« Recipe: Peppermint White Chocolate Truffles »
Monday, December 16, 2013 at 9:50PM Peppermint White Chocolate Truffles
Yield: approximately 60 small truffles
Ingredients
1 c cream
Approximately 3 oz finely crushed peppermint candy canes
14 oz chopped white chocolate
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
Approximately 1/2 lb white or milk chocolate, for coating truffles
Finely crushed peppermint candy canes for decorating
Instructions
Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium high heat, and bring to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let sit 2 to 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the butter, and then the crushed candy canes, until well incorporated.
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 crushed peppermint candy 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 peppermint ganache can also be whipped for a lucious frosting or filling for cookies/candies.
