Truffle Truffle’s Wasabi Truffle
February 8, 2011 12:02PM
Freshly dipped wasabi truffles set up on foil in confectioner Nicole Greene's Skokie workspace. (John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
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Updated: March 22, 2011 2:32PM
MAKES ABOUT 45 TRUFFLES
3/4 cup heavy cream 1 pound high-quality white chocolate, broken into small pieces 1½ teaspoons wasabi powder, combined with just enough water to form a thick paste “Candy melts” or white chocolate couverture, for coating (see Note)
Swirl cream around to release some excess heat. Add white chocolate, and swirl again to ensure that all chocolate pieces are wet with some cream.
Cover pot with a secure lid and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes to allow carryover heat from cream to melt chocolate. (Over-agitating ganache at this stage can cause it to become grainy.)
With rubber spatula, gently stir cream and chocolate together, starting from center of pot, until you have achieved a uniform, smooth and creamy texture.
If you still have chocolate chunks, flash pot over flame of burner a few times and stir gently to melt. Repeat enough times to melt remaining chunks, applying heat in small increments. Do not put pot directly back on flame. If you don’t have a gas stove, warm the chocolate over a hot water bath to melt any lingering pieces. (See sidebar for fixing “broken ganache.”)
Pour ganache into flat-bottom container or tray (a plastic food storage container works nicely) and let sit at cool room temperature 5 to 6 hours, or overnight.
With mini-ice cream scoop or melon baller, scoop out even portions of ganache. Chill for about 1 hour, then roll ganache segments into compact balls.
Coat or dip balls twice in candy melts (melted according to package directions), or tempered white chocolate (if you are familiar with the process of tempering).
Note: Find candy melts at craft stores. Greene uses couverture chocolate (which has added cocoa butter for increased viscosity), which you can find online and in some gourmet supermarkets.
Nicole Greene, truffle truffle
Nutrition facts per truffle: 82 calories, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 3 mg cholesterol, 8 g carbohydrates, 8 g sugars, 1 g protein, 13 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
