3oz which would give a little stronger flavor. The recipe posted has a good eggnog flavor. You could also keep the eggnog at 2oz and add 1oz of rum to enhance the taste. The glucose will make the truffles a bit smoother,also increases shelf life a bit.

Mark

[tammylc]

Tami

I wanted to be able to make hand formed truffles. Too much liquid would cause the truffles to pancake. You could probably increase eggnog to 3oz which would give a little stronger flavor. The recipe posted has a good eggnog flavor. You could also keep the eggnog at 2oz and add 1oz of rum to enhance the taste. The glucose will make the truffles a bit smoother,also increases shelf life a bit.

Mark

←

Thanks. I'm making hand formed truffles as well, so I appreciate the concern for workability. I was just surprised by the ratio of so little liquid - usually I see 3:1 or maybe 4:1 ratios for white chocolate. But clearly I just need to do a sample batch and figure it out from there. Thanks!

[mostlylana]

'Tis the season for Pumpkin Ganache so I thought I would give it a try. I'm concerned about shelf life...

Those of you who have made it before, what was the shelf life like? Greweling has a Caramelized Pumpkin ganache recipe that I think would have better keeping qualities. Has anyone made his recipe or one similar?

What do you think about the shelf life of pumpkin ganache? Do you think the caramelized pumpkin ganache would keep better?

Thanks!

[RWood]

I made the pumpkin caramel ganache last week. I like it actually. I used milk chocolate for the ganache, and molded in dark chocolate. I just used pumpkin pie spice instead of making my own.

The pumpkin flavor is there, but subtle, and it's not too sweet.

Here is a picture of them. It was taken with my iphone, so it's a little fuzzy.

[tammylc]

I've made the Grewling pumpkin pie truffles the last couple of years, and they have been very popular. I've not done any serious shelf life testing on them, but they've certainly lasted for the 3-week shelf life I give my truffles.

[mostlylana]

Fabulous looking pumpkin truffles RWood! Thanks for the feedback on the flavour. And thanks for your comments tammylc. It's good to know they're popular and I'm so glad they'll last more than a few days (in terms of shelf life!).

I want to do a slabbed ganache so I'm going to play with the recipe a little. I'll let you know how it goes.

[tammylc]

You'll definitely need to play with it for slabbing - it's a very soft ganache. At the right temperature for piping it's still quite runny. I think you'd want to up the pumpkin pie spice amount a little bit to counter the additional milk fat in the milk chocolate. Good luck!