Truffle Time
Celebrate Alice Medrich and Bay Area chocolatiers as you indulge in luscious samples and find gifts for Valentine’s Day. Taste confections, bars, and truffles from Charles Chocolates, Lonohana Estate Chocolate, Barlovento Chocolates, Humphry Slocombe, Dick Taylor Chocolate, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Laura Chenel Cheese, Dandelion Chocolate, and Alexandre Family Farm. Alice Medrich will be signing books, offering samples of her Cocolat House Truffles 6.0, and talking about the changes she’s made to the iconic recipe over the past 40 years. Find even more to enjoy: cheese and chocolate pairings at the cheese counter, sweet treats at the bakery, chocolate-spiked mole, discounts, and chocolate prizes. No charge except for purchases. Info: 510.250.6004 or rockridgemarkethall.com
10th Annual For the Love of Chocolate
Celebrating Alice Medrich and Bay Area Chocolatiers and Confectioners
Valentine’s Celebration and Chocolate Tastings with Free Tastings and Demos
Saturday February 9, 1–3pm
Market Hall Foods on 4th, 1786 4th St, Berkeley
Left: Truffles photo by Sang An, from Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts by Alice Medrich (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2012. Right: Alice Medrich; Photo courtesy of Craftsy.
Alice Medrich’s Chocolate Butter Truffles AKA Cocolat House Truffles 6.0
Alice Medrich is widely credited with introducing the chocolate truffle to the United States over 40 years ago, when she began selling them at her influential dessert shop, Cocolat. The world of chocolate has continued to evolve, and this new version reflects those changes and other culinary developments.
Makes 80–100 truffles
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
16 ounces dark chocolate with 60% to 64% cacao, coarsely chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt (Medrich uses fine sea salt)
Boiling water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process; Medrich prefers high-fat natural)
Equipment
8-inch square metal baking pan, lined with foil
Food processor with a steel blade or an immersion blender
Instant-Read thermometer
Fine strainer
Put egg yolks in a small (2-cup) stainless steel bowl and put the bowl in a larger container of hot tap water. Set aside (to let yolks become lukewarm) until needed.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter with the salt in a stainless-steel bowl set directly in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the chocolate is almost entirely melted. Remove the bowl and stir to finish melting the chocolate. Scrape the mixture into the food processor (or beaker for the immersion blender.) Set the strainer over the processor bowl or beaker.
Bring 1⁄2 cup water to a boil in a microwave or a very small saucepan. (Or, measure 1/2 cup of boiling water in a glass measure that has first been preheated with boiling water.) Immediately pour the hot water steadily into the egg yolks, while stirring constantly with a spatula. When the yolks and water are blended, the temperature should be at least 160°. Strain the mixture into the food processor or beaker. Rap the strainer to encourage all of the liquid to flow through and discard any bits of cooked egg that may be caught in the strainer.
Pulse (or stir) the mixture a couple of times to mix in the eggs. Scrape the sides of bowl and then let the mixture cool to 105–108°. Process or blend until the mixture is emulsified—thickened and satiny-smooth, like pudding. Scrape into the lined pan and spread evenly. Let cool. Cover pan and refrigerate several hours until firm.
To finish truffles: Remove the truffle pan from the refrigerator and sprinkle the sheet with a little of the cocoa. Flip the sheet onto a cutting board. Peel off the foil and sprinkle with additional cocoa. Use a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry to cut 3/4- to 1-inch squares. Toss in a bowl with additional cocoa powder. Store truffles tightly covered for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or freeze for up to 3 months. Remove truffles from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving. Toss with extra cocoa as necessary.
