General Truffle Troubleshooting

[Samaki]

Thanks for trying! Maybe I'll try using jam next time and see how that goes.

[FistFullaRoux]

How long does it take before they start leaking? If it's a day or more, the berries may be mascerating in the chocolate and giving off their liquid.

If that is the case, you may want to consider covering the centers with a thin layer of something waterproof. I'm thinking an edible wax. If it is a thin coat, plus covered in chocolate, I don't think there would be a texture difference, and though the wax adds nothing to the taste, it's better than oozing candies. But you would still be left with a liquidy center encapsulated in your chocolate. It someone tries to bite one in half, it's down the front of their shirt.

Either that or try straining the puree, so you are only left with the juice. Then reduce the juice and use that to flavor the center or find an extract that you like. Or you can pre mascerate the berries. Toss fresh cut berries with a little sugar, place then in a strainer in the fridge overnight, then collect the runoff. Reduce that to make your flavor base.

Edited December 12, 2003 by FistFullaRoux (log)

[Samaki]

I do reduce the berries - all the way down so that they're more like a paste. And the leakage starts within minutes of the chocolate setting. It really is a puzzle. I'm not sure wax is the answer for me, but thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate it.

[FistFullaRoux]

I'm suggesting that you reduce just the juice, not the pureed berry pulp and seeds. Something tells me that the fruit itself is somehow interfering with the process. Even though it is a reduced puree, there is some kind of chemistry that isn't happening correctly.

Have you tried adding gelatin or pectin in addition to cooking down the puree? It may be enough to stabilize the fruit component so it will not liquify. The sucess that others have had using a jam may be the key here.

And the wax was kind of tounge in cheek. The commercial guys do that all the time. Your stuff looks fantastic, though. Nice site.

[Rhea_S]

Samaki's chocolates are truly terrific although I've only had the caramels.

[Samaki]

Hi Rhea!

Aaah, now I understand. Next time I'll remove the pulp. Hopefully, that will solve my problem.

P.S. I'm so glac you didn't really mean that about the wax

[FistFullaRoux]

P.S. I'm so glac you didn't really mean that about the wax

I had a rather unpleasant dream last night about biting into a beautiful piece of chocolate and hitting an eyeball. The idea of containing a semi gelled sustance in wax and covering it....

Still gives me the willies.

[stscam]

'Round these parts of Montana some folks like to put paraffin in their chocolate bon-bons. Seriously. Don't know why the wax. Maybe it mimics a tempered finish. Anyways, I thought paraffin was for surfing and canning.

[cbarre02]

Samaki,

If your truffles are leaking from the upper half of the truffle (which I don't know if they are or not), It may be because of the high water content of the ganache. After the initial dipping the chocolate on the upper most point may not be very thick, because the ganache is too slippery. When couverture sets it shrinks, and if their is a part of the shell that is thinner that the rest it will crack first. This would allow the ganache to escape form the truffle; because at it comes to room temp it expands. So you have two laws of science that could be working against you.

You may want to try dipping at a lower temperature so that the chocolate will set a bit faster, at least for these specific ones.

[bfujimoto]

Just throwing more advice your way: I just finished making over 200 raspberry truffles, with no leakage. I use pure, unsweetened, concentrated raspberry juice for my truffles. Take 1 quart of raspberry juice and reduce it down to 1 cup. Good luck.

[jango]

Samaki's chocolates are truly terrific although I've only had the caramels.

Indeed. They are the best I have ever had, bar none.

When you combine the precision of a scientist (which she is) with culinary wizardry and invention, the result is very special.

[Samaki]

Many many thanks for the additional advice. I've got to dip more centers this week. I'll try a lower temperature and see how that works (yes they do leak from the top!). If that doesn't fix things, I'll try pure juice for the next batch.

Hi Jango

[FistFullaRoux]

Good luck, and please let us know how it comes out...

[stscam]

I just finished making over 200 raspberry truffles, with no leakage.  I use pure, unsweetened, concentrated raspberry juice for my truffles.  Take 1 quart of raspberry juice and reduce it down to 1 cup.

What's your ratio of chocolate, cream and the juice when you make the truffles? Do you add a little invert sugar or glucose?

[bfujimoto]

For approximately 100 truffles I use the following proportions: 1 lb. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 stick butter, and 1/2 cup liquid flavoring (i.e., the concentrated, unsweetened raspberry juice). I don't add any sugar or glucose--the chocolate is already sweet enough.

[nightscotsman]

Adding invert sugar (Trimoline) will help to maintain a good emulsion, which is important when you have a lot of water content (from the raspberry juice and cream) in a ganache. Having a good, stable emulsion will help keep the liquid bound to the fat and prevent weeping. The Trimoline will add some sweetness, but you can counterbalance by using a slightly darker chocolate with less sugar.

I would add a bit of Trimoline when you pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir with a spatula to emulsify the cream and chocolate, then when the mixture reaches 36º C, use a hand blender to mix in the softened butter until the mixture completely smooth and glossy.

[Samaki]

OK, here are the results so far. I finished up my last batch of truffles made with reduced puree just before Christmas. I chilled them before dipping, and it definitely made a difference, though I still had some leakage. For my next batch I'll try switching to juice. Looking at bfujimoto's formula, I noted that I'm also using quite a bit more cream. I wonder if that's also contributing to my problems? I do add a bit of glucose, but I'm also using 70% chocolate, so it can take it without becoming too sweet.

As an aside, the last batch I dipped half by hand and half with a dipping fork. The ones that leaked by hand leaked from the top, and the fork dipped ones that leaked did so from the bottom.

[Sebastian]

I'm giving my first shot at making truffles, have a few questions. I'm adding 1/2 cup heavy cream to 1/2lb chocolate and 4 tbsp butter. After a few hours in the fridge, it's solid enough to roll into balls, but they're very, very soft at room temperature - to the point where they don't hold their shape on their own, much less when you pick them up.

I've got a second attempt in the fridge now, omitting all the butter and cutting back slightly on the cream - i've not had a chance to eval it yet, but my guess is that it's still going to be very, very soft.

Are trufffles meant to be consumed cold, straight out of the 'fridge, or at room temp? I can see it both ways - the downside of eating cold is that it'll inhibit flavor release, but your shelf life is much better. Room temp will have better flavor release, but you can't keep them that way for very long (by the way, how long would one expect to keep cream truffles at room temperature anyway?).

Look forward to your thoughts and expertise!

[jgarner53]

My instinct tells me that the softer fillings (that is, soft at room temp) are the ones that get coated in chocolate. When you bite into a chocolate covered truffle, the filling is usually dense, but softish and fudgy in texture.

For them to be relatively solid at room temp, I imagine you'd need to cut back pretty far on the cream, so the ganache is stiffer. I assume you'll be coating them in cocoa powder?

I have a good friend who used to make loads of truffles for his fabulous parties. I'll try to get his recipe. They were always wonderful, though still on the softer side when room temp so you'd be licking your fingers (or someone else's! ) to get the remnants and cocoa powder off . So they weren't "melt in your mouth not in your hand" firm, to borrow a slogan, but they didn't pool into a sticky mass on the plate either.

I'm also not a chocolate expert, so feel free to ignore everything I've just said.

[chefette]

This should get you started:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=43489&st=0& - entry611698

Samakai:

QUOTE (bloviatrix @ Feb 2 2004, 10:32 AM)

Truffles are made using ganache.

Yes, but they're not necessarily the same thing. For example, I add butter to my truffles, many chocolatiers also throw in a bit of alcohol, and sugar syrup. While you certainly can make ganache with these things in it as well, the basic, and what was likely used on those cookie bars, is just chocolate and cream. I was just trying to help out, not knowing what sort of truffle recipe the original poster might have used.

Phaelon, ganache can be very soft or very firm. It just depends on how much chocolate you add. If it's not firm enough, add more next time.

Another possibility - was the cheesecake filling baked? If so they may have simply dumped a bunch of chopped chocolate on top of it when it came out of the oven and spread it into an even layer after it melted. I've got a brownie recipe that uses this trick, and the chocolate winds up reasonably soft and pliable once it cools down.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=72&t=17520&

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=72&t=24392&

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=25795

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=28694&st=0& - entry452687

[Ganache8]

Truffles are best at room temperature for texture and flavour. The ganache can take 24 hours to "crystalize"--firm up some more. Truffles can last in cool conditions up to 14 days but I've been told you'll be able to tell if they've gone off. Best to freeze (for longer storage) in well-sealed container & warm up slowly in the container to prevent off-flavor absorption and condensation. Have you checked on your ganaches to see if they have firmed up? Best of luck!

[David J.]

I'm new here and new to chocolate work, but my question seems to be an old one.

I am attempting the milk chocolate version of the "Classic Chocolate Truffle" recipie from "Truffles, Candies & Confections Techniques and Recipes". Carole Bloom specifies 1lb of milk chocolate and one cup of heavy cream for the centers. I followed the directions and ended up with goo even after a couple days in the freezer. I tried rolling one semi-stiff lump into a ball but it just melted back down. I know letting these return to room temperature would result in a puddle.

Could this be a missprint? I just looked at the same recipe in "The Art of Chocolate" and Elaine Gonzalez suggests 12 oz of chocolate to a half cup of cream which would be a good bit stiffer. What's more she includes a note that various brands of chocolate require differing amounts of cream. I'm using "Peter's Heritage Alpine Milk".

So next time I know to use less cream. The question:

Can I remelt this stuff and add more chocolate, or should I attempt my first molded chocolates and use it for filling? I have a couple hobby molds I could use, and I do have the advantage of a birthday gift of a Revolation2 to help with the tempering.

[Wendy DeBord]

I'd hand dip them in chocolate myself, just because typically the hobby type molds aren't very deep. And it's not alot of fun to have to reuse the mold over and over: temper, fill, finish, set-up, empty, re-polish, start again.......well maybe you do have several?

Hopefully Elaine will see this post and help you out. She's a regular member here when she's not traveling. Plus she's an expert on Peter's brand of chocolate.

To other questions you raised:

Yes, different brands of chocolate need/take different amounts of cream and different types of chocolate (semi-sweet verses milk verse white) also require different amounts.

An easy yet challenging way to firm up a truffle/ganche that's too soft is to beat it/whip it in your mixer. Incorporating air will definately stiffen up the ganche, no other adjustments need to be made. BUT you must do this with caution and work quickly.....because once you stop whipping it, it sets up very firm very quickly. The addition of air also gives it a different dimension. It will melt in your mouth differently........like air verses smooth and creamy.

Also, Carol Blooms proportions seem off, I agree. But that's still a very nice candy book.

[Trishiad]

I do use the pound to a cup ratio for some molded chocolates (with various other additions for flavor) but wouldn't try that for palettes. I have found that milk chocolate does generally make a gooey ganache and I like to blend it with dark chocolate to give it a bit more body. Butter will also give more body. You could make a ganache out of butter and chocolate without the cream and you'll get a firmer, more sliceable product.

Whipping makes a great texture but will shorten your shelf life so make 'em tasty so they get eaten quickly. I would whip up some nice butter and fold in the gooey ganache. You'll have to play with the proportions to suit your chocolate and your taste. If all else fails or you're just over this particular bowl of ganache, warm it and pour it over a bowl of ice cream or warm it and add some warm milk and marshmallows.

[misstenacity]

Thanks for the whipping/stiffening suggestions. I've got some gooey ganache that I've been freezing solid into balls and then very very quickly coating with coverture (messily, as this is my first attempt at *that*) before they melt. Once its all "sealed", they are nice and soft when you bite into them, but definitely not what I was after....

Andrea

http://tenacity.net