Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sweet Lil Somethings

Amidst my running about, I managed to sit down long enough to make one of the few desserts that I care enough to be good at.  I first discovered chocolate truffles on Alton Brown's Good Eats show on the episode titled Heart of Darkness.  If you haven't seen this show and are a food/science nerd, you need to check it out.  Anyways, I noticed how much this wasn't like baking.  I have this deep fear of baking.  The whole idea of letting something go and not being able to fuss around with it disturbs me.

That's neither here nor there.  Chocolate truffles.  I first attempted to make these for a former girlfriend of mine.  I thought it would be a lovely gift for her birthday.  As with most of my cooking endeavors, I did a test batch before I ever tried making the real thing.  The results were surprisingly good.  I had more confidence now.  I'm roaming dangerously into the realm of desserts.  It's a bit like skirting the edge of the forbidden forest for me.  Lurking behind that dark shady area of trees are cakes and behind that mound of threatening shrubbery are the dreaded cookies that lure their victims in effortlessly.  Ahem.  I digress.

I've since made these truffles a total of 3 times.  Each time getting progressively braver.  I've toyed with the ratio of bittersweet to semisweet.  The proportions of flavorings and butter to account for the different chocolates.  I've even started to play with new and funky ideas for these tasty treats.  My last batch of truffles included an array of Cointreau, Amaretto, Toasted Coconut covered, and even a cayenne based truffle with sea salt dusting.  Overall, the reception over my last batch of truffles was overwhelmingly positive.  I want to thank all my taste testers for their feedback.  I'd also like to apologize for any extra weight they may have gained because of this.  I'm scared I might start liking this incredibly messy and fearsome area of cooking.  Nonetheless, I will attempt to try out some of my more adventurous versions and I will most definitely show you my results.

Au revoir.