Wine Tasting and Chocolate Truffles

We were invited to a wine tasting on Friday night. It was a trip through French and Californian Pinot Noir's - our host said he was serving the best in the world. They were very tasty. We started with a 1998 and finished with a 2005. My husband has a list but it's not here so I won't tell you the exact wines. It was a fun party. We even got to bring home a bit of wine.

Everyone was requested to bring an appetizer of sorts. Many people brought cheeses and that sort of thing. I was addicted to the Champagne Cheddar. We decided to make chocolate truffles! What an experience. Very messy. But lots of fun! We started on Wednesday evening by making the chocolate, and we rolled the truffle balls on Friday afternoon. Please enjoy the recipe and the pictures...

1/2 lb semisweet chocolate
1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder

• Coarsely chop both chocolates and set aside.
  
• Heat the cream and instant coffee in a large saucepan, stirring to blend. When bubbles start to form along the edge of the pan, remove from heat. Scatter the chocolate over the cream, stirring gently until melted. Set aside for 8-10 minutes.
• Add the liqueur and vanilla. Stir gently, just until evenly blended. Scrape the chocolate into a shallow bowl. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 1 week.
  
• Take chocolate out of the refrigerator a few hours before you plan on making the truffle balls. (We didn't do this and had to figure out how to get the chocolate to room temperature quickly. A difficult task! But it is much easier to make balls with warmer chocolate).
• Using a teaspoon or melon baller, scoop up enough chocolate to make balls approximately 1-inch in diameter. Place balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
  
• Roll the balls in cocoa, shaking off excess, and transfer to wax paper until ready. Best when served at room temperature.

We made some truffles in simply cocoa powder, some in a mixture of cinnamon and cocoa powder and some in a mixture of cayenne pepper and cocoa powder. All were very good but the spicy ones had quite a kick! My favorite were the cinnamon.


MMM, chocolate tastes yummy!