Traditional-Ale Truffles Recipe
"The first time I combined real ale with chocolate was my first Christmas at my chocolaterie, when I needed something traditional and ended up using rich, malty London Ale," says London master chocolatier Paul A. Young.
"I experimented with many different chocolates, and concluded that the winning variety was Valrhona's Jivara Lait 40% milk chocolate (from Java); its malt extract and intensely creamy finish pairs perfectly with the bittersweet ale. You can choose any ale you like, but do taste it first for bitterness; you may then need to increase or decrease the sugar level in the recipe."
Food Republic tip: If you'd rather make your truffles by hand instead of in a mold, here are 5 easy steps:
- Cool your booze-chocolate mixture (AKA: ganache) in the refrigerator until completely set, about 30 minutes.
- Scoop out a heaping tablespoon or so and quickly roll it into a ball between your hands
- Dip the ball in the tempered (heated and cooled) chocolate to create a glossy, crisp shell
- Or roll it in cocoa or espresso powder or a flavored sugar
- Allow to set on a baking sheet for several hours
And you thought making truffles was complicated.
- 1 cup ale
- 1/2 cup packed light muscovado sugar
- 1 pound Javanese 40% milk chocolate
- 14 ounces 70% dark chocolate
- Put 1/4 cup of the ale and the sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the remaining ale and warm until you can see the alcohol’s vapors being released from the surface.
- The ale needs only to be warm enough to melt the chocolate – overheating it will cook off the alcohol which is the natural preservative in this ganache.
- Pour the ale into a blender and add the chocolate gradually on medium speed until smooth.
- Cool for 30 minutes and pipe into shells, or leave to set in the fridge, then hand roll into truffles.
- Use the tempered chocolate for coating.