Deconstructed Chocolate Truffles – The Language of Love

How is cooking like writing poetry? It is, in the end, all a process of alchemy. To make Chocolate Truffles or pen a verse, we begin with a bit of this and a bit of that. Soon, the happy affinity of one bit for another transforms the whole into a new creation. What we end up with is often quite delicious and so much more than the sum of its parts.

Love Languages

I have been a writer all my life. Even before I could write, I would crawl into my father’s lap with paper and pen in hand. There I asked him to write down the words that came to my mind, to help me construct the stories I wanted to tell.

Cooking came close on it’s heels. As a little girl I would go to Aunt Hen’s house to “help” with the cooking and baking. I would stand on a stool and stir pots or ask if we could bake cookies for holidays or school projects.

Both began as efforts engaged in with those I held dear. Together we gathered the things we needed to create something new. We enjoyed the shared effort and the process of discovery whatever the outcome.

Poetry in the Kitchen

Maya Angelou, in an interview about her newest book Great Food, All Day Long, describes how writing and cooking are much the same:

“Yes, cooking is like writing poetry… You want the best ingredients. When you’re writing a poem, you hope to have a good vocabulary, and to choose the nouns and pronouns and verbs carefully. The way you put them together will determine how they affect another person. And it’s really because you’ve been careful in the choice of your ingredients and respectful of how they work together. That’s true of all the efforts in life.”

I like that! It is, in the end, all a process of alchemy. We take a bit of this and a bit of that. With heat and pressure, the happy affinity of one bit for another transforms those elements into a new creation. What we end up with is often much more than the sum of its parts.

The Romance of Chocolate Truffles

A case in point:  Chocolate Truffles. Take a little wholesome cream, a few ounces of bittersweet chocolate, a pinch of exotic spice or delicate zest. Apply heat gently, stir… and wait.

In time you will arrange a setting from which to construct your Chocolate Truffles. By candlelight you will scoop the firmed ganache with a spoon and roll it in a cloak of cocoa powder. Then you may dip it in white chocolate or embellish it with spices. Even as you roll it the heat of your fingertips will soften the chocolate of your truffle and on your tongue it will melt irresistibly to a luscious softness that is enormously more expressive than a sip of cream or a nibble of dark chocolate alone. This is more than merely a flavor. It is poetry to the tongue; romance in every bite.

So, why not write your Valentine a love letter in chocolate. For inspiration read Love Letters: An Anthology of Passion or How to Write Love Letters, both by Michelle Lovric. Collect the nouns, pronouns and verbs; then translate to sugar and spice, chocolate and cream. In this way you establish the base and palette for these truffles. Then read them together as you create your own unique confection.

There is a writer in every one of us on Valentine’s Day!

Other Ideas for Valentine’s Day:

• Use your words! Write your own love verses or borrow words of love from famous authors. Pen them on a scrap of parchment-like paper in your best handwriting and tuck them into a Homemade Fortune Cookie.
• Spread your truffle base between round store-bought crackers for a contrast of tastes and textures. Refrigerate until firm. Dip in chocolate or butterscotch coating in a variation on Golden Treasure Cookies. Yum!
• Make Sugar Cookies shaped like hearts or flowers. Use your own personal artistic vision to decorate with Royal Icing.
• Meringue Cookies are simple (only 7 ingredients), inexpensive and perfect for Valentines Day. Sweet and airy yet luscious with just a taste of chocolate and nuts. These are a light expression of homemade love. You can even make them heart-shaped if you like.
• Share the ultimate Brownie, made with olive oil and infused with the flavor and goodness of almonds, walnuts and blood orange.
• A Pancake dinner – Swedish Pancakes or a Dutch Baby, drizzled with lemon juice and dusted with powdered sugar make a delicious and romantic dinner. Watch Stranger Than Fiction, a quirky and surprisingly good romantic comedy!

Deconstructed Chocolate Truffles

Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Chilling Time

2

hours 

Total time

2

hours 

30

minutes

First dip the dark ganache from its bowl, then roll it in a cloak of cocoa powder and embellish it with spices. This expression of love is poetry to the tongue; romance in every bite.

Ingredients

• Chocolate Truffle Base:

• 1 1/2 cups cream

• 1 lb dark (70% cocoa solids) chocolate, broken into small bits

• 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

• Zest of one clementine orange

• pinch of sea salt

• splash of brandy

• White Chocolate Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup cream

• 5.5 ounces white chocolate

• a few drops of vanilla

• Additions:

• nuts, chopped

• chocolate nibs

• cocoa powder

• ancho or chipotle chile powder

• course colored sugar or sprinkles

• etc.

• biscotti, gingersnaps or shortbread cookies

Directions

• To Make the Chocolate Truffle Base:
• In a medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, gently warm the 1 1/2 cups cream, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles form around the edges. It should be hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and add the butter and the orange zest, stirring until combined.
• Place the dark chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl. Pour the hot cream mixture over the broken chocolate pieces, whisking gently until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add a small pinch of salt and stir in a splash of brandy.
• Pour the chocolate mixture into a pretty dish. Place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or until set. Garnish the top with a Chocolate Filigree Heart, if desired.
• To Make a White Chocolate Dipping Sauce:
• Repeat the process as described above using the 1/2 cup of cream and being extra gentle and watchful as you warm (because it is such a small amount it could burn easily).
• Place the white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Pour the hot cream over the top, whisking gently as above. When the mixture is smooth whisk in a few drops of vanilla, if desired, or the seeds of a vanilla bean, if you have one. (The mixture will be thin by comparison to the truffle base, a good consistency for dipping.)
• When the mixture is smooth, pour it into a small serving dish and refrigerate. When chilled through, garnish with a Chocolate Filigree Heart if desired.
• To Assemble with Additions:
• About half an hour before you are ready to serve, remove the pretty bowls of dark chocolate and white chocolate from the refrigerator and place them on a tray. Arrange small dishes of cocoa powder, nuts, toffee bits, decorative sugar or whatever you like around the chocolate dish, for dipping. I added ancho chili powder and cocoa nibs. You could add crushed toffee or Butterfinger bits. Decorative sugar or crushed hard candies are pretty. Be creative.
  
• To Serve Deconstructed Chocolate Truffles:
• Fill a teacup or small dish with steaming hot water. Place spoons in water (I used long handled iced tea spoons). Set out another tray of biscotti, ginger snaps or butter cookies. Gather guests around the table and let them spoon out their own truffles and roll them in cocoa powder, nuts, toffee bits, dip them into the white chocolate, or whatever you like. Or smear the truffle mixture on cookies.
• Serve with chilled champagne, sparkling water, dessert wine or coffee.
• Other types of chocolate can be used for the truffles too. If using milk chocolate reduce the amount of cream in the truffle base to 1 cup. For white chocolate truffles reduce the amount of cream to 3/4 cup.

Notes

• Recipe Source: Amazing DIY Chocolate Truffles at JamieOliver.com