at Sun, 28 Dec 2003 05:46:28 GMT in <15606-3FEE6E34-111@storefull-
3173.bay.webtv.net>, (Patrick Porter) wrote :

>I made a batch of truffles using a simple ganache method, and they
>turned out well. It was equal parts Dove chocolate and heavy whipping
>cream and a couple of tablespoons unsalted butter. I heated the cream to
>boling, added the chocolate, turned off the heat, allowed to sit then
>stirred to combine. I left it out unrefrigerated overnight and in the
>morning the ganache was thick, smooth, really delicious.
>
>One small issue: the ganache was almost too thin to form into truffles.
>I refrigerated it and it stiffened up nicely so I could make the
>truffles and toss them into cocoa---but they get soft very easily and
>must be refrigerated (even in the freezer) until use.

Really, your ganache is indeed too thin for classic truffles: your ratio
(1:1) is a frosting/filling ganache, useful for cakes and pies. Truffle
ganache is, classically, 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream. This sets up
firmly even at room temperature, and the truffles hold their shape. Do
yourself a favour and use a better chocolate, though : try Guittard or
Callebaut or Valrhona or Michel Cluizel. A bittersweet chocolate at 70%
cocoa solids is also more intense than a sweet dark chocolate like Dove.

>The truffles are really light and melty, superior to my old method, but
>may be hard to send to family in the mail, for example.

What was your old method, for reference? To make truffle ganache, I grate
my chocolate so that it incorporates smoothly. Broken or chopped chocolate
rarely goes as well because the bigger chunks have more difficulty melting,
especially when the proportion of cream is small.

Which Ghirardelli chocolate did you try? If it was chocolate chips, it's
hardly surprising they came out poorly, because chocolate chips have a low
cocoa butter content - too low for good chocolate. The "bittersweet
chocolate for baking and eating" from Ghirardelli, OTOH, works well.

--
Alex Rast

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