Tiffany Dinner Plate, antique Czechoslovakian creamer, cup and saucer.Alice Waters has a gloriously simple recipe for truffles in her cookbook The Art of Simple Food that, provided you don't scrimp on ingredients, look and taste far more sophisticated than you'd expect for the amount of work involved (none). Feeling prematurely autumnal, I improvised and added freshly ground ginger and various other spices to the recipe. The result was oddly reminiscent of pumpkin pie, and completely delicious. The basic recipe:
1. Melt 1/2 lb of bittersweet chocolate and 10 tablespoons unsalted butter in a double boiler, or else in a heatproof bowl set in a shallow pan of simmering water.Store in refrigerator, bring to room temperature before serving.
2. Stir in 6 tablespoons heavy cream
3. Refrigerate mixture until firm (several hours) and then scoop out small balls with a melon baller or teaspoon. Roll in cocoa powder.
A few notes: I added around a tablespoon of freshly ground ginger, along with a heap of curry powder, a couple teaspoons cinnamon, and a pinch of cayenne to the mixture along with the heavy cream. In hindsight, it might have been easier just to add a tablespoon or two of pumpkin pie spice... I used an 85% cocoa chocolate bar made for eating, not baking, as the bittersweet chocolate (two of my favorites are Kallari or Vivani, either would work perfectly), and rolled some of the truffles in a mixture of cocoa powder and cinnamon, others in shredded coconut, and others in chopped macadamia nuts.
