CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -
A box of chocolates is nice, but spending the time making your own may really show your sweetie you care this Valentine's Day.
The staff at Petite Philippe in Charlotte shared this recipe for Raspberry-Chipotle Truffles on WBTV News Sunday Morning:
Raspberry-Chipotle Truffles
7 oz best quality milk chocolate*
9 oz best quality dark (58 - 65%) chocolate*
2 oz clarified butter/ghee
7 oz heavy cream
4 oz seedless raspberry jam
1.5 - 2 whole chipotle peppers plus 1+ tsp adobo (more or less to taste) **
cocoa powder or raspberry powder, for dusting finished truffles
- Place clarified butter and chocolates in heatproof bowl.
- Puree jam, chipotle and adobo in a blender until smooth. Pour into a saucepan with the heavy cream and heat to scald. **Taste cream mixture at this stage to see if it has enough heat/smokiness. Note that it will be stronger in cream form than after it's blended into the chocolates.
- Pour hot cream mixture over chocolates and let sit for 30 seconds. Starting at center of bowl, stir rapidly in small circles until a glossy emulsion forms. Continue stirring, expanding circles larger until entire mixture is fully incorporated and has become a shiny, glossy ganache. (You may also use an immersion blender to process; be sure to ‘burp' it first and keep the blades fully submerged so that no air is incorporated.)
- Let ganache stand at room temp for an hour or two until it is firm enough to scoop or pipe into balls. After piping, allow truffles to set a bit longer to firm up. Gently and briefly roll the truffles in your hands to smooth into balls and heat the outside chocolate, then quickly roll in cocoa powder or raspberry powder. Place powdered truffles in a sieve to shake off excess cocoa powder. Enjoy!
*Where to buy special ingredients:
*Best quality chocolates: Sur la Table carries E. Guittard, Scharffen Berger and Valrhona brands. Williams-Sonoma carries E. Guittard. Grocers carry Guittard 60% chocolate chips. You can find ghee/clarified butter at the grocery store; regular butter contains water and will not produce the same results.
**Chipotles in adobo sauce can be found in the International/Mexican food section of grocery stores. Amounts used are ‘to taste.' Best to start with a smaller amount and taste the cream, jam and chipotle mixture before blending into chocolates. You can add more pepper or adobo at this stage, if you like. Puree the pepper, if you add more, and bring back to scalding temps before pouring over chocolate.
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