Chocolate Truffles - A Little Taste of Heaven That's Low in Calories
If you have a weakness for chocolate, you will go overboard for my chocolate truffles, because they are without doubt, the best tasting chocolate truffles in the entire world! Yes, it's a bit of a tall statement I know, but try them and you will see what I mean. Because not only do they taste divine, they also fit my maximum reward for minimum effort category of cooking. You will be shocked at how unbelievably simple they are to make. And if that isn't tempting enough, these gorgeous chocolate truffles are also low in calories, which means, you can get your chocolate fix without getting fat! It sounds incredible, but it's true. This is because you won't find any sugar, butter or cream in the recipe. My chocolate truffles are made from just two simple ingredients. Chocolate and water. The quantity of water used, dilutes the chocolate and halves the calories. Please don't ask me how it's possible to get all the taste but half the calories because I don't know. All I do know is these chocolate truffles taste sensational and since I began making them about a year ago, no other chocolate gets a look in.
For the perfect flavour and consistency, you will need two types of chocolate. One that is dark and contains around 70 -80 % cocoa, the other which is milk and contains 40-50% cocoa. This combination gives the best results. What you get is a deeply satisfying taste, neither too sweet or too bitter and a gratifyingly fudgy texture to sink you teeth into that is totally irresistible. And now for the really simple part… Just break the chocolate into small pieces and heat gently until melted. At this point add some boiling water and beat into the chocolate with a balloon whisk. The more air you can beat into the chocolate the better the result. Adding boiling water is the trick here. Because unlike cold water which would turn the chocolate firm in an instant, making beating difficult, boiling water is the same temperature as the chocolate. This means the chocolate thickens more gradually allowing for easier and longer beating. And all this takes is a matter of minutes. So without further ado, here's the recipe... Equipment: Heatproof bowl Saucepan Balloon whisk Spatula Tea towel Plastic container approx 20cm x 12cm Small tray or dinner plate Airtight storage container Teaspoon or melon baller N.B: Melt the chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water as it's more controlled than microwaving which is liable to burn the chocolate if you're not very careful. Be sure to add boiling water not cold water to the melted chocolate. Also, if you use chocolate with a higher cocoa content than I'm recommending here, you may need to add a littlemore water. Here's What You Do: Put the kettle on to boil. Pour boiling water into the saucepan and set the bowl on top, making sure the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water and place over a medium high heat. Press the chocolate still in it's wrapper, against the side of your work counter. Snap at intervals down the length of the bar and tip the broken chocolate into the bowl.
Once the chocolate has melted, add 100ml's boiling water and whisk until the chocolate is dark, thick and glossy and you can just about leave an imprint if you trace your initials. If they're pronounced, the mixture's too thick, so add a splash more boiling water. Pour the chocolate into a truffle mould if you have one, otherwise use a plastic container and refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Using a teaspoon or melon baller, scoop up the chocolate and place on a tray/plate sprinkled with cocoa. With cool hands, shape into truffles before rolling in cocoa. Store in an airtight container. Variations: Try adding one of the following into the boiled water: A pinch of chilli or Chinese 5 spice A grinding of cloves or cardamom Finely chop a few balls of stem ginger Finely grated orange zest
