Celebrate season with chocolate truffles

Right now somewhere in the oak groves of Europe, dogs, pigs and humans are on a quest for an elusive fungus worth its weight in gold. They are sniffing and pawing in order to deliver the world’s most expensive culinary addition.

Here in Canada we search out such treats, too. However the treasures we look for are found above ground and are much sweeter in nature. Let us not confuse the two continental varieties and declare our passion for little chocolate truffles that can be enjoyed year round.

The name for chocolate truffles comes from their similar appearance to a fungus that grows around the roots of trees in France and Italy. A good truffle can sell for $2,000 and is highly treasured.

Chocolate truffles are so good that they make the perfect Christmas gift for friends and loved ones. But why give them all away dear reader? Make some for yourself to test the recipe and then see if you are generous enough to share your decadent booty.

Here are two whimsical tributes to chocolate.

“Carefully prepared chocolate is as healthful a food as it is pleasant; that it is nourishing and easily digested; that it does not cause the same harmful effects to feminine beauty which are blamed on coffee, but is on the contrary a remedy for them.�

Jean-Antheleme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)

The Physiology of Taste (1825)

“As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.�

Sandra Boynton from Chocolate: The Consuming Passion

Because chocolate truffles are traditionally made in irregular shapes about an inch around, similar in look to the truffle that grows underground, they are also so much sought after that the name ‘truffle’ fits these chocolate candies just right.

Chocolate & orange truffles

200 g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa)

300 g condensed milk

3 tbsp. double cream (heavy cream)

2 tbsp. orange liqueur or 1 tsp. orange extract

Finely grated zest of one orange (optional)

Cocoa powder or icing sugar or vanilla sugar

1. Melt chocolate, double cream, and condensed milk in a heatproof bowl over simmering water in a saucepan.

2. Mix in the orange liqueur or orange extract and zest

3. Remove from heat and cool completely to room temperature.

4. Cover and chill in the fridge for about four hours or overnight.

5. Spread cocoa powder or sugar on a wide plate.

6. Have a bowl of iced water in your working area.

7. Using a teaspoon, scoop a teaspoonful of the chocolate mixture and shape into balls using your hands then roll on the cocoa powder or sugar. Repeat until you have used up all the truffle mixture. Dip your hands from time to time in the iced water to cool them down and prevent the melting of the truffles while you’re rolling.

8. Chill in the fridge.