A few years ago my brother died of lung/brain cancer. His birthday before he died he had just finished a round of chemo and was doing pretty well. We gave him a surprise birthday party with some of his closest friends and immediate family. He told me it was his best birthday . At the party I gave out a small favor of chocolate truffles to each person that I had made. Rick liked chocolate so they were really for him. Everyone else seemed to like them too. One of his best friends shared them with his mother and she loved them too. I made a mental note of that as I often do when it concerns peoples food preferences.
During the time that Rick was so ill and needed lots of help, his friend Ken was always there. Not just for Rick but for all of us and he still is. He is a “forever friend”. I live four hours away and when my mother needs a ride to the train station or just help with anything, Ken is always there to help. When Rick’s wife or son and daughter need Ken - he does not disappoint, he comes to the rescue. He is a “forever friend” to Rick and all of us, he is family. So, when my Mom fell and hurt herself and was not able to travel by train this Easter to come visit us, Ken volunteered to drive her half way and meet me so that I did not have an eight hour drive in one day. He is the best. I think my brother knew that. Now we know that. So, I remembered that his (Ken’s) mother liked truffles and I made a box for her and box for him as a small thank you to both of them, for being such good friends to us and to my brother Rick.
Forever Chocolate Truffles
7 ounces of Dark Perugina Chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 stick, unsalted organic butter
5 Tablespoons of organic heavy (whipping) cream
¼ teaspoon of real vanilla extract
1 pinch of sea salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
In a medium pan heat the butter, cream and chocolate. Stir constantly until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla (or other flavoring) and cinnamon. Pour mixture into a container and chill in the refrigerator for several hours. Once chilled thoroughly, use a small melon baller to shape the truffles. Dip the melon baller in hot water between each truffle. As you shape them put them on a plate or pan covered with parchment paper. If you would like them to be round and uniform just quickly roll them in the palms of your hands in a circular motion to shape them into round balls. Place them back in the refrigerator while you make the dipping chocolate.
If you like you can just quickly roll them in cocoa, or finely chopped nuts. I prefer them dipped in tempered chocolate.
Procedure for dipping truffles
Melt 2 bars of chopped Perugina Dark Chocolate in a bowl over hot water. ( It does not take very much to melt the chocolate). When the chocolate has cooled to about 88 degrees, starting to thicken, dip the truffle quickly in the chocolate and let the excess drip off : place the truffle on a rack with parchment paper underneath. Leave them there to harden before storing. This will take about 1 hour. Keep in a container in a cool place -do not store in the refrigerator.
These are so yummy they will not last very long. I like to make them as special gifts, or part of a dessert after dinner. They are best when shared -or as a gift to a special friend. Store in a cool place, but do not refrigerate or the truffles will get hard and may even "bloom" (white coating).
