Once again, Rich and I got together for the Annual Truffle Weekend. This year we wanted to make completely new recipes, and I was feeling a little exotic, so I went with two dangerous looking selections:

Photo Courtesy of Epicurious.com

Chocolate Earl Grey Truffles

Goat Cheese Chocolate Truffles

I realize the names alone sound strange because they don’t sound like flavors that should be paired with chocolate. Although I do guarantee that they are fantastic chocolates and I would proudly serve them to most of my friends, they aren’t for everyone. If your tastes are slightly more “commercial” then I would suggest you review last year’s truffles and make Chocolate Truffles with Pecans and Dried Cranberries, and Vegan Truffles. Not that I look down on you for not having a more exotic palette or anything, because I don’t. The truffles we made this year aren’t for everyone.

Before you start your truffles, always read through the recipes first and make a mental note of how long they all make to chill. Start with the recipes that takes the longest to set, and then while that is in the fridge or freezer, move on to the next recipe. If you have a helper, have them chop up the chocolate. If you have a food processor with a grating wheel, I would suggest using it. I have one, but I’ve never used it before. I think it’s time to pull out the instructional video and watch it.

There is a myth that truffles are very difficult to make well, and in all honesty I would say making good fudge is more difficult. How many of us have made the horrible mistake of swiping the sides of the pot over and over again, and your fudge ends up grainy because of the sugar crystals you unknowingly put into the mixture? The first time you make truffles it will feel a little overwhelming, but once you’ve got the first time under your belt, it will be easier. So don’t be afraid of these tasty little chocolate gems.

Chocolate Earl Grey Truffles

This delightful recipe calls for a good quality loose-leaf earl grey tea. Melt the butter and heat up the cream and put in your tea leaves. When I made this, I made a made a slight mistake in that I only heated the cream to a boil and put my tea leaves in it. After we strained the tea out of the cream and poured it over the chocolate, I realized the tea was supposed to be steeping in the butter and cream mixture too. It actually was no big deal. We melted the butter separately and poured it in.

At this point, we realized that the chocolate had not been chopped up finely enough. This is one of those recipes where the cream is supposed to melt the chocolate on its own. Never fear. Pour the chocolate mixture (all of it!) into a metal bow. Take a small pot and put an inch of water in the bottom. Place the metal bowl over the pot, but make sure the water does not touch the bowl! It only takes a minute or two to melt the rest of the chocolate. Do NOT plop your chocolate into a pot and place it directly onto a burner. You will burn your chocolate and it will be dry and taste like monkey butt.

Not that I know what monkey butt tastes like - I’m just taking a wild guess, here.

After the chocolate has chilled, wash your hands. It’s time to form your truffles and roll them into the mixture of your choice. This is the hard part, and I admit I was really bad at this at first. After watching something on Food TV about some famous chocolatier who makes truffles for her own business, it was a little easier for me to do. Some people use a small melon ball scooper with the mechanical lever - like a mini ice cream scooper. I just use my hands.

Take a small spoon and scoop a small amount into the palm of your hand. With your other hand and using only the tips of one or two fingers, move the little ball of chocolate around in the palm of your hand until it becomes a ball. If this is your first time trying it, this will take a few times. Don’t use both palms of your hands to do this or you will melt the chocolate. Practice using just one or two fingers to keep from melting the chocolate.

After you’ve formed it into a mostly-spherical shape, drop it lightly into a bowl of sifted powdered sugar or sifted cocoa powder. Roll this around with fingertips - NOT the ones that were just rolling it into a ball previously. If you use the same fingertips for both, you’ll end up getting cocoa powder or powdered sugar mixed into the truffle body and you don’t want that texturally.

I have tried dipping my truffles into melted chocolate, and I have to say it was unsuccessful. This is mostly due to my not being patient enough for the chocolate coating to cool off before dipping the chocolate truffles in there, and the truffles start to melt from the hot chocolate. I may try this again later, but for now, dipping it into powdered sugar and cocoa powder is what I use. What is nice about coating it in a powder is that the powder will hide most blemishes in your not completely sphere shaped truffle, helping it to appear quite lovely.

The Chocolate Earl Grey Truffles are a beautiful little truffle with a nice, creamy texture. The flavor of the tea leaves is very faint, and comes in at the very end. I definitely recommend this recipe.

Goat Cheese Chocolate Truffles

Allow me to begin by saying if you don’t like Goat Cheese, you will probably hate this truffle. In fact, when Tom bit into it, he nearly vomited.

The truffle takes on the texture of the goat cheese and it can feel a little drier than other truffles. In order to make this truffle successful, use a little extra vanilla and a high-quality goat cheese. Some reviews on epicurious.com complain that the recipe tastes too “goaty” but I would disagree - if you use a better quality cheese, it won’t be. I think using a little more lemon extract would also be a great idea, possibly even doubling it. The lemon taste is quite faint, as are a lot of the flavors; nothing overpowers the other. Be careful to keep everything in harmony here. This is not your standard truffle, and people who are expecting something slightly more commercial are going to be disappointed. It’s not for the Lindt crowd. Rich and I thought they were fantastic, but they aren’t for everyone.

Enjoy.