Stacey Makes It

I started experimenting with chocolate mixtures in truffles and this is my new favorite.  And of course, since it's Valentine's Day, I had to put some hearts on them.  It's prettier to do once you dip in white chocolate, but really you can dip these truffles in any type of chocolate.  I did. :)  I dipped them in milk, white, and dark.  Dark and milk are my favorites, but I have to say white chocolate is the prettiest. Stacey's 2:1 Dark / Milk Heart Truffle Ingredients: 16 oz 64% Guittard dark chocolate couverture 8 oz 38% Guittard milk chocolate couverture 11.2 oz heavy cream, organic 3 oz glucose 1.5 oz (3 tbs) unsalted butter, organic, softened White 31% / milk 38% Guittard chocolate couverture for dipping The thing I love most about these truffle recipes is that you can make the whole thing only using a microwave. First I measured out all the chocolate in my 4qt pyrex mixing bowl and then put the cream and glucose in a 16 oz pyrex measuring cup. ...

It's that time of year again.  The time of year that people like to eat extra chocolate that isn't Easter or Christmas.  So I thought I'd put together some boxes again to sell to my mom's wonderful friends and my awesome co-workers so that I can keep deducting my ingredients from my taxes. Stacey's 2012 Mid-February (for those who hate Valentine's Day) Chocolate Boxes: Strawberry white chocolate hearts with crispies and milk chocolate bottoms Dark Chocolate Hearts with Candied Almonds Chocolate Bars:  Strawberry White Chocolate with Crispies White Chocolate with Dark Chocolate Drizzle Dark Chocolate with Candied Almonds Kahlua Truffles Two Ways: Dipped in Dark Chocolate with a White/Milk Chocolate Drizzle Rolled in Chocolate Sprinkles and Organic Turbinado Sugar And lastly, my pièce de résistance... The Walnut Meltaway in Milk Chocolate - this is my latest invention of which I am so proud.  I ate one of these and I swear I was transcended t...

I love mint chocolates.  :) Stacey's Dark Chocolate Créme de Menthe Truffle Ingredients: 8 oz cream, organic 2.5 oz glucose syrup 20 oz El Rey 61% dark chocolate couverture 2.5 tbs butter, organic 1 oz Créme de Menthe   liqueur Chocolate Flake Chopped El Rey white chocolate couverture Chopped Guittard mint chocolate chips I made these pretty much the same way as  my other truffles , but I hand stirred instead of using the immersion blender with whisk attachment.  I decided to make these a little bit more interesting to look at so I rolled them in chocolate flake and chopped white and mint chocolates.  Nummy...

I had some cream I needed to use, so what better fate could it end up with than as part of a delicious truffle? :) Stacey's Dark Chocolate Chambord Truffle Ingredients: 8 oz cream, organic 2.5 oz glucose syrup 20 oz El Rey 61% dark chocolate couverture 2.5 tbs butter, organic 1 oz Chambord liqueur Chocolate Flake Turbinado Sugar, organic I made these pretty much the same way as my other truffles , but I hand stirred instead of using the immersion blender with whisk attachment.  And, I gave them the same treatment as my Scharffen-Berger Chocolate Truffles . I'm not as big of a fan of the El Rey dark chocolate - I think Guittard has richer flavors, but the El Rey behaves well, and is just fine in truffle form.  

In case anyone was curious, I performed an experiment.  And failed... or succeeded since now I know what happens?  Anyway, I learned that you cannot use defrosted heavy cream to make truffles.  While making the truffles, the cream seemed a little separate-y after I boiled it, but the end result truffle mixture looked as beautiful and glossy as ever when I placed the plastic wrap on top to let it set last night.  Unfortunately, when I tried to roll them this morning, I ended up with this: There are tiny little spheres in the mixture.  At first I thought somehow the sugar from the chocolate had crystallized, and that maybe it would taste grainy.  But, strangely enough, these little spheres tasted like chocolate, and they melted in my mouth. The mixture tasted exactly as I had expected (I was making Maker's Mark Whiskey truffles), but the texture was just all off and too soft to be rolled. It actually is an interesting texture and would probably make for a ...

I made these a while ago, but I'm just getting around to posting the recipe now.  If you remember my Spring Boxes , they were in there. Stacey's Blueberry Cream Truffle Ingredients  5 oz cream Lemon zest from 1 lemon 2 oz glucose 34 oz white chocolate 4 oz lemon juice 1.2 oz freeze dried blueberries, powdered (1 bag tj's) Guittard 64% dark chocolate toasted chopped almonds These are made just like the Lemon Cream Truffles , but I ground up freeze dried blueberries with my mortar and pestle (like in the Strawberry Cream Crunchies recipe), and added that in with the truffle mixture at the same time as the cream and lemon juice. Once the truffles had set the next day, I used my   1-1/8" scooper   to scoop out truffle balls.   Then I rolled these in the palms of my hands until they were smooth. I prepared little piles of toasted almonds which I sliced. I tempered dark chocolate and then used my spiral dipping utensil  to dip the truffle ball...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  It's amazing, even though work has been crazy, I was able to dedicate a bit of time to making my second St. Patty's Day treat.  In addition to the Bailey's truffles, I opted for Guinness truffles. I'd been wanting to make these two truffles for St. Patrick's Day for a couple years now, and this is the first time I actually achieved my goal. Stacey's Guinness Truffle Ingredients : 6.5 oz heavy cream, organic 2 oz glucose 3 oz Guinness Draught 5 oz Guittard 38% milk chocolate couverture 25 oz Guittard 64% dark chocolate couverture 1 oz (2 tbs) butter, salted, organic (softened, not melted) For rolling and dipping : Cacao Nibs (maybe 1 cup?) 2.7 oz Guittard 38% milk chocolate couverture 1.5-2 lbs (~32 oz) Guittard 64% dark chocolate couverture Baking sheet lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper I always start tempering the chocolate first, because that takes the longest.  I put the milk and dark chocolate in my Py...

Wow... there were a LOT of pictures for this post.  I hope you enjoy them. :) I haven't made slabbed chocolate truffles in a while, but I thought I'd try again in honor of St. Patty's Day.  When I used to do this commercially, I'd use a 12x12" frame, but this time I'm making a smaller batch and using my 10x10" cake pan. Stacey's Bailey's Irish Cream Truffle Ingredients : 6.25 oz heavy cream, organic 3 oz glucose 30 oz Guittard 38% milk chocolate couverture 3 oz Bailey's Irish Cream Pyrex measuring cup Pyrex mixing bowl Parchment paper 10x10" cake pan Scraper  Dipping fork Additional Guittard 38% milk chocolate couverture for slabbing and dipping (maybe 2 lbs?) First I measured out my chocolate and started putting it in the microwave at 30 second intervals to temper it. While my chocolate was heating, I measured out my cream and added the glucose to it. I thought it looked really neat on the bottom so I took a picture. ...