Chocolate and Raspberry Truffles: SHF 27 Chocolate By Brand

Sometimes I am finicky, so much so that I drive people like the Figman mad. And at others, I am slapdash, which leads to incidents like this. I don't often enter foodblogging events these days but when I saw that David Lebovitz was hosting Sugar High Friday 27 and that the theme was Chocolate By Brand, I grinned as I could easily hang onto my planned post about the Chocolate and Raspberry Truffles I'd made for Christmas and again after a visit to the local raspberry farm. And on the weekend, I flicked onto the page of instructions, caught the phrase 26 January in bold type and closed down the screen again. Without reading the not-so-fine-print. Which would have pointed out that the closing date was actually 22 January. Humph.


So I may have to beg or cajole David (I draw the line at bribery!) but here is my favourite truffle recipe of the last year and also the easiest.

Chocolate and Raspberry Truffles

Adapated from Gourmet Traveller December 2006

Ingredients

450 g raspberries
250 ml pouring cream
50 ml Framboise
600 g chocolate
Cocoa for dusting

Combine 250g of the raspberries, cream and Framboise in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat.

Cool slightly then force through a sieve.

Rinse saucepan to remove raspberry seeds and return mixture to it and bring to boil again.

Chop chocolate unless you are using callets or buttons. Melt the chocolate slightly in the microwave (medium low power for about 2 minutes but check constantly after 1 minute). Add the chocolate to the cream mixture. If the chocolate and cream are not sufficiently melded together at this point, heat very slightly over low flame.

Mix by hand and pour half of the mixture into a paper-lined 20 x 30 cm tray. Dot mixture with remaining raspberries. Add other half of chocolate mixture and smooth top, cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.

Remove from tray with paper attached. Dust slab of truffles with cocoa on top and bottom and tap to remove excess. Slice with warm knife.


For this recipe I used Callebaut 53.8% chocolate callets. This tends to be the everyday cooking chocolate in my cupboard, because I can buy it in bulk at a reasonable price (to get bulk Valrhona here I'd have to commit to 20 kilos!). I have to admit that I did contemplate pretending that I'd used our local couverture Kennedy and Wilson. It would be more exotic, more interesting, more local. But here's the rub: I don't like the taste of it much. I've tried. I've bought their couverture in bulk for cooking and use in chocolate making, I've eaten a range of their moulded chocolates, and while I admire their enterprise and spirit, I just don't like the taste of their chocolate. Which is a real shame. (However the Yarra Valley Ice Cream made with it is the best chocolate ice cream I've had in my life.)

So, as in my blog, you're getting mostly the unvarnished truth. I used the common, round the block, undistinguished workhorse of the chocolate world. But you know what? These taste really really good! And the slicing method is so much simpler than piping or rolling or scooping truffles. It also allows the pretty piece of raspberry to shine through. (I increased the amount of raspberries by 50% from the original recipe as when I ate a truffle without a raspberry in it, I felt well ripped off!)

I did use Green & Black's cocoa for dusting. Their chocolate also leaves me cold, but their cocoa is so delicious I could eat it by the powdery spoonful! From the photos you can see that I could have been more exact with my cutting. Constant reheating of the knife would definitely have helped presentation but you know what, I am slapdash. In chocolate as in life.