Ever since I have returned to Singapore, I have been spoilt rotten by Mum's cooking and all the cheap eats (not to mention huge variety) out there. So it seems that getting down and dirty in the kitchen has become somewhat of a rare occasion for me.
And the heat. Nom de dieu, it has been stinking hot over here for the past few days. The walk back after lunch must be the only time I feel that happy to be back at work. You can imagine that sweating it out in the kitchen doesn't exactly appeal to me right now, especially where baking is involved. You must surely feel for me when you think about all the excess heat from the oven seeping out when you are already half-cooked in a 30-degree something kitchen. On the upside, you get to fully steam out your pores here. Free facial anyone?
But I suppose I will make my brother's birthday an exception :) (That's for all the years of crap he had to put up with the terror of 3 older sisters in the family!) My bro is an ENORME chocolate lover. The way he whacks chocolate down will put all self-professed chocoholics to shame. I reckon what every Cadbury or Meiji chocolate-maker-wannabe needs to sustain their business is to find one customer like that and you're set for life.
With that in mind, I thought, what better gift is there than some hand-made bittersweet truffles to really ratch up the intensity of chocolate? I was quite excited too as I haven't made these before. I got my hands on the simplest chocolate ganache recipe I could find, ran back to the shop like a madwoman twice because I forgot the cream and got down to work. After trying to shape the balls and watching each ball die slowly with the heat, I decided to skip the coating altogether and go with a soft dusting of cocoa powder.
I still feel like cracking up at my parents' bewildered faces when I dashed past them into my brother's room at the stroke of midnight with a truffle loaded in a little bowl. And in true Singaporean-ness, he popped it in his mouth and said "Damn gao (intense). Power."
Yay for Power Truffles. *chuckle* Happy Birthday little bro! *hugs*
Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles
200g bittersweet chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), chopped
1 1/4 cup cream
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
Heat the cream up in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Take it off the heat and let cool.
Melt the chopped chocolate chunks in a bain marie. Add in the cooled cream and mix. Alternatively, you can heat the cream up and pour it straight onto the chocolate chunks slowly. Mix until smooth.
Firm up the chocolate ganache in the fridge for around 2-3 hours. Using the help of 2teaspoons (I found this much more effective than using my hands), shape the chocolate ganache into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Lightly dust with the unsweetened cocoa powder and let chill in the fridge.
Adapted from Epicurious
