truffle making

[I swore there was a photo! But I can't find it...must have deleted it.]

I made truffles this year for the first time, with a friend, and it's something I plan on doing again next year. It's pretty easy, albeit somewhat time-consuming, but also tons of fun. Plus, it geeks out the creative bug in me - it's super easy to create all different kinds of flavor combinations from one basic recipe (compliments of Epicurious.com) - you just add flavor to the cream either by infusion, ground spices, or extracts. Our creations this year included:

• Straight-up Chocolate
• Mexican Chocolate (ganache plus cinnamon & cayenne pepper: next year I'm infusing the cream with cinnamon sticks and dried chilies)
• Jasmine Chocolate (made with a teeny bit of essence of jasmine - I found it at a South/South East Asian grocery in Baltimore)
• Peppermint Chocolate
• Cardamom Orange Chocolate
• Cinnamon Balsamic Chocolate (sounds weird, I know, but they were heavenly. Here's the recipe)

My favorites were the jasmine and balsamic truffles, but the most fun part was seeing how the different additions affected the consistency of the ganache (chocolate + cream). I can't wait for next year...I'm thinking lemon lavender, something with sage or rosemary, and maybe even a garam masala-infused truffle: chocolate with cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and a touch of coriander sounds exciting. :)