Dilettante's Royal Chocolate Truffle (Ganache)

Pour whipping cream into a heavy pot and bring it just to a boil.

Remove from heat at once and cool to 120°.

Chop the chocolate very fine and melt in a double boiler to 120°.

Add the chocolate to the cooled cream (not the cream to the chocolate) and stir until the mixture is smooth (this is pretty scary-looking at first, but mixture does smooth out with stirring).

Scrape the batch onto a cookie sheet, spreading it evenly.

Refrigerate the ganache for half an hour or until firm.

Remove from the refrigerator and form into small ball shapes with a melon-ball scoop.

Put the balls onto a sheet of waxed paper.

Each time you have formed a half-dozen or so, roll them in cocoa powder.

Arrange them on plate, and refrigerate again.

If the ganache gets too warm to hold its shape well, refrigerate it briefly to make it firm.

Refrigerate until 15 min. before serving.

Add as much as 1/4 cup of your favorite liqueur at the end of step 3 (after the melted chocolate has been completely incorporated into the cream) to create your own variations. Finish as in the master formula.

Use any flavoring extract or oil that appeals to you — even a few drops more of vanilla, if you wish (but don't forget that the couverture chocolate is probably already flavored with vanilla). Both almond and peppermint go well with dark chocolate. Add the flavorings a little at a time at the end of step 3, tasting carefully as you go.

For a good orange flavor, add 1 large tblesp. of frozen orange juice concentrate, undiluted, at the end of step 3.

Divide the batch at the end of step 3, and stir in different flavorings for each portion, then finish as in the master recipe.

If you want to give a fluffy texture to the basic Royal Chocolate Truffle, take the mixture out of the refrigerator just before it is set (step 5). Scrape it into the chilled bowl of an electric mixer and whip it with a rotary beater until it is fully aerated. Chill thoroughly.

When you're ready to form the fluffy ganache into ball-shaped pieces, work a small portion at a time, keeping the remainder refrigerated. Don't roll in cocoa.

When the entire batch is finished, freeze until solid.

Then dip (in white chocolate, if the flavor contrast appeals to you) to keep the air trapped inside the filling.

When this coating is set, let truffles warm up to room temperature, then dip again for a nicer finish.

Instructions