Chocolate Cameo

Today I got to deliver the Bridal shower cake I've been working on. It's a version of a cake I've previously made, the difference is size and colors. Before I made the small oval cake (not smallest, just small). But this one was the largest oval, to feed 70. And instead of my coconut pecan with cream cheese frosting we went Chocolate. And not a little chocolate, a LOT chocolate. My kind of cake. Chocolate Sour Cream layers, with Chocolate cream cheese mousse filling, Dark Chocolate butter cream with Chocolate Ganache (basically truffle, before you let it set... SO rich)! SOOOO good. Then the red flowers really added a nice touch. My husband said he liked this one WAY better. I was surprised at a few glitches I encountered during this cake. I usually make the bride cameo out of color flow (pre-made out of sugar, dries shiny and hard), but after a week of drying here in Houston and they (I made 3 just in case) we're dried and when I peeled off the parchment paper the dresses, necks and arms broke on every one. I even tried leaving the parchment paper on the last one and just cutting around it, but one I picked it up it just shattered! So... With not much time to go I went for it and did the cameo right on the cake. The challenge with anything you do right on the cake is of course messing up... And with this type of decorating, and outline and then a thinner poured filling to create a smooth picture, a mistake is un-fixable. Of course I did fine... Next time I try color flow I'll give myself at least 2 weeks, probably 3.

Also, Look what I just made myself! How cute am I? I once saw a bumper magnet that said "Slow, flowers". And thought I should do something similar myself. Lucky for me I did it... Even with my sign, and going 10 under the speed limit I still had a few scary moments. I think that would be the worst. To get the cake just perfect and then have something happen during delivery. But we made it and everyone was pleased.

Valentines Truffles

For a Valentines party I attended I made the Oreo Balls from December. But instead of rolling them in sugar I rolled them in Red melted chocolate and then in crushed candy canes.

Caramel Dark Chocolate Truffle

So this was my second recipe for the month. I made it about 2 mins after I finished the first batch. This one was a bit more involved, but still super easy. And who doesn't like Caramel and Chocolate? I bought some Fleur De Sel last week for a Caramel cheesecake I'm hoping to try soon, so I had everything on hand.

Caramel Dark Chocolate

makes about 30

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

2/3 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon Fleur De Sel

Melt chocolate in double boiler, stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water.
Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon Fleur De Sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.
Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Chill overnight.
Optional: Line 13x9x2-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 12 ounces chocolate in Double Boiler. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional Fleur De Sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

I was disappointed that there wasn't a stronger Caramel taste, in fact I don't think there was one at ALL. Knowing that Caramel went INTO the truffle I really tried to taste it, but to no avail. And no one else who tried it could taste it either. And these truffles were much softer/squishier than the other batch. So I'm wondering if I should have left it on low for longer, hoping that it the Caramel mixture would thicken up a bit and become more flavorful. I'm willing to try again at the hopes that it will. Also I didn't bother with the last/optional step. I didn't want the two truffles to get confused so I rolled these in Christmas colored extra large sprinkles. I have to say I LOVED the crunch. In hindsight the crunch would have been better with the other truffles and the cocoa would have been better with these. Next time... Also as an aside. I won't bother with melting the chocolate, I'll chop the chocolate up more and use the "rest for 5 mins" trick that the last recipe used.

Dark Chocolate Truffles

So this month Duff's ABC and I chose to learn how to make Truffles. I started my experimenting by reading about truffles. The kind most people feel safe making is with a cream cheese base, but the classic truffle (that you spend lots of money for at a store) is a ganache base. Here was one description I thought said it well. "Chocolate and small amounts of liquids do not mix well - the chocolate clumps up in what is called seizing. However, when a substantial amount of liquid is added to the chocolate, we can make chocolate syrup. A ganache is simply a syrup of chocolate and cream that does not contain enough cream to be liquid at room temperature. Once this mixture cools, it will form a hard ganache that can be molded into shapes." It turns out that the ganache is really quite easy, but now I know why they cost SO much. It takes lots of chocolate, and we know how expensive lots of good chocolate can be. I tried 2 recipes and liked them both, but neither one was FANTASTIC. I'll keep looking.

Dark chocolate truffles
makes 40-50 depending on size of balls

1 pound (455 g) of dark chocolate, a flavor you enjoy

1 cup (235 mL) heavy whipping cream

Cut the chocolate into pieces. Pour all the pieces into a medium heat proof bowl.
Bring the cup of heavy whipping cream just to a boil. (This is called scalding)
Pour the scalded heavy cream onto the chocolate and allow it to sit for five minutes
Stir the now melted chocolate with the cream. Stir until the chocolate melts and the ganache is smooth.
Let the ganache cool down and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator to harden. Using a melon baller or small ice cream scoop (such as a #70), scoop out balls of hard ganache and roll each ganache ball in the cocoa powder to coat.

It really could not have been simpler. I did a half batch and it turned out just fine. Actually the shaping of the balls was much more time consuming than making the ganache! And much messier too. I tried using a melon baller, but the ganache didn't come out very well. In the end I used a spoon, and shaped them with my hands, quickly. they weren't perfect balls, but I guess they looked homemade! They were nice and dense. And tasted just like the Dove Dark Chocolate bars I used in Truffle form! I think I'll use a different dark chocolate that's less creamy next time to see if I like it better. Or maybe add a bit of flavoring... Or roll in crushed Candy Cane (I love this time of year)