I recently attended a 10th anniversary celebration at Denver’s Cook Street School of Fine Cooking with my dear friend and fellow chocolate lover Gail Riley, owner of the lovely Highland Haven Creekside Inn. Among the many festivities — including a raucous cook-off of 15-minute recipes prepared by four very brave contestants – we enjoyed a truffle making demonstration by one of the school’s instructors, Chef Lexie Justice. Along with being a genius at preparing all things sweet and chocolatey, Chef Lexie is absolutely adorable; her generous tips, deft movements and snappy comments had the crowd mesmerized. When she invited us to help ourselves from a huge platter of homemade cocoa-dusted truffles, we were putty (some might even say ganache) in her hands.
Chef Lexie Justice
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon liqueur or flavoring (my favorite additions include Vanilla Bean Extract “Crush,” Mount Gay Dark Rum, Kahlua and Grand Marnier)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Cocoa, chopped nuts (try toasted pecans or pistachios) or lightly toasted shredded coconut for coating
Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Add the butter to the bowl. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream, corn syrup, flavoring and salt to a boil. Immediately pour the cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit for one minute undisturbed. Using a silicone spatula, stir the chocolate and cream mixture from the center out until the whole mixture is emulsified. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate the mixture until it is cooled and firm. Using a spoon or melon baller, form it into 1-inch balls. Roll the truffles in the coatings, arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return to the refrigerator. Makes about 4 dozen truffles.
