Sweet Black and White Truffles, or Tartufi Dolci Bianchi e Neri: The Langhe are the land of truffles, especially white ones, and there's a steady stream of festivals that draw people from mid-October through December. Of course not everyone likes truffles, and the season does come to an end. And there are times that truffles really don't work -- say with a cup of coffee, at the end of the meal...
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** White Truffles **
- 4 ounces (100 g) white chocolate
- 4 ounces (100 g) toasted hazelnut paste
- 4 ounces (100 g) toasted hazelnuts, ground
- 1 cup (100 g) confectioner's sugar (with a little vanilla)
- 2 bitter almonds, ground (use the nutmeats from peach pits if need be)
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons powdered unsweetened cocoa
- A mixture of cocoa and confectioner's sugar for dusting
- ** Black Truffles **
- 4 ounces (100 g) baking chocolate
- 4 ounces (100 g) toasted hazelnut paste
- 4 ounces (100 g) toasted hazelnuts, ground
- 1 cup (100 g) confectioner's sugar (with a little vanilla)
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons powdered unsweetened cocoa
- More cocoa powder for dusting
Preparation:
...At least the kind from the ground. However, almost every pastry shop you visit in Alba, or the other towns of the Langhe, will have bags of chocolate truffles out for sale. Not quite the same thing as the magnificent tuber, but very good nonetheless.
Once you have the ingredients assembled, the steps involved for the two kinds are the same:
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, add the other ingredients except the powder for dusting, and mix well. Remove the mixture from the stove and pull away blebs with your fingers, shaping them into roughly finger-sized sausages. Cut the sausages into 3/4-inch lengths, pressing them lightly between your fingertips to make them irregular in shape.
Roll them in the dipping mix and put them in a cool place to set. They'll be ready in a couple of hours.
Once you have the ingredients assembled, the steps involved for the two kinds are the same:
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, add the other ingredients except the powder for dusting, and mix well. Remove the mixture from the stove and pull away blebs with your fingers, shaping them into roughly finger-sized sausages. Cut the sausages into 3/4-inch lengths, pressing them lightly between your fingertips to make them irregular in shape.
Roll them in the dipping mix and put them in a cool place to set. They'll be ready in a couple of hours.
