What I had for dinner:

Chocolate truffles

9 Feb 1997 00:28:15 -0500

I already gave a truffle recipe some two years ago but this one is actually more ancient, being inspired by a Craig Claiborne recipe in a long ago NY Times and modified during my stay in Sweden.

One evening, place 1 lb of dark, semi-sweet chocolate in a bowl, and set it in a barely warm oven to just soften slowly without melting. Usually the pilot light is warm enough. At the same time, take 1/2 lb of butter and leave it at room temperature to soften well.

The next day, place the butter and 6 egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer and mix thoroughly with the wire whisk. Add 6 tablespoons of dark rum while still whipping at high speed. Add then the softened chocolate and continue mixing until smooth. Place the bowl (with the whisk) in the fridge to cool a little, then return it to the mixer and whisk it well again. Repeat until the chocolate mixture is thick and is turning paler (that is from the tiny air bubbles that become trapped in it).

At this point one can either set the mixture to cool until solid, then with a small spoon one cuts out nut-sized pieces that are again put in the fridge to cool well before the next step; or one can put it in a pastry bag and fill small metal or paper candy cups, which are then put to harden in the fridge.

In either case, the next step is to shape the pieces of chocolate by rolling them quickly between the palms of the hands, in a mixture of equal amounts of cocoa powder and confectionner's sugar. It's a sticky mess, but someone's got to do it.

Usually, it is impossible to get nicely shaped truffles in one pass. As they must be kept cold, it is better to give them a rough shape, return them to the fridge, and have another go when they have cooled down again. Alternatively, and less messily but not traditionally, they can be served in their small candy cups.

They should be served cold, as they begin to lose their texture at room temperature.