CLEVELAND, Oh -- Why not give mom a homemade gift for Mother's Day? Stefanie Paganini says truffles are so easy to make and so wonderful to give as a gift.
Stefanie will be teaching a truffles cooking class at the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking. Click here to learn more about the class 'Make & Take:Truffles'.
Dark Chocolate Strawberry Balsamic Truffles
Yields: 24 truffles
8.5 ounces quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. strawberry extract
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
To finish truffles:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup red sugar
Instructions:
Place chocolate in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a small non-reactive saucepan, heat cream just under boiling. Do not over heat!
Remove cream from heat and pour over chocolate.
With a heat resistant spatula blend together chocolate and cream, Add balsamic vinegar and strawberry extract and combine.
Place chocolate mixture (ganache) in the refrigerator to chill.
(You can pour onto a cookie sheet to chill it faster if necessary.)
Once ganache is chilled, scoop balls out of it with a 100 size ice cream scoop.
Briefly roll ball in hands to form a smoother ball but note; truffles should be rough looking.
Combine red sugar and cocoa powder in a shallow dish.
Roll ball in dish with combined sugar and cocoa powder to coat truffles and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Chill finished truffles for a minimum of 15 minutes.