Showing posts with label Butter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Butter. Show all posts
Ways To Create Delicious Chocolate Truffles
You should not be daunted by the idea of making chocolate truffles because it is not as hard as you thought. You don't have to be a major dessert chef or even a great cook in order to produce some really great truffles. If you are able to melt the chocolate without burning it, then you are all set! Still unsure? Then read on for more tips on how to make absolutely wonderful chocolate truffles that you will fall in love with and tastes far more superior to those store-bought ones.
Before setting out to make chocolate truffles, the first things you need to do is to stock up on the essential ingredients. The most important one is of course, the chocolate. I'd recommend dark baking chocolate that has high cocoa content of 70% and above. We want high cocoa content because only chocolates with high cocoa content are of better quality, richer and has more anti-oxidants that are also good for you. But if you don't really like the slight bitter taste of dark chocolate, you can also choose to get milk chocolate with a lower cocoa content.
Next, you should have on hand other ingredients you would want to be included in your truffles. Some people like almond nibs, crushed roasted peanuts, raisins, dried fruits and other nuts. So, have on hand whatever nuts or fruits you would like to add to your truffles. You can also get some colorful chocolate rice or other decorative items for your truffles.
The very first thing to do is to break or chop the chocolate into smaller pieces. The put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Add in butter and then place the bowl over a simmering pan of water. Be careful to ensure the bottom of the bowl do not touch the boiling water. Using a wooden spoon, stir the chocolate butter mixture until it is thoroughly melted. If you like cheese, you can also get some cream cheese on hand so that you can add it in later.
When the chocolate butter mixture is melted into soft, silky brown liquid, remove it from the pan and leave aside to cool down. You can then add the cream cheese, the nuts, dried fruits or whatever you want to add to your truffles. Use a mixer to blend it all together until it is all well combined. You want to make sure that the whole mixture are evenly combined so that there won't be concentrations of nuts or chocolate or clumps of cream cheese. Lastly, you just pour the thick mixture onto a pan and leave it to cool for awhile. If it is very thick, use an ice cream scoop or a spoon to form small balls out of it. Dip the chocolate balls on the chocolate rice or some cocoa powder. Then put the balls on wax-paper lined trays. Place the trays of chocolate truffles in the fridge to firm up and there you have it, you very own delicious chocolate truffles!
Many chocolate truffles you buy in stores are manufactured in factories and most of them are loaded with sugar so they aren't really good for you and are extremely high calorie. Some store-bought chocolate truffles do not contain enough cocoa to give you the benefits of consuming anti-oxidant rich cocoa. If you love eating chocolates, then you should always look at the option of enjoying those that are also good for you instead of those that are high in calorie, high in sugar with zero benefits. For healthier, tastier chocolate experience, then make your very own chocolate truffles.
About the Author:
Breanna thinks combining honey and chocolate are great for cakes and loves these chocolate cake recipes. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.
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Tips for Making Homemade Chocolates
First, you have to get ready all the materials and ingredients you will be using. The two most important happen to be the chocolate and the mold both which can be purchased at the craft store.
Chocolate comes in many flavors. Some examples of these are bitter sweet, milk, dark, semi-sweet, sweet and white. These are often sold in blocks if you don’t have the time to convert these from cocoa beans. As for your molds, make sure that these are made from FDA approved food grade plastic.
You will also need sugar as this is a basic ingredient in most chocolates recipes. When you buy this from grocery, make sure that this does not have any trace of flour, salt or other kitchen ingredients.
Another important ingredient is unsalted butter. This is because the kind that contains salt is hard to ascertain and there are instances where it could spoil the taste of your dish. You must never substitute butter with margarine if you don’t have any because this will just make the cooking time longer as the water content here is much higher than that of butter.
There are three ways to liquefy chocolate before shaping this to its final form. You can heat this using the microwave, a double boiler or the oven. When making these into candies, it will be a good idea to also use a thermometer so you are able to monitor its temperature.
If you are using a thermometer that has a bulb, make sure that it does not touch the sides of the pan because this could give you the wrong reading.
When the chocolate is ready, this is the time that you put these into the mold. So it doesn’t look messy, get some using a teaspoon and pour this into the cartridges. This is also the time you should add in other ingredients like peanuts, marshmallows or candy sprinkles.
If there are air bubbles, remove them by holding the mold a few centimeters from the ground and dropping it on the table. You may have to do this several times to make sure that there is nothing left then you put these in the freezer.
You should check on your chocolate molds after 5 to 10 minutes. The bigger the mold, the longer it takes but you can check if it is ready by looking at the back of the mold. If a graying figure appears on the bottom, this means it is ready to be removed from the mold.
Once they are removed, put this in a plate or in a box if this is going to be given away. As for your molds, wash them in hot water and never with soap because this will remove its stickiness.
It should be dried thoroughly using a dry piece of cloth and stored properly so it looks good as new when you need to use it again.
You won’t have any problems making home made chocolates as long as you follow these tips. Who knows, this could open new doors for you like starting your own business.
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