Do-it-yourself Truffles

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 3 lbs chopped semisweet chocolate or 3 lbs bittersweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup chopped unsalted butter
• 1 pinch salt

Recipe

• 1 make the ganache.
• 2 in a saucepan, bring 1 quart heavy cream to a simmer. in a large bowl, combine 3 pounds chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, 1 1/2 sticks chopped unsalted butter and a pinch of salt. pour the hot cream on top. let stand for 5 minutes. whisk until smooth.
• 3 flavor the ganache.
• 4 divide the ganache into 4 bowls. for each quarter batch, stir in either 1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum, 4 teaspoons pure peppermint oil and 1 teaspoon ground cardamom or 2 teaspoons instant espresso dissolved in 2 teaspoons water. cover and refrigerate until firm, 3 hours.
• 5 roll the truffles.
• 6 using a small scoop, drop tablespoons of the ganache onto parchment-lined baking sheets. refrigerate for 1 hour. using cold, wet hands, roll the ganache into balls. coat the truffles in crushed mint candies, chopped almonds, toasted coconut flakes or cocoa powder.