Chocolate Truffles Trio / Trio de Truffes en Chocolat

I like to celebrate the month of December with flour dust on my hair and melted chocolate on my upper lips.

There has not been a single day since the beginning of the month where my oven has had a day off. There have been biscotti, meringues, coconut macaroons, breads, granola, jam cookies, dried fruits bars, a decadent brownie and some out of this world chewy chocolate chip cookies (that I’m enjoying right now with a glass of milk).
December has this baking bulimia effect on me.

I pretend some excuses just so I can wear my chocolate-stained apron, turn on the oven and start playing with the flour. I’ve already had some pretty good motives like the traditional “neighbor’s gift baskets”, the “friend’s package Friday”, the “snowy Sunday”, the “chilly Saturday”, the “grumpy Monday”, the “oh-I’m-craving-chocolate-chip-cookies-Wednesday” and the “I-like-to-eat-brownies-while-watching-TheGodfather-Thursday”.

You understand now how crucial it was to keep my oven active on December. Especially how watching The Godfather without having a square (or two) of brownies is a sin on itself.
But the most sinful act of all would have been not to bake when I know that in two days we are off to Florida to spend the holidays with my in-laws.
Traveling and family have this baking bulimia effect on me too.

I believe the only day where I didn’t have to use my oven was the day I made this fantastic chocolate truffle trio. I’ve made chocolate truffles before, but when I made these I knew the previous one were pathetic. I owe this great success to Jacques Pépin and his easy to follow recipe. The method he uses is different from the usual chocolate and heavy cream truffle method. Instead he uses chocolate, egg yolks and butter.
The recipe might seem long, but once you read it you will notice that it’s only precious advises from the chef himself to help you achieve a remarkable result.
I followed his suggestions, divided the basic truffle recipe and flavored it with praline (hope you’re reading June!), orange and coffee. If like me you don’t use alcohol in your cooking, you can always replace it by water as mentioned in the recipe. This won’t affect the texture of the truffles.

You should really try these truffles. They are luscious and very addictive.
Perfect to serve for guests, to give as a gift or just to treat your self on a chilly December.

Happy Holiday Baking everyone.

PS: Please don’t forget to make a donation to this year’s Menu for hope. There are prizes for every taste bud and it’s for a good cause. So go donate, right here.

Chocolate Truffles Trio

Recipe: adapted from here
Basic Mixture:
- 12 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 4 egg yolks
- 2/3 stick (2 2/3 oz) unsalted butter, softened
Coffee truffles:
- 1 tbsp rum (or water)
- 1 tbsp coffee extract (these are the first drops from a drip coffee maker)
Praline truffles:
- ½ cup praline
- 2 tbsp cognac (or water)
Orange truffles:
-Rind of 1 orange (about 1 ½ tsp)
1 ½ tsp Grand Marnier (or water)

To make the basic mixture, melt the chocolate in double boiler (Bain Marie) until the chocolate is melted and lukewarm. Remove from the simmering water and add the egg yolks. Stir with a whisk for a few seconds. It will probably tighten and lose its shine.
Add the butter in small pieces and whisk well. The mixture may become smooth or it may remain somewhat separated. Do not worry about it. Divide the basic mixture equally into three small bowls.
For the coffee chocolate truffles: Add the coffee extract and rum and whisk.
For the praline chocolate truffles: Add the praline and cognac and whisk.
For the orange chocolate truffles: Add the orange rind and Grand Marnier and whisk.

At this point the mixture should become smooth. If it doesn’t, add 1 tsp of hot water to each bowl and whisk until it does. It should not require more than 1 tbsp of water at most. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Get the truffles out of the fridge at least 15 minutes before starting shaping them. This way it will be easier to shape them.
- With a small spoon, divide each mixture; in its own plate, into little balls the size of extra-large olives or smaller.
Roll in the palm of your hands to smooth. Keep each flavor separate.
For the orange truffles, secure a toothpick in each ball and freeze the orange truffles for 15 minutes or until hard. Continue working with the two other flavors (that don’t need to be refrigerated before being coated)
- For the coffee chocolate truffles, roll the balls in unsweetened cocoa powder. Shake the pan so the balls roll around and get coated.
- For the praline truffles, roll the balls in roughly ground pistachios or silvered almond.
- For the orange truffles, once firm dip each one into melted chocolate. As you lift the ball out, roll it slightly on the side of the bowl to eliminate the excess. Secure the toothpicks in a piece of foam rubber or Styrofoam, or just a cardboard box so the chocolate drips along the toothpick. Let set until very hard, and then remove the toothpick.
Arrange each truffle variety in a box. They will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Serve at room temperature.

Trio de Truffes en Chocolat

In francais please: adaptée d'ici
Pour La recette de base:
- 340g chocolat noir (64%)
- 4 jaunes d’oeuf
- 70g beurre mou
Pour les truffes au café:
- 1 c.s de rhum (ou eau)
- 1 c.s d’extrait de café (ceci représente les premières gouttes de café d’une cafetière)
Pour les truffes au pralin:
- 125 ml de pralin
- 2 c.s de Cognac (ou eau)
Pour les truffes à l’orange:
- le zeste râpé d’une orange (environ 1 ½ c.c )
- 1 ½ c.s de Grand Marnier (ou eau)

Pour la recette de base, faites fondre le chocolat au bain marie. Hors du feu ajouter les jaunes d’oeuf et fouetter à l’aide d’un fouet jusqu’à ce que tout soit bien incorporé.
Ajouter le beurre coupé en petits morceaux et fouetter encore une fois. Le mélange va redevenir brillant ou rester un peu granuleux. Ne vous inquietter pas. Diviser le mélange de chocolat équitablement entre trois petits bols.
- Pour les truffes au café, ajouter l’extrait de café et le rhum au premier bol. Mélanger avec un fouet.
- Pour les truffes au pralin, ajouter le pralin et le Cognac au deuxieme bol. Mélanger avec un fouet.
- Pour les truffes à l’orange, ajouter le zeste et le Grand Marnier. Mélanger avec un fouet.

A ce stade, chaque mélange devrait redevenir brillant. Si ce n’est pas le cas ajouter 1 c.c d’eau chaude au mélange qui en a besoin. Mais pas plus d’une c.s d’eau chaude.
Couvrir chaque bol de film plastique et mettre au frais pendant 2 heures ou jusqu’a ce qu’il soit ferme.
Sortir les bols au moins 15 min avant de les travailler.
Avec une cuil a café, faire des petits tas des differents mélange de la taille d’une grosse olive ou plus petit. Mettre chaque differentes truffes (café, orange et pralin) sur leur propre assiette.
Rouler les differents truffes en boules. Mettre des cure-dents dans les truffes à l’orange et mettre au congélateur pendant 15 min ou jusqu’a ce qu’elle deviennent fermes.
Pour les truffes au café, rouler-les dans du cacao amer.
Pour les truffes au pralin, rouler-les dans des pistaches grossierement hachées ou des amandes effilées.
Pour les truffes à l’orange, tremper chaque truffe dans du chocolate fondu, et remonter les truffes en les rouler llegerement sur le bord de la casserole afin d’enlever l’exces de chocolat. Sécuriser-les sur du polystyrene ou une boite en carton afin que le chocolat coule le long des cure-dents. Laisser de côté jusqu’à ce qu’il devienne ferme et enlever les cure-dents.
Mettre les differentes truffes dans des boites et les conserver au frigo pendant des semaines. Servir à temperature ambiante.