Chocolate rum truffles by Veronika
Cuisine: European
Author: Maria Kalenska
Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 45 mins


Ingredients
  • 260 g dark chocolate, at least 60% cocoa
  • 215 ml double cream
  • seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 50 g sugar
  • 10-15 g butter
  • 30 ml rum
  • 50 g cocoa powder
Cooking method
  1. Break the chocolate into chunks and place in a bowl. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthways. Scrape out the seeds from each half with a knife. Pour cream into a saucepan, add sugar, vanilla bean and seeds or vanilla paste. Bring to boil over low heat. Remove from heat, discard the vanilla bean, and pour the cream into a bowl of chocolate. Blend until smooth and shiny.
  2. Take the temperature of the mixture with a cooking thermometer. When the mixture has cooled to 40-50°C, add butter, rum, and blend until smooth. Cover the ganache with foil and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes until it cools and forms a workable paste.
  3. Put the ganache into a pastry bag with a nozzle. Pipe little mounds on a silicone mat in circles about diameter of 2.5-3 cm. Put in the refrigerator for 3-4 minutes. Roll into balls with your hands. Refrigerate for 4-5 minutes. Dip each truffle in cocoa. Store the truffles in a closed container in the refrigerator up to 15 days.
My tips and tricks
In all the famous culinary schools around the world, chefs and pastry chefs are taught in different faculties. And it’s no coincidence. The first law of the pastry chef says: strictly follow the recipe. Therefore, when 116g butter is indicated in the recipe, you need to put exactly 116g, not a gram more, not a gram less. In my recipe, nothing can be changed, except for the very last stage, where you can give free rein to your imagination and, instead of cocoa, dip truffles in crushed nuts, coconut, icing sugar, caramel, or chocolate. To do this, melt black, milk, or white chocolate in a bain-marie to 45-50°C, stirring constantly so that it heats up evenly, put on disposable gloves, dip each truffle in the melted chocolate, put it on a silicone mat and leave to set.

Maria Kalenska Gastronomy Blog | http://www.myodessacuisine.com/recipes/chocolate-rum-truffles-by-veronika/