The Tricked-Out Truffle

Back when I'd first become fascinated with chocolate, but was still scared stiff by the very mention of the word "temper", I came across an extremely old-fashioned technique for fashioning those extremely intense morsels of bittersweet chocolate heaven otherwise known as truffles. Luckily, the technique was as ridiculously easy as the results were spectacularly delicious.

I've since conquered those irrational fears of tempering, and have come to relax sufficiently to actually enjoy the process. Tempering, as therapeutic as it may be, is also a process that's best applied to relatively large quantities of chocolate. And it cannot be hurried along. So relish it as I may, I still call upon this perfectly simple (and simply perfect) formula - Look, Ma, no tempering! - time and again when I need to produce a small batch of truffles or need to produce them in a jiffy.

No need to wade through thickets of technical tempering information. No need to keep in mind the three narrow temperature ranges for melting, crystallization, and working respectively.

The absence of a crisp, prim and proper, tempered chocolate dipped coat amplifies the aspect of larger-than-life, unabashedly sensual, melt-in-the-mouthiness to these truffes au chocolat. If you're partial to this, you'll know exactly the mouthfeel and sensation I had just attempted to describe in words.

These beguiling truffes au chocolat, based on Valrhona Manjari 64%, are what I will be demonstrating at an upcoming class. Ultimate Chocolate Treats II will be held at Shermay's Cooking School on 11 April 2009 (Saturday), 12 April 2009 (Sunday), 25 April 2009 (Saturday) and 26 April 2009 (Sunday) - the April schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

The master recipe also happens to be a versatile one. Variations include:

Espresso Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Illy Espresso and Pure Coffee Extract

Tea Infused Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Jasmine Tea or Earl Grey Tea

Orange Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Fresh Orange and Pure Orange Extract

Peppermint Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Mint Tea and Pure Peppermint Extract

PS: Dear S & D, if you are reading this, thank you again for the lovely gift. While it's not exactly difficult to figure out my weakness for tableware, how on earth you managed to figure out my fondness of anemones, and not just any anemones but belle epoque inspired ones, is beyond thoughtful! xoxo

Bake a Batch of Bars

I suspect the lovely people who've attended more than one of my classes here are more than familiar with a recurring theme - that learning just one master recipe or technique opens the door to many other variations. This is the reason for the inclusion of a bonus section in the recipe pack, which details all the extra recipes, ideas and serving suggestions that build upon the fundamentals demonstrated at class.

For instance, the rich and buttery shortbread base used for the Chocolate "Pecan Pie" Bar Cookies here can easily form the basis for many other bar cookies.

To make “Bounty” Bar Cookies (the picture at the top of this post), the shortbread layer is topped with a coconut candy filling and a milk chocolate glaze (using Valrhona Jivara Lactée 40%). If you love that addictive blue-wrapped candy, this is the bar cookie after your heart.

As for the Millionaire’s Shortbread Bar Cookies, purportedly named for its richness, it's truly an affordable luxury in a bear market. Here, the shortbread base is topped with sticky chewy caramel and a dark chocolate glaze (using Valrhona Equatoriale Noire 55%).

The above will feature in Ultimate Chocolate Treats II, a demo class I'll be teaching at Shermay's Cooking School on 11 April 2009 (Saturday), 12 April 2009 (Sunday), 25 April 2009 (Saturday) and 26 April 2009 (Sunday) - the April schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

Ultimate Chocolate Treats II - Classes

I'll be teaching Ultimate Chocolate Treats II, a demo class, at Shermay's Cooking School on 11 April 2009 (Saturday), 12 April 2009 (Sunday), 25 April 2009 (Saturday) and 26 April 2009 (Sunday) - the April schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

When drafting the line-up for this, I simply was not capable of trimming down the number of items I wanted on the menu to fit the 3 hr class format. So rather than try to pare down, it was decided that the recipes should be split over two entirely separate classes - Ultimate Chocolate Treats I, and Ultimate Chocolate Treats II.


The line-up for Ultimate Chocolate Treats II includes:

“I Love Nutella” Cupcakes

If you perchance sampled the legendary pastry chef Philippe Conticini's recipes specially created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the world's favourite breakfast spread in 2005 at La Table Nutella, or already own a copy of the accompanying book, you will need no convincing from me that Nutella can be as fancy pants a dessert ingredient as they come.

These cupcakes may not be fancy - in fact, they are downright fuss-free - but are no less scrumptious for their lack of preciousness. A fairly shocking quantity of Nutella goes into the making of the cupcake batter, resulting in a soft, moist crumb that's hard to beat and a resonant flavour Nutella fiends will likely find hard to resist.

As for the frosting, there was no question it would have to be chocolate-and-hazelnut based. But rather than use hazelnut praline, an ingredient not readily available to most home cooks, it is based on good old Nutella and Valrhona Jivara Lactée 40% milk chocolate - I like to think of it as "Nutella Praline".

Truffes au Chocolat

No sugar snob, I'm as curious about the supermarket candy aisle as the latest single estate/single varietal/haut de gamme chocolate sensation. Life is simply too short not to indulge in guilty pleasures. To name one, I find this completely addictive. And I'm not alone; many a real chocolate lover I know has sheepishly confessed to being partial to these soft, creamy, melt-in-the-mouth, cocoa-dusted tiles.

The chocolate truffles I'll be demonstrating at class, based on Valrhona Manjari 64%, have a texture that's very much inspired by this Japanese treat. What's more, they are made with a very simple technique, no tempering required.

They can be left square (as in the picture above),

rolled into balls, or flavoured/finished in quite a number of other ways.

Double Chocolate & Walnut Biscotti

These light, crisp cookies are flavoured with Valrhona Cocoa, chockfull of Valrhona chocolate pearls, and wonderful with a post-meal espresso. A lovely variation is Spiced Chocolate Biscotti with Aniseed and Almonds (picture at the beginning of this post).

Chocolate "Pecan Pie" Bar Cookies

All the goodness of pecan pie, but with the addition of dark chocolate (Valrhona Equatoriale Noire 55%) in the luscious brown sugar custard. An easy-to-handle, just-press-into-pan, rich and buttery shortbread base stands in for the pie shell.

The shortbread base is a versatile recipe that can accommodate a variety of fillings/toppings to create different bar cookies.

I'll put up a separate post on the Bonus Section with Extra Recipes, Ideas & Serving Suggestions:

Espresso Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Illy Espresso and Pure Coffee Extract

Tea Infused Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Jasmine Tea or Earl Grey Tea

Orange Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Fresh Orange and Pure Orange Extract

Peppermint Truffles Valrhona Manjari 64% Dark Chocolate Truffles infused with Mint Tea and Pure Peppermint Extract

Millionaire’s Shortbread Bar Cookies Rich & Buttery Shortbread Bars with Sticky Chewy Caramel and Dark Chocolate Glaze (using Valrhona Equatoriale Noire 55% Dark Chocolate)

“Bounty” Bar Cookies Rich & Buttery Shortbread Bars with Coconut Candy Topping and Milk Chocolate Glaze (using Valrhona Jivara Lactée 40% Milk Chocolate)

The Sweet Sandwich

My freezer is often crammed full of what I like to think of as "Plan B" sweets. They've saved me on more than one occasion when an unexpected visitor drops by or a dinner party menu has to be put together with next to no notice.


In one of the airtight boxes stacked in the freezer, there's always a small pile of individually cling-wrapped ice cream sandwiches - of the desserts that freeze remarkably well and in fact need to be stored frozen, ice cream sandwiches weigh in at the top of my list. Whether it's a pair of macarons, meringue shells, chocolate chip cookies or brownies clasped around a complementary ice cream or sorbet, these little packages mean that all it takes for dessert to be served is a 5 minute thaw in the fridge, snipping off the clingwrap, and perhaps a little squirt of accompanying sauce or coulis on the plate.


For sandwiching darkly chocolatey treats like chocolate chip cookies and brownies, my favourite ice cream is Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream (made with Valrhona Jivara Lactée 40%).


Milk chocolate, with its creamy notes of butterscotch and toasted nuts, has a wonderful affinity with malt. Churned into an ice cream, the fabulous flavour is reminiscient of an old fashioned malted milk shake.

The above - Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookie & Ice Cream Sandwiches, and Fudge Brownie & Ice Cream Sandwiches - are some of the recipes and ideas I've included in the bonus section of the recipe pack for Ultimate Chocolate Treats I. This demo class will be held at Shermay's Cooking School on 14 March 2009 (Saturday), 15 March 2009 (Sunday), 28 March 2009 (Saturday) and 29 March 2009 (Sunday) - the March schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg