 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Patti Roth; Bacchanalia White Chocolate Christmas Truffles 2 C dates, pitted and chopped 1/2 C dried apricots, finely chopped 1/2 C dried cranberries, finely chopped 2 C almonds, toasted and finely chopped zest of 1 orange, finely chopped 1/2 t cinnamon 1/4 t nutmeg 1/4 t allspice 1/4 C honey 2 pounds white chocolate 2 C chopped toasted almonds In a bowl combine fruit with nuts. In a separate bowl combine spices, zest and honey. Combine the honey mixture with the fruit mixture. This will have to be done with your hands. The mixture will be sticky, so dust your hands with cornstarch. Roll the mixture into balls about the size of a marble. Dust your hands with cornstarch as necessary. Place the balls in a single layer on a parchment lined sheet pan. Wrap and allow to sit over night. They can sit like this for up to a week. Allowing them to sit will make the outsides less sticky and easier to work with and will allow the flavor of the truffle to develop. To finish the truffles, you will need to temper the white chocolate. Make sure you have a good quality white chocolate. Do not try to use baking chocolate (chips). If the chocolate comes in blocks, you will have to chop it into small pieces. A serrated knife works best. Place 2/3 of the chocolate in a metal bowl. Bring some water to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and set the chocolate over it. Stirring often, melt the chocolate and raise the temperature to between 113 degrees and 122 degrees. Remove the chocolate from the water bath and add 1/3 of the reserved chocolate pieces. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Add a few more of the chocolate pieces at a time until the chocolate is cool. It should be between 78 and 82 degrees. Different brands of chocolate temper at different temperatures.. To test the chocolate and see if it is tempered, dip a small piece of parchment paper in it. Tempered chocolate should cool quickly and snap. If it dries in a few minutes, it is ready. If it is not tempered, continue to stir the chocolate while it cools and test it again in a few minutes. If the chocolate is too thick to work with, place it back on the water bath briefly stirring constantly. You should not let the temperature on white chocolate rise above 86 degrees. Dip the truffles into the white chocolate. Pick them up with your index finger and your middle finger. Wipe off any excess chocolate on the side of the bowl. Working quickly, drop the truffles into the chopped nuts a few at a time and roll them. It helps at this point to have someone help you. Have one person dip and the other roll. Allow the truffles to dry on a parchment lined sheet tray. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
