Homemade chocolate truffles, my best recipe

The chocolate truffles are really synonymous with Christmas, to make an emergency house throughout the year so it is easy to do.
Here is my best recipe, the story of its origin and full of advice.

Origin and history of chocolate truffles

Truffle is a Savoyard invention of the end of the 19th century.
It is Louis Dufour, Savoyard confectioner based in Chambéry, which is considered the creator of the real chocolate truffle.
They are found in advertising published in Le Courrier des Alpes in 1894: “L. Dufour, inventor of Chambéry truffles, the best chocolate candy. ” These advertisements even went until 1902 to present themselves as inventor of the truffle, a specialist in fresh candy arguing to avoid counterfeiting.

The legend says that Louis Dufour would have invented truffles to deal with a concern for supplying raw materials to make his Christmas chocolates.
Chocolate ? candied fruit? The fact remains that he would have invented this chocolate candy with a few very simple raw materials: a little cocoa, cream and vanilla to do not ganache, then he would have coated them with cocoa to make them more appetizing.

First called chocolate droppings then chambéry truffles and finally chocolate truffles. They experienced immediate success and were very quickly copied by the other chocolate makers, rum flavored, Grand Marnier, Cognac, Whiskey … They quickly become the emblem of the city of Chambéry.

In 1902 Antoine Dufourthe son or brother (historians do not agree) of Louis Dufour exports the truffle to England and founds the Prestat house which is always very famous for its chocolates and in particular its truffles.
It is written in the message of the Prestat house that Antoine Dufour introduced chocolate truffle in England and named it “Napoleon III”, named after the French emperor who was a great gourmet and who spent several periods of exile in London.

Why does the name of chocolate truffle?

It is because of the form and the powdered texture because of the cocoa, Who looks like the mythical black mushroomthe truffle (Tuber melanosporum is its botanical name) and also to the earth in which it is found.

What are the characteristics of the chocolate truffle

Chocolate and animal fats ::
The DCCRF (Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression) has legislated and explains that “the name” truffles “can only apply a chocolate candy, produced the size of a bite, in which chocolate represents at least 25% of the total weight of the product and fats come exclusively from cocoa and dairy products”.
In case of vegetable fat, the truffle must be called “fancy truffle”

In the center a soft chocolate ganache
The ganache is made with coverage chocolate from 68% to 75% cocoa because it must be powerful.
Powerful while remaining soft, that’s the reason why we mix the chocolate with fresh cream, heated with a shivering (do not boil it loudly) and poured in three times on the chopped chocolate while mixing as we do for a beautiful ganache.
The cream, right according to the recipes of 100 gr for 150 to 250 gr of chocolate makes the truffle melting and soft.

Sugar or honey? Personally I am not for but if you take a very bitter or strong cocoa in percentage of cocoa then you can add a spoon of honey rather than sugar.
Honey also brings taste and a little freshness.

Butter? Butter can also be optional but I recommend it because it amplifies the melting texture of the ganache and helps its outfit.

So there are few inferdits. As for quantities, little cream in the recipe that circulates a lot of Cyril Lignac, and more among the two chiefs who refer, Jen-Paul Hévin and Pierre Hermé.

Some tips for making your truffles

Cool the chocolate On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or in a flat flat with flat with a flat with gratin. Thus the ganache will cool homogeneously.
Let cool 2 to 3 hours in a cool place rather than put directly in the refrigerator. Chocolate does not like temperature shocks.
These two cumulative operations will prevent the chocolate to gain control by cooling.

Optional operation is whisk the ganache Once cooled to foam it and have a more aerial texture. I admit that I never tested.

For form your balls Truffle you can either use a pastry bag like pastry chefs, or a small spoon, or form dumplings by hand, rolling the ball in the hollow of your hands.
But beware, it is necessary to act as slightly as quickly as possible so as not to warm the ganache too much. Using fine gans can reduce the heat of the hands.

Addition of flavors: In addition to the honey that I told you above, which can be a little full -bodied like chestnut honey, you can add to the cream of alcohol (rum, cognac, large marnier …) orange, lemon or lime, vanilla (extract or possibly a sachet of vanilla sugar) …

For coating: Homemade truffles are generally ganache balls coated with bitter cocoa. The pastry chefs sometimes make a coat of cover chocolate for a smooth and brittle rendering.
You can replace the cocoa powder with white chocolate friends (or white chocolate and milk or black mixture), coconut powder, crushed shell fruit, dried fruit broken, lace pancakes (Gavotte type) crumbled …
The possibilities are endless. What is also very nice is to consider several fillings, it allows pretty presentations (and promised I will redo beautiful photos).

In a cool and dry place, like a wine cellar for example. Otherwise you can put them in an airtight box in the refrigerator. Truffles will keep longer, up to 2 to 3 weeks.