Spicy Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate truffles with a spicy kick? The perfect valentines day treat. These can easily be made with kiddos, or as a date night in with your valentine. Chocolate truffles are just flavored, shaped, balls of ganache. But ganache can be many things. You may have had ganache as a whipped frosting, a thick filling, or dripped on the side of a cake. Each of these are made the same, with chocolate + heavy cream. What changes is the ratio, this controls the fluidity of the ganache once it’s set. Today, we’re looking for something that can be scooped and biten into- so a 3:1 ratio of chocolate : cream. If spice isn’t your thing, omit the heat + add your favorite extracts.

Ingredients:

For truffles:

3 cups dark chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon cinnamon, I used saigon

2 teaspoons chipotle morita chile flakes

4 tablespoons Runamok merquen maple syrup

1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

1 teaspoon allspice, ground

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon salt

For garnish:

4 tablespoons black dutch cocoa

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder, optional see step 4

Directions:

1. In advance, either the night before or a few hours, simmer your spices with your heavy cream. After 2-3 minutes simmering, transfer to a heat safe container and chill. The idea is to infuse your flavors, so the longer it goes the spicier it will be.
2. Chop your chocolate and add it to a heat safe bowl. Reheat your cream mixture to a simmer, and strain overtop your chopped chocolate. Don’t stir right away, let it melt.
3. After 1/2 minutes, begin stirring your chocolate mixture from the inside, in little circles to create a vortex. This allows the mix to emulsify without whipping any air into the ganache.
4. Chill your ganache until firm throughout.
5. Using a cookie scoop, or two spoons, portion your desired truffle size. These are rich so I’d go smaller than you think. Form into balls. If they melt in your hands while you’re rolling, either chill them again or rub some cocoa powder on your hands. Chill all.

1. Once they’re firm to the touch, roll in your cocoa powder. If you want an additional kick, combine ancho chile powder with your cocoa powder before rolling.
2. Drop truffles, a few at a time into the cocoa powder to coat.
3. Enjoy! These should be kept in the fridge until ready to eat.