How to Make Truffles Dipped in White Chocolate

Chocolate truffles are chocolate mixed with cream and butter and formed into a rough sphere. They were traditionally dusted in cocoa powder. Their imperfect shape and dusted coating made them look like the fungi called truffles, which is how candy truffles got their name. Truffles can also be dipped in melted chocolate that hardens into a shell. Any chocolate can be used, including white chocolate. White chocolate couverture is the most stable and easiest form to work with. It's available as a bar or as round, quarter-sized chips.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 medium heat-resistant bowls; one should be able to rest on top of a pot with at least a 2-inch clearance between the bottoms of the bowl and the pot
• 1 medium pot
• 8 oz. finely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Flavoring, such as 2 tablespoons liqueur (optional)
• Small scoop, melon baller or rounded teaspoon
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• Plastic wrap
• 8 oz. white chocolate couverture
• Dipping fork
• Paper truffle cups (optional)

1. Place the chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate in a heat-resistant bowl.

2. Combine the butter and cream in the pot and heat them together until boiling.

3. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and leave the chocolate alone for about 2 minutes.

4. Use a wooden spoon or heat-resistant spatula to stir the cream into the chocolate, starting from the center of the bowl and slowly circling out. Stir until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps of chocolate.

5. If you are using flavoring, stir it in thoroughly.

6. Refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour until it firms up.

7. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and remove your chocolate mixture from the fridge.

8. Use your small scoop to make bite-sized balls and set the balls on the cookie sheet. It's all right if the truffles aren't perfectly round, since they traditionally are misshapen just like their fungus namesake, but you can round them out by hand after scooping them all if you wish. Use your clean, bare hands or wear powder-free, food-safe gloves.

9. Cover the truffles with plastic wrap and let them firm up in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

10. While the truffles are firming, place the white chocolate into the heat-proof bowl. Fill the pot with an inch of water and bring the water to a simmer over low heat.

11. Place the bowl over the top of the pot and melt the white chocolate. The bottom of the bowl should be 1 inch over the top of the simmering water.

12. Stir the mixture often and watch carefully to make sure your water doesn't come to a boil and stays only at a simmer; white chocolate burns easily and should be melted only over low heat.

13. Remove the white chocolate from the heat but keep the pot of water simmering in case your couverture starts to stiffen up and you have to reheat it.

14. Use your dipping fork to dip the truffles into the white chocolate and to roll the truffles around to coat them.

15. Set the dipped truffles into paper truffle cups or back onto the parchment-covered cookie sheet and allow the couverture to harden for about an hour.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have white chocolate courverture, use the best-quality white chocolate you can find and melt it slowly and carefully in a bowl over just-simmering water, stirring constantly, as directed above. Add spices, chopped nuts or dried fruits, fruit jam, espresso powder, or flavored extracts or oils to your melted truffle mixture for flavoring if you don't want to use liqueur but still want to add flavor. Experiment with add-ins that suit your taste. You can roll the dipped truffles in chopped nuts, sprinkles, shredded coconut or other toppings for added texture, flavor and decoration. Store truffles in a cool, dry place or in an airtight container in the fridge.

Resources

• History of the chocolate truffle

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.