There are few things I enjoy more than crafting chocolate truffles at home. they make great gifts, it makes your kitchen smell like chocolate, and nobody can ever believe that they're home-made.
There are many excellent chocolate-based confectionery procedures here on Instructables. I particularly like simplicity and ease of Scoochmaroo's Easy Truffles, the ever-updating recipes in Ian's Anatomy of a Chocolate Truffle, the artistic humor of Mousewrites' Dung Beetles, and Raving Mad Studios' Velveeta Cheese Fudge, because it's fudge with velveeta in it.
The two drawbacks of hand-rolled truffles are that you have to hand roll the centers (which can take a while and be messy), and that it's difficult to produce multi-flavored and multi-textured candies. So, if you wanted to make a peanut butter and jelly truffle that had separate layers of peanut butter and jelly, it would be quite challenging, if not impossible.
The solution to this is to produce the truffle fillings in slabbed form. Slabbed ganache is exactly what it sounds like - ganache, set into a slab. It's an easy way to make truffles that contain multiple types and flavors of filling together to produce a most interesting chocolate-consuming experience. In this instructable, I'll be showing you how to make kona coffee/marshmallow truffles, but the procedure can be used for all sorts of fillings.
The drawback to slabbed ganache is that it calls for some additional equipment, which will be covered in step 2.
There are many excellent chocolate-based confectionery procedures here on Instructables. I particularly like simplicity and ease of Scoochmaroo's Easy Truffles, the ever-updating recipes in Ian's Anatomy of a Chocolate Truffle, the artistic humor of Mousewrites' Dung Beetles, and Raving Mad Studios' Velveeta Cheese Fudge, because it's fudge with velveeta in it.
The two drawbacks of hand-rolled truffles are that you have to hand roll the centers (which can take a while and be messy), and that it's difficult to produce multi-flavored and multi-textured candies. So, if you wanted to make a peanut butter and jelly truffle that had separate layers of peanut butter and jelly, it would be quite challenging, if not impossible.
The solution to this is to produce the truffle fillings in slabbed form. Slabbed ganache is exactly what it sounds like - ganache, set into a slab. It's an easy way to make truffles that contain multiple types and flavors of filling together to produce a most interesting chocolate-consuming experience. In this instructable, I'll be showing you how to make kona coffee/marshmallow truffles, but the procedure can be used for all sorts of fillings.
The drawback to slabbed ganache is that it calls for some additional equipment, which will be covered in step 2.
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Signing UpStep 1: Background Reading
I learned how to do this (and more) from Peter Greweling's unmatchable book Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner. The method I use to make marshmallows and to temper chocolate are both from this book.
If you're starting out and want a less pricey introduction to chocolate-making, Andrew Shotts' book Making Artisan Chocolates has a fantastic selection of recipes and a nice, straightforward introduction to tempering. If you want a book that has a good number of recipes for truffles and also an explosion of other chocolate desserts (and dinners!), Jan Hedh's appropriately-titled Chocolate will not disappoint, and is only $2-3 for a used copy.
If you're starting out and want a less pricey introduction to chocolate-making, Andrew Shotts' book Making Artisan Chocolates has a fantastic selection of recipes and a nice, straightforward introduction to tempering. If you want a book that has a good number of recipes for truffles and also an explosion of other chocolate desserts (and dinners!), Jan Hedh's appropriately-titled Chocolate will not disappoint, and is only $2-3 for a used copy.
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Thanks!
And the acrylic option isn't listed as 1/4 inch, it's the 5.6 mm option. (which is pretty close to 1/4 inch).
Just wondering if you ever posted your Ponoko acrylic ganache frame designs anywhere? I haven't had much luck figuring out Ponoko just yet. Thanks!
That was awesome. I sure hope you don't mind me stealing bits of this 'ible and short cutting some areas when I incorporate it into my repetoire. :-)
I've never heard of the frames before and without following the links (which I'm sure to do after posting this) I have no idea what carmel rulers are...
... but I'm sure going to fab some up quick!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Mikey
Now I want to make a little truffle stoneheange...
but those arent truffles, truffles are be definition ballshaped ;)