Sometimes dessert can be a big problem. You have just eaten a delicious appetizer, followed by a fantastic main course. And now you are filled up. To eat a dessert feels unthinkable. Nevertheless, your taste buds crave for something sweet for the coffee.
But the thought of eating a creme brulee makes you feel like Mr. Creosote in that infamous Monthy Phyton sketch from the movie The meaning of life.
For those who don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, Mr. Creosote is a grotesquely fat, rude and unsavory character whose stomach explodes when he, after some persuasion, eats a mint wafer after a meal with obscene amounts of food.
The sketch is easy to find on you tube for those who haven’t seen it. However, I want to warn squeamish people. It’s extremely disgusting.
Unfortunately, the dessert is often suffering from being the last meal. Sometimes you tell yourself that you are going to save some space, but you usually fail. The stomach simply can not handle more.
Except for maybe a small piece of chocolate truffles. Just one. The last taste explosion at the end of a perfect dinner.
This chocolate truffle is flavored with ginger and lime juice that adds freshness to the soft, buttery chocolate flavor. A perfect combination.
As usual, when it comes to food, the choice of raw materials is important. This recipe is no exception. Don’t buy the cheapest chocolate you can find. But the most expensive variety don’t have to be the best choice either. A good advice is to buy chocolate that you know you love. If you do not like the chocolate, you will not like the truffle, no matter how exclusive it is.
When it comes to the choice of fat, cream and butter is the obvious choice. If you are thinking of using margarine instead of butter, then forget about it. Remember what Anthony Bourdain said in Kitchen Confidential. Margarine is not food for humans.
As a sweetener, you can, of course, use regular sugar. But I think that is boring. Try honey instead. Or Muscovado sugar. Is there any need for a sweetener you may ask. That depends on two things. Your personal taste and how much cocoa the chocolate contains. If you use chocolate with a high cocoa content, I recommend that you add at least a small amount of sweetener. Otherwise, you risk getting a pretty bitter truffle.
In most recipes, it says that you should roll the truffles in cocoa. That is a good coating (and the easiest to do). But in this recipe, I will take it one step further by dipping some of the truffles in milk chocolate. It gives a nice contrast between the soft, creamy truffles and the somewhat crispy surface.
Truffles are maybe the perfect dessert. It doesn’t matter how filled up you are. There is always room for small truffles (except for Mr. Creosote). A truffle made of high-quality chocolate offers a variety of intense flavors that few other desserts can match. You can store them in the refrigerator and just take out as many as you need. And if you think one is not enough for a dessert, you can always take two.
Truffles with ginger and lime
Ingredients
- 5 oz dark chocolate
- 1 oz fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon muscovado sugar
- 1 3/4 oz butter
- 9 oz milk chocholate
Instructions
- Chop the chocolate and put it in a bowl.
- Peel and slice the ginger.
- Add ginger, lime juice , and honey to the cream and bring it to boil. remove the ginger.
- Pour the mixture over the chocolate and stir to form a smooth truffle.
- Cut the butter into cubes and stir them into the batter. Stir until the truffle is smooth again.
- Let it cool for 3-4 hours.
- Pipe the batter into the desired size. You can also use two teaspoons dipped in hot water. You can also use your hands if you coat them lightly with some flavorless oil.
- Place them somewhere cool.
- Melt the milk chocolate. Dip the truffles into the melted chocolate, or just roll them in cocoa. Place them somewhere cool.
4 Comments
The truffles sound amazing. My brother is a professional chocolatier so I’m had some delicious truffles in my time. My own attempts have been sort of sad but I’m willing to try making some again after seeing these. (I wish I could reach through the monitor and snag a dozen or so.)
Well, I don’t think these truffles can compete with your brothers, but I do like the taste of them. They are worth trying.
Looks delicious!
Just I wonder if the cream would curdle after adding lime juice?
I’m glad you liked it, Madhuri.
No, the cream did not curdle. I used heavy cream and I suppose the fat content was enough to prevent that. But I’m glad you asked because I realized that the recipe says cream, and that can be misleading. I have corrected that.
Many thanks.