« Recipe: Coconut White ChocolateTruffles »
Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 5:10PM Coconut White Chocolate Truffles
Adapted from a recipe by Elizabeth LaBau via About.com
Yield: approximately 60 small truffles
Ingredients
1 c cream
1 c finely shredded (unsweetened) coconut
14 oz chopped white chocolate
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 c powdered sugar
Approximately 1/2 lb white or milk chocolate, for coating truffles
Toasted or shredded coconut for decorating
Instructions
Place the cream and the coconut in a small saucepan over medium high heat, and bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and let sit for 30 minutes to infuse the cream with coconut flavor.
After 30 minutes, bring the cream to a boil again and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit 2 to 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
Add the room-temperature butter and whisk until incorporated.
Refrigerate (uncovered) until somewhat firm, about 1 hour.
Place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl; you will need it to dust your hands and the truffles.
Use a spoon or small melon baller to form balls of ganache; roll them between your hands to make them round. Place on a wax paper (or parchment) lined tray.
Using a fork, dip the truffles in white or milk chocolate until completely submerged; tap fork against rim of bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place coated truffles on the tray and sprinkle with toasted or untoasted coconut while chocolate is still wet.
Place the tray in the refrigerate for approximately 15 minutes to set the chocolate.
The truffles can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, and are best served at room temperature.
Notes:
Truffles are all about the chocolate: the better the quality, the better the candy. I used Valhrona white and milk chocolate, which I bought at the NY Cake in Manhattan. It was a king's ransom, but so good! Many grocery stores carry premium Scharffen Berger and Ghirardelli chocolate, which can also be used.
The white chocolate (used for the ganache) just needs to be chopped. However, if you use real chocolate for the shell, you will need to temper it. David Lebovitz has an informative write up about tempering dark chocolate here.
White and milk chocolate melt at lower temperatures, and are generally considered more challenging to temper. However, I find that is is much easier to control the temperature of the chocolate when melting a larger amount (1- 1.5 pounds).
Valhrona has very clear instructions for tempering their chocolate here. Ghirardelli's instructions are here.
The white chocolate-coconut ganache can also be whipped for a lucious frosting or filling for cookies/candies.
