For Epicurious, by Anna Stockwell.
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, you’re making truffles for all your loved ones, and — wait, what? Truffles are too hard to make? Lies. These truffles may look fancy, but they’re just chocolate and heavy cream morphed together and rolled in an assortment of quick-to-make toppings. Here’s how to craft your very own batch:
USE GOOD-QUALITY CHOCOLATE
Many truffles are made with liquors and flavorings, but when we developed these truffles in the Epicurious Test Kitchen, we wanted to keep the base as simple as possible — the better to let both the flavors of the toppings and the pure chocolate shine. Since the flavor of the chocolate really does shine though, the quality of the chocolate makes a difference. If you’re ever going to splurge on fancy chocolate, this is the time.
DON’T RUSH THE CHILLING
You’ll be putting your chocolate in the freezer twice: Once to solidify the melted chocolate mixture into a solid truffle base, and again after you’ve formed the base into truffle balls. Try not to skimp on these steps, since they help make the truffles easy to roll and sturdy enough to hold their shape.
CUSTOMIZE YOUR TOPPINGS
The best part about making your own truffles is that you can choose your own toppings. Curry powder and grated coconut add spice and texture (and a wonderful yellow hue), while chopped pistachios and grated orange zest form a bittersweet crunchy crust. Vivid red with a sweet berry pucker, freeze-dried strawberries make an eye-catching truffle coating. And for the kids at heart, crushed peanuts and caramel popcorn make a sweet-salty impact that’s better than Cracker Jacks.
MAKE A RAINBOW OF TRUFFLES
We love the colorful presentation of having all four of these options together on a platter or tucked into a gift box, but you can also just pick a favorite and make the whole batch with one topping. Go ahead and explore other toppings, too: these truffles will work rolled in powdered sugar or cocoa powder, or in sesame seeds, candy, cereal or almonds. In other words: Go nuts.
Get the recipe: Two-Ingredient Truffles
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