Recipe By: Chef John
“If you’ve never made homemade truffles before, these are way easier than you think, and make for an impressive edible gift. I ended up doing a gingerbread spice version, which is chef-speak for pumpkin spice, but the fun part is getting to flavor these any way you like! To guarantee the perfect ganache, use a scale to make sure you match 60% of the chocolate’s weight in cream.”
Ingredients:
- 326 grams dark chocolate chips
- For the Optional Gingerbread Spice:
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch finely ground black pepper
- 1 tiny pinch salt
- tiny pinch cayenne pepper
- 196 grams heavy cream
- Optional Melted Chocolate Coating:
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips, or as needed
- 1 crispy gingersnap cookie
Directions:
- Add chocolate chips to a heat-proof mixing bowl; add ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, and cayenne. Heat cream over medium heat until it just starts to simmer. Immediately remove from heat and pour hot cream over chocolate. Shake bowl slightly to fully cover the chocolate; let sit for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk until well combined and a thick, glossy ganache forms.
- Cover ganache with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature or until firm enough to scoop, about 15 minutes. Form about 2 teaspoons of the ganache into balls using a small sorbet scoop, or roll by hand. Place balls onto a baking sheet lined with silicone or parchment paper. Refrigerate until cold and firm, about 15 minutes, then re-roll as needed to smoothen.
- Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of hot water on the lowest heat settling. Add most of the chocolate chips, reserving about 1/3 cup, to the bowl and let melt, about 5 minutes. In the meantime, break gingersnap in half and place on a plate next to a microplane. Stir the reserved chocolate chips into the melted chocolate until they disappear. Remove from heat.
- Dip truffles into the melted chocolate by hand or by holding each truffle with a fork and spooning the chocolate on top. Place truffles on the baking sheet and swirl the tops with your finger. Grate the gingersnap on top. Let truffles rest on the baking sheet until the coating dries and hardens completely, trimming away excess chocolate from the bases using the back of a knife if desired.