Thursday, April 4, 2013

Thursday Treats: Homemade Dark Chocolate Walnut Truffles

I love chocolate, especially dark chocolate! Today's Thursday Treats are inspired by a special treat my friends brought over for Easter and I decided to try it myself. This recipe is a first for me and it turned out just heavenly - take a look at my Homemade Dark Chocolate Truffles with Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur:

As with all my recipes, I've taken a recipe from one of my favorite books - in this case I took a basic truffle recipe from my go-to dessert book Chocolate & Baking - and modified it to my taste. Just a note to all who might think making homemade truffles is difficult - it is really quite simple and allows for infinite variations & modifications to suit your taste. So, dare and give it a try - the result will be delicious!

Products / Ingredients (makes 30-35 truffles)
  • 5 oz dark chocolate (I like Trader Joe's Pound Plus Dark Chocolate bar, but you can use a semi-sweet or milk variety if you prefer it less bitter)
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp Chambord black raspberry liqueur (you can substitute with your favorite liqueur or skip it altogether; the amount is not so much that you can taste it but it does give a nice flavor to the chocolate, and I love black raspberry!)
  • 1 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1/2 chopped walnuts (again, feel free to substitute with other nuts - almonds, pecans, even shredded coconut or... just skip the nuts altogether and use just cocoa for dusting)
  • cocoa for dusting
Preparation
  1. Melt the dark chocolate and butter in a double boiler, stirring continuously, until well combined and smooth
  2. Add the liqueur to the chocolate & butter mixture
  3. Remove from the heat, stir in the sugar and sour cream until smooth
  4. Leave the chocolate mixture either in the fridge for a few hours or in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes; the mixture needs to be firm enough to form and roll chocolate balls
  5. Form each truffle with the help of two teaspoons and roll it into the walnuts and cocoa: I found that the walnuts and cocoa together help with the rolling of almost-perfect balls
  6. Put the truffles into mini cupcake sleeves and let cool in the fridge
Enjoy - any time of the day! These also make wonderful hostess gifts - you can get creative with the presentation depending on the occasion and the variety of truffles you've prepared.

Have you made homemade truffles? What is your favorite chocolate-inspired recipe?

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