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Sour Cherry and Dark Chocolate Truffles
Sour Cherry and Dark Chocolate Truffles
"My mothers day bakes always end up being the messiest undertakings of the year... I wonder why that is?? This was an especially fun bake for me today, well not really a bake because there was no baking involved, but still. The sour cherries I used in these truffles were grown on my own Cherry tree last summer and had been awaiting a dessert to champion in! Finally, these little beauties get their time in the spotlight! They really do make this dessert something else."
Notes#1 My number 1 recommendation for this recipe... splurge on some really good chocolate! Seriously, the chocolate makes this recipe, buy cheap stuff and you'll end up with cheap tasting truffles. (I used Nestle Plaistowe 75% dark chocolate.
#2 On that note, if you're not a huge fan of super dark chocolate, you can opt for a lower 45% or 40% dark chocolate, but I would recommend steering clear of milk or white chocolate for this recipe as it will end up very sweet.
#3 Let your truffles set at room temperature. It will take a little longer than sticking it in the fridge, but if you set the chocolate in the fridge it will sweat when you bring it out to serve it.
#4 I made these on a very cold day and things still got super sticky and messy! If your ganache becomes too soft to work with, simply return it to the fridge for a little while and then give it another crack. I made these on a very cold day, and even in the short time I was rolling the truffles, they melted enough that the texture of the surface was... spikey? I know that's a weird description, but you'll see what I mean. Don't stress about this! You won't even notice it once they're covered in cocoa powder.
Serves20 Large Truffles (40 Small)
Preparation Time2 min
Chilling Time2 min
Ingredients
- 400 grams 75% Dark Chocolate (chopped)
- 1 cup thickened cream
- 250 grams Punnet of sour cherries (pitted)
- 1 cup cocoa powder (to dust)
Instruction
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Finely chop 400g dark chocolate and set aside.
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Place 1 cup of cream into a small saucepan, place over a medium heat and stir gently until the cream comes to a simmer.
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Remove cream from heat and tip in chopped dark chocolate. Stir once to ensure all the chocolate in submerged in the hot cream. Let sit for 3 - 4 minutes.
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Whisk chocolate and cream mixture vigorously until it comes together into a thick glossy ganache. Set in the fridge to solidify for 2 - 3 hours.
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Set up your bench space with a section of baking paper to set your rolled truffles on and a separate sheet of baking paper to work upon and retrieve your ganache from the fridge.
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Using a 2tsp capacity cookie scoop, scoop up the ganache, level it by scraping a knife across the top and drop the ganache on your baking paper.
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Fatten your ganache ball with the palm of your hand and place a cherry in the centre.
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(This next step will depend on how large your cherries are. I was using very small cherries from my own tree, however, store bought ones may be larger.)
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If your cherry is small enough, gently wrap the ganache around the cherry, roll into a ball and set it on your baking tray. Should you be using larger cherries than I was, flatten a second scoop of ganache, place it over the top of your cherry (your cherry should now be sandwiched between to rounds of ganache.) Gently bring the two rounds together around the cherry, roll into a ball and place on your baking tray. Repeat until all ganache has been used.
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Sift 1/2 cup of cocoa powder into a shallow bowl and roll each truffle through it until completely coated in cocao.
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Shake off any excess cocoa powder and set aside. Repeat until all truffles are coated.
