Living in Perfect Harmony: Ebony and Ivory Truffles

(I can’t see “ebony and ivory” without that Paul McCartney song coming to mind, so apologies for that title.)
I must admit that I was worried about starting off this little adventure with truffles, since I’ve never made them before. I’ve always been hesitant to try because I hold truffles in the highest of regard: they are, after all, are almost entirely responsible for my chocoholism. When I was about 14, I discovered Lindt Lindor truffles (the colorful foil-wrapped balls that come in a variety of flavors and can be found pretty much everywhere). I also discovered that they literally had the ability to alter my mood.

When you’re a hormonal 14-year-old, finding something that makes you go from sad to happy for only 50 cents is a big deal. Even now, when I see truffles, my internal reaction is, “Ooh,” and time stands still for a bit. They’re the upper echelon. So making truffles from scratch was, for me, akin to an American Idol contestant attempting a Wagner aria or something.
But you have to start somewhere, right?

(Note: I’ve given the truffles a rating - see rating system details here - then I summarize the highs and lows of the creation process, followed by the actual recipe. I’ll use this format for all future postings unless it proves to be annoying or something.)

Rating: 5I’ve had many a truffle in my day, but these are seriously among the best I’ve tasted, especially for homemade truffles. The dry, bitter burst of the unsweetened cocoa coating followed immediately by the almost-too-sweet-ness of the semisweet chocolate delivers an intensity that any plain chocolate truffle should have. Add to that the smooth, tempering touch of white chocolate and you’ve got one of the most well-rounded chocolate experiences any one truffle can offer. If you love white and dark chocolate, this is definitely the treat for you. Or, if you’re the type who thinks white chocolate is the red-headed stepchild of the chocolate family, you will probably still love this truffle. I say this because even one of my chocolate connoisseur friends who feels that way loved this truffle.

LowsI almost decided against writing about this, but in the interest of keeping the blog as true to life as possible, I must admit that truffles and I started off on the wrong foot. It was all my fault, too.
I had skimmed the recipe briefly before I began and got the gist of it: you melt the chocolate, refrigerate it, and then roll it into balls. Sounds easy, right? It is. Unless you happen to be terrible at multitasking and attempt to hold a phone conversation with your mother when you start the recipe.
That’s how I ended up with a pot full of beautifully melted, expensive Valrhona chocolate. It’s not that it wasn’t supposed to be melted, it’s that it was supposed to be melted with boiled cream, NOT in a double boiler, which is the way I’m accustomed to melting chocolate. I went into auto-pilot mode when I was talking to my mom and totally missed the part about melting it by pouring boiling cream over it.
Not a great start, right? However, what’s a girl going to do with a pot of gorgeous chocolate? Pour herself a little teacup full of it and take a chocolate break, naturally. I have to say, that was a glorious silver lining to an otherwise dark cloud. Nothing like freshly melted chocolate, and Valrhona chocolate, at that. I felt like I was in Willy Wonka’s factory, beside the chocolate river, silver spoon in hand.

The only other “low” was when, after I started over and was melting the chocolate the proper way, I had to microwave the ganache mixture because the boiled cream didn’t fully melt the chocolate. I was terrified to scald the cream (and thereby risk altering the taste of the chocolate), so I barely boiled it before pouring it over the chocolate. Result: a really chunky ganache. Be sure to bring the cream to a full boil before removing it from the stovetop. However, melting it for a few seconds in the microwave didn’t seem to do any harm, so that’s always an option if you’re a timid boiler too.

HighsThe biggest “high” is that this is a ridiculously easy recipe (you know, assuming you follow it, unlike me)! I was stunned at how good the truffles were for how little effort went into them. Have you made truffles before? Are they always this easy? If so, it's crazy to me that people don't make them more often. Yes, you need patience. And good chocolate. But that seems to be about it.

Ebony and Ivory Chocolate TrufflesMakes about 3 dozen (HH note: I only got 26 out of the recipe, but they weren’t overly large)

Equipment

Measuring cup and spoons

2 stainless steel bowls

1.5-quart saucepan

2 whisks

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

Ingredients

• 7.5 ounces white chocolate, chopped into ¼-inch pieces (I used Ghirardelli chocolate)

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (I used Valhrona – first time - and Ghirardelli – second try)

¾-cup heavy cream

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (I did use Hershey’s for this because I couldn't bring myself to spend $9 on fancy baking cocoa)

Instructions
Chop up the white and dark chocolate (separately) into ¼-inch pieces. Place each pile into its own stainless steel bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a full boil. Pour ¼ cup of boiling cream over the white chocolate and the remaining ½ cup over the dark chocolate and allow to stand for 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir each with a separate whisk until smooth, and allow to cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Refrigerate the two ganaches for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Portion 36 heaping tablespoons of dark chocolate into separate mounds onto the parchment paper. Top each teaspoon of dark chocolate with a level teaspoon of white chocolate.
To fashion the truffles, roll each portion of chocolate in your palms in a gentle circular motion, using just enough pressure to form smooth rounds (HH note: I found it easier to roll chocolate after dusting my hands in the cocoa first. Also, the white chocolate is much more malleable, so I ended up kind of forming it around the dark chocolate a bit).
Roll the rounds of chocolate in cocoa until completely covered.
Note: in place of cocoa, you can roll the truffles with other coatings if you wish: finely chopped nuts (author recommends macadamia), shredded coconut, ganache, etc.

Enjoy!

Coming up: The Essential Chocolate Mousses (sans phone conversations with mom, especially since I haven’t made mousse before either)
P.S. Thanks for your comments and questions! They're great.