Home-Made Truffles

When I woke up on Sunday, it was freezing outside, and the city was covered in a cozy blanket of white snow...not sure how long that will last, as snow in this part of the world quickly turns to a nasty grey shade of slush :)

Anyway, this weather + the upcoming Christmas holidays bring out the chef in many...including yours truly. I decided to try my hand in making home-made truffles. A recipe had been given to me about two weeks ago, requiring only two ingredients - baking chocolate and cream cheese. In terms of non-food items, I needed mini-paper truffle holders and a spoon measurement scooper (1/2 teaspoon for shaping the chocolate into truffle size shapes).

So, the day before my big chef event, I went to the supermarket and purchased a packet of eight squares of Baker's Semi-Sweet chocolate, and a packet of 1/3 less fat cream cheese. The recipe was based on making a total of 36 truffles. However, based on the amount of ingredients I purchased, I would be able to make approximately 16 truffles (a little less than half). My mathematical skills sure came in handy, as I would be using only 40% of the quantities quoted in the recipe.

Now on to my process of making this delectable treat:

Step 1: I melted four squares of chocolate in a pan. Here, I sporadically mixed the concoction, occasionally licking the spoon....hehehe.

Step 2: I placed about half a packet of cream cheese (~4oz.) in a blender.

Step 3: I poured the melted chocolate into the blender.

Step 4: I first hit the Blend, then the Mix, and ultimately the Whip button on the blender, thinking that at least one will do the trick of making it nice and smooth. Oh, and I made sure I held the cap/top of the blender to prevent a disasterous mess :)

Step 5: I scooped out the result in Step 4 in a bowl. Here again, I took the liberty of tasting the concoction. I must say, this is a very, very messy process, because the combination of melted chocolate + cream cheese is soooooo sticky. Tried to scrape away as much as I could, but it's virtually impossible to get it all. I really felt like I was wasting a bunch of chocolate. Sigh.

Step 6: Placed the bowl in the fridge for about 45 minutes so that it could harden.

Step 7: Took bowl out of fridge, and used a measuring spoon/scoop (1/2 teaspoon size), and began to shape the concoction into 16 small balls. Placed them on aluminum foil, as I conveniently forgot to buy wax paper. Oh well, it still works.

Step 8: Melted remaining four chocolate squares in a pan. Then with a spoon, dipped each ball into the melted chocolate, and placed it back on the aluminum foil. For some of them, I placed a tiny piece of a walnut on the top of the chocolate ball.

Step 9: Refrigerated my handiwork for one hour.

Step 10: Placed the little truffles in a box, minus four, which were eaten shortly after...why you ask weren't the four placed in the box as well? Well, the box could hold only twelve.

Step 11: I am now really tired, and don't think I will be making home-made truffles any time soon. It is a messy business....but at least they came out okay. Plus, I didn't have to do the dishes...hahaha. Anyway, to view my masterpiece (Godiva worthy), see picture below. They taste pretty good, too...not too sweet, but sure quite fattening.