Truffles

Origin: Chocolate truffles were first created in France in the late 19th century, most likely by Louis Dufour in 1895.

During the holiday season, he decided to make his own confections instead of buying them and rolled ganache (a mixture of chocolate and cream) into small balls, coating them in cocoa powder.

Their irregular, earthy look reminded people of the rare black truffles of the French Périgord region—hence the name.

These no-bake chocolate truffles are the edible equivalent of a well-kept secret—soft, dark, and impossible to forget. Impossible. Just pure, decadent honesty shaped into bite-sized truths.

Ingredients

“These are not desserts. These are confessions wrapped in chocolate.”

8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate – finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons Amaretto

1 teaspoon chai masala (optional)

1 teaspoon almond extract

Unsweetened cocoa powder to coat

How The Alchemy Happens

In a small, heavy saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer (stir and scrape down the sides with a spatula every few minutes).

If you are using liquid flavorings, stir them in with the cream (and ignore the vanilla in the next step).

If adding mint or other solids for flavor, remove the cream from heat, add the flavor solids, and let steep for an hour. Then strain away the solids, and return the cream to a simmer. Proceed with the recipe.

Warm the cream gently in the pan, preparing it for the truffle mixture.